Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Xiao Guodong is enjoying a breakthrough season on the World Snooker Tour and he will be full of confidence heading into his clash with David Gilbert in the first round of the UK Championship on Saturday.

The Chinese star is nicknamed the X-factor and he has certainly delivered that this season, claiming the first ranking-event title of his career at last month's Wuhan Open, before following up with a run to the semi-finals of the International Championship and the final of last week's Champion of Champions.

That impressive form has also seen Xiao break into the top 16 of the world rankings, which secured him an automatic place in the main draw for this year's UK Championship - the first Triple Crown event of the season.

Xiao has been handed a difficult draw in the first round, as he will be facing Gilbert, who beat him in qualifying for last season's World Championship before going on to reach the semi-finals at the Crucible for the second time in his career.

However, Gilbert's form has been less impressive so far this season and he may struggle to live with one of the sport's in-form players.

Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert betting tips and predictions

Xiao Guodong to win - 4/6

Prior to this season, Xiao had been little more than a solid player on tour, as he had twice reached the final of ranking events at the Shanghai Masters in 2013 and Snooker Shoot Out in 2017, but had rarely delivered in the big tournaments.

The 35-year-old failed to make it beyond the first round of any ranking event during the second half of last season, but that has all changed this term, as he landed a maiden title - 17 years after first featuring on the Tour - at the Wuhan Open in October.

Xiao followed that up with a run to the semi-finals of the International Championship - beating Mark Allen along the way - while he also saw off the Northern Irishman, as well as Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan, en route to the final of the Champion of Champions just last week.

He may have lost out to Mark Williams in that final in Bolton, but if Xiao can come anywhere near matching his recent form, he should prove too strong for Gilbert, who has not been at his best so far this season.

After ending last term with a run to the World Championship semi-finals - where he found only eventual winner Kyren Wilson too hot - Gilbert has struggled for consistency.

He did reach the quarter-finals of both the Xi'an Grand Prix and the British Open earlier in the season, but the latter of those was in September, which is also the last time he won a match in the main draw of a ranking event.

Gilbert lost to Lei Peifan in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open and Jackson Page in his International Championship opener and, while he saw off both Xing Zihao and Julien Leclercq in qualifying for this event, those are two players currently sitting outside the top 75 of the world rankings.

The 43-year-old has shown he is capable of raising his game for the big events - he is also a two-time Masters semi-finalist - but he has never been beyond the last 16 of the UK Championship and may struggle to live with the in-form Xiao.

David Gilbert under 0.5 centuries in the match - 6/5

As mentioned, Gilbert is not heading into the first Triple Crown event of the season in the best of form and that has been reflected in his break-building.

Across his last 12 matches, the Farmer has recorded just five century breaks, while he has not registered one at all in his last three competitive contests, including in his two qualifiers for this event against Xing and Leclercq.

With Xiao in the form of his life, Gilbert may find his time at the table limited and his opportunities to score heavily may be restricted as a result.

Gilbert has also failed to register a century break in two of his last three meetings with Xiao, including in his 10-6 victory when they most recently locked horns in last season's World Championship qualifiers when, despite winning the match, his highest break was only 70.

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Xiao Guodong v David Gilbert odds

Xiao Guodong - 4/6
David Gilbert - 6/5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.