The market suggests Europe will win the Ryder Cup and by a decent margin but the visitors shouldn't be underestimated and here are five good reasons why.

Tiger Woods might be a team player this time
There's no getting away from Tiger's mediocre Ryder Cup record of 11 points from a possible 25 and he has been accused - quite rightly in my opinion - of not being a 'team player'. However, after a truly awful year by his standards, he needs all the glory he can get and, having been an automatic pick this time, he also has a point to prove. Certainly, his talk on the first day of practice was all about the 'team': "It's about us coming together as a team and being a team. What happens outside the team room, what happens in the media has no concern to us. We are here to get the job done as a team." While some will remain sceptical until he shows it on the course, I've a sneaky feeling he will show his true form this week and give the Americans a major boost as a result.

Home advantage has been overplayed
Playing at home on a familiar track with a partisan crowd behind you is is no doubt an advantage and many will point to the fact that the Americans are seeing the course for the first time this week. Granted, but it has to be remembered that the Wales Open, part of the European Tour since 2000, didn't switch to the newly-built Twenty Ten Course until two years ago and two members of the European side - Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter - have not even played a competitive round there, while Padraig Harrington and Peter Hanson both missed the cut on their only appearance here in 2008.

The USA away record is not that bad
While the Americans have lost the last three Ryder Cups on European soil, they were only narrowly defeated at Valderrama in 1997 (14.5 to 13.5) and won previous to that at The Belfry in 1993 - they also tied at the same venue in 1989. Their record on UK soil is even better as, since Europe took over as their opponents in 1979, they have won three from five. And here's a more sobering thought for anyone considering lumping on Europe: there has only been one occasion in over 75 years - The Belfry in 2002 - where the Americans have failed to retain the Ryder Cup after regaining it.

The Americans might have an edge in fitness and experience.
Nine members of the American team compared to just one European - Luke Donald - played last week's Tour Championship and will therefore be match-fit, which can't be said of all the Europeans, especially Lee Westwood, who hasn't played a competitive round for nearly two months. Jim Furyk, the winner at East Lake, is a veteran Ryder-cupper and has a superb record in the singles competition, losing just once in six matches. Along with Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Stewart Cink, he brings some much needed experience to a team that includes five Ryder Cup rookies. Still, that's one less than Monty's team.

There are question marks over some of the Europeans
Westwood is bound to be rusty after his enforced absence and will surely need a match or two to get back into the groove. Can Europe afford him that luxury? Peter Hanson had to withdraw from last week's Vivendi Trophy with a bad cold and spent the latter part of the week recuperating in Sweden. Padraig Harrington's poor run of form leading into this has been well-documented and, while his closing 64 on Sunday couldn't have been better timed, there are still plenty of people who think Paul Casey should have been selected in his place. In contrast, the Americans have generally been in fine form during the playoffs, with Furyk, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar all notching wins.

So, when you take all the above into account, the Americans might be a touch of value at 7/4 (Blue Square, Stan James, Coral) after all. And they are a shade bigger on Betfair at the time of writing.