The weekend is upon us and, in what is becoming a weekly trend, betcha is set to dive into all the action with a fine toothed comb and come away with our list of five best bets. This weekend we no longer have any rugby, so we have to broaden our horizons with plenty of football and American sports headlining the slate.
With that said, let us get this list underway with a value play you could look to start the weekend with on Friday afternoon.
Thanksgiving football is one of the best traditions in sports and the afternoon game should be a doozy with an AFC North clash between the Ravens and Bengals. If we didn’t know any better, we would expect the Ravens to roll into this home game and hand the visiting Bengals their ninth loss of the season while also extending their divisional lead.
However, what should throw a spanner in the works is that the Bengals will welcome back the best pocket passer in the NFL to the starting line-up in Joe Burrow, who will take his first snap since week two.
While I am unsure whether that will be enough for the Bengals, I would expect Burrow to come out firing and throwing the ball all around the yard. This will benefit his pass catchers, and the one who should see an increase in opportunities is the new No. 2 wideout, Andrei Iosivas. With Tee Higgins out, Iosivas becomes the next man up, and with their all-world wideout Ja’Marr Chase likely to attract plenty of the Ravens attention, it should create advantageous situations for everyone else around him.
So with that said, give me Iosivas over his yards total in this one.
We saw one of the most shocking trades in sports history take place early in the year, where the Dallas decided it would be a good idea to trade generational superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles for a very underwhelming package.
This weekend we will see the trade unfold more, with Luka and his new team set to take on the Dallas, who this season are no doubt floundering in terrible fashion. Los Angeles, on the other hand, led by Doncic, are battling at the top of the Western Conference.
While this may look like a game where, based on the standings, Los Angeles might go into cruise control, the fact that it is Luka facing the team that told him in so many ways he was not good enough to win with means he will be fired up to put them to the sword.
What makes this even more scary is that, statistically, he is playing at an MVP level and is coming off a game where he had over 60 total PRA. So, with that extra motivation thrown in, I think you will see Luka go nuclear in this one.
What a phenomenal rivalry we have on Sunday morning in college football, with Ohio State set to head to The Big House to take on the Michigan Wolverines. It is another chapter in one of the most storied matchups in sports history, ready to be written and added to this rivalry’s rich tradition.
What makes this matchup so special is that, even when there is a big talent discrepancy, both sides seem to find a level playing field and duke it out for 60 minutes, with the result dictating the mood of their fan base for the next 364 days.
A perfect example of this was last year, when Ohio State, with better players at just about every position, lost to Michigan on home soil. They would go on to win the national championship, yet Ohio State fans were still sour about that loss.
This year seems to be following an eerily similar script, with Ohio State being the best team in the nation and likely NFL players lining up at every position. Michigan, meanwhile, are underdogs with 100,000 diehard fans in the stadium to back them up. And while Ohio State are almost double-digit favourites, give me Michigan to cover the spread and keep this one close.
The first of our two Premier League bets for this weekend begins with Crystal Palace set to host Manchester United, who after a hot month in October, have begun to simmer recently.
For Palace, they are set to be the same old stingy side they have become under manager Oliver Glasner, one that most teams struggle to break down, especially when visiting Selhurst Park. United, meanwhile, are coming off a loss that some fans have described as worse than losing to Grimsby Town in round two of the League Cup. That defeat, of course, came against a 10-man Everton side who managed to keep United off the score sheet while a man down for about 70 minutes.
Given that, I don’t expect too many goals to fly into the net this weekend, particularly for United, who struggled to find answers at home against a weaker side. And as we know with Palace, if they score early, they will be ready to shut up shop and let their defence soak up all the pressure needed for a scrappy result.
Top of the table clash that could well set up this year’s title race, or lack thereof, if Arsenal are able to come away with the spoils at Stamford Bridge on Monday morning. The game will see two contrasting styles of football, with Arsenal sitting deeper, relying on their world-class defence, and using transitions and set pieces to score their goals. Chelsea, under manager Enzo Maresca, have begun to play a more free-flowing style, making them the most prolific attack in the league according to advanced metrics.
Both sides are coming off major Champions League wins this week, with Chelsea handing Barcelona a 3-0 loss while keeping them scoreless for the first time in over 50 games. On the other side, the Gunners dominated fellow European giant Bayern Munich 3-1, showing the great form the North London side are in.
I think this one has the makings of the game of the season, with Arsenal, who have been so close to being the best team for so long, ready to make that announcement to the world. Chelsea, meanwhile, feel like a young side ready to burst onto the scene based on their performances over the last 12 months.
While I am not 100% confident Chelsea will take all three points, the way they have been able to dominate big sides under Maresca makes me think they will not leave this one empty handed, which is why I like the double chance.
