Weekends Best Bets

The Scorchers are on quite the run heading into the playoffs, with four wins in their last five matches, and the Stars are certainly not short of form either, winning three over the same period. With the two sides level on the points table, I expect this one to have something of an elimination feel as they battle for a more favourable path to the final.

However, when looking at the two teams, I really like the look of the Perth side. They have something a little more devastating about them with the bat, and several of their big guns appear to be finding form at exactly the right time. Take their Kiwi opener Finn Allen, for instance. He has scored north of 300 runs in the tournament at a healthy average of 39, and much of that damage has come late, highlighted by his maiden BBL hundred. For that reason, and given the form some of the Scorchers’ high-profile players are hitting, give me Perth on Saturday evening.

We have just seen El Clásico take place over in Spain, so why not have a look at the English version of that great rivalry, the Manchester derby. From their foundations, these two sides could not be more different, aside from the city they reside in. Manchester City are a modern-day super club, built on wealthy ownership with big ambitions and a willingness to spend. Manchester United, on the other hand, are an old-school historic club who, despite lacking recent success, remain one of the largest clubs in the world and clearly carry a chip on their shoulder regarding recent events.

When discussing this match-up, there is plenty to unpack, starting with the unrest at Manchester United. They have now sacked Rúben Amorim and only just appointed Michael Carrick as interim manager. As you would expect, that kind of upheaval has had major on-pitch effects, leaving them well below the standards the club sets.

City, meanwhile, look better this year but have still had a few blips on the radar. One thing I do know about this Pep Guardiola-led side is that when they smell blood in the water, they often strike. With that being the case, I am backing them this week to make the trip across town and return to their HQ with three more points.

Moving into our first touchdown scorer bet, my mind went straight to Christian McCaffrey for this week. I understand the 49ers might be heavy underdogs entering this matchup with the Seahawks, but I still expect their offence to make some noise during the game.

If that is the case, the man who will be at the heart of their ball movement and red-zone production is their all-world running back, Christian McCaffrey. He is not only the best weapon they have on the ground but, with George Kittle out, is likely also their best route runner, which should benefit him by creating plenty of opportunities to find the end zone.

It is not just the potential opportunities that excite me about McCaffrey. We also know he is elite at making the most of his chances, as he has scored six times in his last five games. For me, it is easy to see why this trend could continue, given his increased role and the calibre of player he is.

Carrying on with the touchdown scorer trend here, and like McCaffrey, we are going to lean on one of the game’s best at his position. I understand it might start to get stale seeing his name pop up in our work, but Puka Nacua, while not having any game-breaking athletic traits, may be the most efficient receiver all over the park I have seen since Antonio Brown’s prime years in the mid-2010s.

What is just as important about Brown’s career, and something Nacua appears to share, is the almost telepathic relationship with a future Hall of Fame quarterback. For Brown, that was Ben Roethlisberger, while Nacua is forming quite the tandem with Matthew Stafford.

With that being the case, Nacua is Stafford’s most trusted target, and when that is true for quarterbacks who like to play a bit of buddy ball, it often goes to another level in the playoffs. That should give him a strong chance of finding the end zone in this one.

We will close this one with the final game of the 2025/26 college football season, which for me, shapes as one of the most intriguing matchups in recent memory. Without any true traditional blue-blood programmes making the game’s biggest stage, there is a real opportunity for these teams to create memories and history that will last a lifetime.

With that said, I think one player who will not let the moment get the better of him is Indiana’s signal-caller, Fernando Mendoza. The Cal transfer has come into this Indiana unit and taken the country by storm, going unbeaten so far this season while also being recognised as this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.

However, where I am going with this bet is not the standard over on Mendoza’s passing props. Instead, I am looking at one of his main targets, Charlie Becker, to have a strong day in the biggest game of his life. Becker has been dominant down the stretch, and as the games get bigger, he seemingly takes another step every time. With that tendency, and with Mendoza delivering the ball, I think Becker has a real chance to make a major impact on this game.