Sometimes, the winning move in sports betting is not to play. Monday was one of those times, as I didn’t have a good play and was sitting in the airport in Washington, so I wasn’t going to throw a dart without doing my research. Today, I’m back in Indiana and back to going through my picks for the day, so I’m far more confident in what I’m putting out to everybody.
We’ve got baseball, hockey and soccer available today, so we’ve got plenty of totals options today. Here are my best plays for May 10.
KRC GENK AND OVER 2.5, +105
Am I crazy enough to bet the Belgian soccer league? Yes, I am. In Belgium, the league breaks into two rounds of playoffs to decide who gets the European spots, and Genk and Charleroi are in the lower of the two groups. That means only the winner can come out of this group to possibly claim a European place, and Charleroi can no longer mathematically top the four-team group.
Genk, on the other hand, sits second and still has an excellent shot to catch Gent and battle for a spot in the Europa Conference League if it wins here. Throw in that Genk has scored two or more goals in five of Charleroi’s past six visits, and this is where the value lies.
ASTON VILLA-LIVERPOOL OVER 2.5, -165
Goals have tended to come at Villa Park, where Aston Villa have been blanked just three times this season. Worryingly, all three of those have come since February, but the fact that Liverpool provides the opposition means that goals should fly into the net regardless of who scores them. The Reds have to put up goals to try to make up their goal difference with Manchester City in case the Sky Blues slip up in one of their final three games, so they shouldn’t hold back here.
HURRICANES TTO 3.5, +115
Carolina’s offense has been excellent on home ice, and I think the Hurricanes will break out here. I expect that both teams will do their share of the scoring, given that every game has featured six goals or more in this series, but the home team has done the majority of the scoring in this one. I like Carolina to get back on track, and I will back that trend to continue.
LIGHTNING-MAPLE LEAFS OVER 6.5, -110
Goaltending has been unable to stop the rushing tide of goals in this series, as the teams have averaged 7.5 goals between them in four games. The winning team has scored at least five goals in every game this series, so as long as the loser doesn’t put up a complete no-show like the Lightning did in Game 1, this has an excellent chance to hit.
ROYALS-RANGERS UNDER 8.5, -130
These teams don’t hit the ball well against each other anyway, and this season, neither offense has been all that effective. Plus, both Brad Keller and Martin Perez are pitching better than they have in years. I don’t see either team doing all that much at the plate, especially the Rangers, who tend to do their best work as an underdog. This feels like a 3-2 game to me.
