Category: Live Sports News

NBA All-Star Game: Western Conference expected to win big

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The world’s greatest basketball players will converge on the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans on Sunday for the All-Star Game. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant… The list of genuine superstars goes on and on and it promises to be a fantastic duel. Here we take a look at the teams, the odds being offered and who might win it:

Western Conference

For the third season in a row the Golden State Warriors have been the dominant team in the NBA regular season and their two brightest stars, Curry and Durant, will start for the Western Conference. They will be joined by James Harden of the Houston Rockets, who is 10/11 favourite with Paddy Power to be named regular season MVP after breaking a string of records this year and emerging as the best in the business, ahead of Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (who has gone out to 13/8 with William Hill despite leading the betting for the first half of the season). Westbrook will be kept in reserve in favour of Curry. The Western Conference team will be completed by Kahwi Leonard, of the San Antonio Spurs, and New Orlean’s Pelicans star Anthony Davis. The Spurs have the league’s second best record, after Golden State, and Leonard has been a driving force, while Davis has been extremely consistent. The Western Conference team have a wealth of talent in reserve, including Westbrook, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

Eastern Conference

The Western Conference may have the best all-around team, but the Eastern Conference can call on the outrageous talents of James, and that may be the deciding factor. He has not quite hit the heights of previous seasons this time around – leaving him trailing Harden and Westbrook in the running for MVP and now all the way out at 11/1 with Bet Victor and Paddy Power – but the Cleveland Cavaliers are comfortably ahead in the Eastern Conference and he may well be saving himself for the playoffs. And this game. He is ably supported by Cavs teammate Irving, DeMar DeRozan of the impressive Toronto Raptors, Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, with Isaiah Thomas and Kyle Lowry among the talented reserves.

Odds and projections

The bookmakers have made the Western Conference team the clear favourites in the big game, with 4/9 a typical price on offer, but Paddy Power will go to 20/39. The Eastern Conference team are the outsiders at 7/4 with Sky Bet. This is understandable: last season the Western Conference crushed the Eastern Conference, with Westbrook running riot and ending up as MVP. That he can’t even get in the starting team this year shows just how strong this Western Conference team is. In the regular season two Western Conference teams – the Warriors and the Spurs – have a far better record than any teams in the Eastern Conference. They have the best players from both, plus Harden and off the bench Westbrook, and are looking very formidable indeed. James can be a game changer but his presence was not enough to prevent the Eastern Conference from slumping to a 196-173 defeat last year.

It is hard to look past the Western Conference winning this and those odds from Paddy Power look pretty generous, so that is a great option right now. It might pay to get on it before the odds drop in the build-up to the big game. Vegas has set the spread at Western Conference -5 and Paddy Power is offering 10/11 on Western -5 and on Eastern +5. The Western Conference has a great team and they should cover that spread, so that looks a decent option if you want more value. The other big market is predicting the MVP. Paddy Power has made Westbrook 3/1 favourite, which is interesting as he won’t be starting. A better option looks to be Harden, who is 6/1 fourth favourite after Westbrook, James and Davis. He has been having a sensational season and should shine for the team that is expected to win.

Malinga Returns to Cricket in Secondary Series

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Much has been made of the scheduling impacting the two sides ahead of the three match Twenty20 series between Sri Lanka and Australia that gets underway at the MCG on Friday. Critics, including Australia’s vice-captain, David Warner, have been vocal in their condemnation of the series that starts just seven days after Sri Lanka spent three months touring South Africa and finishes one day before Australia are due to take on India in an away test series.

Optimists, however, see it as an opportunity to blood new talent and Australia has done that in spades. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has used it to welcome back old talent in the form of Lasith Malinga. The mercurial left armer returns after 12 months away from the game through injury.

Question marks over his body and form and that of some of the Australian newbies should still provide enough value in game one.

The Last Time These Two Met

Australia has taken the honours in the previous two meetings between the sides that were contested in Sri Lanka in September 2016. That said, it’s a vastly different Australian side now than it was then. The bulk of Australia’s side are either rested, injured or have been sent to India to familiarise themselves with conditions ahead of the four-test series starting at the end of February.

Perhaps the Australians haven’t noted the 6-4 winning record the Sri Lankans enjoy in the overall head to head.

The Teams

Australia (from):

Aaron Finch (capt), Michael Klinger, Travis Head, Ben Dunk, Moises Henriques, Ashton Turner, Tim Paine (wk), James Faulkner, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake.

Michael Klinger is in line for an international debut at the age of 36, while Tim Paine could get his first game for Australia after six years since his last. Fast bowler Jhye Richardson and all-rounder Ashton Turner are uncapped and could debut.

Sri Lanka (likely):

Upal Tharanga (c), Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunarathna, Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardena, Sachith Pathirana, Chamara Kapugedara, Seekuge Prassanna, Nuan Kulaskera, Isuru Udana, Dasun Chanaka, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Vikum Sanjaya.

Captain Angelo Matthews is missing with a hamstring injury, and replacement skipper, Dinesh Chandimal has been dropped. That leaves Upul Tharanga to lead the young side, who despite being underdogs here, could have some confidence under their belts after winning the T20 series against South Africa last month.

The Key Players

Australia

Pat Cummins is quickly becoming a serious wicket-taking threat in the short format cricket after returning from injury. But more than that he’s actually learning to be pretty useful with the bat. Cummins was used as high as six for his Sydney Thunder BBL team and ably supported Marcus Stones during his unreliable Auckland effort recently. He’ll be a threat with his short-pitched bowling, as he will be with the blade.

Sri Lanka

The star of the recent series win against the highly fancied South Africans was Niroshan Dickwella. The opening batsman made scores of 43, 22 and 68 in a low scoring series to overshadow AB de Villiers’ return to cricket. He also topped the run scoring charts at an average of 39 in the ODI series that followed, proving he’ll be a threat in this series.

The Match Odds

Australia – $1.28 at Palmerbet.

Sri Lanka – $4.10 at Sportsbet.

The Prediction

While the Sri Lankans head the overall meetings between the two sides and have won all three of their previous T20 games in South Africa, it’s hard to see them getting the better of the admittedly weaker home side after such a draining tour of South Africa. Australia to win by 30 runs or 4 wickets.

The Best Bets

Ben Dunk, coming off an incredible Big Bash season (which surprisingly saw him miss out on the squad first time around) is great money to top score at $5 from Sportsbet. They’re also offering $4 for Cummins taking the most wickets for the home side – both are great options.

South Africa out for Eden Park Revenge in One-off T20

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The last time the South Africans played at Eden Park they were left heartbroken. A final over loss to New Zealand in the semi-final of the World Cup meant once again they wouldn’t have the opportunity to atone for World Cup pain of the past.

The enduring image of that match is of Grant Elliot picking Dale Steyn up off the floor after hitting him for six over deep midwicket to win the match. And while similar drama is unlikely in a one-off Twenty20 international on Friday, there will be a desire amongst a weakened South African side to forge new images of Eden Park, that will be remembered longer than those from 2015.

The Last Time These Two Met

The teams last played a Twenty20 series in 2015. Hosted in South Africa the series was split one each, with the home side taking the lead by easily chasing 152 in Durban before New Zealand squared things up at Centurion by defending 177.

In total, South Africa have won 10 of the 14 Twenty20 internationals between the sides. That makes them attractively priced for this one-off game despite (or because of) their series loss to Sri Lanka at home recently in the same format.

The Teams

South Africa (from):

AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

South Africa will be disappointed to be without rising quick Lungi Ngidi for the one-off game and the ODI series. His loss will be felt by a side missing most of it’s known seamers (the likes of Steyn, Morkel, Abbott and Philander). Dane Paterson will travel with the side as cover for Ngidi and Dwaine Pretorius whose wife is due to give birth.

New Zealand (from):

Kane Williamson (capt), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Glenn Phillips, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ben Wheeler

New Zealand often uses the T20 format to blow youngsters as shown by the continued inclusion of Tom Bruce and Ben Wheeler in the squad, and the drafting of Aucklander Glenn Phillips into the side to replace the injured Martin Guptill.

The Key Players

South Africa

David Miller doesn’t have the strongest record in the short format (unless you consider IPL form too); admittedly because he doesn’t get much of a chance to flex his muscle until very late in the innings. However, the powerful left-hander is a huge threat. Coming off an ODI hundred against Sri Lanka in his last innings (and a brief injury that forced him to miss the last three games of that series), Miller could go huge at Eden Park.

New Zealand

Before his late withdrawal, Martin Guptill was going to be heavily featured in this spot. Guptill averages 53 in T20 internationals against South Africa and has more runs than any other player from either nation in matches between the two. His average at Eden Park in the format is also over 50.

Alas, he’s not playing, so let’s highlight his replacement, Glenn Phillips. The twenty-year-old led the run scoring in New Zealand’s T20 competition with 369 and registered the highest score with 116*. The diminutive keeper batsman is an aggressive ball striker and might be comfortable at his Auckland home.

The Match Odds

South Africa– $1.78 at Palmerbet.

New Zealand – $2.10 at Bet365.

The Prediction

The evenly matched sides with their unique mix of experience and youth are difficult to separate. However, with an overall winning record against the Black Caps in the format of 71% it’s awfully hard to predict anything other than a South African win. That’s despite New Zealand’s incredible form in all formats at home this summer (albeit against Pakistan and Bangladesh).

The Best Bets

Guptill’s record against South Africa and at Friday’s venue are compelling. He’s at $3.75 to top score, which looks like one of the better options available.

For the South Africans, the normal list of superstars, de Villiers, Amla and de Kock are all priced lower than former T20 and current test captain Faf du Plessis, meaning there is some value in Faf at $5. Why? Batting at number 3 gives him plenty of overs at the crease and he’s coming off 185 in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.

Goals Expected In The Spanish Capital

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THE Champions League returns this week and one of the biggest matches of the round is at the Bernabeu Stadium where 11-time champions of Europe Real Madrid host Napoli in the Spanish capital.

Madrid is a very heavy 1.57 favourite to take a first leg lead to southern Italy in a fortnight’s time, and with them sitting pretty at the top of La Liga, favourite backers will be out in force, but I am not so sure it’s the right thing to do.

Zinedine Zidane’s side hasn’t been in the best of form recently with just three wins in their last seven matches and this might not be as one-sided as the bookies will have you believe.

Madrid is unbeaten at home in the Champions League this season, but they’ve conceded in every match and they have also conceded in every one of their six group matches in this year’s Champions League and getting with goals looks the way to profit.

In those six matches not only did both teams score, but everyone featured more than 2.5 goals and the best bets in this first leg is the 1.62 on “yes” for both teams to score that is available with most bookies and 1.55 on over 2.5 goals in the match which is pretty general as well.

It’s the same story in Napoli games with both teams scoring in nine of the last ten and over 2.5 goals have come in as a winning bet in 11 of the Italian giants last 13 games and goals look a certainty.

Can we See a Shock?

The rule when Napoli play is to usually get with them at their Stadio San Paolo and oppose them away from home, but this season they’ve turned that away form on its head having only lost twice on their travels and just three times all season.

The Ciucciarelli have been totally overlooked to win this one at the 6.50 with Bet365 and Maurizio Sarri’s side has got a much better chance than those odds suggest.

The visitors are unbeaten in their last 18 matches and they offer a massive goal threat with 40 goals scored in their last 13, including SEVEN in their last away match at Bologna; Serie A’s top goal scorers can get something from this and I am taking the draw at the general 4.50.

Unlike Spanish v Italian European match-ups of yesteryear, this will be an entertaining end-to-end thriller, and at 15.00 I am going to have a very small bet on the game to end 2-2 in the correct score markets.

LA Clippers offer value ahead of NBA trade deadline

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The February 23 NBA trade deadline is looming and the futures odds are likely to fluctuate heavily depending on what happens. Now is the time to study the rumour mill and figure out which teams are likely to bolster their ranks before the deadline and get a good price on them before the odds tumble.

Western Conference

The Golden State Warriors have been the best team in the NBA once again this season, but they are not guaranteed to win it. Only three times in the last 17 seasons have the number one seeds in both the Western and Eastern Conferences met in the finals, so history suggests either the Warriors or the Cleveland Cavaliers are likely to miss out. Right now the Cavs are wildly inconsistent and look the most likely to stumble, but the Warriors face tough competition in their Conference. They are just 2/7 to win it with Bet365, and 6/17 with 888 Sport, which does not offer a great deal of value. The 5/1 on offer at Sky Bet on the San Antonio Spurs looks tempting as they have been the NBA’s second best team this season, better than the Cavs, and have a very strong defence, which could trouble the Warriors. The Houston Rockets (16/1 at Ladbrokes) and Oklahoma City Thunder (66/1 at Sky Bet) will be dangerous as they are led by MVP frontrunners James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

But arguably the most interesting long shot right now is the LA Clippers. That sounds like madness as they are 4-6 in their last 10 and well below the Warriors. But now could be a great time to get on them. They have struggled in the absence of Chris Paul, but he will be back after the All-Star Game. They are also expected to be buyers before the deadline. So you would imagine their odds would tumble after Paul returns and their ranks are swelled via trades in time for the playoffs, so now is the time to get on them. They are as low as 11/1 with some bookmakers, but William Hill and Ladbrokes are offering a very generous 20/1.

Eastern Conference

This looks really interesting thanks to the Cavs’ inconsistency. The Eastern Conference leaders would only be fourth in the Western Conference with their .698 record, below the Warriors, Spurs and Rockets. In the Eastern Conference, genuine contenders have emerged: the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards are both 9-1 in their last 10 games. Keep an eye on the trades as there are whispers of the Celtics cashing in on star man Isaiah Thomas while he is at the peak of his powers. If they do that, their season will likely plummet as he has made the difference in a series of narrow victories. But if either of these teams strengthens significantly, they could really push the Cavs, and right now both look interesting as the Celtics are 12/1 with 888 Sport and the Wizards are 18/1 with Bet Victor, offering far more value than an unpredictable Cleveland, who are just 4/11 with Ladbrokes.

Upcoming Games

On Tuesday Westbrook’s Thunder travel to Washington to face the in-form Wizards in what promises to be a fantastic clash. The Wizards have been supreme in front of their home fans lately, while the Thunder have travelled badly and are 12-16 on the road, so the Wizards should win this one. The Celtics travel to another in-form team, the Dallas Mavericks, but should be too strong for them, so a Celtics-Wizards Tuesday double looks a good bet. On Thursday the Celtics should cover a heavy spread against the Philadelphia 76ers, who are 7-18 on the road and in dire form. The Spurs are in Orlando to play the Magic, and should also cover a heavy spread there, making that another interesting potential double.

Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal: A Recurring Nightmare for Wenger

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When Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on February 15, they’ll do so without the weight of history on their shoulders according to the home side’s winger, Arjen Robben.

Ahead of the Champions League clash, the Dutch star, who knows Arsene Wenger’s tactics inside from his time at Chelsea, believes that previous results won’t matter when the two lock horns again. Although it looks as though Bayern vs. Arsenal is something of an annual affair given that they’ve played three times in the last four years. However, in the annals of time, the two clubs have only played each other ten times.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, only three of those ten matches have gone their way. However, when Robben talks about previous results, we all know he’s not citing the bare stats (Bayern with 5 wins and 2 draws), we all know he’s talking about 2013, 2014 and 2015. If we look beyond the 2015 5-1 drubbing (we know, that’s hard to do), Bayern has knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League twice in recent memory.

Does History Matter?

Now, fans will instantly recall these results, but the big question is will the players? Well, Robben doesn’t believe it will register with his teammates. Talking to ESPN, Robben admitted that Bayern have “happy memories” against Arsenal but they will need to be 100% focused if they’re going to come out on top.

“They are a very strong team. Even stronger than last year. They’re doing very well in the Premier League. We’ve played them a few times over the last few years and always won — we always got through to the next round — but maybe this one will be the toughest one so far,” Robben told ESPN.

Now, when Robben gave this interview back in December, his assessment that Arsenal was doing “very well” in the Premier League was a fair one. Today, however, things aren’t so good. Although fourth in the table after 24 games, Wenger’s men look unlikely to claim the title and may even miss out on a top three finish. A recent 3-1 loss to Chelsea summed up just how far Arsenal are off the pace and, unsurprisingly, renewed the “Wenger out” calls from some fans.

Bayern are the Form Team

In contrast, Bayern is four points clear of RB Leipzig at the top of the Bundesliga with just one loss to their name this season. Add to that the customary winter break in Germany and it not only seems as though Carlo Ancelotti’s side will start with fresh legs but a ton of confidence. In fact, if the players took a moment to look at the latest betting odds they might find a few more reasons to smile.

Sun Bets currently has the home side as the runaway favourites at 1/2, while William Hill appears to have taken the most pity on Arsenal at 9/2 (Coral is offering 11/2 on an Arsenal win). Now, does this all mean Arsenal will roll over and give Bayern an insurmountable lead ahead of the second leg?

Almost certainly not, but the recent performance against Chelsea won’t inspire many. Lazy defending from Theo Walcott contributed to Chelsea’s first goal and saw him subbed in the second half. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mesut Ozil both underperformed, while Alexis Sanchez was isolated throughout. One ray of light in the defeat to Chelsea was Laurent Koscielny who continued to battle even when things were going wrong.

There Will be Goals, but Probably Not for Arsenal

Based on those performances, Arsenal will either have to play out of their skins on February 15 to get some sort of result or simply accept they are going to struggle. Looking through the best options, 16/1 from Sun Bets on a 0-0 could have an outside chance of giving you some value. Arsenal’s players will know their best chance of avoiding elimination and progressing in the competition is to steal a draw in Germany and knick a win at the Emirates. Assuming Koscielny can inspire some sort of skill and desire in the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Arsenal may have a chance of shutting Bayern down.

However, that certainly won’t be easy. With the likes of Robert Lewandowski and the aforementioned Robben running riot in the Bundesliga (21 goals between them), it’s hard to see how Arsenal get this one done. Assuming history repeats itself, the smart money in this game will be on Bayern to score at least two. Over 2.5 goals is a fairly uninspiring 6/10 at Coral, so if you’re looking for some scorecast value, something like 2-0 Bayern (7/1 at Coral) or even 3-1 Bayern (10/1 at Coral) could be good options.

Unfortunately, if you’re an Arsenal fan, February 15 looks as though it’s going to be a long night. Maybe the Gunners can do their trick of upping their game when it counts and get a result. However, all the signs seem to be pointing towards a comfortable win for Bayern Munich on this occasion.