Arbusers

NBA: Sacramento Kings - Los Angeles Clippers

I wondered back and forth in circles as to which is the higher percentage play here, Clipps to cover 8 points spread or OVER. LA are expected to bounce back after the surprising home loss from Memphis. At the other hand, I wouldn’t say Clipps are as strong mentally team as Spurs, Cavs or Warriors, for example. Sacramento win here will be a surprise, yes, but not a total shock. And I doubt eventual Clippers win will come as easy as odds suggest, unless Cousins starts arguing with the refs and gets thrown out or make another stupid thing.

He played well in last season series with Clipps by the way, recording something like 22+ pts. and 12+ rbs. on average. This very much suits his psychological profile, he is eager to compete and measure his skills with the best big men in the league, just like DeAndre Jordan. So I expect a committed performance by DeMarcus.

Actually, these teams surpassed this total line in all 4 meetings last season. There is a perfect explanation for the lower line here though. Clippers play one of the best (if not the best) defense in the league so far. They have the biggest points differential in the league with almost 15 pts. Margin between points scored and allowed on average. This is of course unsustainable for a whole season, albeit Doc Rivers and his boys deserve full credit for the job on the defensive end in the off season.

Yet Kings lost quite narrowly, 105-110, to San Antonio in their last game here in Sacramento. I see pretty good chances they surpass the hundred mark once again, which would mean a winning play most probably.

Recommend.: OVER 205

Odds: 2.01

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NBA: Sacramento Kings - Oklahoma City Thunder

The line is set about right, maybe only a point or two bigger than it should be. Yet I see decent chances this game develops into a shootout, something like 120-115 for one of them.

Both team’s strength is not the defensive part of the game. Kings usually make entertaining home games as their fans (and even their owner) very much prefer to see wins like that 120-115, instead of 100-95. Demarcus is hungry for points to his statistics as always, no need to mention that, but even Rudy Gay remembered his old days like one of the leagues’ elite one-on-one scorers lately.

Thunder lost disappointingly at LA against Lakers. Their defense wasn’t on the required level and it will be tested tonight again. At the same time, Westbrook is relentless, he attacks the rim again and again, almost single-handedly made a near come-back in LA.

3 of the 4 meetings in this series last season finished well over this total.

Recommend: OVER 213

Odds: 2.00

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NFL: Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys

I favour the Redskins and am very tempted by odds of 3.50 to win this, but will probably end up going with them getting a few points start.

I opposed Dallas at the weekend writing.............

"The Ravens will want to keep their lead over the Steelers until they meet again on Christmas Day ( what a treat !) and I have to say I like them getting a touchdown start against the Cowboys, who Pittsburgh kept to within five last week and this is my idea of the "upset" of the day. Dallas are 8-1, but five games were decided by a touchdown or less and two of the other four were against teams with a combined record of 2-17. Key for me will be the run, Dallas have been able to move the ball on the ground freely, but Baltimore are very difficult to run against (ranked #1), that might force the Cowboys into a more one dimensional offense and Baltimore have had an extra three days to recover and prepare."

That should have been the "upset", Baltimore led by 7 and looked in control until the game turned on one play and some terrible, shoot yourself in the foot, penalties from the Ravens. Cowboys played well enough offensively in the second half to win , Dez Bryant stepping up with some very important receptions and lots of people will have been impressed with how they played, but I have some real doubts about them defensively and they do not look like a 9-1 team to me. Dallas can afford to lose and still stay in control of the division, for the Redskins, they really need to keep winning.

Washington have a very balanced offense with two runners "sharing" circa 900 yards and Kirk Cousins having a career defining season.They have put up 95 points against "winning" teams in the last three weeks. The Skins lost the reverse meeting 27-23, but Prescott, Bryant and Elliott all had big games for Dallas and still Washington came so close and should have won, wasting a series of good field positions in the second half , everything went wrong for them, right for Dallas and still they kept to within 4 points and Washington look much improved since. So too are Dallas of course, but that defeat and maybe more than one, is coming and I fancy the first could be today, points and the "away" win !

Washington Redskins + 5.5 points 2.03 Pinnacle/Vegas Line/ Sportmarket Pro.
"over" 52 points 2.05 Pinnacle/Vegas Line/ Sportmarket Pro.

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NFL: Carolina Panthers @ Oakland Raiders

I have been praising and siding with the fast improving Raiders for a few weeks and want to stick with them today.

Briefly, I find it very hard to make a case for the moving backwards Panthers, their offensive line had looked to be improving slightly, but what they do best is going to be large ineffective against the Raiders and the lightning fast release of Derek Carr, there just won't be time enough for Carolina to get to him, especially missing team leaders all over the show.

Sack leader Mario Addison is out, along with Pro Bowlers center Ryan Kalil and middle line backer Luke Kuechly, those two are team "captains" and give signals. guidelines and directions to their units and are just massive, massive losses.

Oakland Raiders -4 points 2.17 Pinnacle/Vegas Line/Sportmarket

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NBA: Charlotte Hornets - Detroit Pistons

I’m a bit surprised that Pistons receive such a high regard here, being given only +3 points on the spread. The reason probably is that they have had a day more rest than Hornets, who are back-to-back. The b2b factor is weighing less and less in present day NBA though, with all the medical attention players receive, plus the general schedule this season is way lighter than in the last years.

The rest can’t really compensate for Pistons terrible road form. They have only 1 win in 9 road games so far and are just not the same team, at home and on the road. Charlotte boosted their win column with 2 nice wins over Memphis in a home-and-home series and will be eager to build on that. Only Marvin Williams stays inactive for them with injury, the other players with minor knocks played normally against Grizzlies.

Charlotte won 3 of 4 against Detroit in last season series, including both games here. Anything else bar another home win would be a surprising result here. Hornets average around 2 rbs. per game more than Detroit (rebounding is presumably one of Motor City boys strongest sides behind Andre Drummond) and around 10 (!) pts. more on the offensive end.

Recommendation: Hornets -3

Odds: 2.02

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Championship: Nottingham Forest - Newcastle United

Incredibly, given they lead the Championship, United lost at home for the third time this season last weekend, they also lost at Hull City on penalties in midweek in the League Cup with a much changed team, but it is only about getting back to the Premier League for the Magpies. On the road they are 7-1-1 and have been scoring at the rate of two per game, they seem happier away, where they get a little more freedom and teams are not raising their game playing in famous old St James' Park, the biggest stadium and crowd many Championship players will have faced.

Forest can only really play one way, their games have produced an average of 3.56 goals (1.05 above the divisional mean) and they are urged forward by the crowd here and are too gung ho at times. Both teams have scored in the last 11 Championship games at the City Ground and, in all competitions, they have not kept a clean sheet in 14 , conceding 2.0 per game and allowing 3+ on five occasions ( 35.7%). Given that percentage and that United are top scorers in the Championship and will probably need 2+ goals to win, the visitors look good value at 3.50-3.60 (circa 28%) to score three or more.

The hosts do not have many "going" days, but are coming off two , back to back road wins scoring seven goals, when they do, they can be unstoppable, but usually for 30-45 minutes, not 90 ! This should be entertaining.

Newcastle United to score three of more 3.50-3.60 general quote...........there is 3.70 in places.

"over" 3 goals 2.40 asian line/Sportmarket

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Premier League: Bournemouth - Liverpool

We spoke so much last season about the open nature of Bournemouth home games, we have not seen that to quite the same level this season. but that has more to do with how teams have set up when arriving at Dean Court, Manchester United came here and played their part in a four goal thriller and we know 100% that Liverpool will not be coming to sit back, it is simply not in their DNA under Jurgen Klopp. The Cherries went toe to toe with Arsenal at the Emirates last weekend and were in things and gave as good as they got for 90 + minutes and will need no second invitation to get forward this afternoon. No Coutinho for the visitors, but Lallana and Firminho should be fit to play. Andrew Surman remains out for Bournemouth and whilst we have not seen it yet, the defensive midfielder (ever present for over 25 months since joining until October) is very important to them and his absence will be felt today with Liverpool so good at pressing and moving the ball quickly. BTS , Liverpool to win.


over 3 goals 2.13 asian line/Sportmarket

Both teams to score and Liverpool to win 3.10-3.25 general quote

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NFL: Indianapolis Colts @ New York Jets

Jets are out of the post season reckoning and rebuilding for next season will soon be under way, they will doubtless be up for this, with the spotlight on them and the nation watching, but it is very difficult to see how they can match the motivation of the visiting team for four quarters. The Jets are 1-4 at home and whilst three of those came against two good and one decent team, the loss to the offensively shy Rams, where LA had the most passing yards in the game with just 165, was dismal. I spoke about the Rams woes yesterday.

The Colts would have been delighted to have sat and watched their divisional rivals the Texans lose last night and they can move into a three way tie for the lead in the AFC South with the win, Colts, Houston and Titans would all then be on 6-6 and from that position, Indianapolis, who have been here before, would fancy their chances, infact, they do and have spoken about that this week. However, they probably need to win 4 from 5 and two have to be today and at home to the Texans (as they already lost in Houston) this coming weekend, they have difficult road trips to Minnesota and Oakland and have to allow themselves some leeway. 9-7 could be enough and that took this division last season, but it would not suffice without going 2/2 this week. So this is it, season defining 7 days for Indy who get quarterback Andrew Luck back from a concussion absence, he has practiced fully the last three days and is raring to go and he will lead (IMO) the pass heavy visitors to a 5-7 point win. The Colts are 2-3 on the road, losing at the Broncos, Texans and Jags who are ranked #1, #5 and #2 respectively against the pass and beating the #17 Packers and #26 Titans and the Jets ? They fit nicely in at number 22 and look ripe for the picking ! The Colts have a young receiving group, but are improving and will get better, senior amongst them is T.Y Hilton, who held a meeting with his fellow receivers this week to discuss what they needed to do to beat the man on man coverage of the almost certain to be blitzing Jets. Hilton's corps dropped three big passers last week , which probably cost 14 points, but they have worked hard to correct those errors this last week + and should be more in sync with the returning Luck and have had 11 days to prepare for this.

Indianapolis Colts -2 points 1.95 Pinnacle /Vegas Line/Sportmarket Pro

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Premier League: Manchester City - Watford

Not much we have actually seen recently suggests that City should be 1.25 to win this. They were a defensive shambles against Leicester City on Saturday evening and sorely missed the protection of Fernandinho (last five PL games he has missed have produced 21 goals), who is once again suspended, along with Aguero (last five he has sat out have produced 24 ). Watford are coming off a nice 3-2 win over Everton where they could have scored a couple more, but are equally as unreliable at the back and have shipped nine, in their last two road starts, also allowing a whopping 20 attempts on target. Guardiola will be demanding a reaction from his men and it could all click and they will run in hatful, but hard to see that coming along with a clean sheet at present. The hosts have to find a way to win, or they could be nine points plus adrift of Chelsea and under huge pressure for the visit from a wounded Arsenal at the weekend, think the best way to approach this is.......

Manchester City to win and both teams to score 2.50-2.70 general quote ...............best alternative, over 3.5 goals

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Ligue1: Angers - Nantes

ANGERS

Angers put up a really poor performance last week away at Nancy. Only Nancy managed to create decent scoring opportunities, and in the end the 2-0 victory was well deserved.

Away from home they are too submissive, and accept opponents’ dominance without any fight. On home ground they are more combative, more aggressive, especially after poor results started piling up (only 2 points in the last 5 rounds).

They are conceding 2 goals per game lately, and if defenders won't get their act together, there's no way but down for Angers. At the moment they are very slow, and can't anticipate opponents' next move. At least they are able to score, thanks to fast forwards Diedhiou and Toko Ekambi.

Bad news for Angers as first keeper Michel and important central midfielder Mangani will sit out (mostly the defensive phase will be affected). At least they welcome back fullback Manceau from suspension.

NANTES

Nantes' game against Caen last week got postponed because of heavy fog. Maybe it is better this way, since Nantes were in terrible form and low on confidence. A couple of days off never hurt anybody, and it gave new coach Conceicao enough time to know the players.

They haven't scored in 4 rounds, and even if there are plenty of attacking options available, something was just not clicking. Nantes have decent players available, and some of them even have impressive potential. Unfortunately they never learned to play together, to be a team, and ex coach Girard is the one responsible for that. But there are signs of improvement after the arrival of coach Sergio Conceicao.

Except the forced changes (because of injuries and suspensions), coach Conceicao used the usual lineup in the midweek Cup game against Montpellier. Although players were the same, their attitude was different, the combativeness was at maximum levels, and Nantes looked like they could score every time going forward (won 3-1). This is exactly what they needed, a change in attitude, and the future looks bright with this kind of approach.

Guests will miss midfielders Thomasson, Kacaniklic and Toure, but welcome back defender Vizzcarondo, midfielder Rongier and forward Bammou.

BETTING

At a first sight this looks like a tricky encounter, but with Nantes’ change of attitude and Angers’ need of points (and leaky defense), this can easily turn into a goal fest. Neither side has been very productive lately, that’s why we get huge value on goals. OVER 2 GOALS at 2.06

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