Soccer Betting News and Notes Saturday, December 23, 2017

Saturday's Best Bets
December 22, 2017
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com

Saturday’s ‘El Clasico’ between Real Madrid (+115) and Barcelona (+200) seems like its lacking sizzle this season and Los Blancos can be faulted. Barcelona holds an 11-point advantage over Real Madrid in the latest table and a road win would likely seal Madrid’s chances for the league title. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 a.m. ET from the Santiago Bernabeu with beIN Sports providing national coverage.

Despite plenty of trophies in his early tenure, manager Zinedine Zidanecontinues to face pressure and their upcoming Champions League Round of 16 draw against Paris Saint-Germain is far from easy. Madrid started the season slow and a lot of fingers are pointed at striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who was suspended five games to begin the campaign. Los Blancos went 0-2-1 in their first three league matches at home but have won five in a row as the Bernabeu entering this match and the offense (16 goals) is starting to take shape.

Barcelona hasn’t loss a league game this season (13-3-0) while owning the top offense (42 goals) and it's tied for the best defense (7 goals) too. The offense hasn’t been as potent on the road but it always finds a way to score against Real Madrid.

Bettors are starting at a high total (3 ½) for this match and while both clubs have the firepower, only five of the last 10 meetings have seen four or more combined goals posted. Madrid has only allowed nine goals in its last 10 games in all competitions and I expect that trend to continue in this spot. Rather than expecting a shootout, I don’t see the winner scoring more than two goals.

Best Bet: Under 3 ½ (-130)

English Premier League

We’re coming up on the midway point of the season and it’s hard to imagine anybody unseating Manchester City (17-1-0) for the title. The Citizens are on record-breaking runs and I’m sure the EPL hopes their success will continue in the Champions League as well.

On Saturday (NBCSN, 10:00 a.m. ET), Manchester (-1000) hosts Bournemouth (+2200) and the only logical wager is on the total, which is listed at 4 goals. Despite sitting in 16th, the Cherries defense (24 goals) isn’t too bad for a weaker team but they did just drop a 4-0 home decision to Liverpool last Sunday. However, Bournemouth was competitive in a 2-1 loss to Manchester City at Vitality Stadium on Aug. 26 earlier this season. Will we see a repeat effort in the rematch? I would expect more goals by the Citizens and less by the Cherries.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score No (-130)

Saturday’s EPL card also has three big-name clubs going on the road as favorites and I’m a little surprised by the odds on two of the matches.

Chelsea (-160) at Everton (+475) - (NBCSN, 7:30 a.m. ET)

Tottenham (-200) at Burnley (+575) - (NBC, 12:30 p.m. ET)

The Spurs are laying the largest price yet they’ve struggled (4-1-4) away in league play and they’re coming off a 4-1 loss at Manchester City last Saturday. Tottenham hasn’t suffered back-to-back league losses this season but its 1-3-0 record after a setback isn’t amazing and they haven’t scored more than one goal in any of those results. Burnley (5-2-2) continues to turn heads this season and sits in sixth place, one point above the Spurs. Defensively, they’re tied for least goals (12) allowed and only three clubs have managed to break through at Turf Moor. I thought this line would be tighter due to the form of Burnley and its standing, but I’m going to ride with the experience and back the Spurs to get going offensively.

Best Bet: Over Tottenham Goals 1 ½ (-145)

Along with the above game, I felt the price on the Blues was a tad high knowing Everton is playing great recently. Manager Sam Allardyce and the Toffees are 4-1-0 in their last five games and have outscored opponents 11-2 during this span. The most feared opponent during this stretchwas Liverpool and Everton earned a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Can the club earn points again at Goodison Park while stepping up in class against a sound Chelsea squad? The Blues have won three straight in this series, which includes a 2-0 home win earlier this season. Chelsea’s offense has played well on the road (18 goals) and I believe that trend will continue in this early matchup.

Best Bet: Over Chelsea Goals 1 ½ (-130)

Best Bet: Over Total Goals 3 ½ (+250)

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score Yes (+100)

One other matchup that I want to touch on takes place from Liberty Stadium (10:00 a.m. ET) with Swansea City (+230) hosting a surging Crystal Palace (+130) squad. The Eagles are unbeaten (3-3-1) in their last seven matches and are expected to keep that streak going in this spot. The Swans are in disarray and they just sacked their manager Paul Clement this week after their recent loss on Monday, a 3-1 decision to Everton. Swansea City should have some confidence for this match, knowing its 4-1-0 in its last five against Palace. They’ve scored 10 goals during this run but that’s the same number they’ve posted in 18 league games this season. The total is low (2) and Crystal Palace’s offense (3 goals) hasn’t travel well this season and for that reason, I’m buying the low side.

Best Bet: Under 2 (+110)

Italy Serie A

The other big soccer game on tap Saturday takes place from Turin as Juventus (-135) and Roma (+380) square off in a key league match (beIN Sports, 2:45 p.m. ET).

Of the five top European competitions, Serie A is the only one that’s up for grabs. Heading into this week’s action, the top four teams are separated by just four points. Napoli sits in first place with 42 points while Inter Milan is third, one point behind Juve, and Roma is two points further back but with a game in hand on the top trio.

According to the oddsmakers, Juventus (5/4) remains the favorite above Napoli (13/10) while Inter (9/1) and Roma (10/1) are the long shots.

This particular matchup will come down to the offense of Juventus and its league leading 44 goals against the best defense in Roma, who has only surrendered a league-best 10 goals. Even more impressive, Roma has been better on the road in league defensively (3 goals) and that effort has translated into a 5-2-0 record. Juventus is no slouch defensively (14 goals) either but they won’t have Gianluigi Buffon (calf) available but his replacement Wojciech Szczesny has posted three clean sheets in his absence so far. The emotions could high for the keeper with Szczesny facing his former team.

In the last six league encounters between the pair, the home team has gone 5-1-0 and that includes a run of four straight. The last two decisions in Turin were a pair of 1-0 victories by Juventus and even though Roma has lacked firepower this season, I believe they’ll see the net at least once in this game.

Best Bet: Both teams to score Yes (-120)