Situational handicapping really grows claws in the home stretch of the season, with playoff pressures mounting, motivation sometimes a mess, and the long schedule wearing on teams as we head into the NFL Week 15 odds.
I comb through this week’s slate of NFL betting matchups and single out my best situational capping angles — also known as spot bets — to keep in mind before placing your wagers this week. Here are my top letdown, look ahead, and schedule spots.
Even by this season s standards, it was a strange start at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City went 4-4-2 despite the notable handicap of having no strikers. Stand-in goalkeeper Zack Steffen seemed to forget the back-pass rule. Chelsea started without Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham but felt looping Hakim Ziyech crosses was still the best Plan A. Kevin De Bruyne, for the 34th time in a row in the Premier League, failed to score with a shot from open play.
When City suddenly, imperiously took control as Chelsea froze in the bitter London cold, you wondered if those bizarre but competitive first 18 minutes had been conjured up by broadcasters to throw the stay-at-home viewer off the scent, a Premier League narrative directed by the Coen brothers.
All at once…
Frank Lampard has warned England to keep cool if Wednesday s crucial World Cup qualifier against Croatia threatens to turn nasty.
Fabio Capello s team can book their spot at the World Cup with a victory over the Croatians at Wembley, but the visitors are desperate for three points themselves as they fight for second place.
With England still sore over Croatia s rough tactics during their 4-1 win in Zagreb last year and Croatian coach Slaven Bilic claiming that Capello s outfit are a flawed team that lack Englishness it is certain to be a fiesty occasion on Wednesday.
But Chelsea midfielder Lampard doesn t want his team to let any Croatian provocation distract them from the goal of reaching the finals in South Africa.
We need to keep cool heads, keep cal…
Inter eyeing Arsenal duo
Turin-based newspaper that Inter are showing interest in Arsenal forwards Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski.
The Nerazzurri are in desperate need of attacking reinforcements and sporting director Piero Ausilio is currently in London looking at potential targets.
And after watching the Crystal Palace v Liverpool clash yesterday, the Inter official is expected to head to the Emirates this evening and be in attendance as Arsenal host Southampton.
According to Tuttosport, both Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski are on the Nerazzurri s radar and Ausilio will use the visit to London to establish the initial contact with the Gunners.
Neither of the two forwards is currently in the first team plans of manager Arsene Wenger and the…
There is an endless debate over who is the better player Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. This had also led to the debate of who is the greatest player of all-time, despite the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff all holding good claims.
For me, the perceived battle for supremacy used to be like Luke Skywalker v Darth Vader. Now it is more like Batman v Superman. They both have their fans, but they also both have their detractors.
However, like Batman and Superman, I find it hard to talk about one without the other one. The last two World Cups have been seen as battles for supremacy between the pair. In truth, I enjoy watching both players, but they are very different in personality, which is why there such a massive divide.
Different personalities
Leeds United are interested in signing Ben Godfrey from Everton in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Championship club Leeds want to sign Godfrey on a loan deal from Premier League outfit Everton with an option to make it permanent in the summer of 2024.
The report has claimed that Leeds are in talks with Everton over a move for Godfrey. Everton manager Sean Dyche has given the green light for the 26-year-old to leave the Merseyside club in the middle of the season. The Englishman has made one start and one substitute appearance in the Premier League and has played once in the Carabao Cup this campaign.
Leeds are fourth in the Championship table at the moment with 54 points from 28 matches, five points behind second-placed Ipswich T…
(GSM) Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is set to face legal proceedings next month over a tax issue, according to his solicitors BCL Burton Copeland.
The London-based law firm broke the news in a brief statement on London based club s official website.
Harry Redknapp is extremely surprised and disappointed to have been informed that HMRC intend to institute proceedings, read the announcement.
But the Spurs statement also said that Redknapp has the club s full support .
Redknapp has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the face of official scrutiny into his financial affairs, which first began in November 2007 when he was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.
That episode culminated with High Court judges r…
Juventus entered the record books on Sunday, becoming the first team in Italian history to win 26 successive Serie A matches at home.
Massimiliano Allegri s men won every top flight game they played in front of their own fans in 2016 and have not dropped points at Juventus Stadium in the league since a 1-1 draw with Frosinone in September 2015.
They returned from the mid-season break with a routine 3-0 win over Bologna, thanks to Gonzalo Higuain s brace and a Paulo Dybala penalty.
The result not only restored the Bianconeri s four-point advantage over second-placed Roma at the top of the table, but also saw them notch a new milestone as they go in search of a sixth consecutive Scudetto.
26 Juventus have won 26 league home games in a row, a new Serie A …
Rangers have announced the signing of Colombian winger Oscar Cortes from French side Lens.
The 20-year-old joins on loan for the rest of the season with Rangers holding an option to buy him in the summer.
The Light Blues are reported to have rebuffed interest from Galatasaray in Ridvan Yilmaz after missing out on an immediate bid to sign left-back Jefte from Fluminense, with the Brazilian’s loan club APOEL Nicosia reportedly intent on keeping him until the end of the campaign.
Reports from Italy also claimed Hellas Verona were set to launch a bid to sign striker Cyriel Dessers.
Deadline day deal:
We re delighted to announce the loan signing of winger from .
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA)
Mikey Johnston has left Celtic to joi…
that Everton have slapped a £45m price tag on striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgium international, who secured a permanent move to Goodison Park last summer having spent the 2013/14 campaign their on loan, scored his eighth goal of the season in Sunday’s 6-2 win over bottom-of-the-table Sunderland.
His form has alerted European heavyweights Paris Saint Germain and Juventus though the Merseyside club will not do business for anything less than £45m £17m more than the fee they paid to secure his services.
In total, Lukaku has racked up ninety-five appearances for the Toffees, scoring forty-four goals while he has forty caps for his country, four of which were won at last summer’s World Cup finals.
Roberto Martinez’s side moved up to ninth place …
Moving to Liverpool was the best possible decision for Takumi Minamino, according to his former Salzburg team-mate Dominik Szoboszlai.
Liverpool activated Minamino s surprisingly low £7.25million release clause in December, tying him down to a four-and-a-half-year contract on Merseyside.
The Japan international was an important part of Salzburg s impressive start to 2019-20, scoring one and assisting another at Anfield as they came from 3-0 down to draw level with Liverpool in an October Champions League clash they ended up losing 4-3.
Minamino has made seven appearances since joining Jurgen Klopp s team, only completing the 90 minutes on one occasion.
Szoboszlai has no doubt Minamino made the right choice to head to Liverpool and leave Salzburg a…