If you’re a sports bettor, Saturday has a lot to offer. We start the day with yet another jam-packed slate of English Premier League action. Reigning champions Liverpool are among the clubs in action today on the road at Crystal Palace. After that, we have more college football action, including conference championship games for the Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-12, and AAC.
We cap the night off with UFC Fight Night from UFC Apex, as well as a highly-anticipated boxing clash between Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith. There’s a lot to look forward to, and BetOnline has a bigger-than-usual set of odds boosters up and ready for your wagers. Which booster represents the best value today?
Premier League: Liverpool and Everton BOTH to Win (+325)
As mentioned, Liverpool is back in action early on Saturday at Crystal Palace. Selhurst Park has been a house of horrors for the Reds in the past, but Liverpool enter this game riding a high after their last-second win over Tottenham on Wednesday.
That victory moved Liverpool to the top of the table, where they hope to stay for the duration of the campaign. Liverpool are three points clear of Spurs and, importantly, already eight points ahead of Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp’s side has dealt with a rash of injuries, but things are starting to look up in that regard. Joel Matip is expected to return after missing the Tottenham game with an injury, and he should slot into the back line next to Fabinho in South London on Saturday.
Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are among the other injured players that have returned to training. Whether either features on Saturday remains to be seen, but we can assume that Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mane will lead the line once again.
We will not rush Thiago’s return to action but he is edging closer to resuming full team training, Klopp confirmed…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 18, 2020
Palace have picked up back-to-back 1- draws against Tottenham and West Ham, which are pretty solid results considering both of those London-based clubs are sitting near the top of the league. Palace are just middle of the table themselves, but the Eagles’ schedule hasn’t been overly difficult thus far. Liverpool are -196 moneyline favorites on the road.
Everton, who picked up an important three points with a win over Leicester earlier this week, will be home to Arsenal on Saturday.
The Toffees are +136 home favorites to win the game outright, while Arsenal are at +188. Oddsmakers are just waiting for Arsenal to flash some form. At this point, it’s pretty safe to assume that the Gunners are being overvalued by sportsbooks.
The side just hasn’t been able to find any rhythm this season. Arsenal are just 15th in the league after a 1-1 draw to Southampton earlier this week. The Gunners haven’t won a Premier League game since a 1-0 win over Manchester United on the first day of November. Everton have slipped following their hot start to the season, but they still sit in sixth place. Grabbing six points from their last two games against Champions League-caliber sides in Chelsea and Leicester is a stellar result for Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
NCAAF: Ohio State (-20) and Texas A&M (-14) BOTH to Cover (+335)
Ohio State will look to punch their controversial ticket to the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The Buckeyes will face Northwestern in the watered-down version of the Big 10 title game. It is fairly evident at this point that the conference’s brass is blatantly changing its rules on the fly to try and accommodate Ohio State, and Ryan Day’s team will likely reap the benefits.
Ohio State is favored by nearly three touchdowns in this one. It’s not that the Buckeyes aren’t one of the best teams in the nation, but they have played only five games to this point. A series of cancelations and the Big 10’s late start has left Ohio State’s resume looking pretty thin. Just one of the Bucks’ five games to this point has been decided by single digits, and it’s hard to imagine Northwestern’s defense having enough in the tank to keep up with Justin Fields and Ohio State’s high-octane offense over the course of 60 minutes.
When the work week’s done, you can have a little fun ❄️#GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/3vwNNYh7Hd
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 17, 2020
Northwestern is 6-1, with their most impressive win of the year being a 17-7 win over an overrated Wisconsin team. The vast majority of the Wildcats’ games have been rather low-scoring, but this game against the Buckeyes will easily be their toughest test to date.
Texas A&M, who is likely on the outside looking in on a playoff spot as of now, will look to run their record to 8-1 on Saturday against Tennessee.
The Aggies could still sneak into the top-four if certain results go their way, but time will tell. The Aggies haven’t really been as impressive as you might expect a team ranked No. 5 in the country to have been, but wins are wins.
Tennessee is just 3-6 on the year, and four of those losses have come against ranked opponents. All four games against ranked foes have been double-digit defeats, including a 31-19 loss at home to Florida two weeks ago. The Vols have made the most of their opportunities against fellow SEC also-rans, but the Aggies should be able to win this game comfortably.
Boxing: Canelo Alvarez to Win By Decision (+200)
Canelo Alvarez will finally return to the ring after more than a year on Saturday night against Callum Smith. Alvarez, who has an overall record of 53-1-2, will look to win for the fifth straight match on Saturday. The last time he failed to win was when he drew against GGG back in September of 2017. Alvarez hasn’t lost a fight since his defeat to Floyd Mayweather over seven years ago.
Callum Smith boasts an impressive 27-0 record to this point, but he hasn’t faced anyone of Canelo’s caliber to this point. Smith beat John Ryder by unanimous decision in his last fight in November of last year. Saturday’s bout in San Antonio is for the currently-vacant WBC super-middleweight crown.
Canelo Alvarez Picked Giant Sparring Partners to Replicate Callum Smith Height https://t.co/95JjdtV6mk
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 18, 2020
Canelo is a massive -600 favorite to win this fight in some capacity. BetOnline has Alvarez as a -110 favorite to win by KO, TKO, or disqualification, while a Canelo win via decision is listed at +165. So, you’re getting a little more bang for your buck here at the +200 odds.
UFC: Neal and Aldo BOTH to Win (+250)
Let’s head to the octagon, where we’ve got UFC Fight Night on the docket. Geoff Neal will take on Stephen Thompson in the main event, while Jose Aldo is set to fight Marlon Vera in an undercard bout.
Neal is a slight -121 moneyline favorite against Thompson.
Neal is 13-2 all-time in UFC with a win in each of his last seven tries. Neal’s last defeat was a TKO loss to Kevin Holland nearly four years ago. Thompson is 15-4 in UFC competition, but three of those losses have come in his last five appearances. Thompson defeated Vicente Luque by decision in his last fight last November, which snapped a two-fight losing skid.
Aldo, who is 28-7 all-time, hasn’t won since a TKO triumph over Renato Moicano in February of 2019. Aldo enters the fight riding three straight losses at the hands of Alexander Volkanovski, Marlon Moraes, and Petr Yan. Yan beat Aldo by TKO this past July.
Still, Aldo is a -145 favorite on Saturday over Vera. Vera is 16-6 in UFC after beating Sean O’Malley in his most recent appearance at UFC 252 in August.
UFC: Aldo to Win Inside the Distance (+400)
Each of Aldo’s last two wins have come inside the distance. He beat Moicano by TKO in the second round back in February of last year after another TKO win over Jeremy Stephens in the first round in July of 2018. Each of Aldo’s three wins before that all went the distance.
BetOnline.ag has Aldo to win in the first round at +700, while a second-round win is listed at +900. Aldo is at +350 overall to win inside the distance.
UFC: Neal to Win by TKO/KO or DQ (+250)
Eight of Neal’s 13 career UFC wins have come by knockout. That includes three of his last four wins overall. Neal picked up TKO wins over Mike Perry and Niko Price, along with a knockout of Frank Camacho. Knockouts have accounted for the vast majority of Neal’s victories, with just five total coming via submission or decision.
Geoff Neal is a really smart and technical fighter but he isn’t scared to stay in extended exchanges and to throw down.
Drawing out Perry’s reaction with a feinted jab, throwing a cross to come with the left high kick behind it.
Frequent user of the southpaw double attack. pic.twitter.com/cA0kSQvypp— Dom (@Frittenpate) December 15, 2020
Thompson enters this fight in ragged form, though he has only lost one fight ever via knockout. That happened to be his most recent defeat, a KO at the hands of Anthony Pettis back in March of last year. Three of Thompson’s four career UFC losses have been via decision.
What’s the Best Bet?
The worst bet here appears to be Aldo to win his fight over Vera inside the distance. It’s not that Aldo can’t score a win over Vera in the early rounds, but today’s slate of boosters is rife with good value. This bet just doesn’t stand out compared to the field, so we can go ahead and scratch that one off the list at +400.
Neal is a good bet to win tonight, but Thompson has been a difficult fighter to knock out over the years. You can get this bet at the same +250 odds that you can get on Neal and Aldo BOTH to win. If you’re shopping in this price range, I feel more comfortable combining the results of two minus-money favorites. That means Aldo and Neal both to win looks like the better value than Neal to win via TKO/KO/DQ at +250.
Online betting sites think Canelo is far more likely to win by knockout than by decision on Saturday. Smith has a decorated record to this point, but he’s in for a rude awakening on Saturday night against Alvarez. Canelo at +200 to win via decsion offers some value, but it doesn’t look like the best bet on the board today.
I like both Liverpool and Everton to win on Saturday.
Arsenal haven’t been able to get out of their own way of late, and Everton should enter that game full of confidence. Anything can happen when Liverpool visits Crystal Palace, but I’m not expecting a letdown after the Reds’ big win over Spurs earlier in the week. Both Merseyside clubs to win on Saturday stands out at the +325 odds.
The same can be said of both Ohio State and Texas A&M to cover. The Buckeyes may well thrash Northwestern in the Big 10 title game, while the Aggies shouldn’t have a whole lot of trouble against a Tennessee offense that has struggled to put points on the board on a consistent basis all year.
Three bets stand out as excellent options today.
Boosted Odds Prop Bet:
Liverpool and Everton BOTH to Win (+325) Ohio State and Texas A&M BOTH to Cover (+335) Neal and Aldo BOTH to Win (+250)
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
