Saturday is the busiest day on the sports schedule every week, and this Saturday is no exception. The English Premier League is back in action following an international break, while we have the usual full slate of college football action, too. UFC 255 closes things out with a pair of co-main events. Valentina Shevchenko will take on Jennifer Maia for the women’s flyweight title, while Deiveson Figueiredo will fight Alex Perez in men’s flyweight.
BetOnline has a wide array of odds boosters available on this Saturday, so let’s dive right in.
EPL: Manchester United and Manchester City BOTH to Win (+200)
Both Manchester clubs will be in action today. United will be at Old Trafford to host West Brom, while City will head to North London for a highly-anticipated matchup with Tottenham.
Pep Guardiola’s City side are slight -120 favorites to pick up all three points here. City has gotten off to a weak start to the season by their lofty standards, while Jose Mourinho has Spurs playing like a potential contender. Tottenham are tied with Liverpool for second in the league on 17 points through eight games, with three wins in their last three.
Bruno Fernandes since joining Manchester United:
Played – 33
Goals – 18
Assists – 13
84 mins per Goal Contribution
Midfielder with the most goals in the PL (13) ✅
Midfielder with the most non-penalty goals in the PL (7) ✅
Midfielder with the most assists in the PL (10) ✅ pic.twitter.com/0YLWTKmwjP— 🐐™ (@TheFergusonWay) November 19, 2020
City, meanwhile, are a disappointing 10th, with three draws in their last five matches. City drew Liverpool in their last match, while Spurs’ three straight wins have come over West Brom, Brighton, and Burnley.
United are just 14th in the Premier League table thus far as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have gotten off to yet another sluggish start in the league. The Red Devils did trounce Everton 3-1 in their most recent game, which came on the heels of a disastrous 2-1 loss to Istanbul Basaksehir in Champions League. United are sizable -295 moneyline favorites to beat a West Brom side that currently sit in the relegation zone. The Baggies have amassed just three points from their first eight league games.
NCAAF: Clemson (-35.5) and Ohio State (-20.5) BOTH to Cover (+320)
Clemson will get Trevor Lawrence back from his hiatus on Saturday when the Tigers head to Tallahassee to take on Florida State. Clemson is favored by over five touchdowns in this one against a rebuilding Seminoles team. The Noles are just 2-6 so far this season and losers of three straight games.
Covering a 35.5-point spread isn’t easy, especially considering the way Clemson hasn’t exactly been the most convincing team so far this season, but Florida State is just dreadful. It’s hard to imagine the Tigers not steamrolling their way to victory.
No. 3 Ohio State is facing another top-10 team for the first time this season. Indiana has risen all the way to No. 9 following an impressive 4-0 start, but oddsmakers aren’t buying into the Hoosiers’ early success just yet. The Buckeyes are favored by almost three touchdowns at home in this one.
Justin Fields has led Ohio State to at least 38 points in every game. Indiana’s defense impressive shut out Michigan State last week, but trying to slow down the Buckeyes’ vaunted offense is a completely different challenge.
NCAAF: Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Iowa State ALL to Win (+150)
Virginia Tech checks in as a three-point road favorite this week at Pitt. The Hokies find themselves at 4-4 on the year, though they have lost each of their last two games against ranked opponents. VaTech fell by three to No. 25 Liberty before a one-point loss to ninth-ranked Miami last week.
The Hokies have been competitive, and they’re in a better spot this week against another 4-4 team in Pitt. The Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak last week with a 41-17 trouncing of Florida State.
Alabama and Iowa State aren’t expected to have much trouble in their games. The Crimson Tide are favored by 30 at home against Kentucky this week. All you have to do for this bet is get a Tide victory, of course. They don’t even have to cover that monster spread, so you’re in good shape here.
Iowa State is favored by 11 points at home against Kansas State. The Wildcats have been known to pull off their fair share of upsets over the years, but the Cyclones have quietly been the best team in the Big 12 so far this season. Iowa State is 5-2 overall and winners of five of their last six following a season-opening defeat against Louisiana.
UFC: Figueiredo, Perry, and Craig ALL to Win (+320)
Deiveson Figueiredo is a heavy -270 favorite in his co-headlining bout with Alex Perez. The 32-year-old Brazil native is 19-1 all-time in UFC competition, and he enters this fight having won each of his last four appearances in the octagon. He won by technical submission over Joseph Benavidez the last time we saw him fight back in July.
Deiveson Figueiredo and his team sent me a picture of him already at 125lbs. They said the Brazilian will be one of the first on the scale. #UFC255
— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) November 20, 2020
Mike Perry’s fight with Tim Means is expected to be a close one. Perry is a slight -135 favorite, while Means checks in at +115. Perry is 14-6 in UFC, but he has lost five of his last eight bouts. He beat Mickey Gall by decision in his last fight back in June, which snapped a two-fight winless streak. Means beat Laureano Staropoli by decision in August to bring his UFC record to 30-12.
Paul Craig is a -175 favorite vs. Mauricio Rua in an undercard bout. Craig has won 13 of his 17 UFC appearances overall, with a submission win over Gadzhimurad Antigulov back in July. Rua is 27-11 in UFC. These two fought to a split-decision draw back at UFC Fight Night in November of last year.
UFC: Shevchenko to Win In Round 1 (+310)
Valentina Shevchenko will head to the octagon to face Jennifer Maia in the co-main event. Shevchenko has won each of her last five UFC fights to bring her overall record in the competition to 19-3. Her last loss was a split-decision defeat at the hands of Amanda Nunes way back in September of 2017.
Seven of Shevchenko’s 19 UFC wins have come in the first round, but she hasn’t done so since a TKO of Priscilla Orellana way back in 2013. Maia (18-6) has only one first-round loss on her record, which came by KO vs. Sheila Gaff eight years ago.
UFC: Means to Win By Points (+400)
If you think Tim Means ultimately gets the better of Mike Perry in their aforementioned clash, perhaps taking Means to win by points looks appealing. Six of Means’ 30 career UFC wins have come by points, including his last win over Staropoli a couple of months ago. That was his first win by points since earning a decision win over Alex Garcia in June of 2017.
Four of Perry’s six career losses have come by points, as well. That includes his loss to Vicente Luque in August of last year.
What’s The Best Bet?
I’m not in the camp that thinks Means is going to beat Perry on Saturday night, which has me avoiding that prop at +400. Ditto for Shevchenko beating Maia in the first round at +310. Neither outcome looks particularly likely, and we just have better value on the board today. Pass on both.
Clemson and Ohio State should both win fairly easily on Saturday, but covering those big spreads is more difficult to predict. The Tigers have a cakewalk of a matchup against Florida State, but Ohio State could be in for a more difficult day than expected against a vastly improved Indiana team. I’m nervous enough about both team’s chances of covering the spread to avoid this one at +320, too.
The value on Figueiredo, Perry, and Craig all to win is solid at +320.
But Perry’s fight against Means is the tricky part. These two battled to a draw last year, and the odds are fairly tight. You can take a shot here given the plus-money upside, but it’s not the most likely bet to cash.
Alabama and Iowa State should enjoy relatively easy wins on Saturday, but Virginia Tech could be in for a battle against Pitt. Is the potential +150 payout worth the gamble on a three-way outcome with one of the games expected to be so close? We can find a better value.
The best value here is both Manchester clubs winning on Saturday. City are right there with Liverpool as the best team in the Premier League, and it’s about time for them to show it. Guardiola has had a couple of weeks to get ready for this game, so I expect City to show up in a big way on Saturday. United should have little trouble securing all three points against a lackluster West Brom side.
Start your morning off right with both Manchester clubs to win at +200.
Boosted Odds Prop Bet:
Manchester United and Manchester City BOTH to Win (+200)
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 …
