Boosted Odds at BetOnline.ag for October 24th

As is usually the case, Saturday’s sports schedule has countless options out there for bettors. In addition to Game 4 of the World Series, we also have a full slate of college football action, all the European soccer you could ever want, UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs Gaethje, and the ongoing ZOZO Championships featuring several of the world’s top-ranked golfers.

For good measure, BetOnline has also thrown a political prop into Saturday’s crop of odds boosters. As if we didn’t already have enough options on our plate. Let’s take a look at what’s on tap for Saturday, October 24.

EPL: Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United ALL To Win (+400)

Manchester United picked up a huge win in Paris over PSG in Champions League play earlier this week. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will look to avoid a letdown on Saturday when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford. This game is essentially a toss-up between a couple of sides vying for Champions League places, but the Red Devils are slight +127 moneyline favorites. The Blues check-in at +150, while the draw is at +215.

Manchester City will travel to London to take on West Ham. City have been in middling form all year, but they’re still sizable -284 moneyline favorites in this one over a Hammers side that are actually ahead of them in the Premier League table. West Ham sit ninth, while City are a disappointing 11th.

Liverpool will check on the fitness of Alisson Becker, Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Sheffield United. (@LFC) pic.twitter.com/9OVID960Ja

— LFC NEWS (@LFCTransferNRS) October 23, 2020

Liverpool, who also won in Champions League earlier this week, will welcome Sheffield United to Anfield on Saturday. The Reds are -455 favorites despite a rash of injuries, though goalkeeper Alisson could be back in action. Sheffield are currently in the relegation zone in 19th place, and the Blades have mustered just two goals through their first five league fixtures.

La Liga: Barcelona to Win AND Lionel Messi to Score (+225)

Saturday brings El Clasico, with Barcelona hosting Real Madrid in the most highly-anticipated game of the year in Spain. Ronald Koeman has gotten off to a fairly inauspicious start with his new club, with Barcelona having gone 2-1-1 through four games in La Liga. Real Madrid, who were upset in shocking fashion by Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League, are third in the league at 3-1-1.

Barcelona are -110 favorites at home despite having lost the league to Real just last season. The teams played to a scoreless draw in this fixture last season, while Real picked up a 2-0 win over Barca at the Bernabeu back in March.

Lionel Messi has been off the mark early this season. The 33-year-old has scored once in four league games, while he is still looking for his first assist. Messi hasn’t scored in El Clasico since the 2017-18 season, as well.

NCAA: Clemson (-46.5) and Michigan State (-13.5) BOTH to Cover (+310)

You’re reading that correctly. Clemson is a 46.5-point favorite this week at home against Syracuse. This is the definition of a game that does not need to be played. If any team is a 46.5-point favorite, there is no reason for anybody to take the field. It’s just silly.

I see one sportsbook (@FDSportsbook ) offering a ML on the Clemson-Syracuse game.

Tigers are currently 46.5-point favorites.

Clemson is a -100,000 favorite, meaning a $1,000 bet would win $1

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) October 20, 2020

So far this season, the Tigers have won all five of their games by margins of 24, 49, 18, 25, and 66 points. Syracuse is 1-4, with all four of their losses coming by double digits.

Michigan State is playing what should be a more competitive game in their season opener against Rutgers. The Spartans are still favored at home by nearly two touchdowns, but this is a Rutgers team that has won just three games in the last two seasons combined. The last time the Scarlet Knights even finished .500 was 2014, when they went 8-5 and won something called the Quick Lane Bowl.

Politics: Donald Trump to Win the Election (+185)

Donald Trump and Joe Biden wrapped up their second and final debate on Thursday night, which means Election Day is now just 11 days away. A lot can happen in 11 days considering the frenzied news cycle we now deal with on a daily basis, but Trump is clearly up against it at this point.

Trump has spent the majority of his first term as a minus-money favorite to win re-election, but Biden has emerged as the favorite over the past several months. As of this writing, BetOnline has the former VP as a -200 favorite to win, which are the most favorable odds he’s ever had. The incumbent POTUS has slipped to +175, so the +185 odds you see here don’t represent a huge boost.

UFC: Nurmagomedov, Volkov, and Cannonier ALL to Win (+330)

The headline bout for UFC 254 between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje is the most highly-anticipated fight we’ve had in quite some time. Khabib is a perfect 28-0 in UFC, while Gaethje is currently the interim lightweight champ. Gaethje is 22-2 in UFC competition, with his last win coming over Tony Ferguson via TKO back in May.

Khabib Nurmagomedov looked relieved on the scale after making championship weight of 155 pounds for the #UFC254 main event ⚖️ @espnmma pic.twitter.com/3XgfHEXv78

— ESPN (@espn) October 23, 2020

Jared Cannonier will face Robert Whittaker in what looks like a toss-up in the co-main event. Both fighters are listed at -110 at BetOnline. The winner of this fight will likely wind up challenging Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title, so this one has huge implications.

Alexander Volkov will face Walt Harris in a matchup between a couple of heavyweights both ranked in the top-10. These are two of the most powerful fighters on the circuit, though Volkov checks-in as a sizable -170 moneyline favorite.

UFC: Whittaker to Win by KO/TKO or DQ (+525)

Whittaker has a 21-5 record in 26 UFC matches. Nine of those wins have come via knockout or TKO. None of those fights have ended via disqualification. Cannonier owns a 13-4 UFC record, with half of his losses having come by KO or TKO.

Whittaker looked like a new man when he returned from his hiatus to beat Darren Till back in July. He has won 10 of his last 11 bouts overall, with the lone loss coming to Adesanya last year.

Cannonier has gone 3-0 since dropping down into the middleweight class, and it helps that he hasn’t seemed to have lost any of the power he had as a heavyweight. Whittaker does seem to have the advantage when it comes to striking, though, and Cannonier has endured his fair share of struggles against quality strikers.

UFC: Nurmagomedov to Win in Round 1 (+475)

Khabib hasn’t been in the octagon since September of last year, when he beat Dustin Poirier in three rounds. We’ll see whether the long layoff will affect him, but his pristine track record speaks for itself.

Justin Gaethje wants Khabib’s lightweight title, not the interim title he won in May 🏆 👀 @espnmma pic.twitter.com/8CZ22mc5Tk

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 21, 2020

11 of Nurmagomedov’s 28 UFC wins have come in the first round. He had a streak of six consecutive first-round wins back in 2011, but he hasn’t had as easy a time of late. Khabib hasn’t had a first-round victory since January of 2013, when he knocked out Thiago Tavares.

Gaethje has lost just two UFC fights to this point, with neither loss coming before the third round.

NCAA: BYU, San Diego State, and Air Force ALL To Win (+155)

Saturday’s college football slate features three late-night West Coast games. BYU will host Texas State, with the Cougars favored by over four touchdowns. BYU is also at -5000 on the moneyline, so an upset here is looking quite unlikely.

San Diego State will host UNLV as two-touchdown favorites. The Aztecs have gone 51-20 under head coach Rocky Long since he got the job in 2011, while the Rebels haven’t cracked the .500 mark since 2013.

Air Force will be on the road at San Jose State, though the Falcons are favored by a touchdown here. Air Force trounced Navy 40-7 in their first game of the year, but that was back on October 3. This will be the first game of the year for SJSU.

What’s The Best Bet?

We’ve got a lot to unpack here. I don’t think the boosted odds on Trump winning the US Presidential election are favorable enough at +185, so we’ll pass on that. I also really doubt Khabib will get the better of Gaethje in the first round at UFC 254, so avoid that one at +475.

I don’t doubt that Whittaker can beat Cannonier on Saturday night, but I don’t love his chances of doing so via knockout or TKO. Pass on that booster at +525. Because I do think Whittaker can win, I’ll also avoid the three-way result with Cannonier, Nurmagomedov, and Volkov all winning at +330.

Messi hasn’t had a favorable track record of scoring against Real Madrid over the past few years, and the Blaugrana’s early-season form hasn’t been all that inspiring. You can say the same about Real Madrid, but we’re making a lot of assumptions with this one. Avoid the La Liga booster at +225, too.

Clemson is fully capable of trouncing Syracuse.

This won’t be a close game, but 46.5 points is such a huge spread that it’s tough to fully trust the Tigers. I’m not comfortable banking on that cover regardless, of how good or bad either team may be.

I think you’re looking at two of these boosters at the end of the day. The three-way Premier League result with both Manchester clubs and Liverpool winning at +400 looks appealing. United getting past Chelsea is the biggest question mark, but I do think the Red Devils can get the job done at home.

Otherwise, I like the late-night college football hammer with BYU, SDSU, and Air Force all winning at +155. You’re not getting as much bang for your buck at these odds, but all three teams are pretty comfortable favorites. If you want safety, this is the way to go.