Saturday’s sports schedule brings another major combat event with UFC 253, as well as the first major college football slate of the new season. BetOnline’s odds boosters focus primarily on UFC 253, but the English Premier League also gets a little bit of attention.
You can start your sports betting Saturday with four Premier League matchups, and you can round things out with the big MMA event later tonight. If you’re looking to get a little more bang for your buck when it comes to your bets, we recommend taking advantage of BetOnline’s boosted odds.
Here’s how we’re attacking Saturday’s slate.
Premier League: Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United ALL To Win (+525)
Manchester United supporters did a lot of talking over the summer. The Red Devils finally looked like a real threat last season after the arrival of Bruno Fernandes, which had the red half of Manchester talking Premier League title ahead of the 2020-21 season.
However, things haven’t gotten off to a great start. The Red Devils were stunned 3-1 at home last weekend by a Crystal Palace side that almost always finds itself fighting to avoid relegation. The lackluster effort was certainly not what United expected to begin the season, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s seat may once again be heating up.
2 – Wilfried Zaha is the first player to score twice in a Premier League game against Manchester United having previously appeared for them in the competition. Haunt. pic.twitter.com/aowkTqS36r
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 19, 2020
United will have a chance to get into the win column for the first time on Saturday when they travel to face Brighton at the AmEx. The Seagulls were thrashed 3-1 by Chelsea in their season opener before bouncing back with a convincing 3-0 win over Newcastle last week. United are -137 favorites to win the game on the moneyline, while Brighton are down at +380.
Chelsea were humbled by Liverpool last week, 2-0. The Blues have been the most active team in England this summer with a slew of new signings, but Frank Lampard still has to figure out his goalkeeping situation. New keeper Edouard Mendy will surely challenge the struggling incumbent, Kepa Arrizabalaga, for playing time, but Kepa will surely be in goal on Saturday when the Blues face West Brom.
West Brom, who were just promoted back into the Premier League, are huge +700 home underdogs in this one. Chelsea should be able to bounce back with a win here.
Everton have posted two wins in two, which has the blue side of Liverpool as optimistic as ever. The Toffees picked up a 1-0 win over Tottenham before thrashing West Brom 5-2 last weekend. While it’s been a positive start, the trip to Selhurst Park to face a Crystal Palace side that should be brimming with confidence won’t be an easy one. Everton are at +107 to win the game.
UFC: Adesanya, Reyes, and France ALL To Win (+255)
Israel Adesanya will take on Paulo Costa in the headline bout of UFC 253 Saturday night. Adesanya is a pretty heavy -190 moneyline favorite to earn the victory. The 31-year-old beat Yoel Romero by decision in his last fight in March to run his record to a perfect 19-0-0.
Costa is 13-0-0 himself, and he certainly has a size and strength advantage over Adesanya, a former kickboxer. Costa seems like a decent moneyline value at +165 in a fight between a couple of unbeaten combatants.
Dominick Reyes will face Jan Blachowicz is an undercard fight, and BetOnline doesn’t think Reyes will have too much trouble. Reyes’ moneyline odds have gotten all the way to -260. He owns a 12-1-0 mark in UFC, while Blachowicz sits at 26-8-0.
Kai Kara France is also a sizable moneyline favorite (-230) for his fight vs. Brandon Royval. Neither fighter has a spotless track record in UFC by any means, but France does come into the fight having won nine of his last 10 fights overall.
UFC: Reyes and Blachowicz To Go The Distance (+240)
Because Reyes-Blachowicz is a co-title fight, so we’ve got five rounds of goodness to look forward to here. Of Reyes’ 13 UFC matches to date, just four have gone all the way. One of those was his five-round loss to Jon Jones at UFC 247 in the light heavyweight title bout.
Blachowicz is the more experienced fighter with 34 bouts on his resume. Of those 34, 13 have gone the distance. Blachowicz may have a strength advantage over Reyes, but Reyes’ quickness could prove to be a difficult matchup for his opponent. If Reyes can use his quickness to avoid big blows, his athleticism should be enough to carry him over the finish line in this one.
UFC: Adesanya To Win by TKO/KO or DQ (+190)
Adesanya-Costa should make for a fascinating clash of styles, which is why it’s one of the most highly-anticipated bouts we’ve seen all year. Costa hasn’t fought in over a year, but he absolutely dominated Yoel Romero on his way to a unanimous victory by decision. Only one of Costa’s fights have gone the distance, with 11 of his 13 wins coming via TKO/KO.
Adesanya & Costa are ready for Saturday 👀 #UFC253⁰
(via @ufc)pic.twitter.com/LW9FATb6I9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 25, 2020
While Costa has more brute strength, Adesanya’s kickboxing background makes him one of the quicker fighters on the circuit. With his footwork and ability to quickly counter, Adesanya can win this fight by keeping Costa off-balance. Nearly 74 percent (14 of 19) of Adesanya’s wins to this point have come via TKO/KO.
What’s The Best Bet?
Right off the bat, I’m going to pass on the Premier League three-way result. Manchester United weren’t exactly convincing last week, and I’m not sold on Everton going into South London and coming away with all three points against a resilient Palace side. There is enough upside here at +525 to where I don’t think you’re crazy to throw a couple of bucks on this one, but I’m certainly not going all-in.
I’m not too keen on the Reyes-Blachowicz fight going the distance, either. A Blachowicz upset victory here wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world. It also wouldn’t be crazy for either one of them to pick up the win before we even get to a fifth round. Pass on Reyes-Blachowicz going five at +240.
I do like the value in the three-way Adesanya/Reyes/France result at +255, but your best option here is Adesanya winning his fight over Costa via TKO/KO. He’s arguably the most feared fighter on the circuit these days for a reason, and I think there is a very strong chance that all of Costa’s smack-talking comes back to haunt him in a terrible way in this one.
Adesanya is a -190 favorite to win the fight, so you might as well go the extra mile and roll the dice on the method of victory at +190.
Boosted Odds Prop Bet:
Adesanya To Win by TKO/KO or DQ (+190)
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 …
