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Eagles, Flyers, Union, Penn State, UFC: Five Weekend Bets that are Absolutely Going to Hit, No Doubt About it
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Alright. It’s time to fire up PA sports betting apps and New Jersey sports betting apps, because these bets aren’t going to place themselves. That bathroom isn’t going to remodel itself. We need to cash hard if we’re going to replace that 1980s shower stall and the ugly tub that takes up half of the floor space.
Here are five bets to consider as we head into another wonderful October sports weekend.
Eagles at Vikings
Two teams coming into this one with extra rest. The Birds are on a two-game losing streak and the Vikings went 1-1 in a pair of overseas games. JJ McCarthy has been limited all week, so it looks like it’s going to be Carson Wentz for a fourth appearance this season.
It’s impossible to know what kind of Eagles team is going to show up. You’ve got Quinyon Mitchell’s hamstring to think about as well. How close to 100% is he? Do we get a renewed defensive effort after last Thursday’s Meadowlands debacle?
The unpredictability shepherds us away from the spread and towards the total, which is 44. Minnesota is 5-1 to the over and the Eagles are a flat 3-3. Note, however, that the Vikings haven’t played a difficult schedule. Their wins are against the Bears, Browns, and a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team. They got smoked by the Falcons and lost by three to the Steelers, but have played to totals of 47, 28, 58, 45, and 38. The Eagles have played to totals of 51, 38, 56, and 59 in their last four, so it feels like 44 is a reasonable over play. You cash with a 24-21 result, or a 27-23 type of game, which is what this feels like. If you want to play it safer and ladder the over, you can start at 41 points for -165 at BetMGM.
Flyers vs. Wild
The Orange and Black got their doors blown off by the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night, the culmination of a four-game murderer’s row schedule to begin the season. Now they get a 2-2 Minnesota team that has to play in Washington on Friday night, then head to Philly for the second night of a road back-to-back.
No odds yet for this game, but I’d take the Flyers’ moneyline straight up, whatever it is. Alternately, three of the four Minnesota games have hit 7 goals, so if you can get an over 5.5 or over 6 at a decent price, that’s a good play.
Union at Charlotte FC
This one is a little tricky since the Union wrapped up the Supporters’ Shield two weeks ago. They have the #1 seed in the East, while Charlotte is trying to hold their position as the four seed.
The only thing this game will determine is total points for the U. Will they go down in history as a 66-point Shield winner? 67 points? 69 points? Charlotte is a really good team, and that turf down there is annoying, so you figure they’ll at least score, putting both teams to score in play, albeit at a -200 price.
If that doesn’t do it for you, you can perhaps parlay Wilfried Zaha 1+ shots on goal at -235 with Bruno Damiani 1+ shots on goal at -375. That gets you to -124 and takes game result out of the equation. Zaha and Damiani both have a SOG in their last three games, though I’d wait for a Union lineup before pulling the trigger, since Damiani could come off the bench in the finale.
Penn State at Iowa
Normally you’d play the interim coach bump, in this case believing that James Franklin’s firing gives the Nittany Lions a needed shot in the arm.
But with Drew Allar lost for the season at the same time, redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer will start his first game on the road against a 4-2 Iowa team that only lost to ranked Iowa State and Indiana by a total of 7 points.
For that reason, I think you have to play Iowa -3 at -105, or just take the Hawkeye moneyline at -145.
UFC Fight Night: de Ridder vs. Allen
Former ONE double-champ Reinier de Ridder hasn’t lost since joining the UFC. He was supposed to fight Anthony Hernandez in Vancouver, but due to injury, Hernandez pulled out and Brendan Allen stepped in.
Allen is a good fighter, but he’s not at RDR’s level. The books agree, installing de Ridder as a -225 favorite. You look to de Ridder by submission at +175, but realize that Allen has only been submitted once in 32 professional fights. He’s usually the one doing the submitting.
The value here might be on over 3.5 rounds at +100. Allen has fought to four decisions in a row, including a five-round main event with Chris Curtis. de Ridder is coming off a five-round war with Robert Whittaker after subbing his first three UFC opponents.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com