Month: June 2018

7-6-1 on the World Cup up 5.49 units

Spain at -159 for 3 units. De Gea will play better. Aspas is so damn good and anyone who watches La Liga knows this. Spain’s midfield and attacking players will be too much for Russia. I think the host team goes out in regular time here. Spain are undefeated in their last 14 matches.

Croatia to advance at -250 for 2 units. Modric has been the best player of the tournament so far in my opinion. Croatia just has more creativity and a solid defense to go along with their creative attack. Denmark has played well going undefeated in their last 12 matches, but Croatia has won 3 in a row, including a 3-0 win against Argentina. I think Modric has quietly been the most important player on Real Madrid, last time they didn’t win champions league he was hurt. I know Ronaldo is great, but as we saw against Uruguay, he needs midfield help that Modric provides for their club.

5-5-1 on the World Cup up 2.29 units

Round of 16! Sweet Sixteen!

France to advance at -152 for 3 units. This game is in Kazan, which is a scenic city right on the Volga river. Argentina’s defense has just been too shaky in group play for me to take them here. France has a better defense, goalkeeper, midfield…. but they don’t have Messi obviously. Griezmann and Mbappe are no slouches either. Kante did well against Messi when Chelsea played against Barcelona and I expect a similar tracking approach here. This is the toughest test for both teams so far, but I think France takes it.

France – Argentina over 2 for 4 units at -108. Argentina does not have a great defense and they have Messi.

Portugal to advance at -105 for 2 units. Ronaldo, Ronaldo, and Moutinho. Uruguay has Cavani and Suarez, but I think Portugal has the better defense. A lot of people have Uruguay as their sleeper team, but Ronaldo has been dominating tournaments the past few years. I expect that to continue.

God I love the World Cup. Russia and Saudi Arabia played and I got hype, and now Portugal and Spain play today. Russia looked a lot better than I thought they would. Golovin was silly good with his ball control, crossing, and of course free kick.

2-1 on the World Cup up 2.91 units

Uruguay -1 at -115 for 2 units. Salah is not fully fit. Uruguay’s forward pair of Cavani and Suarez will be too much for Egypt’s defense.

Morocco at +129 for 3 units. Morocco only gave up 1 goal in 8 qualifying games! Morocco has the best player on the field in Benatia, who leads their defense. Also, Morocco has the better forwards. I think this line is generous so I will bite.

Spain at +101 for 2 units and Spain/Portugal draw at +210 for 2 units. Portugal has Ronaldo, but they do not have the defense or the midfield to keep up with Spain in my opinion. Spain also has the best goalkeeper in the world in David De Gea. I am just going with the better team in this one.

I will be doing my World Cup predictions and previews for every game.. much like I did for the NBA and NHL playoffs that saw me accrue some winnings. The World Cup is the best tournament in the World, even if it is run by a rigged entity. My other favorite tournament, the NCAA basketball tournament, is also run by a rigged entity, hmmmmm. Can I get a stable trustworthy institution?

Russia – Saudi Arabia under 2, 2.5 for 1 unit. Two lowest ranked teams in the whole tournament.. so I do not expect a lot of firepower.

Russia – Saudi Arabia over 0.5, 1 (first half) for 4 units at -130. There has been a goal scored in the first half of Saudi Arabia’s last 9 games.

Russia at -240 for 2 units. I think Russia wins in a tight one. I just can’t see a lot of goals being scored in this one. Saudi Arabia has been awful on the road and I expect that to continue here.