Elite Sports Betting Tips: May 20
English Premier League - Manchester City vs Aston Villa - Asian Total - Over 3.75 @ $2.50
Man City head into their last game as deserved short price favourites, and of course any victory this game will see them retain their title.
Whilst Aston Villa by contrast have nothing really to play for, they could still prove to be a thorn in their side.
Liverpool fans will look for some kind of favour from Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa to make it hard for Man City, and make for a dramatic last days play.
Say what you will about them, but Man City have been exciting team to watch.
There’s been at least four goals scored in their last seven matches in all competitions.
Whether Man City run away with the game and celebrate their EPL title in style, or Aston Villa prove equal to the challenge, I think we’ll see one final action-packed game, in what could be one of the most exciting EPL finishes for years. 1 unit
Dota2 ESL Stockholm Major - OG vs Fnatic - Winner Fnatic @2.65
David
The Stockholm Major has been full of surprises so far.
Tournament favorites like Team Liquid, Boom Esports, and defending TI champs Team Spirit have all been knocked out of the tournament. Backing upsets doesn’t seem like a bad idea anymore.
Another thing to consider is OG was sent to the lower bracket by another upset from TSM, handing them a 0-2 loss.
Meanwhile, in the group stage, TSM was handed a 0-2 loss by none other than Fnatic.
SEA has always been an underestimated region on Dota2 and I think that is reflected in the 2.65 price of Fnatic to win.
Given the way things are going on with the tournament, I think 2.65 is value. 1.5 units
UEFA Champions League Women Final – FC Barcelona v Olympique Lyon - Draw No Bet Olympique Lyon @ 4.4
CBod
First things first, Barca should be favourites. They are current holders of the trophy.
They arrive in Turin after winning 9 of 10 UCL games scoring 37 goals and conceding just 7 along the way.
This extends to their domestic form in the Primera Division (P30, W30, goal difference of +148!).
However, their one and only loss came in the 2nd leg of SF at Wolfsburg on 1st May, with a full team playing - they are beatable!
A glimmer of hope for Lyon and bear in mind Lyon are the record holders of this tournament with 7 titles, including 5 consecutive titles from 2016-2020.
It’s not like Lyon and their many International players - watch out for American Macario Catarina - are struggling; they’ve won 19 out of 20 in their league too, drawing once but scoring 74!
Their journey to the final been slightly trickier too having to beat a very good PSG - they’re battle hardened. You can never rule out a cagey affair in a final, so I am going to exclude the draw and take the big price of 4.4. 1 unit
CSGO PGL Major - ENCE vs Copenhagen Flames - 1st Map Winner: Copenhagen Flames - Map Handicap: ENCE -1.5 @ 2.39
Alex
A great matchup between two highly underated teams.
ENCE have been in great form having recently won against Outsiders and Heroic, demonstrating their wide range of skills and set plays against top teams.
Copenhagen Flames have also done well to make it this far, however, their past few matches haven't been the best, with them losing to Spirit and Faze and nearly going to a third map against Imperial.
While they are a quality team, the LAN pressure and atmosphere of the crowd could get to them. Taking ENCE to win this 2-0. 1 unit
Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Top 10 Daniel Ricciardo @ $1.70
Blake
It's been a more than mixed start to the season for both McLaren and their Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo. But when an Aussies back is against the wall, they find a way to fight their way out of trouble. And that's what we are expecting this weekend despite rumours swirling around the past few weeks that American Colton Herta is set to make a dramatic switch from Indycar Racing at the end of this season. With all that and more on the mind of Ricciardo, we head to a track that is far more suited to the Papaya car so expect a bold showing from both Lando Norris and his teammate. In fact, when we think back to Imola it was clear Ricciardo was making up some ground on Carlos Sainz before their crash and even earlier in the season Ricciardo put in a super drive at Albert Park. This track should resemble the above mentioned circuits far more than the fast and flowing circuits which the McLaren has battled in 2022. We may have missed the $2.10 they were offering last night but this is a max bet. 3 units
A-League - Melbourne Victory vs Western United - Under 2.5 goals @ 1.95
Matt
Second leg of this Semi Final clash, and i'm forecasting another defensive focused match here.
Melbourne Victory come into this match with a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Jake Brimmer wonder strike.
Western United will need to win this match but come into it with a lot of their attacking firepower missing, including star player Alessandro Diamanti out injured.
At 1-0 they are still right in this contest and so I think they will maintain a conservative gameplan here, while Melbourne Victory, like all Tony Popovic sides are built on the back of a solid defense and with a 1-0 lead already, there is no reason for them to go gung-ho either.
Three of the four encounters this season have been under 2.5 goals, and I think this will follow that trend. 1 unit
La Liga - Sevilla FC v Athletic Bilbao - 1x2 Sevilla FC @ 2.50
Cesar
Sevilla will be looking at finishing off the season strong against a usual consistent Athletic Bilbao.
Although they are three points in front of Betis, they still risk not qualifying for the Champions League as Betis follows closely with the exact same goal difference.
This means they must secure a result against Athletic. This won’t be easy as Athletic will be looking to secure a spot in the Conference League in the aims at bringing some european football to their fans.
The situations surrounding this match combine to set an exciting stage of football drama that has to be watched.
Considering Sevilla’s season, their hunger for european football and the fact that their last game of the season means so much and is being played at home, I’m putting faith here for them to beat Athletic in what will be a hard fought win.
1 unit VAMOS. 1 unit
NBA - Golden State vs Dallas - 1st Half - Draw No Bet - Dallas Mavericks @2.46
Nathan
We’re one stop away from the big dance - Conference finals are here!
This week we target Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals where Golden State lead by just 1-0 in the series, but a dominant display in Game 1 has all the momentum running their favour.
However we’re going to run with the ‘unlikely’ result but even more unlikely probability that Dallas will underperform as they did 2 nights ago.
The interesting stats: Dallas are 26-9 on the season covering the spread after a loss and 41-20 after a day break.
It’s important to note that Golden State are 4-0 on the season ATS with 4+ days rest and teams coming off Game 7s lose at about a 79% rate..
Dallas and Boston were never in a good spot for Game 1.
That changes in Game 2! Tough seeing GSW dropping this game, but expect a showing from Dallas early. 2 units
NRL - Wests Tigers v Canterbury Bulldogs - 1x2 & Total - West Tigers & Under 37.5 - 2 units
Brad
This could possibly turn out to be the worst game of Rugby League played in Australia since the game arrived in the country in 1908, but that sure ain’t going to stop us punting on it!
Both Wests and Canterbury are enduring seasons from hell with four wins between them as they occupy last and second last place on the ladder.
While things are bad in Tiger Town right now, it’s nothing compared to the mess the Bulldogs find themselves.
A dismal showing last weekend against Newcastle in Magic Round left the club with no other choice but to sack Trent Barrett as head coach.
To make matters worse a case of the flu has ripped through the club, claiming top try scorer Josh Addo-Carr.
Another name missing from the Bulldogs team sheet is outside back Brett Naden, who departed the club in the wake of the Barrett dismissal to take up a contract with… yep, you guessed it, Wests Tigers.
He will line up against his old side for his new side this week.
Despite their own troubles, Wests are traveling better than the Bulldogs right now. Upset wins against Parramatta and South Sydney showed us what they are capable of.
It’s really hard to imagine a lot of points in this one with how both these teams are playing so unders is definitely the play here. 2 units
Italian Serie A - Atalanta v Empoli - 1st half Asian total over 1.75 goals @ 1.96
George
Atalanta are still in the hunt for European competition for next season (albeit Europa League), and will come into this contest wanting to get a quick couple goals early to put the pressure back on Lazio and Roma to perform in their respective contests.
This 1st half line shows a lot of potential, as Atalanta's potent attacking corps consisting of Luis Muriel, Josip Ilicic and Mario Pasalic will be facing an Empoli defence that is known to leak goals.
I'm backing a high scoring affair which will start very early on in this contest, predicting either a 2-1 or 3-0 scoreline before the half-time whistle is blown. 3 units
La Liga - Barcelona v Villarreal - 1x2 Barcelona @ 2.05
Dom Rae
Barcelona have secured second place in La Liga after a tumultuous season that won't go down in the club's history books, and they welcome Villarreal to the Camp Nou on the final weekend of the season looking to send their fans home happy.
The Yellow Submarine lost in what was quite literally a six pointer last time out to Real Sociedad, and will be desperately looking to cling on to a Europa Conference League qualification place, but Xavi's side can break off the shackles in this one having all their attacking weapons at their disposal, and the home side look a nice price at above the even money mark to take the three points. 1 unit
AFL - Richmond vs Essendon - Asian Handicap Richmond -26.5 @1.87
Jarrod
After successfully backing the Tiges at the line last week, we're going in again.
Less said about the Bombers the better, who are due to respond on one of the seasons biggest stages, have shown that it's not always how the cookie crumbles when your side is under pressure.
Essendon have not beat the Tigers since 2014, and have rarely stepped up on Dreamtime night at the G'.
They face a seasoned Richmond side who have won three on the spin and are still clutching onto some hope that their dynasty is not yet done.
Richmond have just three injuries on their injury list which is something they have not had for a few years now, probably since their 2017 Premiership run.
Back the Tiges here to win big. 1 unit
English Premier League - Leicester City vs Southampton - 1x2 & Total - Leicester & Over 2.5 @ 2.33
Caelum
The Foxes find themselves back in the top half of the league following a topsy-turvy season which nearly saw them reach the final of the inaugural Conference League.
With European football out of the equation at the King Power Stadium, all Brendan Rodgers' men will be wanting is to finish the season strongly and give themselves some confidence for next season.
Southampton have endured a tough second half of the season, falling from midtable to now be 15th heading into their final fixture.
Prior to their 1-0 win at home to Arsenal on April 17, the Saints hadn't won a league match since late February when they had back-to-back 2-0 wins against relegation battlers Norwich and Everton.
Leicester's recent record against the Saints is quite the stat as well. Only three losses since 2015 and of course, we can't forget the 9-0 drubbing from 2019.
Away from home, out of form and against a typically resilient and proud Leicester side, we see this going the way of the Foxes. 1 unit
AFL - North Melbourne vs Melbourne - North Melbourne Kangaroos Total - Under 49.5 @ 1.81
Jonah
We don't need to go into too much depth here. North Melbourne are the worst team in the competition and are at their lowest point in many decades.
Their forward line is close to non-functioning and they've lost five consecutive games by more than 50 points - a club first.
Coming from a supporter of said club, things are bleak.
Meanwhile, Melbourne are the clear best team in the competition.
They've won 16 games on the trot and are the reigning premiers.
They've held multiple teams better than North Melbourne to scores below this line this season (Port Adelaide, West Coast).
Possessing the league's best defence, they'll be far too much for North Melbourne's inexperienced forward line to regularly kick goals against. 2 units