Elite Sports Betting Tips: May 27
IPL - Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore 1st Innings - Virat Kohli Total Under 27.5 @ 1.85
Nick
The winner of this match will meet newcomers Gujarat Titans in the final on Sunday.
Royal Challengers will go into this match as favourites, but you have the feeling there will be considerable pressure on them, having never won an IPL title to date.
Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers) has just come off a decent innings, but his line of 27.5 runs seems high for a batsman who has failed to reach this score from 9/15 innings this season.
Runs will be at a premium in these semi-finals matches, so I think the value is for unders here. 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 Intel Extreme Masters - Dallas 2022 - Mousesports vs ENCE - Winner ENCE @ 1.97
Alex
With ENCE's impressive performance at the PGL Major, this should no doubt be a great contest to spectate.
Having had a solid run against the top teams, ENCE should be able to take this one if they continue at their current form. Taking ENCE to win this. 1 unit
F1 - Monaco Grand Prix - Number of Classified Drivers - Under 16.5 @ $1.72
Blake
It may be a cliche but it is true that the Monaco Grand Prix is more often than not a procession.
But that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to take advantage of the betting markets.
If you believe the weather man then we are in for a wet and wild Sunday so combine that with the tight turning street circuit and you can only draw one conclusion.
Carnage. If they fall into line and it does turn into a nothing event, there is still the potential for a slip and a slip if the predicted rain does land.
For that reason, under 16.5 classified cars looks value at $1.72.That means we only need 4 drivers to retire which looks more than plausible under the circumstances. 1.5 units
A-League - Melbourne City vs. Western United - Under 2.5 goals @ 2.06
Matt
It's an all-Melbourne affair in the A-League grand final being held 7:45 PM Saturday night, Australian time.
Knockout matches/finals can often be tense affairs, and I am backing this match to be the same.
Both these teams were quite attacking during the regular season but come finals, their matches have been a bit more defensive-minded, 4 out of 5 matches involving these matches in the knockout rounds have been under 2.5 goals.
I'm expecting this to be tense, with both teams starting slowly not willing to take too many risks, and the under 2.5 goals looks value in my opinion. 1.5 units
Major League Soccer - Los Angeles Galaxy v Austin FC 1x2 & Total Los Angeles Galaxy & Over 1.5 @ 1.90
Cesar
LA Galaxy will need to secure the win in this contest against Austin FC to further their distance from the 4 teams that follow them closely.
Galaxy have had an average season so far but seem to have picked up the pace and will be sure to go all out to beat Austin. 1 unit
NBA - Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat - 1st Half Asian Handicap - Boston -5.5 @1.95
Nathan
Expect the fire to continue burning, as the Celtics take a 3-2 series lead back home to the TD Garden.
Home teams have generally dominated this series and so no messing around here, Boston to take the early lead and enjoy the rest of the game as we watch this young team that can do it all book their ticket to the 2022 NBA Finals! 1 unit
NRL - Brisbane Broncos v Gold Coast Titans - 1x2 Gold Coast @ 2.95
Brad
It’s the South Queensland Derby as high flying Brisbane Broncos host the Gold Coast Titans in Friday Night Football.
The Titans are considered ‘little brother’ in this rivalry but they actually have the better record recently in this fixture, winning three of the last four.
The Broncos are in seriously good form winning five games on the bounce and on the doorstep of the top four, they’ll once again be missing halfback Adam Renoylds for this one.
Reynolds has been the architect for Brisbane’s revival and while they won without him last weekend, it was against the lowly Newcastle Knights.
On top of that, drama has hit the Broncos camp during the week with star forward Payne Hass requesting an immediate release from his contract.
Gold Coast’s form hardly inspires confidence but given the troubles hitting the Broncos right now and the Titans’ history in this fixture, we’ll back little brother to get one over big brother here. 2 units
AFL - Melbourne v Fremantle - Asian Handicap Melbourne -28.5 @ 1.88
George
Not much to explain with this selection.
The Demons have been the best team at footy's spiritual home over the last 2-3 years, and are coming up against a depleted Dockers outfit that have taken two steps backwards since their surprising win against the Cats in Geelong a few weeks ago.
The Demons' midfield core are firing on all cylinders, with Max Gawn, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver hitting some elite form this month; they will also see an uptick in inside grunt with veteran Jack Viney returning from injury.
On the other side, the Dockers do not like playing at the MCG as of late, winning only once in their past six contests.
Melbourne will continue to assert themselves as the best team in the league by a country mile, and will not be surprised if they hold their opponents to under seven goals for the game.
Predicting a 100-40 scoreline going the way of the reigning premiers. 3 units
UEFA Champions League - Liverpool v Real Madrid Anytime Goal Scorer - Mohamed Salah @ 2.29
Dom Rae
A rematch of one of the most memorable Champions League Finals in recent memory takes place in Paris on Saturday with Liverpool looking to gain revenge for their 3-1 loss back in 2018.
The two sides' progress to the final could not have been more different, with Liverpool cruising through the knockout phase and Real overcoming PSG, Chelsea & Manchester City in one of the most extraordinary European runs of all time.
This is a very close game likely to be decided by the odd goal, and Liverpool have a wealth of options in attack.
One thing we can be sure of is that Mohamed Salah will be out to prove a point after he suffered an injury early on in the 2018 showpiece.
He backed that up with a goal in the 2019 final against Tottenham and enjoyed another fantastic goalscoring campaign in which he shared the Premier League Golden Boot title.
Despite speculation linking him with a move away, Salah remains Liverpool's talisman and his ability to find space in the box will be a thorn in the side of Real Madrid.
The odds of him finding the back of the net look generous, accounting for the fact he will be on penalty duty as well, and that's the play here in what will be a spectacular game between two of the finest sides of all time.. 1 unit
AFL - Collingwood vs Carlton - Asian Handicap Carlton -8.5 @ 1.8 8
Jarrod
A big win from the Pies last week has them at shorter outsiders than they probably should be leading into this weekend.
They're playing arguably the most exciting team in the comp in Carlton, who have only lost twice all year.
There's a big gulf between the two sides, and 8.5 is a line I expected to be closer to 15 or 20. Back it. 1 unit
English Championship Playoff - Huddersfield Town vs Nottingham Forest - Both Teams to Score - Yes @ 2.00
Caelum
It's been another action-packed playoffs in the Championship over the last week and a bit.
Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest find themselves off to Wembley on Sunday after taking care of Luton Town and Sheffield United respectively.
The Terriers will be hoping to return to the Premier League after an unceremonious exit back in the 18/19 campaign, while Forest will be hoping to end a 23 year top flight drought.
They will head into this match as the bookie's favourite at 2.20, but given how hotly contested these matches are, this could go either way.
Forest did win both league fixtures against Huddersfield this season which will give them a psychological advantage.
The goalscoring exploits of Sam Surridge and Brennan Johnson will also hold them in good stead against a Terriers outfit who haven't lost a game since their 3-0 home defeat to already promoted Bournemouth.
Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes have been finding the back of the net recently, so expect them to defy the bookies odds and put up a real fight on the hallowed turf of Wembley.
Given how much is at stake, it's expected some nerves will settle in but these games are typically very open and fun to watch.
So we'll back both of these sides, who like to attack, to find the net at least once in what should be a pulsating encounter. 1 unit
NHL - New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes - Winner (incl. Overtime and Penalties) Carolina Hurricanes @ 1.91
Jonah
The Hurricanes are in the drivers seat for this Game 6 matchup in New York, having defeated the Rangers in Carolina to take a commanding 3-2 series lead.
Many a Rangers fan has noted how poorly the team has played on the road in this series and throughout the postseason, so this comes as little surprise.
With Carolina the top team in the division and holding the third best regular season record in the NHL, we're backing them to come out strong as a slight underdog and put this series to bed. 0.5 unit