Championship Playoffs
Promotion to the Premiership is worth £185 million nowadays, so the stakes are extremely high for the teams that finished in the Championship playoff places. Aston Villa enjoy a 1-0 aggregate lead over Middlesbrough in their semi-final and the second leg takes place at Villa Park on Tuesday night. The Villans are strong defensively at the moment, with former England captain John Terry marshalling the troops at the back, and this should prove to be another low-scoring game. ‘Under’ 2.5 goals looks good at BMR’s green-listed bookmakers, and Marathon Bet has a market leading 13/20 on that.
Europa League Final
Atletico Madrid are the clear favourites to beat Marseille in the Europa League final after vanquishing Arsenal in the last round. Diego Simeone’s men are European heavyweights, and they have a lot more experience than Marseille in these sort of situations. They have invested more on their squad and they have better players, so they really should get the job done. This looks like another low-scoring game as Atletico Madrid defend ferociously throughout, so Atletico Madrid to win and ‘under’ 3.5 goals might be a good idea.
Indian Premier League
The IPL is nearing its conclusion and table topping Hyderabad Sunrisers take on struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has been on fire for the Sunrisers and he has the talent to lead his team to victory, so odds of even money with five-star rated bookmakers like William Hill and Bet365 look very attractive.
Premier League Darts
We are into the Premier League semi-finals and top seed Michael van Gerwen plays Rob Cross on Thursday night, while Michael Smith takes on Gary Anderson in the other semi. Mighty Mike is the heavy favourite to beat Cross, and he is 8/15 to lift the trophy once more, priced at 8/15 with Sun Bets, Betway and 10Bet.
La Liga
Most European football has finished for the season, but there is still one game to play in Spain. In-form Levante look like an interesting bet as they travel to struggling Celta Vigo, priced at 10/3. Real Madrid travel to Villarreal and Gareth Bale to score at any times looks like an intriguing option as the Welsh wizard is currently in sensational form in front of goal and bidding to force his way into the starting 11 for the Champions League final.
Managerial Merry-Go-Round
Arsene Wenger has now finished his 22-year tenure at Arsenal and fervent speculation surrounds the club as it prepares to appoint a successor. Former captain Mikel Arteta and Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri head the betting, but a number of other options are attracting attention, particularly Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann, who is 12/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral, 888 Sport and Unibet.
NBA
We are now into the conference finals and just four teams are left standing. The Boston Celtics enjoy a 1-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, although they should expect a backlash from LeBron James this week. The Western Conference sees the defending champions, Golden State Warriors, take on the team that finished above them in the regular season standings, the Houston Rockets, in an eagerly anticipated heavyweight clash.
Calculators
