Daily Sports Betting Preview 8/14/2020: UEFA Champions League, WTA Lexington, NFL Sims

• Barcelona are +235 underdogs against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
• 16 year old Cori Gauff is favored over Ons Jabeur at -130 odds.
• The Philadelphia Eagles are +105 moneyline underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs in a simulated matchup.

LAS VEGAS - Welcome back to this Friday edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview!

Today’s preview starts out with a look at the UEFA Champions League, as Barcelona takes on Bayern Munich.

Then, in the world of Tennis, Cori Gauff takes on Ons Jabeur in WTA Lexington action.

Finally, the Preview checks in with some simulated NFL action as the Chiefs take on the Eagles.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

Champions League Betting

The return of the UEFA Champions League has been a success so far, with the games being compelling, and no known COVID-19 cases as of yet.

Today, one of the premier matchups in the Champions League is set to kick off at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich are titans of Europe, widely regarded as some of the best teams in the world.

Barcelona, of course, are home to Lionel Messi, and have ridden his coattails to dominance for the last decade.

Bayern, meanwhile, wield a vice grip over the Bundesliga, and have won it for eight years running.

Both teams are no strangers to Champions League action, and matchups like this are why the Champions League exists in the first place.

Barcelona have, frankly, been underwhelming by their own lofty standards this season. A late push from Real Madrid cost them the La Liga title, and players have been displeased.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have been on cruise control. They locked up the Bundesliga title fairly early, and are favored in this matchup as well.

It’s not often that soccer bettors get the chance to wager on Barcelona in the Champions League as an underdog.

However, the lines for this match are such that this rare opportunity exists. Bayern have certainly been a better team over the course of the season.

All of that said, it’s always difficult to bet against Lionel Messi.

WTA Lexington Betting

WTA Lexington’s matchups continue today, and there are some great ones on the board.

Picking a featured matchup from today’s lineup was difficult - it’s hard to choose between Serena Williams and Cori Gauff.

However, Gauff’s rapid rise makes her one of the most compelling betting stories in the entire tournament.

Gauff is fresh off of knocking off 11th ranked Aryna Sabalenka, and is the youngest player in the top 100.

The punchline? For those who are unaware of this, Gauff is 16 years old, and is in the semifinals of the tournament, matched up against the eighth seed of the tournamnet.

A win here would continue to cement her as one of future stars of the sport.

Gauff is favored in this matchup, on both the spread and the moneyline. The spread and the moneyline are set up in such a way that bettors might find an advantage in wagering on Gauff’s spread odds.

Gauff -1 is -120, while Gauff to win is -130, which are, in effect, the same bet. As long as this state of affairs lasts, Gauff backers should look at the spread, as -120 odds are better for their bankroll than -130 odds.

Of course, this does run the risk of a push, but that’s a fairly unlikely scenario for Gauff bettors, and this strategy maximizes the odds in the case of a potential victory.

NFL Sim Betting

The NFL has yet to start up, although the time does appear to be quickly approaching.

Training camps are underway, but sports bettors can’t wager on those, so many NFL bettors turn to virtual sports betting.

NFL simulations have been running ever since the pandemic began, and with the NFL still some weeks away, they continue to bring players to the sportsbooks.

Today’s featured NFL sim game is between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The rosters for the game are only updated to include the end of last season, so several changes that have occurred to both teams will not be included in the game.

This means that the matchup is effectively between the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the uninjured Philadelphia Eagles.

It should not be a surprise to see the Chiefs favored in this matchup. Frankly, it should not be a surprise to see them favored in any matchup.

The Super Bowl champions are not, however, massive favorites, with -135 moneyline odds to Philadelphia’s +105.

The spread is interesting as well. The Chiefs are -2.5, but there’s some shading on the line that puts those -2.5 odds at -125.

This means that the line is inching closer to Chiefs -3, but has not moved enough in that direction that the sportsbooks have had to move it yet.

A 2.5 point line is vastly different than a three-point line, and NFL sim bettors should keep that in mind when wagering on this matchup.

Happy Betting!