Daily Sports Betting Preview 10/13/2020: UEFA Nations League, NLCS, English Open

• Spain are favored by 1.5 goals over Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers, down 1-0, have -170 odds over the Atlanta Braves.
• The English Open gives snooker bettors a chance for volume wagering today.

LAS VEGAS - Today’s edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview checks out some of the most interesting wagers on the board.

First, in the world of soccer, Ukraine faces off against Spain in the UEFA Nations League.

Then, in Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Braves take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Finally, the Snooker English Open provides an excellent volume betting opportunity for sports bettors.

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

UEFA Nations League Betting

The UEFA Nations League brings a matchup between the Spanish and Ukrainian national teams today. This matchup should be one of the most interesting of the Nations League matches on the sportsbooks.

Spain is a talented young team without an identity, and they’re going to be favored in this matchup simply due to talent.

Spain is a serious moneyline favorite, with prohibitive odds that reflect the talent gap between the two teams. Spain have racked up two wins and one draw in Nations League play so far, which leads League A Group 4.

Ukraine, meanwhile, are third in that group, with one win and two losses to start out the Nations League.

The spread for the match favors Spain by 1.5 goals, with some extra shading on there for good measure.

Spain are genuinely good enough to win by any amount - the real question is how Ukraine will perform on a day to day basis.

The Nations League has made headlines recently, mostly due to Arsene Wenger’s criticism of it.

Functionally, the tournament is a way of making international friendlies more competitive, and it is a relatively recent addition to the schedule. It remains to be seen how well the tournament does in terms of viewership, but for now, it certainly provides interesting wagering opportunities to soccer bettors.

MLB Betting

The Atlanta Braves shocked the world and took Game 1 of the NLCS from the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are easily the best team in baseball - on paper. As everyone knows, however, games are played on the field.

The Braves pulled out a 5-1 victory over the powerful Dodgers, keeping an incredibly talented lineup quiet all night. Today, however, the Dodgers are once again favored on the moneyline.

There are two main reasons for this. First, the Dodgers will likely be favored against anyone until they are eliminated. They are a team that is so good on paper, and has had such a good record this season, that even if they were to go down 3-0, they would be favored in each individual game remaining in the series.

Second, the Dodgers are sending Clayton Kershaw to the mound.

Kershaw’s playoff struggles are well known to MLB bettors, but he’s still elite, and he’s still the best pitcher on the Dodgers roster.

The Dodgers are fairly significantly more favored in this matchup than they were in Game 1 of the series, which is mostly due to Kershaw’s presence.

Longtime MLB bettors will have their doubts about his playoff performances, with good reason, but he’s still a good pitcher - good enough to move the lines.

Here is the updated Clayton Kershaw playoff start. The sixth inning dropped this one from green to yellow -- though it's the best of the yellows.

It's the 20th time in 27 playoff starts that Kershaw allowed ≤ three runs in his first six innings. pic.twitter.com/OLajHgVCOh

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) October 8, 2020

For what it’s worth, Kershaw has certainly been decent in the playoffs, but he has not been up to his own standards. Today’s game is a chance for him to start changing that narrative.

Snooker English Open Betting

The English Open is a fixture of the Snooker world, and it’s an excellent opportunity for sports bettors to get into the sport. The Open is also a great chance for volume bettors to make volume plays, as there are a ton of matches on the table today.

More than 20 matches are up for grabs, and contestants include some of the best players in the world.

For example, both Neil Robertson and Judd Trump are playing today, although not against each other.

Robertson is set to face off against Mark Joyce, who should be able to at least compete with the talented Australian.

Robertson’s -518 odds are some of the shortest on the board, and, given that he is the third ranked player in the world, make a lot of sense.

Joyce is a name snooker bettors will know, but he’s not been in good form lately. Last season, he fell from 54th to 64th in the world, which is where he sits now.

Judd Trump is the world’s number one ranked snooker player, while Louis Heathcote sits at 69th in the world.

Trump is number one by a mile, with more than double the points of fourth-place Mark Selby.

In other words, these odds are a reflection purely on Trump, who has been by far the most dominant player of the last two years.

Heathcote and Joyce are not far removed on the rankings, but Trump is far more advantaged than Robertson is. It’s very hard to bet against someone who has the record Trump does in the last few years. If you added the points of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson together, they would be about level with Trump.

With some of the brightest stars in the sport on the betting table today, Snooker bettors can enjoy a great wagering day.

Happy betting!