- Manchester City has -155 odds to defeat Borussia Dortmund on the three way moneyline.
- The Denver Nuggets are -175 favorites over the Miami Heat.
- The St. Louis Cardinals are -126 favorites against the struggling Washington Nationals.
LAS VEGAS - Welcome to the Daily Sports Betting Preview on this fine Wednesday!
Today’s Preview kicks off with a look at the Champions League Matchup between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City. Then, the Preview looks at a solid NBA matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat. Finally, the Washington Nationals face off against the St. Louis Cardinals in MLB action.
There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!
Soccer Betting
Manchester City entered the semi-finals of the Champions League as the favorite to win it, according to the futures odds.
They only increased those odds with a first leg victory over Borussia Dortmund, by a score of 2-1.
Now, they’re faced with a second leg against the scrappy German squad, and need to hold on to their lead in order to move onward.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Manchester City Three Way Moneyline
- Borussia Dortmund +395
- Manchester City -155
- Draw +315
Dortmund enter this matchup as underdogs, and that’s an understandable state of affairs given the previous matchup between these two teams.
In addition to the lead that Manchester City holds, they’re generally regarded as a far better team, and the odds bear this out.
It’s worth noting that Manchester City are only up a goal in terms of the aggregate score of this game, so they are well within striking distance for Dortmund. However, since the first matchup was at Dortmund, City have racked up two away goals, meaning that if they lose this match 1-0, they will still go through on away goals.
Dortmund needs to win this match by a score of at least 2-1 in order to force extra time, and needs to win by more than that in order to put City away for good.
Borussia Dortmund vs. Manchester City - To Qualify
- Borussia Dortmund +450
- Manchester City -750
The odds to qualify for the next round of the Champions League help to put that task into perspective.
Not only do Dortmund need to defeat Manchester City at home, they need to do so in a fairly crushing manner in order to make it to the next round.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility, as shown by the odds here, but it’s not particularly likely either.
Soccer betting fans can take Dortmund as a long shot on either the three-way moneyline or the odds to qualify - they aren’t very far removed from each other, as the online sportsbooks seem to suspect that City will win anyway.
This matchup airs at 3:00 p.m. EST, and will be available on Paramount+ and Galavision.
NBA Betting
The Denver Nuggets suffered a tough loss on Monday as star guard Jamal Murray was diagnosed with an ACL tear after going down hard in a matchup against the Golden State Warriors.
Nuggets star guard Jamal Murray has a torn ACL in his left knee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 13, 2021
Murray was the clear second banana on this team, and while doubts existed as to whether or not he was fully qualified to be such, his loss is massive.
Nikola Jokic is arguably the best player in the NBA this year, having racked up 11.8 win shares already.
This stat implies that Jokic has been personally responsible for more of his team’s wins than any other player in the NBA.
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Without Murray, however, even more will be asked of Jokic, and it’s an open question as to whether or not he has more to give.
On Wednesday, the Nuggets will face off against the Miami Heat, and the Heat are the kind of tough competitors that will play hard, and take advantage of mental lapses and new rotations in the absence of Murray.
Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat Moneyline
- Miami Heat +155
- Denver Nuggets -175
Without Murray, the Nuggets are still favored over the Heat, but perhaps by not as much as they would have been if he were available.
Jokic will still be the best player on the floor, and that does count for something, but the next few best players will likely be on the Heat.
Denver is 8-2 in their last ten games, but their last two games are where they’ve racked up those losses, so their form is a bit up in the air.
The Heat, meanwhile, are close to average in almost every respect: they’re 28-26 overall, 13-13 on the road, and 6-4 in their last ten games.
Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat Spread
- Miami Heat +4.0 (-110)
- Denver Nuggets -4.0 (-110)
The spread for this matchup has the Nuggets as -4.0 favorites at home, which is indicative of the amount that Murray impacted this team.
The Nuggets are, by any metric, a far better team than the Heat this year, but the absence of Murray is a game changer, and now they’re barely favored at home against a team that has hovered around the middle of the NBA in almost every respect.
NBA betting enthusiasts should be keeping an eye on this matchup, as the Nuggets are now a wild card in terms of playoff betting.
The game airs at 10:00 p.m. EST, and will be live on NBA League Pass.
MLB Betting
Major League Baseball’s season is in full swing, and the Washington Nationals have stumbled out of the gate.
Some things are probably going to fix themselves for the Nationals (Steven Strasburg won’t have an ERA+ of 66 the entire season), but their early start has not been encouraging.
The Nats are 2-6 overall, and 1-4 on the road - the sample size is low, but the data in that sample size is not good. Wednesday brings a matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that has a 6-5 record overall.
Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline
- Washington Nationals +106
- St. Louis Cardinals -126
The Cards are a fine team, and they’re projected to end up with 82 wins by 538, quite close to where the Nationals are projected with 81 wins.
In other words, statistically, this matchup seems dead even, but the Nationals are in a bit of a funk right now, and the Cardinals are playing at home.
Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Run Line
- Washington Nationals +1.5 (-180)
- St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+160)
The run line sees this even matchup flipping in favor of the Nationals +1.5, as it should.
The Nats are 3-5 on the run line, slightly better than their actual record of 2-6, while the Cardinals are 6-5 on the run line. MLB betting fans can focus on the run line or the moneyline, as they both provide vastly different wagers in this close matchup.
This game airs at 1:15 p.m. EST, and will be broadcast on MLB Extra Innings as well as via local broadcasters.
Good luck!
Maxwell joined the USAOnlineSportsbooks team in 2019. He focuses on creating sports betting content that informs and educates. He focuses on the NBA, the NFL, College Football and Basketball, and whatever else comes across his desk.
