Daily Sports Betting Preview 7/13/2020: Premier League, Comet League, Tennis Exhibitions

• Manchester United are -312 favorites against Southampton in today’s Premier League betting odds.
• There are some interesting odds in Russia’s Comet League, a short hockey competition.
• Andrea Petkovic is a significant +300 underdog as she takes on Petra Kvitova in a tennis exhibition match.

LAS VEGAS - Welcome to today’s edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview, on this beautiful Monday.

This time around, the Preview starts out with a discussion of Premier League betting, as Manchester United take on Southampton.

Then, after that, the Preview turns to the Russian Comet League, a short hockey league known for its quick games.

Finally, the Preview takes a look at the Bett1 Aces Berlin Women’s Tennis Match between Andrea Petkovic and Petra Kvitova.

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

Manchester United vs. Southampton

Premier League bettors should be familiar with the rocky road that Manchester United has walked this season.

When the season restarted, it seemed almost laughable that United would be able to make the top four of the Premier League.

The top four teams in the league qualify for the Champions League, a competition that United have not been fixtures in as of late.

As of right now, United are only one point behind Leicester City, who sit in fourth place.

Today, their game against Southampton could put them over the top, and vault them into European contention.

The moneyline suggests that United are in a good spot when it comes to their chances in this match.

They are significant favorites over a 12th place Southampton team that has a -13 goal differential.

Southampton, for their part, is +800, which is a relatively generous line, but not one that is necessarily advisable to take.

A draw would put United level on points with Leicester City, which they surely would not be upset about.

A draw has +480 odds in this match, meaning that it is seen by the online sportsbooks as more likely than a Southampton victory.

United will, of course, be aiming to win - they are behind Leicester on goal differential.

The match is set to be broadcast at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Comet League Short Hockey

The Russian Comet League has been one of the staples of this column, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With most major sports shut down, bettors had to turn to leagues overseas like the Comet League if they wanted to wager on hockey.

There is one big difference between the Comet League’s format and the format of the major hockey leagues however.

The Comet League is what is known as a short hockey league. They play three periods of ten minutes each.

This is contrasted with the NHL, where each of those periods take fifteen minutes, meaning that the players are a bit fresher down the end of the game.

This is a genuinely interesting occurrence that doesn’t happen often when it comes to sports betting.

Both of the teams have positive moneyline odds, which is quite strange. This is likely due to the fact that the Comet League is not a league that people bet on too much.

Basically, what this is saying is that the sportsbooks aren’t entirely sure which team will win the match, and they’re hedging this by giving both teams mildly positive odds.

Many of the other lines in the Comet League also look like this, and it’s definitely worth checking out some Comet League action with these lines.

Tennis Exhibition Betting

The major tennis events are still on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that tennis bettors have turned to exhibition events to get their fix.

These exhibition events vary wildly in terms of quality, although today’s looks like a great one.

Today’s featured exhibition match is the Bett1 Aces Berlin Women’s Match, featuring Andrea Petkovic and Petra Kvitova.

The odds here are quite interesting in the context of the two players.

Kvitova is the more famous of the two, and the higher-ranked. The WTA has Kvitova as the 12th ranked women’s player in the world right now.

For her part, Petkovic is no slouch. She is ranked 87th in the world, and has been ranked as high as ninth in her career, although that was nearly a decade ago.

One stat that might be informative as to why the odds are the way they are here is how well the two women have been doing lately.

In 2020, Kvitova has a record of 12-3 in singles, while Petkovic has a record of 26-27. Petkovic has seen more action, but has also lost many more matches this year.

Between Kvitova’s higher ranking, more storied career, and better form this year, it begins to be clear why she is so favored on this moneyline.

This looks to be an interesting match, featuring great players, but Kvitova certainly seems to be the greater of the two.

The match airs at 11:30 a.m. EST.

Happy Betting!