Daily Sports Betting Preview 8/21/2020: Bellator 244, England Premiership Rugby, MLB

• Ryan Bader takes on Vadim Nemkov in the main event of Bellator 244, and has -144 odds to win.
• Bristol face off against Gloucester in England’s Premiership Rugby competition, and are -130 favorites.
• The Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A’s face off in what appears to be a relatively unpredictable matchup.

LAS VEGAS - Welcome to this Friday edition of the Daily Sports Betting Preview, which will cover three great betting opportunities.

First, in the world of MMA, Bellator 244 is headlined by a matchup between Vadim Nemkov and Ryan Bader.

Then, in the England Premiership Rugby Union competition, Bristol Rugby takes on Gloucester.

Finally, in MLB, the Los Angeles Angels face off against the Oakland Athletics, in what should be a good matchup.

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

Bellator 244 Betting

Bellator 244 takes place Friday, and the main event is a faceoff between Ryan Bader and Vadim Nemkov.

Bader is a double champion, holding the belts at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, and one of the most decorated in the promotion. Bader is one of the few genuinely high profile fighters in Bellator in terms of his actual combat ability.

He’s regarded as one of the best light heavyweights in the world, despite no longer competing in the UFC. Bader is putting his light heavyweight belt on the line in order to face off against Vadim Nemkov, who is one of the rising stars of the division.

Nemkov has a 12-2 professional record, and a 4-0 record in Bellator.

It’s hard to bet against Bader here. He’s generally regarded as one of the few elite fighters in Bellator, and one of the best light heavyweights in the world.

The fact that he also holds the Bellator heavyweight division belt only adds to his mystique - he’s not exactly at his best in the heavyweight division, he’s just that good.

Nemkov, meanwhile, is a bit of a wildcard. He’s described as a protege of the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, one of the greatest fighters of all time.

He fought in Rizin and Fight Nights Global before arriving in Bellator, and he’s racked up wins in all of his Bellator matches so far.

Nemkov is a dangerous fighter, but Bader could just be a cut above. MMA bettors will have to determine the likeliest outcome before placing their bets.

England Premiership Rugby Betting

England’s Premiership Rugby competition continues today, with several interesting matches. One of the most interesting is a faceoff between Bristol and Gloucester, a matchup with a lot of history.

Bristol are going to be playing their third Premiership game in eight days, which means that this is something of a test of how deep their team can go.

🏟️ Kingsholm challenge
✅ Starting on a high
⤵️ Depth test@henrypurdy_ talks winning starts, Gloucester threats and squad depth. 🐻🍒

Full interview 👇

— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) August 20, 2020

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Bristol are second place in the Premiership right now, with a record of nine wins, four losses and one draw. Gloucester are eighth, with a record of five wins and nine losses. The odds, however, are pretty even, and there are some good reasons for that.

These odds are a lot closer than one might expect from a matchup between the second place team and the eighth place team.

However, Bristol are forced to field something of a diminished team, given how many games they have had to play in the time leading up to this match. In addition, it is worth noting that the history of the matchups between the two teams favors Gloucester, significantly.

Gloucester have won 17 previous meetings, while Bristol have only won six.

In addition, the matchup is taking place at Gloucester, which is a place that Bristol have not recorded a win in over a decade.

These are the major reasons for how even the odds are at online sportsbooks, but it is hard to ignore that a very good team is facing off against a not-so-good team, and has close to even odds. There are a lot of different angles to analyze this match by, and rugby bettors will be hard pressed to make a determination.

MLB Betting

Major League Baseball continues today, with a lot of great matchups on the table. However, there is one matchup that stands out today, as the Oakland Athletics face off against the Los Angeles Angels.

The A’s are first in the AL West, with a record of 18-8, and are coming off of three wins against the Arizona Diamondbacks after dropping game one of their four game series.

The Angels, meanwhile, are 8-18, and they are fresh off of a trio of losses to the San Francisco Giants. The A’s and the Angels are set to face off three times, and the first of those three matchups is today.

The two teams have already faced off seven times this season, with Oakland winning four, and Los Angeles winning three.

It is worth noting that the home team has won five of their seven matchups so far. Let’s take a look at tonight’s pitching.

OAK vs. LAA - Pitching:

• Los Angeles Angels - Andrew Heaney
• Oakland A’s - Mike Fiers

Mike Fiers takes the mound for the A’s, and he’s been having a fairly mediocre season so far. He’s putting up an ERA of 5.96 and a WHIP of 1.48. Both of these are well below average for the league right now.

Andrew Heaney is doing a little better, but this could be a hitter’s matchup. Heaney is averaging a 4.74 ERA and a WHIP of 1.3.

Given this, it could be worth taking a look at the Over/Under line, which is set at 9.5 runs.

There are a lot of different ways to wager on this matchup, and MLB bettors should look for the best ones.

Happy Betting!