It’s the Saturday, April 11th edition of Sports Betting Around the World. Covid 19 has North American sports on lockdown but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of options out there to ‘scratch the itch.’ Here’s what’s on tap for today:
Soccer – Belarus Reserve League
Dynamo Brest (R) (-140) vs. Isloch Minsk (R) (+295) O3 5:00 AM
The Dynamo Brest reserves are a big road favorite in this match as they probably should be as the defending champions of the Belarus Premier League. The main Brest club has started slowly in their title defense going 1-0-2 in their first 3 matches but the reserves are 2-1 with a 5-2 goal advantage. FC Isloch reserves have dropped two straight and are in a tough road spot here.
Update: Isloch was able to capture a 4-2 win here for a nice +295 payout.
FC Minsk (R) (-115) vs. BATE Borisov (R) (+240) O3 5:00 AM
Minsk has two wins and a draw on the season vs. a BATE team that has lost 2-4 and 1-4 the last two weeks. That defense (or lack thereof) makes the ‘over’ 3 look good.
Update: Minsk did their part in the 3-0 win but the total ended up as a push.
Smolevichi (+180) vs. Shakhtyor Soligorsk (+115) O3 6:00 AM
This line of Smolevichi being such a huge underdog looks tempting considering the home team has dominated on defense allowing just 3 goals in three games this year. Smolevichi has gone 3-0 over that span to pull within a point of Neman Grodno (R) for 1st in the Belarus Reserve Table. Shakhtyor has played to a 1-1, 0-0, and 1-1 draw in their three games this season making the under look like a solid play.
Update: Shakhtyor dominated a little bit too much in this 4-0 win.
Soccer – Belarus Vysshaya Liga
SFC Slutsk (+110) vs. FC Vitebsk (+255) O2 6:00 AM
Slutsk sits in 2nd in the Vysshaya Liga table with a 2-0-1 record and 6 points after their first 3 matches of the season. They are one of six teams with that same record though including Saturday’s opponent Vitebsk. There have been a total of 4 goals scored in Vitebsk’s three games this year which is why this total is so low but Slutsk has scored 3+ in 2 of their 3 tilts.
Update: The teams battled to a 1-1 draw
Zhodino (+120) vs. Energetik – BGU Minsk (+225) O2.5 8:00 AM
Energetik is the hottest team in the league with a 3-0 record while giving up just 1 score so far through three games. Energetik is a very young team, but they have been gritty in 3-1, 1-0, and 2-0 wins on the year. Torpedo Zhodino isn’t going to score a lot with a couple 1-0 wins to go with a 0-2 loss last week. Hard not to go with the hot hand of Energetik here with a lean towards the under.
Update: Energetik suffered their first loss of the season in a 0-2 defeat.
Basketball – Taiwan Championship
Yulon Luxgen Dinos (-4.5) vs. Jeoutai 3:00 AM
Mediocrity will be on display when the Yulon Luxgen Dinos, who have gone 5-5 over their last 10 meet Jeoutai Technology who is 3-7 over their last 10. Both teams average over 82 points per game which is why the total of 177.5 is up there for a Taiwanese basketball game. Jeoutai has lost 12 of 15 while Yulon Luxgen has won 5 of 7 in this series. Makes the wager pretty easy.
Update: Jeoutai pulled off the crazy upset here in dominating 92-70 fashion.
Taiwan Beer (-7.5) vs. Paulan Archiland 5:00 AM
This is a matchup of the 1st and 2nd place teams in the Super Basketball League but the game isn’t playing out to be that close. Taiwan Beer is 23-7 atop the league while going 12-2 over their last 14. TPA on the other hand has lost 4 of their last 5 including three in a row. Two of those defeats were by at least 16 points.
Update: Taiwan Beer was able to escape with a win but failed to cover the number in a 79-73 victory.
Make sure to check back daily as this column expands to e-Sports and table tennis betting previews as we all try to weather the Coronavirus storm together…while still making some money wagering.
