Best Bets
The Jazz have struggled against the Rockets this season and the backcourt of James Harden and Chris Paul have emerged as a serious threat to the Rockets in the Western Conference. The Rockets dominated the regular season against the Jazz and the Utah face a difficult task of containing one of the best offensive combinations in the league. Harden scored 41-points in the first game of the playoffs to go with the career-high 56 points he scored against the Jazz in their first regular season game. The Rockets will head to Utah with a 2-0 series lead and I’m backing Houston to beat the line.
The Broncos were able to surprise South Sydney last week in Sydney and there are signs that the Brisbane are slowly returning to form after an inconsistent start to the season. The league world will watch to see if the Broncos will unleash Payne Haas again off the bench. The 17-year old was brilliant in his debut and could cause the Bulldogs some real headaches. Canterbury have struggled to fire this season and are sitting in second last position on the NRL ladder. The Broncos are playing with confidence and should be able to record a comfortable win.
Best Dark Horse Bets
Arsenal gave up a crucial away goal in the first leg of their tie with Atletico and face a tough assignment to advance into the Final of the Europa League. Atletico have kept a clean sheet in their last eleven home games and Arsenal have several players with injury concerns. Midfielder Mohamed Elneny has an ankle complaint and Henrikh Mkhitaryan picked up a knee injury in the game against Manchester United in the Premier League. Atletico should be able to get past Arsenal at home to advance to the final.
The Super Kings are sitting on top of the IPL standings thanks to the dynamic form of their veterans. Australian Shane Watson has been in outstanding form at the top of the order and is coming off a knock of 78 off 40 balls in his last innings against the Daredevils. MS Dhoni has been in excellent form in the middle order and the former Indian skipper hit 51 from 22 balls to help the Daredevils to 4/211 against the Daredevils. The Knight Riders line-up includes T20 stars Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and Aussie veteran Mitchell Johnson in a formidable line-up. The Super Kings have been playing some good cricket this season and they should be able to grind out the win against the Knight Riders.