If you love betting on sports then this week is going to be one of the best of the 
year for you as there are not just one, but two absolutely huge sporting events taking place this week, each of which is well worth a little flutter upon.
Of course, you can bet on these events with any of the top bookmakers, but I would strongly advise taking a close look at Coral at the moment. The company has some outstanding promotional offers and you have a fantastic offer to sign up with when you join. Coral’s New Player Offer rewards you with £20 worth of free bets when you bet just £5 initially and is one of the best value deals you can find anywhere online.
So with that in mind, let’s now review each of the big events coming up this week starting with the commencement of 16 weeks of top quality darts action every Thursday night as part of the exciting 2018 PDC Premier League Darts tournament.
2018 PDC Premier League Darts
Across many different venues around Europe, 10 of the best darts players in the world will face off every Thursday night for up to 16 weeks to decide who becomes the 2018 Premier League Darts champion. Michael van Gerwen has won the event for the past two years and three times in total, so can any of this year’s select group of stars dethrone the Dutch darts genius?
The ten players taking part in this event, together with their odds of winning the tournament outright (with Coral Sport) are listed below:
- Michael van Gerwen 8/11 favourite
- Rob Cross 7/2
- Gary Anderson 11/2
- Peter Wright 8/1
- Daryl Gurney & Raymond van Barneveld 40/1
- Michael Smith & Mensur Suljovic 50/1
- Gerwyn Price 100/1
- Simon Whitlock 200/1
Van Gerwen remains the odds-on favourite and after a dominant display in the Unibet Masters at the weekend, where he defeated Raymond van Barneveld 11-8 in the final, despite trailing 4-1 and 8-5 at different stages of the game, the Dutch legend is the smart choice here.
A solid each way option however could well be van Barneveld who is in fine form and who has the quality to beat any player on his day. He has won this event once previously too and enjoys massive support, not just in his native Holland but also in the UK too. At 40/1, the Dutchman is a solid each way option who could well make the final.
The Schedule
The 16 weeks of matches will be played at a variety of venues across Europe as outlined below:
- Night One – 1st February – 3Arena, Dublin
- Night Two – 8th February – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
- Night Three – 15th February – Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Night Four – 22nd February – Mercedes Benz Arena, Berlin
- Night Five – 1st March – Westpoint Arena, Exeter
- Night Six – 8th March – First Direct Arena, Leeds
- Night Seven – 15th March – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
- Night Eight – 22nd March – SSE Hydro, Glasgow
- Night Nine – 29th March – SSE Arena, Belfast – Judgement Night
- Night Ten – 5th April – Echo Arena, Liverpool
- Night Eleven – 12th April – FlyDSA Arena, Sheffield
- Night Twelve – 19th April – Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam
- Night Thirteen – 27th April – Manchester Arena, Manchester
- Night Fourteen – 3rd May – Arena, Birmingham
- Night Fifteen – 10th May – BHGE Arena, Aberdeen
- Night Sixteen – 17th May – The 02, London – Playoffs
Judgement Night on Night Nine sees the field reduced from 10 players down to eight with the two bottom players removed from the tournament. The remaining eight players then face each other once more over the next six weeks before the top four qualify for the Playoffs at the 02 in London. Here two semi-finals and then a final will decide the Premier League Winner 2018.
The action begins this week at the 3Arena in Dublin, home soil for Daryl Gurney, and the following matches are scheduled to be played on Thursday night (odds courtesy of Coral):
- 15pm – Mensur Suljovic (10/11) v Simon Whilock (21/10) – 10/3 the draw
- 50pm – Gary Anderson (8/13) v Michael Smith (3/1) – 4/1 the draw
- 30pm – Daryl Gurney (13/8) v Raymond van Barneveld (5/4) – 3/1 the draw
- 10pm – Michael van Gerwen (8/13) v Rob Cross (3/1) – 4/1 the draw
- 50pm – Peter Wright (8/13) v Gerwyn Price (3/1) – 4/1 the draw
My pick of the betting here is to back Daryl Gurney to be inspired by home support to get off to a great start with a win over Raymond van Barneveld at 13/8 with Coral.
Once the darts is completed then you can focus on the next big sporting event taking place at the weekend, which will be enjoyed by an audience of billions around the globe. Superbowl LII.
Superbowl LII
The defending Champions New England Patriots will look to make it three Superbowl victories in four years as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in what promises to be an exciting Superbowl this Sunday (kick off 11.30pm UK Time).
Inspired by their incredible quarterback Tom Brady, who is now going for his sixth Superbowl ring, the Patriots are the hot favourites to win the game against a Philadelphia team that have been underdogs in both their playoff games, but who have come through both in some style.
The Eagles chances of Superbowl success it seemed had disappeared when their key quarterback starter Carson Wentz was injured for the season on Week 14 of the Regular Season. However since then, and after a shaky start, Nick Foles has stepped up to produce some superb performances, notably in their NFC Championship game victory over the Minnesota Vikings to give the Eagles a chance.
As good as Foles is, it will likely be the Eagles much-vaunted defence that will be their key to success. Everyone knows how to stop Brady being so effective and that is to pressure him, make him use his feet and to give him no time or space in the pocket to make his pinpoint accurate passes. That Eagles pass rush on defence, plus the covering abilities of their safeties and corners will be the key to whether the Eagles can win this game or not.
Best Bets for the Superbowl
In the Spread betting market, you can get the Eagles to win with a Patriots handicap of -4.5 points at odds of 19/20 but I think a better option is the Money Line bet which allows you to back the Eagles at 7/4 to win the game (Patriots 4/9 in the same market).
I also like several options in the anytime touchdown scorer market with Rob Gronkowski of New England (evens) and Zach Ertz of Philadelphia (7/5) both I reckon very likely to be on the receiving end of a touchdown pass. Another solid option here is Danny Amendola, the man the Patriots call Mr Playoffs due to his effectiveness in these crunch games, as he is a 23/10 chance to score a touchdown at any time.
Remember, there will be plenty of In-Play betting available on both the Premier League Darts and the Superbowl across the weekend too with Coral Sport.