The return of European league football greatly expands our betting options

Happy opening European football weekend to everyone who celebrates.

Three of the five major European leagues start this weekend, with the other two starting next weekend. The English Premier League, German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1 all have games on Friday, while Spain’s La Liga and Italian Serie A have a week to go before they start.

Because of the World Cup in November, the local men’s European football season starts so early this year. The leagues are taking breaks to allow their players to play at the World Cup and the season ends a little later than normal in May.

The return of league football in Europe means the return of many betting options at BetMGM. While soccer isn’t as popular as American football in the States, it can be a very profitable endeavor for bettors. And at least a constant source of action. It can seem like there is a football game to bet on every day during the league season.

Four of the five major European leagues have favorites more than 1-1. The biggest favorites are France and Spain, where defending champions Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are each at -1000 to win the league. Bayern Munich is -500 to win the Bundesliga and Manchester City is -140 to win the Premier League.

The Serie A title race looks enticing. Inter Milan and Juventus are each at +175 to win the league, while AC Milan is at +275. Roma are the No. 4 favorites after signing Paulo Dybala at +800 and Napoli are at +1300. For reference, Napoli’s odds as No.5 favorites in Serie A are better than Tottenham’s odds as No.3 favorites in the Premier League.

FC Bayern Munich will start the Bundesliga season on Friday with a game at Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt. Eintracht is +425 to win in regulation while Bayern is a heavy favorite at -225. The German giants have signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool this season and have the best attacking power in the league. Because of this, the over/under for Friday’s game is 3.5 and the over is only -115.

The story goes on

The first game of the Premier League season features Crystal Palace and Arsenal. Palace is +320 to win the game at home and a tie is +260. Arsenal have -115 to win as they aim to return to the Champions League. Arsenal played in Friday’s opener a season ago, losing at newly promoted Brentford to open the season with their first of three straight defeats earlier in the season.

The biggest EPL game of the weekend comes on Sunday when Man City travel to West Ham. The Hammers flirted with a Champions League spot for most of the 2021-22 season and are +700 to grab a win over City in Erling Haaland’s first Premier League game. Although City are the weekend’s biggest favorites at -275, we wouldn’t be completely shocked if West Ham took a point from the game.

You can view all football odds at BetMGM in full here for all your weekend betting needs.

Both New York teams in a big series

The NL East leaders New York Mets continue their home streak Friday night with the second-ranked Atlanta Braves. Taijuan Walker takes the mound for the Mets as they are 1.5 run favorites at +140. The Mets are -140 to win the game straight and the run total is 8.5. The Mets won 6-4 Thursday night, extending their lead over the Braves to 4.5 games in the division.

The Yankees, meanwhile, start Friday night with the St. Louis Cardinals with a three-game set. The Cardinals are now linked with the Brewers for the lead in the NL Central after the Cardinals beat the Cubs twice on Thursday and the Brewers were unseated by the Pirates.

Nestor Cortes starts for the Yankees while the Cardinals sideline Dakota Hudson. The Yankees are 1.5-run favorites at +115 and straight favorites at -145. A Cardinals home win is +120 odds.

Sungjae Im now the favorite at the Wyndham

Sungjae Im is two shots off the lead after the first round of the Wyndham Championship with 7-under. He is now the favorite to win the tournament at +333 going into the second round. First round leader John Huh started the tournament with a 9-under-61 and is the No. 2 favorite at +800. Aaron Wise is +1400 after hitting a 65 and Billy Horschel is at +2000 after hitting a 65 in the first round 67 shot.

Who cashed in bets on Thursday?

Raiders bettors were lucky as they clinched a win in the first game of preseason on Thursday night. The Raiders beat the Jaguars 27-11 after taking a 20-0 lead in the Hall of Fame game. The Phillies earned a 5-4 win over the Nationals in five innings, cut short by rain, and the Dodgers defeated the Giants 5-3, although Clayton Kershaw had to pull out of the game after just four innings and 66 pitches with back pain.