Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.
Here are our best bets for Friday, July 21:
TOP PLAY
The play: FIFA Women’s World Cup, USA-Vietnam OVER 6.5 goals
The odds: -105
Time/TV: 9 p.m. (Fox)
The book: Caesars Sportsbook
Our take: Six months ago, United States Soccer fans were constantly on edge as they watched their team compete at the FIFA World Cup. It won’t be the same this time around as the Stars and Stripes take center stage at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. There will be little-to-no stress for a few weeks yet.
As the U.S. prepares to face Vietnam in its opening match, the question is not “who will win?” but rather “how many will the Americans score?”
This time about four years ago, the U.S. Women’s National Team opened up its 2019 World Cup title run with a 13-0 drubbing of Thailand. Vlatko Andonovski’s side will square off against another Southeast Asian squad again this time around and it likely won’t be a pretty sight for the Vietnamese faithful.
There is no value in picking the USWNT to win this match — literally. The Stars and Stripes are -40000 to pick up all three points on matchday one at Caesars Sportsbook. Therefore, we’re getting creative with today’s top play.
We’ll take the over 6.5 total goals in this match at near-even money. We believe there is a good chance the Americans reach that tally rather easily on their own as they look to establish a hefty lead early atop Group E.
USWNT POPULAR PARLAY
The play: FIFA Women’s World Cup, USA to score in each half and USA 4+ corners each half
The odds: +130
The book: FanDuel Sportsbook
Our take: Seeing as the U.S. is such a hefty betting favorite in its opening contest, oddsmakers and bettors alike are flocking to the boards to come up with some way to find value in this clash. FanDuel Sportsbook has a plethora of pre-made parlays readily available for users, and there’s one that caught our eye.
Sportsbooks aren’t silly, they’re not going to hand out free money with these plays. Thus, you need to be realistic when wagering on the Americans’ opening Women’s World Cup game. We recommend staying away from any exact score picks, double hat-trick parlays or 20+ shot-on-target plays.
Instead, exchange some slightly shorter odds for achievable feats. The U.S. will almost undoubtedly score in each half, which means half of this parlay is covered rather easily. As for the corners, the Stars and Stripes racked up just 10 in their 13-0 drubbing of Thailand a few years ago, so we’ll err on the side of caution here and go with 4+ in each half.
HOW WE’VE FARED
MLB: Astros money line over Athletics (WON)
Thursday’s record: 1-0
Total for the week: 2-3, 2 pending
Total for July: 14-18, 2 pending
Total for 2023: 164-181, 2 pending
NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)
Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).
