As always, lines per Bovada.
Premier League
Leicester City @ Norwich City (-0.5, -115; -115)
Look, Leicester hasn’t been great so far this year. Leicester followed up a less than convincing win against Wolverhampton in week 1 with a 4-1 loss to West Ham in week 2, during which Ayoze Perez saw red. Obviously Ayoze will be missing this week’s match due to the red card. That being said, Norwich have had a rough start to the season. Having yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, Norwich is sitting on a goal difference of -8 after just two weeks. While Norwich’s losses were to elite Premier League teams (3-0 to Liverpool and 5-0 to Man City), Leicester should have enough quality to earn 3 points away this weekend.
West Ham vs. Crystal Palace (Over 2.5, -115)
This game is a risky pick because Crystal Palace has yet to score a Premier League goal this year, but I feel like being risky. This pick is entirely based on West Ham. In the first two games, West Ham has scored 4 goal in each while demonstrating they have a leaky backline. They even conceded a goal to 10-man Leicester last week. It looks like West Ham will be in a lot of high scoring games this season, and this may very well be one of them.
Manchester United @ Wolverhampton Wolves (-0.5/-1, +105; -125)
Manchester United put in a dominant display last week against Southampton, but only came away with one point due to an own goal by Fred. While dropping those two points may matter later in the season, it shouldn’t matter for this week 3 match-up. Paul Pogba has been in-form from minute one, and the supporting cast led by Bruno Fernandes has played well as well. I do, however, wonder what line-up Solskjaer will put out there on Sunday. So far, United’s big summer signings, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, have not been incorporated into the starting lineup. One would think that if a team spends more than 100 million pounds on two players, that those two players would be in the lineup. On the other side of this is Wolves, who have a lot of attacking talent, but have yet to score a goal in the Premier League this season, leaving a lot to be desired. I’m sure Bruno Lage will eventually get this team going offensively one of these weeks, but I’m not sure that week 3 against Manchester United will be that week.
La Liga
Valencia vs. Alaves (-0.5, -120; -120)
Valencia has been quietly playing well in the first few weeks of the La Liga season. After going down to 10-men in the third minute of the opener, 10-man Valencia beat a decent Getafe team 1-0. Los Murcielagos followed this up with a 1-1 draw at Granada. However, the most impressive aspect of Valencia so far this season has been Carlos Soler. The 24-year-old is clearly a leader for this team and has earned the respect of his teammates. From comforting Hugo Guillamon after his third minute red card to stepping up and score both of Valencia’s goals from penalties this season, Soler has been a shining star on the Valencian Coast. Alaves put together a really good first 60 minutes against Real Madrid in week 1 before losing 4-1. In week 2, Alaves had a lackluster performance at home against a Mallorca team that should be in a relegation fight later this season. With the game at the Mestalla, I like Valencia’s chances.
Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen @ FC Augsburg (-0.5/-1, -110; -135)
Bayer Leverkusen bounced back from a 1-1 draw against a defensively sound Union Berlin in week 1, blowing out Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 in week 2 (in a scoreline that was a bit unfair to Monchengladbach). Leverkusen re-discovered their offensive form in week 2, something that is likely to carry in to week 3. Despite a lackluster performance last weekend, Augsburg managed to get a point against Eintracht Frankfurt. The weekend before that, Augsburg found itself on the wrong side of a 4-0 scoreline against a competent but unremarkable Hoffenheim squad. Patrik Schick and company look ready to keep the offensive fireworks going for Leverkusen, and Augsburg have yet to score a Bundesliga goal this season. I’m riding with Leverkusen here.
Serie A
Inter Milan @ Hellas Verona (-1, even; -165)
Inter Milan, despite losing Hakimi and Lukaku, picked up right where they left off last season, bagging 4 goals in a dominant win over Genoa (4-0). Newcomers Edi Dzeko and Hakan Calhanoglu both managed to score and seemed to slot seamlessly into the lineup. Most notably, Lautaro Martinez was missing from the lineup, though this was likely an effort to give him an extra week off after participating in the Copa America over the summer. Though Inter Milan seemed to do just fine without him in the season opener, Lautaro may return to the lineup this weekend, adding more offensive firepower to a team that had no issue scoring in the season opener. Hellas, on the other hand, dropped the season opener against Sassuolo 3-2 in a game where the result was closer than the match. Sassuolo seemed to dispatch Hellas with some ease, though Hellas went down to 10-men at the end of the first half when Miguel Veloso was sent off. Only a 90th minute penalty from Zaccagni brought Hellas and the final scoreline within one goal. Veloso, an experienced defensive midfielder who would be an asset against an attacking force like Inter Milan, is set to miss this match due to the red card and will surely be missed by Hellas.
Napoli @ Genoa (-1, -115; -180)
Napoli opened the season at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium against Venezia, taking all three points in a 2-0 win. While 2-0 against a newly-promoted team may not seem impressive, Napoli went down to 10 men just 22 minutes into the season, with Victor Osimhen receiving a red card. Despite playing the rest of the match down a man, Napoli managed to bag two goals and retain the majority of possession. Lorenzo Insigne also maintained his impressive form from the Euros, converting a penalty and scoring Napoli’s first goal of the season. Genoa’s start to the season, however, was anything but pleasant. Il Grifone started the season away against reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan. The highlight of the match for Genoa was the first five minutes of the match, before they went down 1-0. The match ended with a 4-0 defeat for Genoa. While Inter Milan is likely a better team than Napoli, a 4-0 loss in the first game of the season (including the demoralizing effect) is something that cannot be overlooked. Napoli will be disappointed if they don’t walk away from this one with three points.
Roma @ Salernitana (-1, -105; -170)
Red cards seemed to be the theme in week 1 of Serie A, with both a Roma player and a Salernitana player seeing red in different matches. Roma opened the season against Fiorentina, in a match that ended with only 10 men on each side. The display was competent against a solid Fiorentina side. In particular, newcomer Tammy Abraham shined for Roma and looks to be a great signing if he can maintain this form throughout the season. Fiorentina was a little unlucky to lose 3-1, but Roma deserved the three points. Salernitana, unlike Roma, did not earn any points in their start to the Serie A season. The newly-promoted side started the season away at Bologna, where De Silvestri’s second goal was the difference in the scoreline; however, the scoreline is deceptive. Salernitana only had 27% possession and just all around outplayed by Bologna. If Salernitana is unable to increase their share of possession against Roma, it will be a long night in Salerno. Despite Roma missing Zaniolo due to his red card, the team from the Italian capital should still leave Salerno with three points.
Ligue 1
PSG @ Reims (-2/-2.5, even; -575)
Normally, I would not feature a game with these odds, but this will be Messi’s debut with PSG. This game will either finish 5-0, affirming that PSG is a superpower in Ligue 1 and the presumptive 2021/2022 Ligue 1 champion, or PSG will struggle and every commentator will overreact (“What’s Wrong with PSG?!?” headlines), ignoring the fact that Messi joined the squad two weeks ago and may need a little more time to adapt to the new league, new style of play, and new teammates.
Big Five FC 