Top 3 bets for Monday night's action

Is there an NFL Monday Night Football game tonight?

There is, as the Seattle Seahawks take on the New Orleans Saints in a game they really can’t afford to lose. Seattle have been a big disappointment this season, slumping to a 2-4 record, but they can point at the loss of star quarter-back Russell Wilson as one of the main reasons. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows he needs to keep his team competitive until Wilson returns from his finger injury, but the Saints come into this one well rested and with a number of first choice players back available after spells on the sidelines.

New Orleans TD Yardage 38-46

Can Seattle arrest their slide or is this season going to be a write off? Punters have been backing New Orleans as they expect another poor showing from the Seahawks, who have had an uncharacteristically leaky defence this season. Jameis Winston, whose numbers have not been great due to the number of injuries in key receiving positions, has connected on a couple of 50-yard-plus touchdowns with Deonte Harris, who until this season and the injury problems, has primarily been a return specialist.

Is there any ‘proper’ Monday Night Football this week?

There is if you look hard enough! Linfield travel to Larne in the Northern Irish Premiership knowing that an away win will take them to the top of the table above Cliftonville. Larne have dropped to 4^th after losing to Cliftonville, who followed up that impressive win by losing to struggling Ballymena at the weekend, a first defeat of the season that could allow Linfield to leapfrog them tonight. If Larne take the three points, they’ll be up to 2^nd, a point behind Cliftonville.

Cross-Bookings 305-365

These two sides look pretty well matched, and with the top of the table so tightly bunched, don’t expect either to give an inch. There’s plenty of history between these two clubs too, not least Linfield beating Larne in last season’s Irish Cup final. We’ve seen some buying in some of the booking markets such as Cross Bookings, which multiplies one team’s booking points by the other (10 points for a yellow card, 25 for a red).

What’s the early game in the T20 World Cup tomorrow?

It’s South Africa versus the West Indies at 11am, and with both sides having lost their tournament opener, the pressure is on to win this second game. South Africa went down in the final over of a tense tournament opening game against Australia but the Windies were embarrassed by England, being bowled out for just 55. The West Indies hold the experience advantage, with half of the South African squad coming into their first global championship, but if that batting line-up, so devastating on its day, fails again, it could be terminal to their T20 World Cup defence.

Multi-Flyer 40-45

Both these teams have explosive openers, though if the West Indies bat again like they did against England, they may as well pack up and go home. If South Africa are to win this game, a lot rests on their opening partnership of experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Quentin de Kock and diminutive skipper Temba Bavuma, while the Windies should open with Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis, with the possibility Chris Gayle may move back to his traditional position if a shake up is needed. Whether it’s in hope or expectation, punters are buying this market that is made up by multiplying the first over scores for each team. The Windies scored 7 in their first over against England, the Proteas managed 11 against the Aussies.