Top 5 bets for Wednesday's Nations League, IPL, Racing and Darts

Who is playing in the Nations League semi-finals?

Italy play Spain tonight in the first semi-final of the Nations League. Roberto Mancini’s men are on a 37-match unbeaten run, including their Euro 2020 semi-final win over tonight’s opponents. That Wembley clash finished 1-1, and another tight match is anticipated tonight with a place in the Nations League final against either Belgium or France at stake. Will Italy make home advantage count?

Federico Chiesa First Goalscorer 13/2

The Juventus forward has made a habit of grabbing the first goal for Italy, and with Ciro Immobile injured, he may be more heavily relied on. Chiesa has scored the first goal in three of Italy’s last seven games, but can he maintain that form against a Spain defence that only conceded twice in three games since the Euros. Those looking to get with Chiesa on the spreads may be interested in Chiesa’s Player Goal Minutes of 11-14 or his Super Mega Minutes (that double the minutes of any second goal and trebles those of any third) of 16-20.

Who is playing in today’s IPL game?

Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to keep their momentum going having already qualified for the play-offs, whereas Sunrisers Hyderabad have nothing more than pride to play for. RCB need to win both their remaining games and hope other results go their way to secure a top two finish and get two shots at the final.

Glenn Maxwell Player Performance 36-40

Maxwell has been on fire of late, especially with the bat, having hit three successive IPL 50’s. This market awards a point per run, 10 for a catch and 20 for a wicket and 25 per stumping and we’ve seen some buying here. The worry for buyers is Maxwell’s lack of contribution with the ball. He didn’t bowl at all last time out against Punjab Kings and didn’t take any wickets in two overs against Rajasthan Royals in the game before that. Of course if the Aussie continues his batting form that won’t matter, but will his run with the bat continue?

Where is the racing action this evening?

There are another 8 races on the Kempton card tonight, starting with 16.58 and culminating in the 20.30.

Jockey Super Mega Performance Oisin Murphy 94-98

Murphy has six rides booked at Kempton tonight, starting with 1/2 favourite Millennial Moon in the opener. Swiss Mistress in the second looks like going off around 2/1, while Beowulf in the third has drifted to 7/1. Pinatta is pretty friendless, around 12/1 in the 18.30, but Paxos is around 6/4 favourite in the 19.30 and Gherkin near enough the same in the 8.00. Murphy has some juicy rides tonight, and punters fancying him to convert could be tempted to buy at 98 in this market that awards 25 points for a win, doubles the points for winning a second race and trebles them for a third.

Who is playing in tonight’s World Grand Prix in Leicester?

It’s a who’s he of darts tonight as the second half of the second round of the World Grand Prix plays out. The seeds have been falling in the bottom half of the draw, so much so that the only one left is number 7 Jose de Sousa. He takes on a familiar face in arguably the game of the night, facing Premier League champion Jonny Clayton for the 8^th time this season.

Total Legs 16.65-17.15

These two players match up really well and a tight match might be in the offing. Punters expecting an attritional battle could bet tempted to buy at 17.15 total legs, with these matches best of five legs and best of five sets. However, those predicting one or the other to run away with it will be looking to sell.

Wednesday Evening Specials: Highest Checkout 145-148

After the excitement of Ryan Searle’s maximum 170 checkout last night, we’ve seen some buying in this special spread that covers all four games tonight. If any of the eight players on show tonight can match Searle’s 170, buyers will win 22 times their stake, but just because it was done last night there’s no more reason to believe it will happen again! If the highest checkout is below 148, buyers will lose.