In this week’s parlay card, we’ll feature some of the lesser-known sports. With the NFL all wrapped up, and the NBA having their All-Star Break, it’s time for some other games to head to the forefront.
The XFL kicks off their first season in three years, while there are some excellent global soccer matches as well. Regardless of the sport or game, rest assured we will seek to uncover all of the value in crafting together a savvy and thrilling parlay card for your weekend wagering action.
As always, we’ll rank the plays from our most confident pick over the weekend to our least. We feel that all parlay legs will hold value throughout the weekend, and will state the current betting odds, as well as what each leg of the parlay would pay out.
Parlay Picks Today
- EPL: Arsenal (-120)
- XFL: Arlington Renegades -3 (-110)
- EPL: Manchester United (-170)
- XFL: DC Defenders PK (-110)
Pick 1: Arsenal (-120) over Aston Villa
Sat. Feb. 18th (EPL)
While very few bettors and fans predicted the Gunners from Arsenal to ascend to new heights in 2022-23, they currently sit near the top of the Premier League table. Manager Mikel Arteta has done an exemplary job with a young Arsenal squad, but many wonder if they’re starting to feel the pressure.
They haven’t been great as of late, and their most recent outing was a crushing 3-1 defeat by the hands of Man City – the current first place team.
Saturday represents a grand spot for the Gunners to re-discover their form. They offer great value on the moneyline as they head to Aston Villa.
Arsenal has not found a win across their previous three Premier League matches, despite still possessing good results. Arsenal is a tenacious team, especially in the midfield, and Arteta’s wide-play should stretch a weakened Villa defense quite thin.
Up front, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah have all kinds of pace, and should find holes behind a plodding Aston Villa back-line. Adding intrigue to this early morning matchup on Saturday is the fact that Villa’s manager, Unai Emery, was the previous manager of Arsenal prior to Arteta.
You better believe Emery will seek to stick it to his old club and spoil their title run. Ultimately, although Arsenal enters in a bit of a mid-season swoon, their quality, structure, and pace should overwhelm Aston Villa and silence a rabid Villa Park fanbase. They’ve got a leaky defense and the Gunners should find a routine victory.
Pick 2: Arlington Renegades -3 (-110) vs. Vegas Vipers
Sat. Feb. 18th (XFL)
After a long wait, the new and improved XFL kicks off their season in Texas, as the Vegas Vipers take on the Arlington Renegades. Yes folks, we cannot even go one week without football betting action!
Vegas comes in with the more well-known roster, as former NFL QB Brett Hundley will start under center for the Vipers. That said, he has reportedly not mastered the playbook to the expectations just yet, so you can expect Luis Perez to lead the Vipers in Texas.
Perez has been a journeyman QB throughout his career, and has had limited success in other second-tier leagues. He has some big names at the wideout position as Martavis Bryant and Geronimo Allison will look to keep the chains moving.
And, though they have good squad recognition, it will be interesting to see how different they fare compared to their games in the NFL.
The Renegades will counter with a power run game, and that should bode well for an early season affair, when passing offenses don’t likely have their timing down just yet.
The tandem of Keith Ford and Kenneth Farrow brings a lot of explosiveness and downhill running ability, and their blend of power and elusiveness should really impact a Vegas defense that seems quite questionable based on prior playing experiences.
A reminder entering Week 1 of the XFL, there is also no extra point. Instead, coaches will be tasked to either go for two-points or three. A two-point conversion is from the five-yard line, while the three-pointer is from the ten.
It should make for exciting games and keep teams into games deep into the fourth quarter. The betting markets anticipate that the Renegades will be one of the league favorites this year as QB Kyle Sloter will again be paired with his old pal Sal Canella at tight end.
That’s a tandem incredibly familiar with each other from their USFL days. That familiarity should play well in an uncertain early season spot. Back the Renegades -3 to keep this parlay rolling!
Two Team Parlay Odds
If you prefer to do a Saturday parlay card with just two teams, a parlay of Arsenal (-120) and the Arlington Renegades -3 (-110) has parlay odds of +250. This means you will win $250 dollars for every $100 wagered.
Pick 3: Manchester United (-170) over Leicester City
Sun. Feb. 19th (EPL)
Though new Man United manager Erik ten Haag got off to a rocky start during his first few months at United, the Red Devils have steadied the ship and look to be finding their squad.
Ten Haag rightfully shipped out squad members who weren’t committed to the jersey, and it has paid early dividends. A new-look group is scrappy, skilled, and have soared up the Premier League table in recent weeks.
As we enter the final stretch of the campaign, Man United will surely be hoping to lock down a coveted Champions League Top 4 spot. They enter Sunday’s match vs. Leicester sitting comfortably on 46 points, and are just five back from league-leaders Arsenal and Man City.
Leicester meanwhile has been a disappointment. The team has been quite abysmal away from home, both in terms of chances generated and key defensive metrics. They are just six points up from relegation and have really struggled when taking on solid offensive groups.
With Marcus Rashford seemingly scoring at will right now, it will be interesting to see who within Leicester’s back-line can competently stand up to the rapid English striker.
And though Leicester is buried way down in the table, they have shown signs of life offensively of late. The Foxes dominated Tottenham last week by a 4-1 score and Brendan Rodgers hopes that it’s a sign of things to come.
Don’t get ahead of ourselves though, as the Spurs were very much looking forward to a mid-week Champions League clash. Man United doesn’t have the same distractions and should bully the midfield with the Brazilian power duo of Fred and Casemiro.
That tandem, along with Bruno Fernandes and Rashford up top, is going to carve the Leicester back-line apart en route to a comfortable win. A line of -170 is a nice price on the Red Devils this Sunday.
Three Team Parlay Odds
Taking the first three parlay bets on this card of Arsenal (-120), Arlington Renegades -3 (-110) and Manchester United (-170), has a sweet +456 parlay odds. That means you will win $456 dollars for every $100 wagered.
Jordan Ta’amu hits WR Jordan Lasley for a TD to increase the lead!
Tampa Bay up 17-0
Lasley hit the dunk celebration too 👀
— BarnBurner Sports (@BB__Sports) April 19, 2022
Pick 4 – DC Defenders PK (-110)
Sun. Feb. 19th (XFL)
While we feel pretty confident about our top three plays, for those risk-takers out there you won’t want to shy away from our final parlay leg to truly make your weekend a great one! For our final selection of the article, we will turn our heads back to the world of pro football, and focus on Week 1 of the XFL!
To wrap up a thrilling weekend of XFL action, the Seattle Sea Dragons will head to DC to take on the Defenders. The DC Defenders aren’t getting any pre-season hype, but they have one of the top QB’s in the entire league in Jordan Ta’amu.
The former Ole Miss star has put together excellent seasons of late, featuring prominently in both the USFL and the previous versions of the XFL. He’s mobile, reads defenses well, and has a big arm.
Coach Jim Haslett will be tasked with trying to stop Ta’amu. Though the Sea Dragons have previous Cowboys’ QB Ben DiNucci, recent reports from practice and training camp indicate that DiNucci has yet to fully grasp the playbook.
The Sea Dragons won’t get bailed out by a solid running game either, and could find it tough to move the chains as they try to keep up with the presence and poise of Ta’amu. The Sea Dragons do have former NFL star wideout Josh Gordon.
Gordon had been booted from the NFL due to too many violations of its substance-abuse policy, but the talented receiver has a chance to resurrect his career.
However, going against the Defenders seems to be a tough task as coordinator Gregg Williams has likely assembled the top unit in the league. “Defenders” is their name after all, and expect them to ride a stingy defense to a Week 1 road victory on Sunday evening.
Four Team Parlay Odds
If you choose to wager on the full four team parlay card, you will receive parlay odds of +961 which means that you win $961 dollars for every $100 wagered.
