Around the Betting Planet: COVID scare decimates Lazio squad

US sports betting news

Packers prepare for struggling Vikings in NFL Week 7

Sunday Night Football sees the Green Bay Packers play the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field in week seven of the 2020 NFL season. The Packers lead the North division of the National Football Conference with five wins and one loss. Green Bay have maintained an unbeaten home record this season, with their only loss coming on the road. 

Meanwhile, Minnesota have struggled to find their form this season, losing five of their six fixtures and winning the other. The Vikings currently sit at the bottom of the NFC North division, with their season threatening a premature end if they don’t turn their results around soon. 

The Packers have a passing average of 197 yards, thanks to star quarterback Aaron Rogers. Minnesota, on the other hand, have a sub-par passing average of only 155 yards. Overall, NFL betting sites place Green Bay as the favorites to win the match.

UK sports betting news

Burnley to host Chelsea in EPL Matchweek 7

This Saturday sees Burnley play host to Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at Turf Moor in the English Premier League. Although considered one of the so-called ‘Big Four’, the Blues have failed to really hit the heights that their big-spending summer promised. 

Lampard’s squad received a real injection of new talent during the transfer window, but the team’s performances have hardly given fans hope that they will once again be challenging for the title. Chelsea sit in 10th place in the league with nine points after picking up two wins, three draws and a loss. 

Although the season is still in its infancy, Burnley find themselves in the relegation zone with a single point from a possible 15. Manager Sean Dyche feels that despite losing four of their five matches, his team have shown signs of improvement.

Premier League betting sites see Chelsea as the favorites, but their leaky defense and misfiring forwards give Burnley a real chance to cause an upset.

Africa sports betting news

Cricket South Africa announces new season schedule

As the world tries to return to normal, sporting organizations have started to release next season’s schedules. Cricket South Africa (CSA) is among the latest to declare fixtures for the 2021 calendar year. 

CSA announced home tours against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and England. Kugandrie Govender, the acting CSA chief executive, also reported a Test in Pakistan – a fixture that hasn’t happened for 14 years – could be in the works. 

Both the England and Sri Lanka fixtures will feature three Twenty20 games and three One Day Internationals, set to take place between November this year and January 2021. Additionally, the Test series against Australia will mark the first time the Aussies have come to South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 which saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft banned from the side.

Europe sports betting news

Nine Lazio players miss training ahead of Champions League match

Fears of a Covid-19 outbreak in the Lazio squad have begun to circulate after nine senior players missed Tuesday’s training session. No official reports or explanations have come from the Italian club as of yet; however, the Serie A side underwent tests on Monday, leading to the rumors of an outbreak.

Whatever the case, the absences left Simone Inzaghi’s line-up in tatters ahead of this week’s UEFA Champions League clash with Club Brugge. Both Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile were among the stars missing from the squad, alongside Manuel Lazzari, Luiz Felipe, and Thomas Strakosha. With so many players out, it was no surprise that Lazio had to settle for a 1-1 draw.    

South America sports betting news

Chile to face Peru in FIFA World Cup qualifying

Peru travel to the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos to face Chile for the next set of FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures. The Peruvians started their campaign off strongly in a 2-2 draw with Paraguay before suffering a 4-2 loss at the hands of Brazil. 

Worryingly, both Carlos Caceda and Carlos Zambrano will miss the fixture against Chile after receiving red cards in the match against Brazil. Chile themselves are not in the greatest form as they started their group stage off with a 2-1 loss to Uruguay, although they managed to come back and draw their second match 2-2 against Colombia. 

With one point between them, Chile and Peru sit in seventh and eighth in the table respectively, and both are all too aware of just how important three points in this one will be to their hopes of featuring at the upcoming World Cup finals.

Australia sports betting news

Cameron Green on track for national honours

After bursting onto the scene with Western Australia in domestic cricket as a teenager, Cameron Green has had an unfortunate run of back injuries since November 2019 that have curtailed his hopes of representing his country on the big stage.

However, Green has spent his recovery period wisely by working on his game and redesigning his bowling action. After months of testing, the young cricketer plans to make his way back into the WA attack this week.

Green’s bowling issues have given him ample time to work on his batting, and those hours in the nets are starting to pay off in a big way. The 21-year-old has now hit four centuries in first-class cricket, two of which – including his personal best of 197 earlier this month – have come in the current Sheffield Shield season.