Saturday’s slate presents four opportunities for bettors to net some winnings with wise wagers. There are two matches in 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship group play and a pair of later matches in the NWSL‘s regular season.
One of the matches presents a very intriguing opportunity on the moneyline while the other three have obvious favorites. That doesn’t mean there’s no chance of betting those matches, though, as goal totals and spreads are in play.
How to watch, schedule, and the lines for Saturday
All times below are Eastern Daylight Savings. The Euros lines are from Caesars and the NWSL lines are from DraftKings. All lines are valid as of 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday.
- Euros: Spain (-370) vs. Denmark (+850), 3 p.m., ESPN (Draw +390)
- Euros: Germany (-1500) vs. Finland (+1900), 3 p.m., ESPN (Draw +800)
- NWSL: Houston Dash (+135) vs. Chicago Red Stars (+205), 8:30 p.m., Twitch (Draw +230)
- NWSL: Portland Thorns (-155) vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC (+400), Paramount+ (Draw +300)
Finland and Germany finish off their group stage
Finland and Germany kick off the action this Saturday in the Euros between the only two teams that have nothing on the line in this group. Finland and Germany have met once previously at the Euros, facing off in the 2005 semifinal. Germany won 4-1.
Seven of the last 11 goals Finland has conceded at this year’s Euros have been headers (64%), with four of the five goals they’ve shipped so far at this edition coming via this method. Meanwhile, Germany has only lost one of its 20 group stage matches at the Euros and not since 2013. The Germans have conceded just five goals in that span and never more than one in any single match.
Alexandra Popp has scored in both of Germany’s victories so far at EURO 2022 and could become the first German player to score in all three group stage contests at the UEFA Women’s European Championship.
Danes, Spanish meet with plenty on the line
This is the first-ever meeting between Denmark and Spain at the Euros but they last faced each other in June 2021 in a friendly, with Spain winning 3-0. Spain will qualify for the knockouts from Group B if it can avoid defeat against Denmark.
Spain has failed to score in four of their last five matches at the UEFA Women’s Euros, despite attempting a total of 68 shots across its appearances that it failed to net in. Denmark has only scored one goal at this year’s Euros, despite recording an expected goals tally of 3.4. This is currently the biggest negative difference between goals and expected goals by any team in the 2022 tournament (-2.4).
Spain is the team that has averaged the most possession (74%) and the most passes per game (670) in this year’s Euros.
Can Chicago push its unbeaten streak to 10?
The most recent regular season matchup between Houston and Chicago was a 1-1 draw last September but the Red Stars beat the Dash twice in this year’s Challenge Cup. Chicago has won 12 of the 24 all-time meetings between the teams in all NWSL competitions.
The Dash have conceded 10 goals in their last four matches, tying a league-high for 2022. The Red Stars have one loss in their first 11 matches, also tied for a league-best. The defensive structure of the Dash, without the Canadian internationals in particular, has been a question mark lately and Chicago has been able to come up with the goals it needs to maintain its point streak despite its absences.
This match might be the best opportunity of the day to take the underdog on the moneyline.
Portland looks to continue dominance over Gotham
Since 2018, Portland is unbeaten in nine games in league play against Gotham while also winning the 2021 Challenge Cup against them. In 22 all-time matches across all competitions, Gotham/Sky Blue FC has netted only 21 goals against the Thorns.
While Portland is on a seven-match unbeaten streak, Gotham ended its losing streak its last time out at Louisville. Three of Gotham’s four wins this season have come on the road as well.
Meghan Klingenberg notched her 18th assist of the season in the Thorns’ last match, which is the third-highest assist total through 11 matches of a season in NWSL history.
