Tennis Picks 2022 (February 18th)

This has been a difficult week and some of the frustration was felt when Marton Fucsovics was not able to take his chances in the third set in his eventual defeat to Nikoloz Basilashvili.

At least Karen Khachanov prevented it being a really bad day, but this has not been a fun week as the inches have largely been against the selections.

Simona Halep - 3.5 games v Jelena Ostapenko: After winning the French Open there would have been quite a few people out there that were looking forward to seeing how Jelena Ostapenko could kick on with her career. It was a surprising win back in 2017 when the Latvian upset Simona Halep in the Final of Roland Garros and almost a year later Jelena Ostapenko reached a career high World Ranking.

However, the last few seasons have been much tougher for Ostapenko who plays a high risk game, although there have been signs she could be returning to her best.

Jelena Ostapenko has made a positive start to 2022 and there will be a feeling that she can use the momentum of her early season form to carry her forward. The clay court season will soon begin, and that is when Ostapenko may feel her best tennis can be produced, while a couple more big tournaments are to come on the hard courts next month for the Semi Finalist in Dubai.

The Latvian has played well in this tournament, although she has been involved in a couple of tight, physical matches that have lasted around two and a half hours on the court each time. There hasn't been much in her matches and Jelena Ostapenko could have easily been beaten in her last couple of matches, and now she has to take on arguably the player of the tournament.

Simona Halep has benefited from a good draw to reach another Semi Final, but she has been producing some very strong numbers and she has spent a lot less time on the court than her opponent in this Semi Final. The serve will be tested by an aggressive Jelena Ostapenko return, but Halep has had an edge on this side of her tennis and I think that will put her in a good position to beat someone who could be feeling the effects of playing as much tennis as she has needed to in order to move through the draw.

Both players will feel the return of serve is going to be key for them, but I think there has been more consistency in the Simona Halep first serve which can give her the edge.

The Romanian has also been able to protect the second serve with a bit more belief in her own game and I think that will lead to a good win for the former World Number 1.

MY PICKS: Simona Halep - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Roberto Bautista Agut - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet365 (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2022 (February 17th)

A horrible day for the favourites in Dubai on Wednesday hurt the Tennis Picks, but I was also on the wrong end of a couple of bits of bad luck.

That is no excuse in what has been a very tough week, but I still have a chance to turn things back around.

Marton Fucsovics - 2.5 games v Nikoloz Basilashvili: He has had a miserable start to the 2022 season, but Nikoloz Basilashvili had a similar kind of opening to 2021.

Arriving in Doha sparked something as the Georgian went on to win the title here, and he has made a positive start to the defence of that title. Nikoloz Basilashvili had not won a match in 2022 before the tough victory over Elias Ymer, but you have to wonder if he is set for another title run having done the same last season.

His numbers have unsurprisingly been pretty poor for a player that had lost every match so far this season, but Nikoloz Basilashvili will hope the win in the Second Round can be a positive spark for him. It was the best returning day of his season, but Basilashvili has continued to struggle behind serve and he has only held 63% of his service games played.

Next up for him is Marton Fucsovics who has had a pretty inconsistent start to 2022, but who has won two matches in Doha to make himself feel better. The hard court numbers over the last twelve months gives Fucsovics a slight advantage over his opponent in this Quarter Final, but like Basilashvili, the Hungarian has struggled with his return so far in 2022 and will have to improve markedly if he is going to find more consistency in his results.

Marton Fucsovics has had a good tournament so far though and that should give him the confidence to win this match.

He has a winning record against Nikoloz Basilashvili and Marton Fucsovics has a significant edge in the returning numbers in their four previous hard court matches. The most recent was won by Nikoloz Basilashvili at the US Open in 2019, but even on that day it was Marton Fucsovics who created more break points.

i think he is going to have the slight edge on the return in this match and it could give the favourite enough of an opportunity to cover this handicap mark.

MY PICKS: Marton Fucsovics - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Karen Khachanov @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2022 (February 16th)

It has not been a very good week for the Tennis Picks at all, but I have also been on the wrong end of some poor fortune.

Ultimately I have to hold my hands up and say it has not been good enough, but Wednesday offers a chance to turn things around.

Any selections from Delray Beach or Rio will be added to this post.

Elina Svitolina - 2.5 games v Jill Teichmann: It says plenty about the quality of the field at any tournament that someone Ranked at Number 35 has to come through the Qualifiers to take part in the main draw. That is the case for Jill Teichmann, although she benefited as one of the Lucky Losers from the final Qualifying Round to earn her spot in the draw in Dubai.

The Swiss player has taken full advantage of that by beating Elise Mertens in the First Round, but Jill Teichmann is going to have to win more big matches if she is going to have a deep run here. Performances in 2022 has shown that Jill Teichmann is not intimidated by facing the better players on the Tour, although she has not been able to find the consistency she has needed to win those matches.

In saying that, the hard court numbers before this event in Dubai have been less than impressive as Jill Teichmann has found her second serve and her return game put under some pressure. The second serve could be a problem in this match, but I think the left hander should have a bit more success on the return against what has been a vulnerable Elina Svitolina serve, although perhaps not enough success for Teichmann to be able to earn the upset.

Elina Svitolina may have missed her window to win a Grand Slam, and she has slipped outside the top 10 of the World Rankings after a disappointing Australian summer. Like Jill Teichmann, Elina Svitolina played well in her First Round match here and was relatively comfortable in progressing through to the Second Round, while her overall hard court numbers in 2022 have been slightly more convincing than her opponents.

Both previous matches between these players have come on the clay courts, but in both Elina Svitolina has battered the Jill Teichmann second serve. The matches have been split 1-1, but the Ukrainian player has looked the better player in both and I do think the hard courts suit her game a little more than for Teichmann.

The first serve should be important to both players, but Elina Svitolina has shown a little more ability to protect the second serve and has the superior returning numbers. While I expect Jill Teichmann to have her moments throughout this match, Elina Svitolina can do enough to win and cover this mark.

Simona Halep - 6.5 games v Elena Ruse: I still think there is a Grand Slam or two that Simona Halep can win before she calls time on her career, but the 30 year old has the first ambition of trying to make her way back up the World Rankings. She has started 2022 on fire and Simona Halep was a comfortable winner over Alison Riske in the First Round to continue what has been a largely dominant run to open the season.

A couple of disappointing setbacks will have concerned Simona Halep, but her tennis should be well suited to the quick conditions most players face in Dubai. Her serve was working particularly well in the win over Alison Riske and it could have come by a much wider score on the board if Halep had taken all of the chances she had created.

There might be something of an inferiority complex on the court for this Second Round match too and that can be understandable as Elena Ruse takes on a compatriot at a relatively early stage of her own career. Elena Ruse would likely have looked up to Simona Halep and she has only recently hit her career best World Ranking of Number 59, which is someway below the level that Halep operates at.

Mentally it will be a challenge for Ruse, but she has come through the Qualifiers and earned a win over Paula Badosa in the First Round. It has to give the younger Romanian plenty of confidence having never beaten a top 20 Ranked opponent before, while Elena Ruse has struggled in most aspects of her tennis when facing top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts.

The 24 year old may be improving, but she has struggled in her two matches against Simona Halep which have been played over the last four months. Both were on hard courts and Simona Halep lost a total of six games across four sets these two have competed in, something that may underline the point I made about there being a mental obstacle for the younger player to overcome.

Elena Ruse has struggled with her serve and barely been able to get into the Simona Halep service games in those losses and I think that may be the same in Dubai. The quicker conditions could give Ruse a chance to put more pressure on Halep, but any rally will likely end in advantage to the former World Number 1 and I will look for Simona Halep to win by a good margin against her compatriot yet again.

MY PICKS: Elina Svitolina - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Simona Halep - 6.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)

Jelena Ostapenko + 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Garbine Muguruza - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Barbora Krejcikova - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Aryna Sabalenka - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Roberto Bautista Agut - 1.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Karen Khachanov - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Dan Evans - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Aslan Karatsev - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 4.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2022 (February 15th)

There are plenty of matches set to be played on Tuesday when the majority of the First Round matches at the five tournaments are scheduled to go onto the courts around the world.

I will be looking to add any selections from Rio and Delray Beach to this thread, but for now I have selections from Doha, Dubai and Marseille which can be read below.

Corentin Moutet - 3.5 games v Hugo Gaston: The primetime evening session at the ATP Marseille tournament features French players on Tuesday, but the second match may be of more interest from a picks point of view.

That is the match featuring two of the younger ATP players from France after Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Gilles Simon have met prior to this First Round encounter. In this one Hugo Gaston and Corentin Moutet are facing one another and the poor form of the former has got to be a worry when they meet in Marseille.

Hugo Gaston has only won once in 2022, while the numbers have been really worrying. The left hander has only held 62% of the service games played on the hard courts so far in 2022 and that has placed a big burden on the returning aspect, something that has ultimately broken down the Hugo Gaston game.

He is not a bad return player though and that should give Hugo Gaston some chances to get into the Corentin Moutet serve considering the lower Ranked, but older, Frenchman can sometimes have issues holding on his serve. In 2022 it has been a different story for Corentin Moutet though who has held 84% of the service games played on the hard courts and that is where I think the difference will be made in this match.

Like his opponent, Corentin Moutet has actually returned pretty well, but his serve has been better protected than Hugo Gaston's and I think that will show up to separate the two players on the day. Corentin Moutet has the slightly superior return numbers too and I am going to look for him to produce the better tennis in this match which eventually sees him wear down and beat Hugo Gaston.

In matches between compatriots, there can be a pecking order when it comes to how players deal with one another on the court and I think the older Corentin Moutet will have an edge over Hugo Gaston overall. The latter may start turning his form around, but I think he will have to wait at least one more week to do that and Corentin Moutet can find the breaks of serve to win this one and cover the spread.

Lorenzo Musetti - 2.5 games v Elias Ymer: There is a bright future ahead of Lorenzo Musetti, but the young Italian has yet to find the consistency he would like on the Tour. Plenty of new faces are beginning to make a real impact on the Tour led by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but Lorenzo Musetti will feel he has the tennis to challenge those players for the big titles in the years ahead.

A poor Australian summer would have hurt, but Lorenzo Musetti has reached the Quarter Final at the last two tournaments he has played. Some may feel it is a little surprising that the Italian has not decided to play in the events in South America rather than the indoor hard courts, but it may be a learning experience for a player that has been a little inconsistent on this surface.

The returning side of his game has been letting Lorenzo Musetti down, but he may have more joy against Elias Ymer who enters this tournament as a Lucky Loser. Those players can be dangerous having had a couple of matches in the conditions to become accustomed to how the court and the balls are playing, while Elias Ymer also reached the Quarter Final of a hard court tournament played in 2022.

Unlike his brother Mikael, Elias Ymer has yet to really find his feet on the full ATP Tour and remains well outside the top 100 of the World Rankings. Many felt he had the talent to produce more than we have seen and Elias Ymer has yet to crack the top 100, but he has beaten both players from inside the top 100 that he has faced so far this season.

Eiias Ymer may have surprised some with his two top 100 wins considering he was 1-8 in those matches on the hard courts in 2021. His return has been pretty decent in those matches, but Elias Ymer has a serve that can be attacked and that should give Lorenzo Musetti a chance to produce one of his better days in the office.

Last week Lorenzo Musetti actually beat Mikael Ymer in Rotterdam and I think the tennis he will be facing in this one will be similar, although Elias Ymer is not playing at the same kind of level as his brother.

It will be a tough test for the young Italian, but it is one that he can find a way of winning and I think he will be able to cover this spread too.

Taro Daniel + 4.5 games v Andy Murray: After meeting at the Australian Open, Taro Daniel and Andy Murray will face each other once again at the ATP Doha tournament being played this week. This First Round match could be quite interesting after Daniel upset the former World Number 1 at Melbourne Park, but the layers are not convinced there will be much chance of a repeat.

I think that underestimates Taro Daniel who had a very productive Australian summer, although he has not played any competitive tennis since losing in the Fourth Round at the first Grand Slam of the season. His numbers have been very productive behind serve and return in 2022, although the big question for someone like Taro Daniel is how long he can continue to produce at a level that he has not been able to sustain previously.

Taro Daniel has been serving really well, but winning 68% of points played behind that shot is a level that he is unlikely to keep performing at. However, Andy Murray has been a mixed bag in 2022 as he looks to find the tennis that took him to World Number 1 and it can be hard to know what kind of form he is going to bring to the court on a day to day basis.

At his peak, Andy Murray's return was a key part of the successes he was able to have on the Tour, but he hasn't always been able to defend around the court as he did at his best, That has allowed opponents to get on top of rallies and break down Andy Murray, while the British player is only holding 80% of service games played on the hard courts so far this season.

Andy Murray did reach the Final of a tournament in Sydney before the Australian Open begun, but his numbers have been disappointing since then. The service hold percentage has dropped to 72% in the four matches played after the Final in Sydney, and that has to offer Taro Daniel plenty of belief when he arrives on the court.

Their match at the Australian Open was closer than a straight sets win for Taro Daniel would suggest, but it may be a big ask for Andy Murray to turn the result and win by a wide enough margin to cover this spread. If Taro Daniel serves anything like he has been in 2022, I expect him to keep this match tight on the scoreboard and he can be backed with the games being given to him by the layers.

MY PICKS: Corentin Moutet - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Lorenzo Musetti - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Taro Daniel + 4.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Elise Mertens - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Tennis Picks 2022 (February 14th)

I took a little time away from the Tennis Picks after the Australian Open, but there are some big tournaments to be played through the remainder of February.

This week there are five tournaments across the ATP and WTA Tours and that includes a couple of events with plenty of Ranking points attached in Dubai and Rio.

Monday is usually one of the quieter days of the week as tournaments complete Qualifiers and only a few of the First Round matches are scheduled to be played. I will add any selections from the tournaments in Rio and Delray Beach to this thread, but these will be the opening selections of the week.

Barbora Krejcikova - 5.5 games v Caroline Garcia: Andy Murray once famously stated that he believed Caroline Garcia was going to be the Number 1 Singles player on the WTA Tour, but the career high World Ranking has been Number 4 for the Frenchwoman. That Ranking was earned back in September 2018, but things have been much tougher over recent months and Caroline Garcia needs a big tournament to stop the decline as she has slipped to the edge of dropping out of the top 70 of the World Rankings.

Big points are available to her in Dubai this week, but Caroline Garcia had a poor Australian summer with a single win in four Singles matches played. An early loss at the Australian Open will have really hurt when you think of the performance produced by Caroline Garcia on the day, but now she has to take on players that are going to be amongst the best on the Tour in what is regularly an important tournament in this part of the Middle East.

Soon this will be a tournament that Caroline Garcia will not be able to play in without going through the Qualifiers and it is imperative for her to produce big wins over the coming weeks before heading onto the clay courts of Europe.

Caroline Garcia could have asked for a much easier draw than facing Barbora Krejcikova in the First Round in Dubai- she will have some mental hurdles to overcome having been beaten by this opponent in Australia while winning just two games.

Losses to Madison Keys and Paula Badosa over the Australian summer don't look terrible when you think of how well both of those players are playing, but Barbora Krejcikova has increased expectations as the World Number 3 and as a Grand Slam Champion. The Czech player reached the Final in Dubai last year before really announcing herself as one of the top performers on the WTA Tour, and her numbers on the serve and return so far in 2022 are very encouraging.

It has been the return where Caroline Garcia have really struggled in her matches over the first month of the season and I expect that is going to be an issue for her here. When they met in Sydney, Barbora Krejcikova had 12 break points compared to a single one for Caroline Garcia and I do think the higher Ranked player is going to have the better of the play.

This is a big spread, but Barbora Krejcikova has covered this number of games in both her previous wins against this opponent. With a serve that is pretty decent, Barbora Krejcikova can get her teeth into the return and eventually pull away for a comfortable enough passage through to the Second Round here.

Simona Halep - 5.5 games v Alison Riske: After turning 30 in September last year and with injuries perhaps hindering some of her tennis, Simona Halep may have been at a crossroads in her career. It didn't take long for the Romanian to knuckle down and look to return to the top of the WTA Tour and the main goal for the 2022 season has to be recovering to move back inside the top 10 of the World Rankings.

Her performances in Australia certainly suggest that Simona Halep is capable of doing that in what is a wide open Tour and it was a good start to the year to reach the Australian Open Fourth Round and also win a title in Melbourne. Simona Halep will be demanding more from herself though and will believe she missed an opportunity at the first Grand Slam of the season having looked in very good form before losing to Alize Cornet.

This is a good chance for Simona Halep to keep the momentum going after producing some very strong performances already this season and looking like she is getting back to her best. The serve can sometimes be a little vulnerable, but Simona Halep has been returning really well in 2022 and has won 55% of return points already played.

That is a very impressive number and it is certainly going to be good enough to give Alison Riske plenty to think about, although the American is a hard working player that definitely gets the most out of the talent she possesses. She has regularly been an effective hard court player without pulling up trees, but Alison Riske never shies away from the challenge that is given to her from the top players on the Tour.

Alison Riske has not returned as well as she would have liked in 2022, while her serve is one that can be attacked and that is an issue for her in this match up. At least Simona Halep is unlikely to overpower Alison Riske, but the longer rallies should see the higher Ranked player come out on top enough times to move into a position to cover this spread in this First Round match.

The American has taken a set from Simona Halep in two of the three matches played between them, and their sole hard court match was very competitive. However, I think Halep has been producing the stronger tennis by some distance so far in the early weeks of the season and I think that will be enough for her to attack the Alison Riske serve and work her way to the cover of this spread.

Mikael Ymer - 1.5 games v Richard Gasquet: The 36th birthday is coming up in a few months and injuries have begun to take their toll on Richard Gasquet as he has dropped to Number 77 in the World Rankings. He clearly still has a desire to compete having taken part in a number of Challenger events to close out 2021 as the Frenchman looks to have an Indian summer to his long career.

The numbers suggest it is going to be a tough ask for Richard Gasquet to do that as his body has broken down, although he did reach the Quarter Final in Montpellier following the Australian Open.

However, that tournament was ended by Mikael Ymer who is the opponent he will face in the First Round in Marseille. The Swedish player has struggled to really bring his tennis to the full ATP Tour level, but he has made a positive start to the 2022 season and Mikael Ymer has had plenty of time to get used to the conditions in Marseille having been beaten early in Rotterdam.

He had reached the Semi Final in Montpellier before being beaten by Alexander Zverev and Mikael Ymer beat a couple of Frenchmen at that tournament, including Richard Gasquet. The return game has been hugely important for Mikael Ymer so far this season with breaks in 27% of return games played, and that has been key considering he has a vulnerable serve that opponents do look to attack.

Richard Gasquet hasn't really had the same level of success on the return as Mikael Ymer and that was the case when they met earlier this month. He has only broken in 16% of return games played and won 7% fewer return points than Ymer when these two players met in the Quarter Final in Montpellier and I am looking for Mikael Ymer to frank that form.

I do think it can be hard to trust the younger player when you think of his serve and the vulnerabilities has had on that shot, but Mikael Ymer returned well enough against Richard Gasquet in the two previous matches against him. He has won both of those in France and I think the Swede can complete the hat-trick by seeing off the veteran in the First Round.

When Mikael Ymer has won, he has tended to do so by a good margin and I think he can do that here. Richard Gasquet can give him opponent something to think about with the adjustments he is likely to make, but that may not be enough and I will look for the favourite to move through.

MY PICKS: Barbora Krejcikova - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Simona Halep - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Mikael Ymer - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)

NFL Super Bowl LVI Pick 2022- Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams (February 13th)

We are just about at the end of the 2021 NFL season, but there is one more game to be played before the seven month off-season.

Lots of interest will be around for the Free Agency and NFL Draft, but the Super Bowl headlines this weekend and that sees a team playing in their home Stadium for a second season in a row.

The season has not been a memorable one for the NFL Picks, but it is tough to put winning seasons together and I was much happier with the 2020 selections. However, I have at least got one more chance to end the 2021 season with a positive result.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams Pick: The decision to trade for Matthew Stafford looked to be one that was made with the Los Angeles Rams all in to their current window of trying to win a Super Bowl. While there have been some ups and downs in the 2021 season, there would have been plenty of people that picked the Los Angeles Rams to make the Super Bowl before the season began and so it cannot be a massive surprise.

However, it is a much different case for the Cincinnati Bengals who finished last in the AFC North last season and who were considered an improving team, but one that still had something to prove. Road wins over the top two Seeds in the AFC have seen the Bengals reach the big game and there will be plenty of belief in Ohio that their team can bring home a Super Bowl for the first time.

For the second season in a row a team will have the opportunity to play a Super Bowl in their home Stadium and that has to give the Los Angeles Rams an edge, even as the designated road team. Last season it was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who won with home comforts and the Rams have been set as the favourite to do the same in the 2021 season.

No one should be taking a one game sample as a trend, but the Rams have to be feeling pretty good about playing at home and every team in the NFL would sign up for the opportunity to play the Super Bowl in their own Stadium. That has contributed to the Rams being the favourites, but the star-studded team would likely have gone into the Super Bowl in that spot anyway.

In saying that, the Rams are not considered a huge favourite and so Joe, Burrow not Namath, will feel the upset is entirely possible as the Bengals chase a first Super Bowl in franchise history. Having a Head Coach who is familiar with the Rams will help Cincinnati, although Sean McVay has the experience of Coaching in a Super Bowl and the loss to the New England Patriots will certainly have given him a chance to just change things around and adjust whenever he made it back to the big game.

Rumours about retirement have been shut down for Sean McVay, even as he becomes the youngest Head Coach to reach two Super Bowls, but there may not be too many more opportunities for him to add the ring to his CV.

Much of what the Rams like to do is based on their ability to run the ball, but that has remained a tough task for them even with a returning Cam Akers. Struggles against the San Francisco and Tampa Bay Defensive Lines may not be an indicator of what the Rams can do in this one though as the Bengals Defensive Line has had some difficulty containing the run throughout the PlayOff run.

Unlike the Chiefs, I don't think McVay will lean away from the run and the Rams could be very tough to stop if they are able to keep Matthew Stafford in front of the chains. Cam Akers may have a big game and that will open things up for the Quarter Back with the play-action as he looks to hit talented Receivers down the field.

Cooper Kuup is the stand out name, but Odell Beckham Jr has thrived since signing with the Rams, although Tyler Higbee will be a real loss. Even then, Los Angeles have players who can expose this Secondary and Matthew Stafford has been given plenty of time to hit his Receivers thanks to a strong Offensive Line.

The Bengals Defensive unit has made big adjustments when needed though so Zac Taylor should feel his team will avoid any potential blow out. His knowledge of the way Sean McVay likes to work should help Cincinnati formulate a good game plan on this side of the ball, while the Head Coach will firmly believe his own Quarter Back and Offense can keep the Bengals rolling.

Joe Burrow has won a National Championship at College level and he is a player who exudes confidence on and off the field and I have no doubt the Quarter Back is going to fancy winning it all. It feels like the Bengals are going to have to rely on Burrow throwing the ball as they have struggled to establish the run, even with a star player like Joe Mixon in the backfield.

Facing up to the Los Angeles Defensive Line will be a huge test for the Bengals Offense and I am not sure Joe Mixon is going to get a lot of change out of them up front. That means Joe Burrow will be relying on the Offensive Line to try and keep the likes of Von Miller and Aaron Donald from out of the backfield, something that has been an issue for the Bengals in the PlayOffs.

Even then, Joe Burrow has shown he can scramble from the pressure and still make some big throws down the field. The momentum is with the Bengals having beaten the top two Seeds in the AFC and Burrow will be very keen in throwing against a Rams Secondary which has multiple holes away from where Jalen Ramsey will be playing.

Cincinnati may not have the star names at Receiver like Los Angeles do, at least not yet, but they have a talented unit that are very capable of making big time plays across the field.

Turnovers may end up being the key to the outcome of the Super Bowl, but I can't help feel the lack of balance that Cincinnati will have will end up costing them here. I am expecting the Rams to be able to move the ball on the ground, at least more efficiently than the Cincinnati Bengals, and both teams have Receivers that can win against the Secondary players they are facing.

Being at home HAS to be an advantage, although I am not overly confident in opposing the momentum of the Cincinnati Bengals who have covered in their last five games when set as the underdog. The never say die attitude was clear in the comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago, but I think the experience of the Rams helps them just turn that away.

The Rams are only 1-1 against the spread in their two PlayOff games as the favourite in their run to the Super Bowl, but I think the balance Offensively sees them become a rare Super Bowl favourite to cover in recent seasons.

MY PICK: Los Angeles Rams - 4 Points @ 1.91 William Hill (2 Units)

Championship: 1-1, - 0.18 Units (4 Units Staked, - 4.50% Yield)

Divisional: 2-2, - 0.36 Units (8 Units Staked, - 4.50% Yield)

Wild Card: 2-5, - 6.52 Units (14 Units Staked, - 46.57% Yield)

Week 18: 6-6, - 1.16 Units (24 Units Staked, - 4.83% Yield)

Week 17: 3-4, - 2.46 Units (14 Units Staked, - 17.57% Yield)

Week 16: 6-4, + 3 Units (20 Units Staked, + 15% Yield)

Week 15: 8-3, + 8.64 Units (22 Units Staked, + 39.28% Yield)

Week 14: 6-2, + 7 Units (16 Units Staked, + 43.75% Yield)

Week 13: 2-1, + 1.64 Units (6 Units Staked, + 27.33% Yield)

Week 12: 5-6, - 2.74 Units (22 Units Staked, - 12.45% Yield)

Week 11: 0-6, - 12 Units (12 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Week 10: 5-5, - 0.88 Units (20 Units Staked, - 4.40% Yield)

Week 9: 2-5, - 6.28 Units (14 Units Staked, - 44.86% Yield)

Week 8: 1-6, - 10.18 Units (14 Units Staked, - 72.71% Yield)

Week 7: 2-1, + 1.64 Units (6 Units Staked, + 27.33% Yield)

Week 6: 3-4, - 2.64 Units (14 Units Staked, - 18.86% Yield)

Week 5: 4-2-1, + 3.28 Units (14 Units Staked, + 23.43% Yield)

Week 4: 7-3, + 6.46 Units (20 Units Staked, + 32.30% Yield)

Week 3: 7-3, + 6.68 Units (20 Units Staked, + 33.40% Yield)

Week 2: 6-5, + 0.98 Units (22 Units Staked, + 4.45% Yield)

Week 1: 3-6, - 6.46 Units (18 Units Staked, - 35.89% Yield)

Season 2021: 81-80-1, - 12.54 Units (324 Units Staked, - 3.87% Yield)