Sky Bet trader lowdown on Super Bowl LII as New England Patriots face Philadelphia Eagles
Sky Bet's NFL guru Liam Durkin tells us where his money is going ahead of the Super Bowl, and reveals that Sky Bet punters are putting their faith in Pink...
Where will the Super Bowl be won and lost?
In the trenches. New England's offensive line need to be able to stop the pressure that Philadelphia can bring, especially with the wrecking ball Fletcher Cox. If New England can stop Cox getting pressure on Tom Brady then the greatest quarterback of all time will be able to stand and deliver all day long. Similarly for Philadelphia, they need to be able to run the ball with great effect to allow Nick Foles time to pick passes, if they fail to run the ball efficiently early then the Patriots defence are likely to tee off and start making Foles' Super Bowl a day to forget.
Are punters putting their faith in the Eagles’ attack or Patriots’ defense?
The main betting lines opened up initially at New England -5.5 and 47.5 total points, and they have now moved to New England -4.5 and 48.5. The money for Philadelphia on the handicap looks likely to continue and we could well see the handicap go off -3.5 come Sunday night.
What else is proving popular?
Outside of the main betting action, customers are getting stuck into all sorts of weird and wonderful markets that only the Super Bowl can bring!
Justin Timberlake to sing 'Filthy' first during the half-time show is one of the biggest movers we have in the sub-market betting; since opening at 12/1 we’ve seen consistent support and this is now the worst loser at the book and only available at 2/1 now too. Another popular sub-market bet customers have been getting their money down early on is the length of the national anthem which is this year being performed by Pink. Initially the line opened 1 minute 59 seconds and shorter versus 2 minutes and longer, but nearly every bet we have laid is for the anthem to go 2 minutes and longer. Perhaps all big Pink fans and just want to hear her screech for longer before the greatest show on turf kicks off.
Give us some of Sky Bet’s most interesting side markets and boosts…
We’re currently running daily Price Boosts, a different selection boosted every day until the big day and we’ll also be running some special Flash Boosts which are to be revealed so customers should definitely be on the lookout for these when they’re made available.
And finally, where will your money be going?
As for my money, I’m currently looking at betting LeGarrette Blount in the Super Bowl MVP markets and also in the touchdown markets. He isn’t as much of a focal point anymore and the running game for Philadelphia has turned into a three-man committee scheme with Blount being probably at the bottom of the pile, however any short yardage or goal line work available it’s all Blount’s role within the offence.
If LeGarrette can have a strong running game, being able to convert key short yardage situations to keep drives alive and also score any touchdowns, there will be a good chance for his name to be called as the MVP. Blount was part of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl winning team last season and that’s a nice storyline for him and the NFL if he can come back to haunt his old employers in the biggest game of all.
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