The Nets enter this matchup at 12-18 but have been in terrific form with 4 straight wins and 5 straight covers. On the other side, the Hawks sit at 6-22 on the year, dead last in the Eastern Conference. Allen Crabbe is doubtful for the hosts. Alex Poythress, Omari Spellman and Taurean Prince are out for the visitors. The Nets love to shoot from beyond the arc and face the worst team in the league at defending the 3. The Hawks also love to push the pace and their overall defense is among the worst in the league. However, they do have some offensive acumen with John Collins a force inside and Trae Young facilitating. The Nets' defense has improved but is still among the bottom 3rd in the league. We see points for both sides!

After it appeared the division was in hand, the Steelers managed to lose their next three games to fall to 7-5-1 and just a half game ahead of division rival Baltimore. The Patriots at 9-4 have all but wrapped up another AFC East Title but are coming off a 34-33 loss to the Dolphins last week on a last second miracle play. For the Steelers, OT Marcus Gilbert was placed on IR and has been ruled out for this game. WR Ryan Switzer is listed as questionable. For the Patriots, LB Elandon Roberts is questionable. The Steelers have vastly underperformed the last 3 weeks and face a Patriots offense that's gotten healthy and have a myriad of weapons now with WR Josh Gordon on the outside, TE Rob Gronkowski and slot receiver Julian Edelman roaming the middle and a stable of running backs for all situations. The Steelers are dead last in the league defending tight ends and this doesn't bode well against Gronkowski who compiled over 100 yards receiving last week to jump start a lackluster season. The Steelers have their share of weapons as well with terrific receiving duo Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster but their ground game is virtually nonexistant with James Conner on the shelf. We expect a fairly even game but we have to give the advantage to the visitors with a ground game to fall back on not to mention superior coaching. Pinnacle is hanging a teaser protection line but that's all as well as we like it precisely at -1 and prefer to bet it at that number!

Though still technically in the playoff hunt, it appears all but over the Redskins as injuries have mounted and a poor performance last week by QB Mark Sanchez resulted in a 40-16 loss that was their 4th in a row. The Jaguars have had a disappointing year as well at 4-9 and are coming off an embarrassing 30-9 loss against Tennessee that saw multiple players quit and refuse to tackle. For the visitors, C Tony Bergstrom and TE Jordan Reed have both been ruled out and S Montae Nicholson and OT Ty Nsekhe are listed as questionable. WR Jamison Crowder, RB Chris Thompson and WR Josh Doctson are all on track to play. For the Jaguars, WR DJ Chark and OT Jermey Parnell have both been ruled out and PK Josh Lambo and LB Lerentee McCray are listed as questionable. QB Josh Johnson showed some promise last week in garbage time for the Redskins but we have to keep in mind that Johnson has been a practice squad QB his entire career and even with a few weapons back, we have very little faith against a still elite Jaguars' defense playing at home and after a week's worth of criticism in the media regarding their effort against the Titans. Jaguars' QB Cody Kessler was one of the few bright spots against Tennessee and he showed his willingness to make throws down the field and complete them, including a few nice ones to WR Dede Westbrook. The entire team should be motivated after their embarrassing performance on national television and with extra time to prepare, should be able to win this by margin!

Two teams fighting for playoff spots face off as the 6-6-1 Vikings host the 7-6 Dolphins. Minnesota is clinging to the sixth and final seed in the NFC, sitting a half-game ahead of Carolina, Philadelphia and Washington with three games left to play. After back to back losses to the Patriots and Seahawks where they combined for just 17 points, the Vikings fired their offensive coordinator John Defilippo. The Dolphins are coming off a thrilling 34-33 win over the Patriots last week that saw a desperation last second play succeed for the game winning touchdown. For the visitors, CB Xavien Howard is listed as doubtful after missing practice all week. S TJ McDonald is questionable and WR DeVante Parker and WR Danny Amendola are both expected to play. For the Vikings, WR Chad Beebe has been ruled out and TE David Morgan, OG Mike Remmers and DT Sheldon Richardson are listed as questionable. Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has had an inconsistent year but has been reliable at home and has a terrific matchup against a poor Dolphins secondary that will likely be missing their top cornerback. On the other side, the Dolphins' offense has come to life in recent weeks with a healthy offensive line and skilled receivers along with dual threat in the backfield, RB Kenyan Drake. The Vikings do well to limit explosive plays but they are poor by success rate metrics, allowing 52% of runs and 46% of passes to grade successful, 29th and 14th in the league respectively, not to mention both trending downwards in recent weeks as well. At any rate, the Dolphins won't be able to take a conservative approach here in our opinion as the Vikings should easily move the ball and score at will with their talented receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. We see points for both sides!

At 7-6, the Ravens are clinging to the final wild card spot in the logjammed AFC playoff picture but fortunately, get a relatively easy matchup against a 5-8 Bucs team that's been mired with quarterback issues. Jameis Winston gets the start again for the visitors under center and while he has kept the turnovers to a minimum since winning the starting job again in Week 12, Winston's accuracy was again an issue last week against the Saints, compiling just 174 yards of passing on 18/38. The Ravens switched their quarterbacks back in Week 11 to rooke Lamar Jackson and after going 3-1, have decided to stick with him for the time being even with Joe Flacco healthy. OL Alex Lewis is doubtful for the hosts and CB Marlon Humphrey, S Tony Jefferson, LB Anthony Levine, CB Tavon Young and LB Tim Williams are listed as questionable. For the visitors, S Justin Evans and WR DeSean Jackson have both been ruled out for this game. OT Demar Dotson, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, CB Carlton Davis, LB Adarius Taylor and S Isaiah Johnson are all listed as questionable. The Ravens' formula for success the last 4 weeks has been a run heavy gameplan with the dual threat Jackson at quarterback. The Bucs have some talent on the defensive line and can generate some pressure but as a unit are absolutely dreadful against the run, ranking dead last in the league by efficiency metrics. This is another matchup tailor made for Jackson and with an elite defense on the other side of the ball, we don't see much success Winston, whose accuracy issues reared its ugly head again last week. Hosts to win by double digits seems about right to us!

Two teams on similar upward trajectories get together this afternoon in Indianapolis for a game with postseason implications. The 8-5 Cowboys are on the brink of winning the NFC East after a 3-5 start. The 7-6 Colts are still chasing a wild card spot with an outside shot at a division title. For the visitors, DE David Irving, OG Zack Martin and TE Geoff Swaim have all been ruled out for this game. DE Randy Gregory, WR Lance Lenoir, WR Tavon Austin, LB Sean Lee and OT Tyron Smith are all listed as questionable. For the hosts, OG Mark Glowinski, S Mike Mitchell and LB Skai Moore have been ruled out and S Clayton Geathers and WR TY Hilton are questionable. The Cowboys have vastly improved over the past month but their success is largely predicated on their running game and with their best run blocking guard out and possibly their left tackle as well, we believe we see a Cowboys team similar to the one early in the season whose offense was completely out of sorts. The Colts also defend the run rather well by efficiency metrics, ranking 5th in the league in that regard and also have one of the highest sack rates as well. With the division virtually won, we expect the Cowboys to use this game to perhaps get their players healthy and not risk too much. The Colts are still fighting tooth and nail but face a borderline elite Cowboys defense with a dangerous pass rush and QB Andrew Luck could be without his best weapon in TY Hilton. We see a low scoring game in the low to mid 40's!

At 5-8, the Lions are technically alive in the NFC playoff hunt, although they would have to vault seven other teams over the final three weeks of the season. Given these improbable circumstances, coach Matt Patricia is more focused on how to boost production from an injury depleted offense when they visit another struggling team in the Buffalo Bills today. The Bills sit at 4-9 on the year and eliminated from the playoff race but have still played hard all season and their passing defense numbers have been impressive to say the least. RB LeSean McCoy, CB Ryan Lewis have both been ruled out for the hosts and backup RB Chris Ivory is a game time decision. K Stephen Hauschka and TE Logan Thomas are listed as questionable. For the Lions, WR Bruce Ellington, RB Kerryon Johnson, DT Da'Shawn Hand, OT Ricky Wagner and S Charles Washington have all been ruled out for this game and LB Trevor Bates, FB Nick Bellore, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Taylor Decker and LB Devon Kennard are all listed as questionable. QB Matt Stafford is expected to play after showing up on the injury report the last few weeks. The Lions are again decimated by injuries and Stafford, if even completely healthy, has hardly anyone to throw to with Marvin Jones on IR and Golden Tate traded to Philadelphia. Johnson's absence means another game with an underwhelming backfield of LeGarrette Blount, Zach Zenner and Theo Riddick who lack Johnson's explosiveness. On the other side, the Bills' running backs are all injured as well and relying on Josh Allen's inaccurate arm isn't a reliable way to put points on the board, especially as the Lions defend the run extremely well- negating Allen's scrambling ability. The Lions could muster barely 200 yards of total offense last week in much better conditions indoors. Outside, with cold weather and some precipitation in the forecast, we can't envision it improving if at all! We see a low scoring game in the 30's!

One team who always give there best is St Gallen. However, despite being fifth in the table, this is not an overly talented team. In the last round we saw the Espen struggle against bottom club Xamax. In fact, the then hosts were left playing against ten men from the 51st minute, and they still struggled. Earlier on in the season Luzern won the reverse game (0-1), and they also won all four meetings between the two clubs last season. The matches at the Swissporarena ended 3-1 and 3-0, and if anything those score lines were generous on the visitor. The Shiners won their last match at Grasshoppers (2-3), and they can jump above todays opponent with a win today. It’s true to say St Gallen bounced back with a win in the last round, but it was against a team who couldn’t even raise a full squad (too many injuries). Prior to that the visitors lost three on the bounce, and we believe this will make if four defeats from the last five!

We promised a second for free - Don’t know what you are messing around by not subscribing. You lose odds, lose bets, lose profits - Guess it’s the difference of playing and serious betting! ———Great opportunity for Eupen to take another three points at the Kehrwegstadion against poor traveller Mouscron. The hosts won 3 from their last four at home, and one of the teams which they defeated was Anderlecht. Claude Makelele’s side come into this match on the back of a 2-0 defeat in Gent, albeit they were forced to play 60+ minutes with just ten men. Holding midfielder Marreh was sent off in that game, so the 24 year old is suspended for this match. Other than that, the coach has a near to full squad available! Eupen beat Mouscron (0-1) in the reverse match, and the visitors go into this third bottom with 14 points. Furthermore, only five of those were taken on the road, so over the past five seasons the visitors only take 35% of there points playing away. Mouscron come into this on the back of a 0-0 draw with Waregem, and it was noticeable that in that match they managed just one goal attempt. To add insult to the wounds, Dussenne received a late red card and will be suspended today. The coach of Mouscron has another 4-5 players sideline with injuries, and all in all the players available are not very good.

Have this PREMIUM football bet on us - Check back later for an evening bet ———— The Magpies headlines last week should have been ‘’robbed by the ref’’, albeit he couldn’t award what he didn’t see. Whether Mike Dean should have sent off Yedlin is down to personal interpretation. However, there is absolutely no doubt Boly should have been given a ‘’red card’’ for Wolves, and the very late goal was totally unjustified. Other than that Rafa Benitez’s side played really well, better than we have seen for a long time. In fact, the big powerful Rondon stood out has the best player on the field, and in present form he’s going to torment any defence. Perez might be a little ‘’hit & miss’’, but he’s a real talent and he pair’s well with the Venezuelan. Ki started last weeks match a little slowly, but his vision and passing were a real delight. Hardworking Diame should again pull his weight in midfield, he’s a solid first line of defence. A couple of players who will need to improve for Newcastle are Lescelles and Ritchie. With that said Lejuene is ready to return, and he’s natural cover for Fernandez. We don’t believe Yedlin is a big miss. Huddersfield will give it everything, and the Terrier fans will be very vocal. However, when he gets the chance David Wagner needs to improve quality of the squad, and we can’t see them being good enough to beat a tough Newcastle.

Have this on us! It’s good that the racing post odd compilers don’t work for bookmakers, because if they did those companies would go broke. How the f… could they make SCHOOL BOY HOURS 5/4, he’s currently 11/4. Those odds appear about right, and he should at least place. Last time out COLUMN OF FIRE was beaten at short odds, he should improve on that. However, it’s got to be course winner DUNVEGAN, because this fella is a massive talent. In fact, he won a 10K bumper when last seen, and we are looking forward to seeing the grey!

Out to kill the bookie - Time is running out to sign-up for PREMIUM - Use it or lose it admin@betting-analyst.com ———— They say the ground at Doncaster is ‘’good’’, but jockeys are riding it like ‘’heavy’’. ZOFFANY BAY gave the impression he would have gone close last time, but a mark of 122 still looks high. CHIEFTAIN’S CHOICE was given a positive to win over CD last time out, the problem now is he’s up in the weights and this is not fast ground. IRISH ROE has a lot of wins to his name for a bridal horse, he will need to be delivered late. If you want to bet CLIFFS OF DOVER form an orderly queue, i’ll lay you the bet. Despite Bridget Andrews being in the saddle their is more to come from SOLOMON GREY he’s the one!