When people think of basketball they will most commonly think about the NBA but there are also professional basketball leagues in Europe which attract plenty of bets from native punters.

The NBA is the most popular bet for English and American punters though (college basketball also popular in the US) and the NBA season runs from November until June. There are 30 teams from USA and Canada and they are divided into East and West conferences. Each conference is divided into three divisions of five teams and each team will be kept busy with 82 games not including any matches in the playoffs, which are made up of the four best teams from each conference.

Basketball can be one of the most exciting bets for punters who are watching their sport as the action is very much end to end with regular swings in the score.

Types Of Bet

Point Spread

The point spread is a handicap bet on a basketball match and is usually the most popular type of bet to place on a basketball fixture. The idea of the point spread is that the team that is least likely to win is given enough of a head start to make both teams the same odds (so all bets will be a fraction odds on).

The bigger the difference between the two sides the bigger the point spread will be but betting on the point spread requires many of the same considerations in betting on the match outcome. When looking for a value match outcome bet you look for a team that the bookies have underestimated and when looking for a good bet in the point spread you look for a team that has been given a generous handicap for their match by the bookies. It is also worth shopping around with the bookies, the prices will remain the same but the handicaps will differ and you want to find the best handicap for your selection.

Match Outcome

As with all other sports you can simply choose to ignore the point spread and bet on which team you think will win. The problem with this bet for Basketball is that the odds on your favoured bets can be very short (hence why point spreads are usually a more popular bet.

It is always worth having a look at the match outcome odds though as on some occasions you may decide that a bet on the match outcome offers better value than a bet on the point spread.

Total Points

Another very popular bet on basketball matches is a bet on the total points scored during a match. You don’t have to call the exact number of points, simply bet on over or under the points tally suggested by the bookies. The points tally will vary between matches as per the points spread, the bookies select the points tally in order to create equal odds for overs and unders, so you should find you get a shade of odds on whichever outcome you select. Shopping between bookmakers should allow you to pick the best total points outcome selected by the bookmaker for your bet, so if you are planning to bet on overs you want the points offered by the bookie to be lower and if you are betting on unders you want the points offered by the bookie to be higher.

Team To Score First Basket

This is a pretty self explanatory bet on the first of the two teams to score a basket. This bet isn’t a great one for those who are looking for some entertainment in a game as it will be over very early whether it’s a winner or a loser but it can be a good bet if particular teams are very strong or slow starters.

Advice

Make Your Own Point Spreads

One of the best strategies for picking value bets in the point spread is to look at a set of fixtures before you have looked at the bookmaker odds and spreads and to create your own spreads/handicaps that would make the game even in your opinion.

Once you have a list of spreads for the round of fixtures check the bookmaker spreads and whichever ones you disagree on most should offer the best value in your eyes, the more you disagree the better value the bet should be. If your point spreads are the same as the bookies for some matches or very close then those matches are best left along as you have very little edge. As long as you are a decent judge of the sport over the long term you should find this a profitable strategy.

Know As Much As The Bookies

In order to win money by betting on a sport in the long run you need to know at least as much as the bookies as this is particularly important for basketball, especially when it comes to knowing who is playing and who is injured. This will play a large part in how the bookies decide their spreads (if a spread looks too good to be true it probably is) and with basketball teams only made up of five players the dynamic of the team can completely be changed by one missing player, especially if that player is one of the more dominant or talented team members and most likely the point guard.

Spurs travel to Norwich City for an English Premier League clash on Sunday with maximum points vital for both sides.

Norwich Update

Heading into the weekend Norwich were hovering just above the relegation zone. Home games have generally been low scoring affairs with Norwich scoring 11 goals and conceding the same number from 13 league matches in front of their own supporters. They have won just one of their last 11 league outings, 1-0 at home to Hull but they did hold Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in their most recent home game. However a damaging 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers West Ham last time out keeps the pressure on and there some vital six pointers with the likes of Villa, Stoke and Sunderland on the horizon.

Spurs Update

Spurs were beaten 1-0 at Dnipro in the first leg of their Europa League knockout tie on Thursday but domestically they boast the best away record in the top flight with nine wins from 13 road trips. How much the long journey and energy sapping playing surface in the Ukraine has taken out of the squad will be some concern for Tim Sherwood but he did rest a few key players with a top four finish in the Premier League still very much the priority. Spurs were just three points behind fourth placed Liverpool at the start of the weekend and with six wins and one draw in their last seven Premier League away days, they now bid to complete the double over the Canaries.

Pointers

Norwich have kept six clean sheets in 13 home games but have failed to score in five at Carrow Road.

Spurs have kept five clean sheets away from home and failed to score in three.

The first meeting this season was won 2-0 by Spurs at White Hart Lane with Sigurdsson scoring both goals.

The Verdict

Off the back of a long trip in Europe this might not be the worst time for Norwich to face Spurs and their draw with City here warrants respect. On the other side of the coin this Spurs away record is pretty formidable, especially in recent weeks.

A win is vital to both sides and it could be tight. I'll go with 2-3 goals in total.

With seven goals in his last nine league games, our tipster's backing Manchester United's red hot striker to feature prominently on Saturday against Crystal Palace

Goals are unlikely to be in short supply in the Premier League on Saturday, as a number of the division’s leading lights take to the field in an action-packed schedule.

The early kick-off brings together a Chelsea side lacking a prolific front man with an Everton team missing leading scorer Romelu Lukaku, currently on loan from their opponents.

The Blues will be hoping leading scorer Eden Hazard can continue to inspire from midfield, with the mercurial Belgian their best bet at 6/4 (2.50) with William Hill to score a seventh in 10 league games.

Meanwhile, Lacina Traore will attempt to fill Lukaku’s boots at the other end and is available at 11/4 (3.75) to follow up his debut goal by hitting the back of the net at Stamford Bridge.

Sergio Aguero’s absence should give Stevan Jovetic another chance to prove his Manchester City credentials after scoring against Chelsea in the FA Cup, and even odds (2.00) could prove great value on him bagging just a second Premier League goal.

Having struck against Liverpool and Manchester United in big games this season, Stoke’s leading scorer Charlie Adam may prove tempting at 8/1 (9.00) to ensure City concede for the 11th away game in 13 this league season.

Likewise, in-form Adam Johnson is definitely worth backing at 7/1 (8.00) to strike a seventh goal in six games when Sunderland travel to the Emirates, where Yaya Sanogo is available at 10/11 ( 1.91) to open his Arsenal account after lively performances against Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Fulham fans looking forward to Kostas Mitroglou’s long-awaited debut may want to consider 2/1 (3.00) odds on the record signing hitting the net after two goals for the under-21s last week, while Kevin Nolan’s recent goal-scoring exploits make him worth keeping an eye on at 9/4 (3.25) to score his fifth in four games when West Ham take on Southampton.

One man who almost guarantees goals is Robin van Persie, and the Dutchman is not to be missed at 10/11 (1.91) to score an 11th goal in just 15 league starts when Manchester United visit Crystal Palace, where Thomas Ince is available at 11/4 (3.75) to hit a second in two games for the Eagles against his dad’s former club.

Manchester City

After a couple of seasons of heartache in the Champions League Group Stage, Manchester City managed to follow Bayern Munich through this time around but couldn't have asked for too many tougher Last 16 ties. Facing a team that has been at the pinnacle of European football over the last few years is going to be exciting for Manchester City who remained on course for an unprecedented quadruple with a 2-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Fifth Round on Saturday.

The side are also firmly in contention for the Premier League title and also play in the League Cup Final in England so confidence has to be in a decent place ahead of this game. Manchester City know this is probably the second best team to visit them this season after Bayern Munich who beat City 1-3 here, but they did beat Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow comfortably enough in front of their own fans and Manchester City have lost just 1 of 9 games here in the Champions League in the last two and half seasons.

Manchester City had failed to score in back to back games before the 2-0 win over Chelsea and that also got them back to winning ways at home having lost to the same side in the Premier League a couple of weeks ago. The side are now 18-0-2 at home in all competitions this season although Barcelona are as tough a test as you can face anywhere.

Fernandinho may make his return to the squad for this game, while Sergio Aguero is more doubtful.

Barcelona

Last season may have been a real eye-opening experience for Barcelona and their fans when the team was completely out-classed by Bayern Munich in the Semi Final of the Champions League. There does seem to be a shift in the philosophy of European teams in this competition and I don't think Barcelona are the benchmark any more, although they remain one of the top teams and favourites to win the European Cup.

Like Manchester City, Barcelona are still involved in every competition they have entered this season and remain the favourites to win La Liga despite sharing the lead with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. The side have got a Copa Del Rey Final to compete in, but they have had a harder time on their travels in the Champions League. Barcelona have won 1 of their last 6 away games in the competition and they have lost half of those games.

Barcelona have only lost 1 of their last 18 games in all competitions and they have won 14 of those games including a morale boosting 6-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano over the weekend. They are unbeaten in their last 8 away games in all competitions, but they have only won 3 and drawn 3 of their last 6 on their travels.

Head to Head

This is the first meeting between Manchester City and Barcelona in a competitive fixture.

Prediction

The winner of this tie will certainly feel the door is going to be open for a deep run in the Champions League simply because of the confidence it would give them to knock out a big rival for the title.

The home leg is going to be key for Manchester City who have been strong here all season and they will know taking a lead to the Nou Camp next month is imperative if they are going to be getting through to the Quarter Finals for the first time. Not having Sergio Aguero to their disposal is a big loss for City and I think that made a huge difference to their approach to recent games, although Manchester City looked a lot better on Saturday in their win over Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Manuel Pellegrini has to show he has learnt lessons from the dismantling at the hands of Bayern Munich, but Manchester City have been tough to play in front of their own fans in this competition and all this season.

I think it won't surprise anyone with the way Barcelona approach the game and they won't sit back and look to soak up pressure, but they do look a team that is vulnerable at the back and will give Manchester City chances. However, I also think the Catalan side can create chances against this City defence and it looks a fascinating game.

When the draw was made, I actually thought Manchester City were going to come through and the whole key to that is taking a lead to the Nou Camp next week. There is no reason to think that Manchester City should be such a big price with the way they have played at home this season, although I do think Aguero is a big miss. If Stevan Jovetic can offer something different up front and Samir Nasri is back to offer more creativity from the start along with David Silva, I believe Manchester City take a narrow lead to the Nou Camp for the second leg.

Barcelona won 2-0 in the first leg and should be confident for qualification in the Copa del Rey final. But the Blaugrana side always had troubles at Anoeta and did not win on the road against Real Sociedad since 2007.

Real Sociedad is not in the best shape right now … 2 wins and 1 draw in the last 3 matches, no goals scored. Indeed, they played away at Barcelona and Atletico, but they could have done better a few days ago at home when Levante held them to a scoreless draw. But for sure Sociedad is having a good season overall (6th in the league) and was in good form before these 3 bad results. The good news for Sociedad is they lost only 3 matches at home this season in all competitions: against Atletico Madrid, Leverkusen and Shakhtar … and in the last 7 home matches they have 5 wins and 2 draws. Sociedad without Inigo Martinez for this game.

Real Sociedad lineup: Zubikarai – Zaldua, Ansotegi, M. Gonzalez, Jose Angel – Elustondo, Zurutuza – Vela, Griezmann, Xabi Prieto – Agirretxe

Barcelona in pretty good form … won 5 out of last 6 matches, had a great match in the weekend winning 4-1 at strong Sevilla. The catalans alternated great performances with lesser ones but overall they are in very good form this season and some criticism they are getting is totally undeserved … the team is on track in the league, the cup and Champions League. But indeed what changed from last seasons is that Barca is playing more prudent … they can steal beat anybody with 5 goals on any day but they do it less often than in the past. Barca probably without Neymar, Puyol, will also use a little rotation.

FC Barcelona lineup: Pinto – Dani Alves, Mascherano, Bartra, Jordi Alba – Song, Iniesta, Fabregas – Tello, Messi, Pedro

Sociedad looked good in the first leg and now with home court advantage they should make this a close match. Barca’s qualification is pretty safe so I don`t think the visitors will risk more than they need, they will want to play a clever match and avoid potential surprises. Barca has such a tough time at Anoeta, not winning in 7 years, and I don`t think they will suddenly cruise to a big handicap victory here … especially with Sociedad very strong at home and much better overall than in last seasons. Also Barcelona will rest 2-3 players here. Sociedad can hold their own in this match and get a draw or lose a close game. They lost by more than 1 at home only vs. Shakhter (0-2) and they were very unlucky in that game. My tip is Sociedad +1,5 handicap. Correct score prediction would be Real Sociedad – FC Barcelona 1-1 or 1-2.

Spurs were cut in Sky Bet's top-four betting on Sunday as they beat Everton and Man Utd were held by Fulham.

Emmanuel Adebayor's strike gave Tottenham a 1-0 win over Everton at White Hart Lane in the early kick-off, before a dramatic 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

Steve Sidwell fired the Cottagers in front in the first half, and despite goals from Robin van Persie (78) and Michael Carrick (80), United had to settle for a point after Darren Bent's equaliser in the fourth minute of added time.

Spurs were cut to 11/4 from 4/1 for a top-four finish with Sky Bet following the vital win over one of their chief rivals in the race for European qualification.

Everton are now 9/1 from 11/2 to qualify for the Champions League as they failed to take advantage of the chances they created at Spurs.

Manchester United are now nine points behind fourth-placed Liverpool with a vastly inferior goal difference and they are 9/2 to finish in the top four.

David Moyes was cut to 16/1 from 28s by Sky Bet in their 'next manager to leave post' market.

Fulham's Rene Meulensteen is the 6/4 favourite in the betting, but his team were eased to 2/5 from 4/11 to get relegated following their valuable draw.

Form

Manchester City went top of the the Premier League table for the first time this season on Wednesday after another formidable display saw them thrash Spurs 5-1 at White Hart Lane. City have won seven on the spin and scored an incredible 29 goals in the process, they are now 20 games unbeaten in all competitons and have taken 34 points from the past 36 available in the league.

Edin Dzeko struck his seventh goal in six games in the rout of Tottenham, while Sergio Aguero’s opener gave him his tenth in his past eight although the Argentine hobbled off before half-time.

A disappointing scoreless draw on Tuesday at home to strugglers West Ham brought an end to Chelsea’s run of seven wins in a row but they remain just three points adrift of City at the summit in spite of that result. They did, however, earn a seventh clean sheet in nine in that game and Jose Mourinho’s men have conceded just twice in those games. However, of the top eight sides only Liverpool have picked up less points on their travels than the Blues.

Team News

Aguero’s absence was confirmed by City boss Manuel Pellegrini, with the Chilean expecting his star striker to be out for about a month with the hamstring injury that saw him replaced before half-time in midweek. Javi Garcia and Samir Nasri are also out for the home side but James Milner could return from a groin problem.

Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel are both out for Chelsea, but Mohamed Salah may make his debut following the Egyptian winger’s transfer from Basel last week after being left out of the squad by Mourinho for the midweek draw.

Head to Head

A last-gasp winner from Torres, thanks to an absolute howler from City goalkeeper Joe Hart, gave Chelsea a 2-1 win when the teams met at Stamford Bridge at the end of October last year. Andre Schurrle had given the home side a first half lead before Aguero equalised just after half-time.
That was only the third win for Chelsea in the past eleven meetings while the Citizens came out victorious in seven of those games and the Blues haven’t came out on top at the Etihad since a 3-1 win there in 2008.

Recommended Bets

It’s ironic, or hypocritical, that Mourinho’s protestations regarding West Ham’s tactics which earned the Hammers a point in midweek should mirror his own in away games with Manchester United and Arsenal already this season. It looks likely that the Chelsea boss will line his team out similarly against the Premier League’s most potent attack but City are a different prospect altogether, although Aguero is a significant loss, but a home win still looks the best bet in the Match Betting market at 20/23.

Yaya Toure is bettered by only Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Aguero in the Premier League’s goalscorers charts so with the addition of penalty duties in the Argentine’s absence is well priced at 12/5 to score anytime in this game, while Eden Hazard is the pick of the likely scorers for Chelsea with his pace likely to give plenty of problems to the hosts.