Kazeka1886

Mito Hollyhock has 8 points from 2 wins, of which 1 came on penalties, and 5 losses, of which 3 came on penalties. On the other side, Kashiwa Reysol has 5 points from 2 wins, of which 1 came on penalties, and 5 losses. Both scored 9 goals apiece through the first 7 games and are also conceding at almost the same rate, with just 1 goal separating them in that category. Mito has a win and a draw in their last 2 H2H meetings, so got to fancy the visitors plus a handy head start in this one.

Both of these teams are winless after the first two games as the Cowboys lost in Vegas to the Knights and then also fell at the Tigers, while the Titans lost to the Sharks and the Dolphins. Cowboys finally return home to Townsville, where they won the last 4 against the Titans, all by double-digit margins, so got to expect the Cowboys to bounce back and win this one by at least a try.

Newcastle is earning 1.9 cards per game while Sunderland is earning 2 cards per game on average this season. The referee will be Taylor, who is issuing 3.9 cards per game this season. Their first H2H match of the season saw a total of 9 yellow cards, and this fierce Tyne-Wear derby should again be very tense and nervy, which should lead to a lot of fouls and result in many bookings, making the over on total cards a solid pick to go with.

Blue Fox lead this series 3-1, but Mighty Bulls made it interesting by winning one game as the #8 seed. Mighty Bulls have been competitive in this series, losing by 4, 1, and 3 goals while being outscored by only 1 goal in the last periods of those 4 games, so with Mighty Bulls being decent defensively as they allowed 4, 2, 3, and 4 goals, it simply feels like this puck line is slightly too big, making the visitors the better side to be on.

Tottenham is earning 3.1 cards per game this season at home, while Nottm Forest is earning 1.8 cards per game on the road. The referee will be Oliver, who issues only 3 cards per game on average this season, but he is coming off a Europa League match on Thursday in which he issued 7 yellow cards. In the last two games he refereed Spurs, he gave them 3 yellow cards in one match and 2 yellow cards plus a straight red in the other, with 2 of those 5 yellow cards being for dissent. This game has huge ramifications in the fight to stay up, as they sit right above the relegation zone in 16th and 17th place, which should add more tension and nervousness. That should result in a lot of fouls and push the match toward the over on total cards.

Smotherman has been playing really well this year. He opened with T8 at The American Express, where he shot four rounds of 68 or better. He was then fantastic T2 at the Cognizant Classic, where he opened with a 9-under-par round of 62, and he comes here after a very good showing at Arnie's place, where he finished T13. He was solid in 2 previous showings here at Copperhead, with results of 25th and 36th in 2022 and 2023. Years later he returns as a much better player who is playing excellent golf at the moment, leading the Tour in Strokes Gained on Approach and sitting 8th in Greens in Regulation, so married with his always-strong long off-the-tee game, simply got to see nice value backing him to be right in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

Hisatsune is playing some amazing golf this year as the Japanese youngster sits 61st in the OWGR, very close to the top 50 and an invitation to the Masters. He was T2 at the Farmers Insurance Open at the start of the year and notched 3 more top-15s since, finishing T10 at the Phoenix Open, T8 at Pebble Beach, and T13 last week at The Players Championship. He was T33 here on debut in 2024 and even better T4 a year ago, so he likes Copperhead, and this time around arrives as a much-improved player who is playing great at the moment, which could easily see the Japanese youngster contend for the win.

Moore opened this season playing very well and making the cut in all events he played in, highlighted by T2 at the Cognizant Classic where he shot all 4 rounds of 68 or better. He is a former winner here, having won the title in 2023 before finishing T12 a year later when defending. He ranks in the top 8 on the Tour for Scrambling and Par-3 scoring, which are both very relevant this week at Copperhead, so got to see very nice value backing former winner to contend here once again come Sunday afternoon.