As always, Good Luck and Play Responsibly.
LAS VEGAS — Here it is. The Premier League weekend is here and Matchweek 3 is ready. I think the football has been just ok so far. The themes to the season so far are the Isak situation with Newcastle looms large, Liverpool has shown sign of mortality, Arsenal has been sharp, West Ham has been terrible and Manchester United is in another managerial conundrum.But here we are for MW3 and hopefully I have some winners for you now.
To reiterate, this term I am being more efficient in my delivery and won’t waste your time or mine with fluff contents focused on superfluous matters.
THE TIMELINE
MW3 POSITIONS PL
*Best Bet by Darkseid Sports* RECORD: 2-0-0 (Record displayed in Win-Loss-Push format)
2025-26 PUBLISHED BET RECORD: 4-1-0 (All plays, W-L-P format)
- Straight Bets: 4-0
- Parlays: 0-1
— ⚽️: “THE BTTS SPECIAL” 2TM PAR (2/2 +60)
- TOTBOU Both Teams To Score
- LIVARS Both Teams To Score
📚: William Hill/Caesars
KEY METRICS
- TOTBOU: Clubs rank 5th & 7th respectively in aggregate xG and xG/90 and rank 3rd & 5th respectively in npxG and npxG/90.
- LIVARS: Clubs rank 8th & 3rd respectively in aggregate xG, 8th & 2nd respectively in xG/90 and rank 6th and 4th respectively in npxG and rank 6th and 4th respectively in npxG/90.
MY TAKE
The BTTS Special for MW3 highlights two fixtures in which I think both teams will find the net. I think I do a pretty clear job of denoting my reasoning in the Key Metrics section above. It should be a goals extravaganza in North London with TOTBOU and whilst I have great respect for the defensive capabilities of both LIVARS entrants, this is a situation where I’m backing the offense being better than the defense. It’s that simple. It’s hard to defend. It’s even harder to prevent players in the best league from scoring.
— ⚽️: CRYSTAL PALACE +.5 (-10)
📚:William Hill/Caesars
KEY METRICS:
- CRY: Palace ranks 8/20 in aggregate xG/A and 10th in npxG-90/A
- AVL: 18/20 in aggregate xG, npxG & npxG/90
MY TAKE
This is a play on Crystal Palace plus the half goal when the Eagles are away at Aston Villa Sunday at Villa Park. This is more a play against the early ineptitudes of Villa than anything else. Unai Emery’s squad haven’t even scored a goal yet. Its xG numerals are bad. Plainly, AVL shouldn’t be laying a half-goal to anybody in this form. I’ll need to see proof of life from Villa before I look to not fade them or back them in any capacity. It’s Palace on the spread for me.
— ⚽️BB: EVERTON DRAW NO BET (-05)
📚: William Hill/Caesars
KEY METRICS
- EVE: T12 (w/ three other clubs) in aggregate npxG & 11th in npxG/90. 0.50 GAA/90 (T2/20).
- WOL: Wolves are bottom of the table in xGD, xGD/90, aggregate xG, xG/90, npxG, npxG/90 & Progressive Carries. It ranks 19/20 in xGA & Progressive Passes.
MY TAKE
It’s a play on Everton (Draw No Bet) as the *Best Bet by Darkseid Sports* for MW3. Wolves are comprehensively abysmal and are absolutely a relegation candidate as we sit here today. I almost fell off my coach upon reading WOL is the favorite in spread and DNB markets here. There is no way myself or anybody else for that matter could back them right now or in the immediate future. Everton isn’t a juggernaut by any means and possesses questionable statistics in its own right but it is still a better club AOTW than Wolverhampton. It’s the Toffees for me as the *Best Bet by Darkseid Sports* for MW3.
CREATOR’S NOTE: It’s only Matchweek Three you guys. There is limited data, digital cinema (film) or metrics to go by. I’m going on “feel” and on past data and how I think it translates into the infancy of a new season with MW1-2 data in support.
Good Luck🤜🤛Play Responsibly
MANCHESTER UNITED MINUTES
Earlier in the week, I posted this to my X account. Who knows if it comes to fruition but I will give my express, basic reasonings now as to why a change may be made:
- Amorim comes across to me as a high-level Coach. He does not give me Manager, generalship of roster and man-management vibes.
- There’s nothing leading me to believe Amorim has installed his own set of or recognizes the club established standards. You can’t sell me the (paraphrasing) “Well I need a full offseason” or “Playing once a week we’ll be better” jives and then bow-out of a Major Trophy competition to fourth-tier Grimsby. You lose me there. Sorry (not sorry).
- We’ve done this before where the club backed a manager it later jettisoned anyway with suspect results in between. Where the club hopes the results change. The club waited too long with others. Hope is not a strategy. Here is a chance to be proactive and to do something different.
- His player selection is weird. I don’t know why he doesn’t feature Amad or Mainoo more (amongst others). The situation with Mainoo — where now he’s asking for a loan — should be a major major red flag to fan and club. This was an ascending superstar with an International ledger oh so not too long ago.
- His formations are are weird too. I don’t understand his midfield setup. He plays just two. He’s constantly taken advantage of in the middle of the park. I don’t get it.
Well, that’s about it. Those are my two cents nobody asked for. There are quite a bit of interim and/or potential long-term replacements available. It doesn’t sound like Man Utd is in a rush to make a move. It sounds like Mr. Ratcliffe and INEOS Sport are backing Amorim. Of course those are the proper things to say. But maybe this time around our Red Devils do something different, proactively.
BEYOND THE TABLE
You can get the Premier League table anywhere. It’s superfluous at MW3. But a table built on xG is something we can use for Sports Investment purposes and Squawka has done solid, practical work in bringing us this PL table built on xG.
https://www.squawka.com/en/features/xg-table-premier-league-2025-26/
FUTURISTICS
REFERENCES:
- X
- Various individual and entity social media accounts on X as cited in this work
- Peacock
- USA Network
- FB Ref
- Opta Analyst
- Transfermarkt
- Squawka
- Google Gemini
- NBC Sports Soccer
- CBS Sports App
- William Hill/Caesars
- Getty Images
- Darkseid Sports Intellectual Properties
DISCLAIMER: The purveyor of Darkseid Sports (me) and the author of this writing (also me) has no affiliation, whatsoever, with Manchester United, the Premier League, any of the above athletes, managers, media entities, sports betting entities, social media accounts and/or any other corporate entity, either portrayed in written form or depicted in corresponding images. The author of this writing is a passionate and very serious Manchester United and Premier League fan.
INDUSTRY NOTE: I put considerable time and effort into this. Being the best is a process. Don’t plagiarize me, please. It’s already bad enough I’m totally excluded in the space yet have to be subjected to absolute hacks who get the run I don’t. As of this writing I have not seen any person or entity share the plays I have. So that makes me the source material. Any sharing or touting of my plays should include credit to Darkseid Sports. It’s easy. Failure to do so is an explicit proclamation of a gross lack of professional integrity on your part. I am also available to appear on your platform either via phone interview or in digitally written segment to feature my thoughts and selections, FYI.
Darkseid Sports 
Leave a comment