While Sunday is NFL day in America, not a single play will be run before 1 p.m. ET, meaning you have plenty of time to examine the soccer odds board and get your bets in on a different kind of football.
Below, Nick Hennion and Brett Pund have identified their top bets to make, with a catch: Each game kicks off at 10:15 a.m. ET or earlier, meaning each game will also end before a snap of NFL football is played.
Read on to see how our staff is playing the early morning slate of European soccer on Sunday.
Our 3 Early Sunday Best Bets
Brentford vs. Arsenal
| Brentford Odds | -130 |
| Arsenal Odds | +350 |
| Draw | +300 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (-150 / +115) |
| Day | Time | Sunday | 7 a.m. ET |
| How To Watch | USA Network |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
Pund: In the early kick on Sunday morning in the Premier League, I like Brentford as a home underdog getting a half of a goal.
Yes, Arsenal have improved with the additions brought in over the summer, but I don’t think the Gunners deserve to be this big of a favorite on the road at a side that likely finishes in the Top 10 this season.
If you look at the 2021-22 campaign, manager Mikel Arteta’s team owned a -5.2 expected goal differential (xGDiff) away from home, according to fbref.com, which is much worse than the +18.1 mark at home.
Meanwhile, the Bees were tough to beat at the Gtech Community Stadium, posting a positive xGDiff against the Big 6 last year and covering this spread in half of those matches.
Arsenal have been overvalued in the market for a few weeks now, and I think this is an opportunity to take advantage of that with a tricky home side in a London Derby.
Pick: Brentford +0.5 (-105)
Everton vs. West Ham
| Everton Odds | +195 |
| West Ham Odds | +150 |
| Draw | +230 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (+105/ -125) |
| Day | Time | Sunday | 9:15 a.m. ET |
| How To Watch | USA Network |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
Hennion: My critical element of this handicap is whether Everton can score at home, but there’s a case supporting the affirmative.
Not only is West Ham arriving at this fixture on short rest following a Thursday Europa Conference League fixture, but the Toffees actually have a decent home scoring record. This season, Everton have managed at least one xG in two consecutive home matches. Plus, across their most recent 22 home fixtures in the Premier League, manager Frank Lampard’s side has notched at least one tally in 15 of those matches.
Expand the sample to include Everton’s last 41 home Premier League fixtures and bettors will find they have scored at least once in 30 of those games.
But, this is also an Everton defense prone to concessions. So far this season, they have failed to keep any of their six opponents under 1 xG and have kept only one clean sheet. With West Ham a positive offensive regression candidate – three goals on six big chances – back this prop at -135 or better.
Pick:Both Teams to Score – Yes (-130)
Villarreal vs. Sevilla
| Villarreal Odds | -155 |
| Sevilla Odds | +380 |
| Draw | +285 |
| Over/Under | 2.5 (-115 / -105) |
| Day | Time | Sunday | 10:15 a.m. ET |
| How To Watch | ESPN+ |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute Soccer odds here. | |
Pund: La Liga is typically a league where you like to play a lot of unders in the goal markets, but Sevilla’s trip to Villarreal is a match where I’m expecting the total to fly over 2.5 goals.
After selling both center backs over the summer, manager Julen Lopetegui’s team has really struggled defensively this season, allowing an average of 1.97 xG per match, according to fbref.com.
This is also the same side that has allowed multiple goals in all three away games, which came against Osasuna, Almería and Espanyol. None of those clubs have the attacking talent that Villarreal have, and this same bet cashed in all three fixtures.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Submarines have been one of the top clubs in the league offensively, with only Real Madrid and Barcelona creating more xG per game than Villarreal’s 1.98. Manager Unai Emery’s team also averaged 1.9 xG per 90 minutes at home last season, which was second in La Liga.
It can be scary betting an over in the Spanish top flight, but all signs in this one point to a high-scoring affair at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Pick: Over 2.5 (-115)
