Joe Casey
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The United States and Canada have dominated the men’s curling competition at recent Winter Olympics and the nations go head-to-head on Saturday night (10:15 pm ET) in a crucial group-stage clash.
The penultimate event of the men’s Alpine skiing program also takes place on Saturday (9:15pm ET) with four competitors from the United States set to take to the Ice River course at the Yanqing National Skiing Centre.
Winter Olympics men’s curling best bet: United States ML vs Canada (+190)
Both Canada and the United States men’s curling teams were fancied to do well at this year’s Winter Olympics but after 4 games of the tournament’s group stage, they are part of a 5-strong contingent of teams with a 2-2 record.
Both nations have been beaten 4-0 by Sweden, who are setting the early pace in the 10-runner field, and with only 4 progressing to the next stage, every game counts. The U.S. team are the champions after beating Sweden in the gold-medal match in Pyeongchang, but they face stiff competition if they are to retain their crown, particularly from the country that won the 3 previous Olympic golds, Canada.
The Canadians come into this game as -250 ML favorites, but have sustained back-to-back losses to Switzerland and the Swedes. The U.S. team was narrowly beaten by Norway, but before that they produced a late comeback to overcome Great Britain and the defending champions may be worth siding with at +190 if the effects of those consecutive losses have been felt by Canada.
Winter Olympics men’s giant slalom best bet: Marco Odermatt (-105)
Defending Olympic champion Marcel Hirscher retired at the end of the 2019 season, so a new giant slalom champion will be crowned on Saturday. An 89-strong field is headed by Swiss skier Marco Odermatt, who has been peerless in the discipline on the World Cup scene this year.
Odermatt has 4 wins and a 2nd place from 5 World Cup events, while he finished 2nd in the overall GS standings last year. The 24-year-old looks a worthy favorite with his main challenge likely to come from Austria’s Manuel Feller, who has recorded 3 podium finishes in World Cup events.
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