Daily tips for October 22

NFL (week 7) for October 22

Minnesota Vikings (1-4, 0-2 away) @ New York Giants (0-6, 0-2 home), MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, Tuesday, October 22, 11.40am

The Vikings and Giants have won a combined one game in 10 starts so far this season, making this Monday Night Football showdown a case of the resistible force meeting the movable object! The QB carousel continues to spin in Minnesota and the latest man up is newly acquired Josh Freeman, who will draw the start. Freeman, who opened the season with Tampa Bay and quickly fell out of favour, will be the third quarterback to start this season for Minnesota. He threw for 27 TDs and more than 4000 yards in 2012, but completed only 45.7 per cent of his passes with Tampa Bay this season. Back-up Matt Cassel failed to get the team into the end zone until the final minute in last week's 35-10 home loss to Carolina. Freeman does have the luxury of leaning on RB Adrian Peterson, who is fourth in the league in rushing (483) but was limited to a season-low 62 yards last week following the death of his two-year-old son two days earlier. However, I think the 10-day break plays into the hands of the Giants here and I’m expecting a response to their horrible start to the season.

New York, one of three winless teams, had an 11-day break between games following a 27-21 defeat at Chicago. That marked the lowest total allowed by the Giants, who have surrendered a staggering 34.8 points per game, dead last in the league. Eli Manning (pictured) has thrown an NFL-high 15 interceptions (matching his number from last season) and is a big reason why the Giants have committed a league-worst 23 turnovers. New York is in the midst of its worst start since dropping nine in a row to start the 1976 season and the problems are widespread. Manning has been the biggest culprit in committing a stream of turnovers and that, combined with a non-existent running game, has placed inordinate pressure on a defence that sits at the bottom of the league with a mere five sacks. The Giants are 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. One bright spot has been the emergence of veteran Brandon Jacobs, who rushed 22 times for 106 yards and two TDs against Chicago. Jacobs has a sore hamstring and the team signed former 1000-yard rusher Peyton Hillis, but Jacobs said he plans to play.

Suggested bets: Giants WIN (four units @ $1.55), game total +47.5 (one unit @ $1.91)

EPL for October 22

Crystal Palace (1-0-6) v Fulham (2-1-4), Selhurst Park, South Norwood, England, Tuesday, October 22, 6am

Finding historical data for clashes between these two sides in the top flight isn’t easy, as this is just the fourth time that Crystal Palace and Fulham have met in the EPL and it’s been nine years since they were last fixtured. The return of Ian Holloway (pictured) to the Premier League with Palace is proving to be a slow-burner compared to the early stages of his return with Blackpool three years ago. Crystal Palace has lost six of their seven league games so far (including the past four in a row) representing the club's worst run of form for three years. Back in 2010, Blackpool took 10 points from their opening seven Premier League games and were still in the top half of the table by January of that campaign. Despite the good start, ultimately that season still ended in relegation for the Tangerines. Palace and Sunderland are the only two sides yet to keep an EPL clean sheet this season. They have had their goal frame struck on a league-high seven occasions this season.

Fulham have also been slow to find their stride this season. A run of one point from five games had been piling pressure on Martin Jol. However the victory against Stoke last time out made the international break a more tranquil period than it might have been. Striker Darren Bent grabbed the winner against Stoke and looks to be finding his feet at his new club. Bent has scored two of only five Premier League goals his side have managed this season. Midfielder Scott Parker could return from a calf problem, defender Aaron Hughes has also returned to full training following a thigh injury while Adel Taarabt is fit after the recent international matches. Fulham’s tally of five League goals is the joint-second worst after seven matches, behind Stoke. Three of Fulham’s five goals this season have been scored by subs (Bent twice and Bryan Ruiz), more than any other side. Martin Jol's side has also failed to score in nine of their last 16 league away games, scoring just 11 goals.

Suggested bets: Game total -2.5 (three units @ $1.67), correct score 1-1 (one unit @ $6.50)

Note: All times quoted on the Last at Cannington blog are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT)

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