Bruce's Picks (11 Live)
Don't be fooled by the EPL table...West Ham is playing much better than its 18th-place standing would suggest. The Hammers might have been unfortunate not to get at least a point out of last week's visit from red-hot Aston Villa, and Nuno's men had achieved results in five of the six previous matches. A recent return-to-form by reliable Jarrod Bowen (goals in two straight) bodes well as the Hammers are going to need at least one score to make this hefty spread work vs. in-form Man City. Play West Ham on Spread
It's been a while since we've seen a clean sheet in a Man City-West Ham match and doubt we see one on Saturday at the Etihad, either. Indeed, this has been one of the more-lively matchups lately in the Prem, with scorelines reaching at least four goals in four straight clashes the past two seasons. City, of course, sometimes seem like they're scoring for fun, as their 38 goals make them runaway scoring leaders in the EPL, and now others besides Erling Haaland are joining in the fun (Phil Foden six goals the past four). Yet Nuno's West ham might chase this one as old reliable Jarrod Bowen is back in form with goals in the last two. Play Man City-West Ham Over
Goals have been flying into the net in games lately involving these two and see no reason why that should change on Saturday. Union Berlin offered one of the shockers of last week in Europe when cooling down a surging Leipzig 3-1, but there had been at least four goals in FCU's previous two matches as well, and top scorer Ilyas Ansah (on the scoresheet again last week) has been getting ample chances to do damage in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Koln recently featured a four-match stretch of at least four goals scored in each game, as top scorer and teenage sensation Said El Mala continues to turn heads, recently scoring vs. Wolfsburg & St. Pauli. Play Koln-Union Berlin Over
Belmont has been flying under the radar and hits Orange County with an 11-1 mark, though a quick look under the hood and at the schedule to date create some doubts about the Bruins. Belmont has taken advantage of a very soft pre-MVC slate, recently barely surviving upset bids vs. modest opposition, and a long trip in the week before the Christmas break would unnerve many foes. Meanwhile, though Russell Turner's UCI has been a bit more erratic than expected. The Anteaters have won four on the spin, and a crackling perimeter led by G Jurian Brown (5.3 ppg) has enough weaponry to trade points if nothing else at the Bren Center. Play UCI.