The 2nd of the XFL’s 2 semifinal games has the Seattle Sea Dragons (7-3) on the road against D.C. Defenders (9-1) to determine who moves on to the championship game. Sunday’s kickoff at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. is at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Sea Dragons vs. Defenders odds, and make our expert XFL picks, predictions and bets.
The Sea Dragons, after losing their 1st 2 games of the season, closed the season winning 7 of their last 8. They defeated the Vegas Vipers 28-9 in the regular-season finale, covering the 10-point spread as home favorites.
The Defenders ended the season with a 3-game winning streak following the 6-game winning streak they had to start the season. They closed the regular season with a 29-28 road win over the San Antonio Brahmas, failing to cover the 3-point spread as favorites.
The winner will play for the title against the Arlington Renegades, a 26-11 winner over the Houston Roughnecks on Saturday.
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Sea Dragons at Defenders odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:39 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Sea Dragons +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Defenders -175 (bet $175 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Sea Dragons +3 (-110) | Defenders -3 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 48.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Sea Dragons at Defenders key injuries
Sea Dragons
- WR Blake Jackson (shoulder) questionable
- OL Josh Seltzner (illness) doubtful
- CB Linden Stephens (ankle) doubtful
- WR Damion Willis (shoulder) doubtful
Defenders
- All expected to play
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Sea Dragons at Defenders picks and predictions
Prediction
Sea Dragons 32, Defenders 30
Moneyline
Two of the Sea Dragons’ 3 losses all season were to the Defenders, but they lost by a combined 5 points in the 2 games. Their only road loss was to D.C. in Week 1.
The Defenders have been playing on a tightrope in their games. They closed the season with 3 straight wins by no more than 2 points. They have allowed an average of 28.0 points per game in their last 5.
Seattle has averaged 28.4 points per game over the last 5 games,
BET SEA DRAGONS (+145).
Against the spread
D.C. has not won a game by more than 2 points since Week 6 while the only time Seattle lost by more than 3 was Week 1.
Expecting an outright Seattle win, I’m taking the +145 moneyline, but if you prefer the spread to give yourself some points to play with, the spread isn’t a bad play.
BET SEA DRAGONS +3 (-110).
Over/Under
The last meeting between the 2 teams had 67 combined points. The Defenders’ last 5 games and 7 of their last 8 had more than 48 points. The other had exactly 48.
BET OVER 48.5 (-110).
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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