Monday Night Football - What would win in a fight between a Bear and a Lion?

It's been a pretty quiet weekend without Premier League & Championship football action but we found 2 out of 3 winning bets in the lower leagues on Saturday plus 3 of 4 in the Rugby World Cup, it was a more mixed bag in the NFL on Sunday with 3 of 6 up & we'll be looking for a full house with tonight's picks.

(The Chicago Bears will be hoping to dominate number 81 Calvin Johnson in this one)

Divisional rivals the Chicago Bears & the Detroit Lions meet in Detroit in what promises to be a bruising encounter, the Bears will be looking to end the Lions unbeaten run which now stretches 8 games from the end of last season. Both teams have standout individuals who have been taking the league by storm with Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson having caught two TD passes in all 4 games so far for the Lions & running back Matt Forte having over 300 rushing & 300 receiving yards for the Bears & both will be key in their team's chances in this one. The Lions have shown a real winning attitude in their games so far after trailing 20-0 in both of their last two games only to come through strongly in the 2nd half & gain victory, it helped that they were playing the chokers the Minnesota Vikings & the Dallas Cowboys. The Bears' schedule has been brutal in comparison having played & beaten the Atlanta Falcons in week one then facing off against the offensive powerhouses of the Saints & red hot Green Bay Packers before prevailing against the cavalier Carolina Panthers. This looks like being the Lions first real test & they may prevail if they can stop the Bears getting to quarterback Matt Stafford as Calvin Johnson looks like having a real advantage against the Bears' defensive backs if the ball gets thrown his way, however every team will now be doubling up on him & the Lions might struggle to run the ball against a decent run defense. If the Lions become one dimensional that will suit the Bears who will not collapse as easily as the other teams they've faced if they get a lead, the key for the Bears on offense is to keep Jay Cutler safe which won't be easy with Ndamukong Suh chasing after him, however if he does stay upright he'll hit Forte, Johnny Knox & the improving Dane Sanzenbacher enough times to put points on the board. The Bears superior running game will keep them unpredictable too & they should be able to keep this one close at the least & backing them with a +5 point headstart is the pick here.

Due to the International break, Monday Night Football is coming live from League One with Oldham entertaining MK Dons at Boundary Park. MK Dons are currently sat in the playoff places but with a victory they will jump ahead of Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference into 2nd whilst Oldham are languishing in mid table. Both sides have two victories apiece in their previous six league matches but MK Dons, dealing with the loss of striker Sam Baldock to West Ham, have only lost one of those six, away at Sheff Weds, despite also coming up against Notts County, Charlton & Huddersfield. Whilst Oldham have loss their last two league games 2-0 to bottom side Exeter and Brentford respectively. MK Dons have only loss once this season and have an impressive away record with three victories & three clean sheets from their five league games so by taking everything into account we expect the solid MK Dons to have the edge against Oldham in a tight affair at the best price of 13/10.

Selections:

Chicago Bears to beat Detroit Lions with +5 points on the handicap at 10/11 (general)
MK Dons to beat Oldham at 13/10 (Ladbrokes)