The 2025-26 NBA season is finally here and tonight’s NBA Opening Night doubleheader will see the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder hoist their banner before taking on Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets. A busy day on the sports calendar also includes action in the UEFA Champions League, which returns after the October international break with a handful of great matchups. Picks from Thunder vs. Rockets, Barcelona vs. Olympiacos and Inter Milan vs. Union Saint-Gilloise are among our early best bets for Tuesday, Oct. 21.
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Whether you’re looking into NBA betting, college football betting, NHL betting, soccer betting or anything else on the Tuesday sports schedule, there are a number of online sports betting options, and our team can help point you in the right direction. Our computer model and experts will weigh in on all of the biggest events every day, and they’re offering their top sports betting picks right now.
Tuesday NBA best bets
- Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets (7:35 p.m. ET)
- The Pick: Oklahoma City -7 (-106)
The Thunder’s 68 wins last season tied for the fifth-most in NBA history and they set a new league record for season-long point differential. They’ll look to run it back this season with a largely unchanged roster, but will be without all-star Jalen Williams (wrist) on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Rockets made a splashy move this offseason by trading for Kevin Durant and are hoping to move into title contention, but it might take a while for the veteran to gel with Houston’s young roster. The model predicts that Oklahoma City covers the spread in 71% of simulations.
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Tuesday UEFA Champions League best bets
- Game: FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos (12:45 p.m. ET)
- The Pick: Over 3.5 goals (+100)
“Barcelona will be without a plethora of their usual starters. They’ll have to play without: Robert Lewandowski, Raphina, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and more,” SportsLine soccer expert Jon Eimer said. “While this is a troublesome amount of absentees, I think it almost helps the over here. Barcelona still have plenty of big names who love to score goals like Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford and Fermin Lopez, but this also should encourage Olympiacos to push for goals. I like BTTS here, but I really like the over 3.5.”
- Game: Inter Milan vs. Union Saint-Gilloise (12:45 p.m. ET)
- The Pick: Inter Milan 90-minute money-line (-130)
“Inter Milan should have enough quality to beat Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels on Tuesday. The Nerazzurri are on a six-game winning streak, and they picked up an impressive 2-0 away victory over Ajax in their last Champions League game,” Martin Green, another SportsLine soccer handicapper, said. “Meanwhile, Union Saint-Gilloise lost 4-0 at home to Newcastle in their last Champions League match. They dominate the Belgian league, but that result suggests they could struggle against elite teams like Inter Milan in the Champions League.”
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