Bundesliga preview – Schalke vs Hannover prediction

Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter has no new injury concerns following the 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday. Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting scored for the second consecutive game and is expected to continue his role on the left supporting lone striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Midfielder Johannes Geis has been restricted to Europa League duty since being sent off against Borussia Dortmund but comes in for consideration having served his five-match ban.

Hiroshi Kiyotake has been the most influential player for Hannover this season scoring three times and providing four assists. The Japanese playmaker looks likely to be out for the remainder of 2015 and coach Michael Frontzeck is still deciding on the best replacement. Leon Andreason stepped into the role and scored the second in the 4-0 win against Ingolstadt last weekend and may keep his place in preference to Ceyhun Gulselam. Forward Mevlut Erdinc has not figured since coming off the bench against Hertha Berlin on November 6 and may have to wait to make another appearance after picking up a knock in training last week.

Possible Line-ups

Schalke: 4-2-3-1 formation: Fahrmann; Riether, Howedes, Matip, Aogo; Goreztka, Hojbjerg; Sane, Meyer, Choupo-Moting; Huntelaar

Hannover: 4-3-2-1 formation: Zieler; Sorg, Marcelo, Schulz, Albornoz; Sane, Schmeidebach; Bech, Andreason, Karamon; Sobiech

Statistics

    Schalke have won 2, drawn 4 and lost 4 of their last 10 matches
    Hannover have won 4, drawn 1 and lost 5 of their last 10 matches
    Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Schalke have scored an average of 1.2 goals and conceded an average of 1.7 goals per game
    Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Hannover have scored an average of 1.4 goals and conceded an average of 1.3 goals per game
    There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 5 of Schalke's previous 10 matches
    There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Hannover's previous 10 matches

Prediction

Schalke’s improvement under Andre Breitenreiter has suffered a drop off since the 2-1 victory over Hertha Berlin at Veltins-Arena in mid-October. The team has earned two points from the last five games and this will be seen as an opportunity to get back on track after a tough run of fixtures which included visits to Monchengladbach, Dortmund and Leverkusen in addition to a home fixture against Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable Bayern Munich side.

Hannover is one of the favourites for relegation this season but have surprised many pundits by picking up eight of their 14 Bundesliga points away from home this season. Buoyed by a convincing 4-0 victory against Ingolstadt following a good performance at Monchengladbach where they missed out on a point to a late winner from Rafael - this won’t be a pushover for the home side.

Hannover have lost on their last four visits to Veltins-Arena and the class within the Schalke side may mean the record extends to five defeats from five on Friday night. However odds around 3/5 are not attractive and we recommend looking at other markets for a bet.
Tips

Both Teams To Score at 4/5

Schalke win & Both Teams To Score at 23/10

Schalke to win 2-1 at 8/1

PAOK vs Gabala

With four points difference to second placed Krasnodar, PAOK is in a must win situation here in order to keep the chances of progressing to the knockout stage, however even so, they will need second placed Kranodar not to win in Russia against Dortmund, but also to win the final round game in Kranodar against them. So, the team actually needs two victories, being in quite a dead end at the moment.

Their domestic league didn’t start much better either, as the team didn’t look good till now, being only at sixth position for now, quite away from first two places that will be leading to Champions League and qualifying stage. Moreover, the team didn’t record a win in last four official matches, with the most recent Europa League game being away to Krasnodar when the team suffered 2:1 defeat. This match comes as one of the wake up calls for whole team and the coach, since they desperately need to get a convincing three pointer – not only in order to keep their chances of playing in Europe, but also to improve the atmosphere before important Super League matches. Greeks continue to miss central defenders Miguel Vitor (9/2) and Ricardo Costa (9/0), as well as midfielders Charisis (2/0).


Gabala, on the other side, has earned only one point so far after four rounds played and virtually have no chances to obtain the ticket for the knockout stage. Their only point came in a home match against PAOK in the first round back early in September and there is no doubt that the limited and modest squad from Azerbaijan, in comparison to European stands, will try to surprise the Greek side once again.

However in all other matches, it was obvious that Gabala was somehow short for now for such a tough competition, since they conceded nine goals in other three matches and surely that the club has used these matches in order to gain some more experience for further years. As for the domestic league, team is really in a bad period as they have no victory in last five matches, coming from a 2:2 draw away to SumQayit. However, despite run of five winless matches, they are second at the table having already nine points in comparison to leading Qarabag. Having that in mind, there is no doubt that the visiting side is slowly turning their attention to the domestic league only. Goalkeeper Dmytro Bezotosny (5/0) is injured and won’t be playing here. Offensive midfielder Javid Huseynov remains suspended.

As said, this game comes as a must win situation for PAOK and truth to be told, they couldn’t wish for much better opponent at this moment in order to boost their morale. Greeks should be able to obtain an easy victory here, leaving the visitors without much hopes in last quarter of the game or so.
Bet: PAOK -1.5 Asian handicap @ 2.15

Lyon vs Toulouse

   Lyon Team News- Lyon have numerous injury problems with Fofana, Fekir, Bisevic, and Kalulu are out injured. Lacazette and Bedimo are also doubtful.


Toulouse Team News- Goicoecha, is out injured. Akpa-Akpro and Spajic are both available after serving suspensions.


Although morale is low at Lyon following their defeat to Zenit midweek in the UCL which leaves them unlikely to qualify for the knockout stages they will be pleased that they are facing an out of form Toulouse team who have suffered two poor away defeats against newly promoted sides GFCO Ajaccio and Angers. Lyon are currently 6th in Ligue 1 on 16 points. Last seasons runners up will want to improve on their current position very quickly.


Toulouse are 17th in Ligue 1 on 8 points with only 1 win in 8 games. They are yet to win on their travels this season and go to Lyon this time a place that they have not won at since 1966. Toulouse are a defensive side and on the back of their most recent away defeats will be more than happy to pick up a draw today. Lyon though despite their injury woes should still have the quality to come out with a narrow victory and are strong at home being unbeaten in 20 of their last 22 games at Stade de Gerland.

VS

Lyon have kept 4 clean sheets in their 5 home games in Ligue 1 so far and have only conceded a total of 7 goals in their 10 league games. Toulouse have only scored 4 goals on the road this season in 5 games, failing to score in 2 of them.


Toulouse will make it difficult for Lyon and may even salvage a draw but I can't see them scoring with the game going to either 0-0 or 1-0 to Lyon. So Lyon to keep a clean sheet is good value I think.


Visit my fb page www.facebook.com/sfttipster or follow me on Twitter @sensibletipster for more tips and analysis.

Lyon vs Toulouse betting tips Lyon vs Toulouse betting tips conclusion Stake 8 Stake: 8/10

    Pick Lyon clean sheet- YES
    Odds 2.25
    Bookmaker Bet365
    Match Date 23 Oct

Macedonia vs Ukraine

VS

Macedonia


Manager: Ljubinko Drulović
Last chance for Macedonia to give a good performance at home in front of its fans. So far the team of Macedonia is doing poorly. It only got a win so far and this took place on the last moments of the game against Luxembourg at home. All the other games were unsuccessful. After eight games it only got 3 points. Even against Luxembourg in an away game it lost. The quality of the team is not very high. There is no player like Goran Pandev on this squad who could bring the team in higher level. I believe that the team can improve but for the moment I consider that is unable to do something amazing.


Ukraine:


Manager: Mykhaylo Fomenko


The 5 points that lost against Slovakia seem to be decisive so far. The chances for qualification straight to the final stage of the tournament are few. Slovakia needs just a win while Ukraine will need to win both Macedonia and Spain and at the same time Slovakia must fail against both Belarus and Luxembourg. Ukraine is a very good team and I believe that even if it does not qualify straight to the tournament, it will qualify after the play-offs. There are also chances that it can qualify as the best third team. As long as it wins the team of Macedonia everything is possible. On the final game it will play against Spain at home. Possibly Spain will be qualified so the motivation will be only in Ukraine’s side. A win on that game ensures that Ukraine will qualify as the best third team.


Prediction: Macedonia was unable to keep a clean sheet after 8 games. It’s clear that the team has a defensive trouble. On the other hand Ukraine is using the 2 flanks, Konoplyanka and Yarmolenko and creates many troubles to its opponents especially against teams like Macedonia. The bad thing for Ukraine is that its main forward Zozulya is missing through injury. Seleznyov and Kravets however are players that can score goals and can make the difference for Ukraine. The price for Ukraine to win this game is around 1.45 to 1.50. I will choose Ukraine to score two or more goals which has a significantly higher price and is very possible to take place.



R Macedonia vs Ukraine betting tips R Macedonia vs Ukraine betting tips conclusion Stake 7 Stake: 7/10

    Pick Away goals over 1.5
    Odds 1.80

Tottenham – Qarabag

Spurs kick off their Europa League campaign in North London, and our tipster is backing Mauricio Pochettino's men to open with a tight victory on home soil

Tottenham’s Europa League campaign gets underway on Thursday night when Mauricio Pochettino’s men play host to Azerbaijani side Qarabag at White Hart Lane.

Ryan Mason’s late goal led Spurs to their first competitive win of the season against Sunderland at the weekend, and they can be backed at just 5/18 (1.28) with NetBet to take all three points from their Group J opener in north London.

Qarabag were beaten 1-0 on aggregate by Scottish champions Celtic in their quest to qualify for the Champions League, and victory against Spurs may well provide some solace for Qurban Qurbanov’s side.




However, the enormity of the task facing the Azerbaijani champions is reflected by the 11/1 (12.0) quote
from NetBet for the visitors to claim a famous victory at White Hart Lane, while the same firm go 15/4 (4.75) that the tie ends in stalemate.

Tottenham have struggled to find their best form in front of goal so far this season and, indeed, have managed just four goals from their opening five matches.

Star striker Harry Kane is still searching for his first goal of the season for Spurs, despite netting twice for England during the recent international break.

It should be noted that eight of the last 10 matches that Qarabag have played in this competition have featured fewer than three goals, while Qurbanov’s men have conceded just one goal in their last five competitive matches.

Therefore, the even money (2.0) quote from NetBet for fewer than three goals to be scored would appear to represent decent value ahead of this tussle.




The 5/7 (1.71) quote for Spurs to keep a clean sheet is not without appeal, while the same firm go 10/13 (1.77) for the home side to win to nil is also likely to prove popular with punters.

A low scoring affair looks assured given the two sides' recent form but the Premier League outfit should ultimately have too much for the visitors and a Spurs win featuring no more than two goals can be backed at the tempting price of 7/4 (2.75).


Tottenham to win and under 2.5 goals at 7/4 (2.75)

Wolves vs Newport County

VS

 Its another exciting game here today between Wolves and Newport.


Wolves started their match well with a 1:2 away victory over Blackburn last week, in a game which Nigeria international Benik Afobe scored the opening goal in 20 minutes, while 10 minutes later Blackburn equalized by Craig Conway while David Edward sealed the match by scoring last goal for Wolves, all this goals were scored in the first halftime of the match.


Afobe is one of the championship top scorer for last season, and he is expected to be so once again this season. With the 442 formation of Wolves which is in favor of Afobe pattern, I think he is a player to look out for in anybody to score market.


Newport suffered a 3:0 away loss to Cambrige last week in a game Barry Con scored twice both at 1st half and 2nd half respectively. Robble Simpson sealed the match by scoring the last goal for the host. Scott Boden, Lewis and day who is their goalkeeper are all expected to play along their 442 formation here.


It is a well know fact that Wolves is the favorite to win here, however, with the odd of 1.33 on Wolves win, I think I can't take such. But I think wolves total goals over 1.5 is worth to punt as I think they should score goals with ease.

Wolves vs Newport County betting tips Wolves vs Newport County betting tips conclusion Stake 8 Stake: 8/10

    Pick home over1.5 goals
    Odds 1.68

Krasnodar vs Kuban

After three rounds played, Krasnodar has only one victory, a draw and a loss, not a perfect start they wanted early in the season. After a victory over Amkar in season opener, team lost at home narrowly with a 1:0 result to Spartak Moscow, result that left some open wounds in their locker room. The game itself was quite balanced and the draw would have been much more fairer outcome of that derby game.

After that game, team went to Rostov and got a point only in a goalless draw, but a bit more important than the early start of Russian Premier League, was their participation in Europa League qualifiers where the team played in third qualifying round against Slovan Bratislava and progressed with a 5:3 aggregate score. After a 2:0 victory in the first leg, they took a 3:3 draw last Thursday and generally had no problems securing the play-off ticket as the team had double lead in Bratislava already after eleven minutes of the game. So, no doubt that the team was having a busy schedule in previous weeks and will benefit from the Europa League break this mid-week. Coach Oleg Kononov won’t be able to count at offensive midfielder Joazinho who is struggling with injury for some time already and didn’t perform this season. This means the coach is actually available to select his best starting eleven for this one.



Kuban, on the other side, has only two points in first three rounds and it seems it’s the best the team could get so far in the season. Worrying is that the team probably had the easiest possible schedule in first three rounds. Most recently, they had only a home draw against UFA last weekend, once again showing many defensive weaknesses but also quite poor performance regarding attacking phase of the game and final touch.

Despite quite respectable movements during the transfer window when the team brought Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko, they are for now failing to show anything impressive and in case the team continues in the same manner, they will for sure be one of relegation candidates, or at least deep into the relegation battle. Kuban isn’t doing well in front of opponent’s fans, as the team has their latest victory on the road during November 2014, staying without away three points in last nine matches on the road. Former Russian star Arshavin was back in training during the midweek and he is set to play from the start. Only injury worry for the visiting team is midfielder Charles Kabore who anyway didn’t play a single minute in the new season.
Kuban Krasnodar have failed to win their last 9 away matches in Premier League.

Krasnodar is surely more quality side after completing third Europa League qualifiers successfully, I expect them to enter this game a bit more relaxed, fully determined to get all three points in a local derby. Kuban didn’t show many impressive things in first three rounds, playing against weaker sides and I don’t see them staying competitive here for too long.
Bet: Krasnodar Wins @ 1.80

Orebro vs Norrkoping

VS

 Top versus bottom when Orebro SK hosts IFK Norrkoping in Swedish Allsvenskan.


A bit more than half of the season has been played and IFK have been a big surprise this year. They currently sits on 3rd place with 35p. They have played a good offensive football (29-19 in GM/GA). Last five games LWDDW, and their away record is 4W, 3D, 1L. Last game was a lost at home against AIK, but watched the highlights and summaries bout the game implied it could have gone either way. Before that game they had 13 in a row without a loss.


Orebro SK is second from last with 13p. I watched their last game against IFK Gothenburg and they got crushed in all way possible with a final result of 6-0. Their last 5 games: L L D D L. They have only scored 13 goals in the season and conceding 34 times. The defense look disoriented and the attack was never a actual threat in that game. OSK at home is not that different at home, they have the record of 2W 4D 3L. They play at artificial turf but so does IFK Norrkoping at home so that wont give them an advantage.


Other factors: Telo, Hadenious out for IFK, IFK have Emir Kujovic 2nd in goals overall


OSK have Robert Åhman-Persson coming back from injury.


Of course there can be a big reaction when coming from a huge loss but I don´t think OSK have the quality to win this one.With what I´ve seen from both teams and their current positions I see value in IFK winning this game. But since Allsvenskan is a league where everyone can take points from everyone I´m playing a bit safe going with AH -0,25 for the away team.



Orebro vs Norrkoping betting tips Orebro vs Norrkoping betting tips conclusion Stake 7 Stake: 7/10

    Pick Norrkoping
    Odds 1.93

Bolton vs Derby

VS

 Derby have brought well over the summer with players like Bent, Ince, Weimann, Shackell, Baird and Carson all coming in. All these players have very good experience. Derby already had a strong side last season and in all honestly should have been in the top 2, but an awful slump in form meant that they finished 7th.


With players like Martin already at the club there should be plenty of goals this season. All three of Martin, Bent and Ince scored 10+ goals last season, which considering that Martin was injured for large spells and Ince and Bent only came in on loan in January was a good return.


Bolton havent really brought anyone of note into the club. They have lost both keepers and have only started signing the odd player in the last week. Bolton should struggle again this season. Their best "signing" of the summer could be keeping hold of Lennon the manager, who was linked with the Leicester job.



Bolton vs Derby betting tips Bolton vs Derby betting tips conclusion Stake 3 Stake: 3/10

    Pick Derby to score 1.5 goals
    Odds 2.10

Laval vs Nancy

VS

For this season I'll try (as much as seem reliable :-D) to play without too much thinking X at all Laval games. You remember last year they had 21 games ended with this sign "X" and for sure was a huge profit playing in this way last year. Why I'll do this? First of all the team didn't lost too much important players in inter-season and those who signing in I believe will do a good job. Left the team Diallo, Guirassy, Robic and Said while singing in Habran, Afougou, Alioui and striker Viale. So for sure Laval will remain a tough nut to crack even they play at home or away. They will play same style with a 4-3-3, having Denis Zanko as coach. Under his command Laval still remain an ugly team and for sure will not deserve the effort to watch them:) Somehow they steal apoint in first round away at newcommer Paris FC, but this point wasn't deserved at all. Perrot is suspended, while Dembele and Bourgeois are injured.


Nancy will try also this year, under Correa command, to snatch a spot who assure them promotion in L1. But will be more difficult than previous season, in 2015/2016 promoting only 2 teams. They already lost important points at home, drew 0-0 against Tours. They played Monday night and despite they had plenty of goal opportunities the score remains 0-0. But overall, must say they made a good goal, didn't let too much spaces for Tours who haven't any real goal opportunity. But no luck..was one of that days when the ball didn't want to came in the goal. One new signing these days Pedretti from Ajaccio but he will not play here. Puyo still injured.


Nancy may be a bit fatigue and perhaps will be content with a draw here. gl



Laval vs Nancy betting tips Laval vs Nancy betting tips conclusion Stake 8 Stake: 8/10

    Pick x
    Odds 3.10

Neftchi vs Mladost Podgorica

VS

The only player that created danger last season for Neftchi was the chilean Nicolás Canales, and as we can read in his twitter account, he is in Chile with an expiring contract, due a Neftchi's economic difficulties. 29 goals in 2012/2013 season and 15 in 2014/2015. Without Canales, Neftchi hasn't creativity upfront.


But this fact isn't the only one trouble for hosts. A numerous players (some key players for the team, a part from Canales) left the club this summer. Carlos Cardoso def. (26/0), Denis Silva def. (19/2), Julius Wobay fwd. (27/7), Elvin Yunuszada def. (21/0), Seyidov mid. (23/1), N'For fwd. (17/2) and many others. They bought a good spanish player (Melli, ex Betis signed 1 week ago) and Ailton on loan from Fluminense, but the backbone has been disslved, so line-up will be, probably, weaker than everybody expected with some young national players, some of them that never played together. They played two friendlies and lost 3-0 vs MTK and 1-0 against Shakhtar Donetsk alternative team.


The team don't have big expectatives this season, their budget has been reduced more than 300% due to a oil prices and the investment for the team is low. Nevertheless I'm surprising because they could sign Melli, that was playing in Azerbaijan, but I don't think that player's wage could be low. All in all, Mladost is an Montenegrin team that won the national Cup past year and finished 4th in the league. They're nothing special, but they could take advantadge of Nefchi financial issues with one solid game.


Let's go for a little sourprise here.

Neftchi vs Mladost Podgorica betting tips Neftchi vs Mladost Podgorica betting tips conclusion Stake 10 Stake: 10/10

    Pick Mladost Podgorica +0.75
    Odds 2.39

Brondby vs Juvenes Dogana

Brondby is a huge favorite of this match up..


The Danish team finished 3rd, while their opponent was 2nd in their league.


Be honest, i dont have too much information about Juvenes.. A little team from San Marino, yes, from San Marino. We all know about their national team, i sure their club teams worse.


Brondby is a solid team, with star, Daniel Agger, former Liverpool player in the middle of the defense, and Tomas Hradecky in goal. They also have good strikers like Pukki or Elmander.


I'm sure that Brondby will win this, it's an easy bet.. But Juvenes wont score a goal, come on. Why the odds is that high???


It's a big value i think..


Good Luck!

Brondby vs Juvenes Dogana betting tips Brondby vs Juvenes Dogana betting tips conclusion Stake 9 Stake: 9/10

    Pick Brondby to win 0
    Odds 1.50

Argentina vs Paraguay

VS

It has been 11 months since Argentina lost in the World cup final and they have played 8 matches since then in which they won outright in 6 of the matches and lost two . Argentina have one of the most deadliest attacks currently and arguably in all-time too . They have the top strikers in the world all in their prime with the likes of Leo Messi , Sergio Aguero , Carlos Tevez , Gonzalo Higuain and not to forget the young Argentine who caught everyones eyes in the Serie A - Mauro Icardi .


It is hard to believe that a team of Argentina's calibre has failed to win any major trophies for 22 years . They will sure try to change things and overcome the world cup defeat in this edition of the Copa America..


They thrashed Bolivia 5-0 in the recently held friendly match which means the team will be up morally and will start off the tournament in a confident way.


On the other hand , Paraguay has only few Marquee names like Santa Cruz and Paulo da Silva both past their prime . It will be tough for them to encounter a team of Argentina's calibre and Im sure the players themselves are aware of it.


Backing Argentina to win in HT/FT won't be a bad choice at all considering the differences in the team sheets and the available odds - 1.72. Good luck.

 Argentina vs Paraguay betting tips conclusion Stake 7 Stake: 7/10

    Pick Argentina - Argentina halftime/fulltime
    Odds 1.72

Aarau vs Grasshoppers

Five rounds till the end of the season, Aarau is in quite a difficult situation as the team stands at rock bottom position at the table, six points below Vaduz. No doubt that the game against Grasshoppers comes for them as a must win situation, while even that three pointer wouldn’t improve the things much.

Anyhow, their is no doubt the hosts will be going for all three points, as if it was their last chance. Unfortunately for them, they haven’t been in a very good form of late, coming from three games without victory, last time losing at home with a 2:6 defeat against Luzern last Sunday evening. Even though it was a four goals difference defeat, overall impression is that they probably deserved to lose with two goals difference for example, but the defensive lineup was simply making too many mistakes, while their offensive part wasn’t that bad at all. Rather unimportant for this season, striker Edgars Guaracs (2/1) is injured and won’t perform here. Central defender Marco Thaler (21/0) is suspended for this one, while other central back Juan Pablo Garat isn’t 100 ready for the game, but will probably play.


Grasshoppers, on the other side, is having terrible season – better to say terrible second part of the season as they managed to get only three victories since the re-start back in February. Currently, the team is without a victory in last five matches, being third from the bottom with nine points more than

Being nine points is secure enough from relegation, but no doubt that the team will want to remain undefeated here and remove all the doubts regarding the relegation battle. As said, they have no victory in last five matches, with the last one being defeat 2:1 away to Basel, where the team actually gave quite a decent performance, but were overpowered in the second half, even though they had a lead during the first fourty-five minutes. Guests will miss injured left back Daniel Pavlovic (22/0) who should be their only real injury worry here. Central defender Levent Gulen (20/0) will miss the match due suspension, while few players are doubtful, but all with chance to recover in time – all less important.
Aarau have failed to win 19 of their last 20 matches in Super League.

Completely open game is expected here as the players of Aarau really have nothing to wait for now and should attack from the first moment. Neither Grasshoppers is without any motive and should respond accordingly. Over should be reached here quite easy, maybe even after the first halftime.
Bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.73

Tsonga – Cilic

Jo Wilfried Tsonga will try to build on two solid results in the previous rounds in order to down Marin Cilic in the Monte Carlo third round – with the Croat also boosted by a good showing in the previous round.


Tsonga defeated Goffin 6-3 6-4 yesterday, an excellent result to back up the straight sets win he had over Struff in the first round and some good tennis from Jo Wilfried as well. I did not expect Tsonga to win, looking at the fact that it was just his 4th match of the season after a few months in which he did not train – but it was also his most consistent one. However, the 6-3 6-4 result was a little harsh, as Goffin had his chances, particularly in the second set, he simply did not take them.

Cilic defeated Florian Mayer in three sets in his second round opener, not the sharpest performance against a player coming back from injury, but some good tennis from Cilic and the win was never in doubt. Marin is looking to get back his rhythm, as he was awful after winning the US Open last year and played just two matches this year because of injuries and a personal choice to focus more on training. This is a good chance for him, he has one win under his belt and faces a still rusty Tsonga.



The Head 2 Head is 3-3, but if we write off to challenger matches from 2007, Cilic leads 3-1 – including winning the last two meetings in straight sets. The two players never met on clay.

I reckon Tsonga deserves to be a favorite in this one, his level of tennis was pretty good this week – however, the odds are way too low for a player that played only 4 times this year and who obviously still has a lot of room to improve. Cilic was injured and did not play more himself (2 matches this year), but at least he has been in training mode, fit to train this season and played more at the end of last year. Marin is not playing at his best level either, but he has been very competitive against Florian Mayer and I`d say he`s more or less at the same level as Tsonga right now. Fair odds would be about 1.75 for the Frenchman as far as I`m concerned, so I`m all over Cilic to win at the current price.

The Croat should also be the fitter of the two if the match goes to a deciding set. My tip is a Cilic win. Correct score prediction: Jo Wilfried Tsonga – Marin Cilic 6-2 5-7 6-7.

Live streaming for JW Tsonga vs. Marin Cilic available for players at Bet365.com.

Pick: Cilic
Odds: 2.83

PSG vs Barcelona

PSG awaits this game in a perfect atmosphere as the team just took the title in Coupe de la Ligue competition by defeating Bastia last weekend with an easy 4:0 result. However, the game was actually decided before even the first goal was scored, as one of the most important players of Bastia got excluded early in the first halftime.

Title came thanks to goals from Ibrahimovic, two in the first halftime and two goals from Cavani in the second half. No doubt that the atmosphere inside the club is great, as they have won the League Cup competition for the second consecutive season, have reached the Cup finale, but also are leading in the domestic Ligue 1 league. The team is still playing in all four competitions, being able to currently dream all four titles, something that is anyway worthy of congratulations at such a high level. What they want the most is recognition within Europe and it’s competition, but tonight they will be having quite a difficult job, as the French side can’t count at their best player Ibrahimovic (22/17) who was excluded in the previous game against Chelsea. Suspended is also midfielder Marco Verratti (27/1), as well as defender Serge Aurier (10/0). Finally, this match will also be missed by defensive midfielder Thiago Motta who is injured.



Barcelona, on the other side, comes from a slight setback, as the team only drew away from home against Sevilla 2:2 last weekend. They dominated at the start of the game, having complete control over the ball in first thirty minutes, taking a lead via Messi and Neymar, but allowed reduction of their lead against the flow of the game near the end of the first halftime.

The team has conceded seven goal seven minutes before the full time whistle, finally staying with only a point as there was no time to react furthermore. This result broke a streak of nine victories for the side of Luis Enrique, as the team now have only two points more than second placed Real Madrid, not having anymore room for additional setbacks. For tonight’s game, coach Enrique, won’t be able to count at right full back Dani Alves who is suspended and his position is expected to be taken by Adriano. In comparison to the game against Sevilla, the team show have back central defender Javier Mascherano instead of Jeremy Mathieu, while between the posts we should have German Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Last seven matches in Champions League between these two sides have ended with both teams scoring at least once.

Barcelona’s coach admitted that they will play to win here and therefore, an open game is expected. These sides have met twice already this season, both times with each time scoring at least once and I believe we will see the same tonight. Despite absence of PSG’s best player, home side is more than capable of scoring a goal against not so reliable Barcelona’s defense which we saw in a match against Sevilla.
Bet: Both teams to score @ 1.78

Boston Celtics – Toronto Raptors

Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors / NBA – Boston plays like in a trance and has a realistic chance to take one of the last two positions in the Eastern Conference that leads in the play-offs. According to what they showed it would be a shame if they don’t qualify for the play-offs as they truly deserve to be in it, just like Toronto, who has spent the entire season among the best teams of the East. Begins: 15.04.2015 – 01:30 CET
Boston Celtics

Boston plays the last days of the regular season like in a dream. The winning series has stretched to four games and besides that they reinforced themselves in the seventh position with 38 wins and 42 defeats. Compared to their direct competitors, the Nets and the Pacers, they have better head-to-head score and therefore are in an advantaged position. Boston has made a big leap forward when it defeated the Cavs on Sunday evening, who indirectly helped them as they rested their starting five players. Boston “thanked” for that gift with a victory of 39 points difference.

We have said several times that no one gave Boston a chance to reach the play-offs, especially when they let go Rondo and Green, but that move had homogenised them and after it they have been playing very well, and as the things stand now they have secured a place for themselves in the play-offs and the Cavs for the opponents, most probably, in the first round of it. However, to be sure that the seventh place is theirs they need to defeat Toronto, who is also in a winning series and fights for the third position in the East. They have the 12th attack of the league and are even fifth by number of assists in the whole NBA. On top of that is sounds a bit surreal that almost all players are excellent shooters (10 players average more than 8.5 points per game).

Probable lineups Boston Celtics: Bradley, Smart, Turner, Bass, Zeller
Toronto Raptors

Toronto has spent the bigger portion of the season in the very top of the East and it has been long clear that will have in the first round of the play-offs the home-field advantage. Of course, they would like to end the regular part of the season in the third position but it is questionable who would suit them in the first round of the play-offs, the Wizards or the Bucks? Only they know that, although on the first glance it seems that the Bucks would be a bit easier opponents, primarily because of weaker backcourt as the Raptors have 3-4 great guards in their ranks. Toronto is currently in a good shape as it won the last three games and have the overall result of 48 wins and 32 defeats.

We don’t need to stress that Lowry and DeRozan are the two main players of this team, two great guards who together average almost 38 points, 10.3 assist and 9.3 rebounds per game. Besides all that, they have a reliable bench player Williams who averages 15.5 points in just 25 minutes on the court. Toronto is one of the best offensive teams in the league that scores over 104 points per game on average, so their games are rarely boring.

Probable lineups Toronto Raptors: Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, Johnson, Valanciunas
Boston Celtics – Toronto Raptors PICK

Because of possible calculations due to “choosing” of the opponent in the first round of the play-offs it is not impossible that certain players get a break. That would take away part of the usual charge and the offensive players could profit from such situation.

Pick: over 208 points

Stake: 5/10

Odds: 1.93

Switzerland – Estonia

Switzerland hosts Estonia in the 5th round of the Euro 2016 qualifiers Group E.


Switzerland is third in the group with 6 points … tied with Slovenia (second) and Lithuania (fourth) … way behind England. Hosts started the qualifiers poorly with two losses (England, Slovenia), but recovered with 2 big wins over San Marino and Lithuania, 8-0 aggregate. Switzerland will fight for direct qualification with Slovenia who plays San Marino this weekend, so a win today is mandatory for the Swiss. All the top players are valid today for Switzerland, so of course that is very good news for the manager.


Estonia is on the 5th place with 4 points … their results are not bad at all in this group. Estonia’s defense was very good as they did not allow more than 1 goal in any game … they beat Slovenia 1-0, lost only 0-1 with England, also beat Norway 1-0 in a friendly. On the other hand they lost 1-0 with Lithuania and drew 0-0 with San Marino … at home! The last match for Estonia was a nightmarish friendly in Qatar, which resulted in a humiliating 0-3 loss.

Switzerland destroyed inferior opposition in this group, both times 4-0 and they are on a good run after losing the first two games. Hosts are known as a trustworthy team who does not make unpleasant surprises too often and I can see them getting a very comfortable win over Estonia. Visitors do not look like a threat to score and for sure a motivated Switzerland team can put at least two past them. I think they could go on to win with a similar score like they did vs. Lithuania and San Marino.

It is true that Estonia was very good in this group defensively, but they do not have quality and that will not last forever. Chances are the first really bad result will come today and the odds are excellent. My tip will be Estonia to win and cover the -2 asian handicap. Correct score prediction: Slovenia – Estonia 3-0.

Pick: Switzerland (-2 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 2.25

Atletico Madrid vs Bayer Leverkusen

Atletico Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen / Champions League – This second leg of the Champions League round of 16 is expected to be quite exciting, because Atletico was deemed as a favourite before the first match in Leverkusen that Bayer eventually won by 1-0 after totally outplaying Atletico. Since that match Atletico is in crisis and in the championship drew three times in a row, while on the other hand, Bayer won three consecutive matches in the league and one more in the Cup. At the moment, both teams occupy the fourth place in the standings in their respective championships, and this will be their fourth H2H match. They will play for the second time in Madrid, where the first one was played in 2010 in the Europa League and was a draw 1-1. Begins: 17.03.2015 – 20:45 CET
Atletico Madrid

Atletico is in decline and is already clear that will not defend the last year’s title of Spanish champion, while the second place is ever further. Most realistically they will end up as third which is also good enough for direct qualification for the Champions League, although that position will not simply fall into their lap and instead they will have to fight for it because they are now positioned below that place for the first time since the beginning of the season. The reason there are three draws in a row and when we add to that the defeat in Leverkusen it is a series of four matches without a victory and that didn’t happen to Atletico for a long time. It is true that the schedule was more difficult than usual but the team with championship ambitions must play very well even against stronger teams.

Instead of good play, coach Simeone’s players have scored just one goal in those four matches, which had taken place at home against Valencia 1- 1. They drew with Sevilla and Espanyol on Saturday by 0-0. In the letter match they played without suspended Siqueira and Mandzukic, while Arda Turan came off the bench. They might have won if stopper Miranda wasn’t sent off, which made their job difficult. They are going to be weakened in this match too because there will be no stopper Year and midfielder Tiago because of yellow cards and Saul Niguez who is injured.

Probable lineups Atletico Madrid: Moya – Juanfran, Miranda, Gimenez, Siqueira – Gabi, Koke, Arda Turan, Raul Garcia – Griezmann, Mandzukic
Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer has no problems like Atletico and it is in a positive series, although they are still far from having secured a place in the Champions League. After the last weekend they are somewhat closer to that objective as they won again, while their rivals who breathe down their neck have blundered. Bayer has three wins in a row and when we add to that the Champions League and the DFB-Pokal then the series grows on five wins, plus one drew in the Bundesliga. They haven’t lost for more than a month and that strange match against Wolfsburg. It is very important to add that have not received a single goal in those five aforementioned victories.

Not all victories were easy and with high goal difference although the last one, won on Friday against Stuttgart, was the most solid one. They have sent the guests back home with 4 goals in their net, which is an excellent introduction for this match. There are almost no problems with the team and L. Bender should return in the midfield, Spahic on the stopper, while Drmic will likely get an advantage in the attack instead of Kiesling, as he played excellently on Friday when he scored two goals.

Probable lineups Bayer Leverkusen: Leno – Hilbert, Toprak, Spahic, Wendell – L. Bender, Castro – Bellarabi, Calhanoglu, Son – Drmic
Atletico Madrid – Bayer Leverkusen PICK

The stakes are high and the result of the first leg is such that we expect to see a lot of tactics here. Atletico is not in the best shape but they how to play on a result so they will certainly not rush, while Bayer has solid defence and can to a large extent cope with attacks of the hosts. Therefore, we anticipate few goals in Madrid.

Pick: under 2 goals

Stake: 6/10

Odds: 1.75

Swansea vs Liverpool

Swansea vs. Liverpool / Premier League – The last match in the 29th round of the English Premier League is also a very interesting one because it is played between two teams from the upper part of the table, but the ninth Swansea currently has 11 points less than the fifth Liverpool. In addition, the Reds have in their previous duels made a series of four wins and two draws, and we must particularly stress the fact that these have always been very attractive and efficient games. Begins: 16.03.2015 – 21:00 CET
Swansea

Thus, at the end of last year the Welsh have experienced two defeats at Anfield, first in the League Cup with 2-1, and then in the championship with 4-1, but on the other hand they were never defeated in the last three home matches against Liverpool and they recorded a win and two draws. Consequently, in this next duel they have every right to hope for one good result, regardless of the fact that the Reds are currently in the best shape of all the teams in the league.

Namely, coach Monk’s players have three rounds at home against another big favourite, Manchester United, played a great match and finally celebrated with 3-1, and immediately after that made a minimal triumph away against Burnley. However, in the last round in spite of their good games, they were defeated with 3-2 away by Tottenham, which should not be discouraging in any case before this duel with the Reds, especially since they were always especially motivated when playing against these teams from the top. We should also add that young defender Bartley will not be able to perform in this match die to his injury.

Probable lineups Swansea: Fabianski – Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor – Cork, Sung-Yong Ki, Shelvey – Sigurdsson, Gomis, Montero
Liverpool

As for Liverpool, we have already said that they are currently in the best shape since the beginning of the season, so in the championship they made nine wins and three draws, which ultimately led to their breakthrough on the fifth place in the standings, with only two points behind the fourth Manchester United and three in relation to the third-ranked Arsenal. But on the other side, they are not nearly as good in the Cup competitions since they were 20 days ago eliminated from Europa League by Turkish Besiktas, while they last weekend in the 6th round of the FA Cup played only 0-0 against Blackburn.

This means that they will against the same opponent have to play another game for placement in the semi-finals, but fortunately for them it will happen only three weeks from now and therefore in the meantime they can fully dedicate to their championship obligations. When it comes to the composition for this match against Swansea, we believe that it would be almost the same as in their last championship performance, when they celebrated with 2-0 over Burnley at home. Let us add that goalkeeper Jones, defender Flanagan and midfielders Lucas, Gerrrard and Ibe will all be absent due to injuries.

Probable lineups Liverpool: Mignolet – Can, Skrtel, Sakho – Markovic, Henderson, Allen, Moreno – Sterling, Sturridge, Coutinho
Swansea vs. Liverpool PICK

If we bear in mind that the previous matches of these rivals were very effective, then we have absolutely no reason to doubt that the same will also be on Monday night, especially since the host Swansea can play completely relieved, while on the other hand, the Reds are in a big rush and they want to retrieve one of the positions that lead in the Champions League.

Pick: both teams will score

Stake: 5/10

Odds: 1.85

VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund

VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund / Bundesliga – Another derby of the rear that puts together two teams with popular names and bright traditions who have in common a range of problems this season. This is especially true for Stuttgart who is at the bottom of the table and has four points less than the first team positioned above the relegation zone and that is exactly Borussia. Just that tells us how much is important this match. Stuttgart is in series of five matches without a win, while on the other hand Borussia won the last two matches and evidently plays better and better. They had played a very interesting match in the first part of the season in which Stuttgart had a lead of two goals but it ended as a draw 2-2. In the last four seasons Stuttgart didn’t manage to defeat Borussia. Begins: 20.02.2015 – 20:30 CET

VfB Stuttgart
Situation for Stuttgart is getting more and more difficult and watching this team and considering its individual quality they are absolutely the first candidate for relegation at the moment. It’s not just because they are currently the last in the standings but also because of a number of other indicators, such as only four goals scored at home and only five won points. They also drew only once in the four rounds of the season continuation and lost remaining three matches and they scored only goal in the same period of time, which happened in the previous round against Hoffenheim away.

When nothing functions as it is supposed to then the luck turns its back too, and they dropped a draw in that match in its last seconds. Coach Stevens had returned Hlousek on the left flank, G. Sakai was on the right one, while Ibisevic had again remained on the bench and Ti. Werner played instead. The new problem is that midfielder Gentner has gotten the fifth yellow card, so he cannot play in this match, which gives chance to Serey Die, who arrived to Stuttgart during the winter transfer window, to play from the first minute.

Probable lineups VfB Stuttgart: Ulreich – G. Sakai, Baumgartl, Niedermeier, Hlousek – Oriol Romeu, Sery Die – Harnik, Leitner, Maxim – Ti. Werner

Borussia Dortmund
If nothing else Borussia has finally started scoring goals, which seven goals scored in the last two rounds prove. Of course, they won both of them and so have moved above the relegation zone, but they cannot allow luxury of relaxation and as the struggle for survival continues. It is of especial importance how will play away matches as it was a big problem throughout this season, but they succeeded in Freiburg to discontinue the series without a win. In this match they truly dominated and the victory of 3-0 was pure as snow, but already in the next match against Mainz at home there were again some problems.

They unexpectedly received the first goal immediately at the beginning of the match and when they managed to overturn the result, they have received the second one, which created additional pressure. They continued with attacks and as a result of such game came two new goals. It must be said that were a much better team in that match. Compared to match in Freiburg, there was no captain Hummels, so Sokratis jumped in. They still have problems with the flu, so it is uncertain who besides Hummels will be unable to play, but probably there will be no big changes.

Probable lineups Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Subotic, Sokratis, Schmelzer – Sahin, Gundogan – Kampl, Kagawa, Reus – Aubameyang

VfB Stuttgart – Borussia Dortmund PICK
This is perhaps the decisive match for Stuttgart and we really expect to see them running, particularly in the attack as it is the only way to win. On the other hand Borussia scores goals with ease and we expected to continue in that rhythm, so that all together this should be an efficient match, which is in line with the tradition.

Pick: over 2.5 goals

Stake: 6/10

Odds: 1.80

Premier League Tips – 7th February

Our new football columnist previews Saturday’s Premier League games and expects routine wins for both Chelsea and Man City.

Aston Villa vs Chelsea

With only two defeats all season Chelsea remain the front runners for the Premier League title and are without a doubt the team to beat. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have not won any of their last eight games and were comfortably beaten 3-0 in the reverse of this fixture in September. To add to this, Villa have not even scored this year; their last goal coming in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United before Christmas, a run of six games without a goal. It’s hard to imagine that Thibaut Courtois and co. won’t keep a clean sheet and at the other end, one would expect Chelsea to bang in a few goals. Selection: Chelsea to win to nil @ 20/21

Manchester City vs Hull City

Believe it or not, both these sides go to the Etihad on Saturday without a win in their last three games. Draws against Everton and Chelsea, either side of a defeat to Arsenal, have Manchester City searching for only their second win of the calendar year, whilst Hull have won just two of their last sixteen. Following two consecutive 3-0 losses, one at home to Newcastle and the other away at West Ham, Steve Bruce’s side sit in the relegation zone and his future at the club is largely in question. However, do not expect them to turn all this around at the weekend, as City will be in a ruthless mood as they look to re-establish some form of their own. It looks like Hull will be on the end of another defeat, one which could read 3-0 again – or even more. Selection: Man City -2 Asian Handicap @ Evens

Swansea City vs Sunderland

This promises to be one of the more competitive games this weekend in the Premier League. Neither side are in great form, but both recorded all three points last time out to end their respective winless runs – Swansea four games and Sunderland five. The Swans beat Southampton 1-0, a result which somewhat made up for some recently poor ones; a 1-1 draw with QPR and a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea, whilst Sunderland won a crucial relegation six-pointer against Burnley having narrowly missed out on points against Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City coming into the game. The Black Cats are a tough side to beat away from home, only once in 11 away games have they lost by two or more goals. New signing Jermain Defoe will provide them with a bigger goal threat on the road. Swansea have scored in 10 of their 12 home games this season and, with both winning last week, there’s a good chance that both teams will find the net at the Liberty on Saturday. Selection: Both teams to score @ 11/10

Sevilla – Espanyol

Sevilla comes into this clash with a burning desire for revenge after narrowly losing qualification this Thursday in the Copa del Rey. Espanyol won 3-2 on aggregate after a 3-1 win in Barcelona and a 0-1 loss on Thursday, in Sevilla. It was a game in which Sevilla’s lineup really struggled in attack, with the guests defending really well and mounting some quick, fast, deadly counter-attacks. Overall i would say that the Andalusians are better off being left out of the cup, because they need to focus on catching up with Valencia in #4 place and also on their european spring.



Espanyol really went all out in the Copa del Rey. The team we see in the Copa is a different animal compared to the one we see in the league. In La Liga, without the fear of relegation and the promise of European places, the Catalans play some pretty boring football, with some short moments of brilliance in between. I expect them to be at 70-80% compared to what we have seen on Thursday, and because of this i do not want to back them, like i did a few days ago.

Not many changes in the lineups are expected compared to Thursday. Sevilla will start with Banega and Vitolo, leaving Suarez on the bench while Espanyol will give Stuani the nod while resting Caicedo.

I expect Sevilla to play their dominant quick passing game, and win this by at least 1 goal. The quality, home advantage and motivation are all in Sevilla’s favour. Sevilla -0.75 Asian Handicap is my prediction @ odds of 1.87 by Sbobet. Good Luck.

Pick: FC Sevilla (-0,75 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.87

West Bromwich vs Tottenham

 
West Bromwich vs. Tottenham / Premier League – In the 23rd round of the English Premiership we have another duel of teams that are currently in very good form, but the sixth Tottenham is much better ranked on the table before this match they have even 15 points over the 14-ranked West Bromwich. But on the other hand, their autumnal duel on White Hart Lane has ended totally unexpectedly because the guests from Birmingham celebrated with 1.0, while they last year played a draw on both occasions. Begins: 31.01.2015 – 16:00 CET

West Bromwich
All this just speaks that West Bromwich recently represents one of the most awkward opponents for Spurs and therefore they now have a right to hope for one good result. Especially because after the arrival of their experienced coach Pulis, they managed to make a great series of three wins and one defeat, while they received only one goal, and this was past weekend in the FA Cup against their city rivals from Birmingham.

However, the match has eventually ended with a 2-1 victory for West Bromwich and they both qualified for the next round of this prestigious competition, while before that in the championship they celebrated at home against Hull with 1-0 and away against Everton played a match without goals. All this has in fact led to their breakthrough on the 14th place in the Premiership, while they are only three points away from the relegation zone, so they must not in any case relax in the rest of the season. As for absences due to injuries, only defender Olsson and reserve goalkeeper Myhill are out of action, while defender Davidson is at the Asian Cup and midfielder Mulumbu at the African Cup of Nations.

Probable lineups West Bromwich: Foster – Wisdom, McAuley, Lescott, Baird – Brunt, Yacob, Gardner, Morrison – Berahino, Anichebe

Tottenham
As for Tottenham, they have lately somehow dedicated the most attention to the English Cup, where they are otherwise made a half-hearted effect, because in the League Cup they qualified for the grand final after two matches with Sheffield, while yet in the FA Cup they suffered a defeat at home by Leicester. On the other hand, in the championship in the last round they celebrated at home with 2-1 against Sunderland, and thus retained only two points behind the fifth Arsenal, but it is much more important for them that were very quickly able to recover after the away defeat by their city rivals Crystal Palace.

And to make sure that something similar does not happen again now against West Bromwich, coach Pochettino said that they will perform a lot more cautious and more patient, and it is also evident that the exhaustion of individual players after some very demanding obligations in the English Cups also represents the additional problem for him. However, there should not be too many changes in the starting line-up as compared to the last game against Sunderland, provided that the only midfielder Bentaleb is currently at the African Cup of Nations, while striker Chadli is currently in Belgium due to some private commitments.

Probable lineups Tottenham: Lloris – Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Rose – Stambouli, Mason – Townsend, Eriksen, Lamela – Kane

West Bromwich vs. Tottenham PICK
The arrival of Pulis on the bench of West Bromwich has obviously brought additional security to this team in defencse and therefore in their match with the favoured Spurs we expect that they will primarily limited themselves to this goal, while in the attack, they will mostly look for a chance from the fast counter-attacks or fouls.

Pick: under 2.5 goals

Stake: 5/10

Odds: 1.80

Sevilla – Malaga

Late Sunday Primera football as FC Sevilla tries to regain a top 4 spot against Malaga, after Valencia won yesterday.


Sevilla had a great run lately and overtook Valencia for the 4th place but Los Che won yesterday vs. Almeria so now Sevilla is back to fifth .. but they are only 2 points behind and have 2 less games, so a win today would be huge to put them again in pole position for Champions League. Sevilla played some great football on the defensive end in the last few weeks and they allowed exactly one goal in the last 7 matches … and that was in the last second vs. Granada in the Cup. Hosts are showing great capabilities in playing possession game and denying opportunities for opponents … they are on the back of a 4-0 win over Granada and enter this game with great confidence. Cristoforo, Pareja and Mbia are out … Tremoulinas and Trochowski are questionable.



Malaga is having a great season and is in direct competition with Sevilla for an european spot … 7th place for the visitors but they only have 1 draw in the last 2 games and suffered a 3-2 defeat at Levante midweek … very surprising especially for the fact that Malaga allowed 3 goals against a poor offensive team like Levante, but it was a Cup game and Malaga still qualified so that explains it. Visitors are one of the most defensive sides in Primera with a 22-28 goal difference. Chen, Ferreira and Camacho are unavailable … Sanchez, Weligton and Tissone are questionable.

Malaga is an established defensive team and will come here with the main objective of not conceding, maybe scoring on a counter … they will be even more focused defensively after allowing 3 goals from Levante. Sevilla is playing excellent possession football, they do not allow chances to opponents but are not yet scoring at will themselves. Add to this the fact that this is a huge match with a lot of stake and under 2,5 goals looks like the way to go. Not too many risks will be taken and the DNA of these two teams clearly suggests an under on the under/over market. My tip will be under 2,5 goals. A close Sevilla win is also on the cards in my opinion. Correct score prediction: FC Sevilla – Malaga 1-0.

Pick: under 2,5
Odds: 1.95

Aston Villa vs Liverpoo

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool / Premier League – This weekend, on the program we have the matches from the 22nd round of the English Premiership, and we will start our analysis with this Saturday’s duel between the 13-ranked Aston Villa and the eighth Liverpool, which currently has a 10 point lead. In addition, the Reds are welcoming this match after a great series of five wins and two draws, while on the other hand the Villans have not celebrated in six games in the championship. However, Birmingham totally unexpectedly celebrated in their autumnal duel at Anfield, which also broke the Reds advantage of two wins and one draw in their mutual clashes. Begins: 17.01.2015 – 16:00 CET

Aston Villa

This is why the hosts are hoping that they can again get to one good result against the Reds, especially if they manage to fix their offensive game at least a little bit. Specifically, they are aware that the guests from Liverpool this season have a lot better offense than defence and therefore it is difficult to expect that their network will remain intact on Saturday, but their trio Weimann-Benteke-Agbonlahor will also this time have a lot more space in front of the opponent’s goal.

Otherwise, Aston Villa was in the last round defeated away at Leicester, which extended their championship series to three draws and three defeats, while in the meantime they celebrated in the FA Cup at home against Blackpool. However, in the Premiership they still have only three points more from the relegation zone, provided that they have by far the worst offensive performance of all the teams in the league so it is not surprising that they a few days ago brought the young offensive midfielder Gil from Valencia. However, they will this time probably remain on the bench, while defender Vlaar and Senderos and striker Kozak are all out of action due to injuries, their central defender Clark is suspended, while defender Herd  is at the Asian Cup.

Probable lineups Aston Villa: Guzan – Hutton, Okore, Baker, Cissokho – Delph, Sanchez, Cleverley – Weimann, Benteke, Agbonlahor

Liverpool

Unlike the Villans, Liverpool is awaiting this match after a good series of five wins and two draws so their fans now quite rightly expect a good result in Birmingham. Especially because Aston Villa ows it to them after they at the start of the championship won all three points in Anfield, while we also got the impression that the Reds throughout the season play much better on the side rather than at home.

It is certainly best confirmed by their last home appearance, in which they played only 2-2 against the last Leicester, while they won all three points in four consecutive away games, celebrating in the Premiership against Burnley and Sunderland and in the League Cup against Bournemouth and in the FA Cup against Wimbledon. But what at the moment is most concerning for coach Rodgers is an increasing number of absences and so goalkeeper Jones, defenders Johnson and Flanagan, midfielders Allen and Lallana and striker Sturridge will all have to miss this match due to injuries, and defender Kolo Toure is at the African Cup of Nations.

Probable lineups Liverpool: Mignolet – Can, Skrtel, Sakho – Henderson, Gerrard, Lucas, Moreno – Markovic, Sterling, Coutinho

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool PICK

Of course that Reds after four consecutive away triumphs are now coming to Villa Park with the intention to take all three points, but we also expect that the Villans will after a long time finally improve their attack and we therefore here and go for a guy with a lot of goals.

Pick: over 2.5 goals

Stake: 4/10

Odds: 2.20

Monaco – Nantes

AS Monaco hosts FC Nantes in the 21st round of the French Ligue 1.


Monaco made a very nice run lately … 7 wins and 2 draws in the last 9 matches in all competition … undefeated and regularly shutting down opponents. Monaco is known for its defensive power and in these last 9 matches they did not concede a single goal in regular time (they allowed one in the League Cup vs. Lyon in extra time)! Last round Monaco beat Guingamp 2-0 and now will meet a team with which they are very similar in terms of style of football, FC Nantes. For today Monaco will miss Bakayoko, Traore, Abdennour and Dirar. Toulalan, Carvalho and Kondogbia are questionable.



Nantes has the second lowest goal difference in all of Ligue 1 … 19-17 in 20 rounds, making for an average of much less than 2 goals scored in their matches. Visitors had a good run to end 2014 but started a little unconvincing in 2015, recording a 0-0 draw vs. Metz and a 2-0 defeat at Lille, so they are still yet to score this season in the league. Djilobodji is the only missing player for Nantes, but Hansen is also a doubt.

We have two of the most defensive teams in Ligue 1 here fighting it out, all arguments suggest this will be a game with under 2,5 goals … maybe even under 1,5. I think whoever takes the lead (if actually somebody will score) will be able to hold out the advantage over the opponent until the end so my tip here will be under 1,75 goals. Taking a small risk for sure, but the odds are worth it and as I see this game, I really don’t think we will have more than 1 goal. My opinion is that we will see a 0-0 draw or a tough 1-0 Monaco win. My correct score prediction: AS Monaco – FC Nantes 1-0.

Pick: under 1,75 goals
Odds: 2.46