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