Hey folks, welcome to the first instalment of a weekly series in a which we will attempt to best the bookies with our carefully considered 10 football picks of not less than 1.22 odds.
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Valencia vs Celta Vigo: GG or Over 2.5 @1.48
So let’s get to it and we kick off in Spain where our first port of call is at the Mestalla for Saturday’s 6:30pm kickoff of Valencia vs Celta Vigo.
Once proud Valencia, formerly a staple at the upper echelons of La Liga are having a torrid season and are 13th following a bizarre summer of fire sales that gutted Los Che of their most talented players.
They welcome Celta Vigo this weekend, a match which starkly illustrates the changed fortunes of both sides. While Celta are veterans of relegation scraps having spent what seems like every season trying to beat the drop, they’ve kicked on this season under the guidance of Chucho Coudet and are currently 9th on the log.
Los Che were listless in losing 2-0 at Real Madrid last time out while Celta were magnificent in seeing off Elche 3-1 at home after recording three draws on the bounce including an impressive 2-2 at leaders Atletico Madrid last time out.
It’s inevitable this game will see a lot of goals with both sides keeping a solitary clean sheet a piece in their last 20 games combined. Additionally, 8 of the past 10 meetings between both sides have seen them both score so opting for goals appears a safe bet.
BetBiga offers over 1.5 goals at odds of 1.40 which is practically a steal but for the purposes of our acca, we’ll go for GG or Over 2.5 at 1.48 odds.
If you’re a bit more adventurous, X or GG at odds of 1.60 or an outright Draw at odds of 3.20 appear value bets on BetBiga considering Celta, the division’s leader in drawn games have drawn their last two away from home while Valencia have drawn three of their last five at home.
Real Valladolid vs Real Madrid: Real Madrid win @1.52
We stay in Spain for the 9:00pm kickoff at Estadio Jose Zorrilla where relegation-threatened Real Valladolid welcome title hopefuls Real Madrid.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Real manager Zinedine Zidane appeared to have his shiny bald head on the chopping block with the only uncertainty being when club president Florentino Perez would let the guillotine fall.
A faltering title defence has been stabilised with a run of four wins in five to leave Zidane’s side seven points behind leaders Atletico Madrid and well placed to pounce on Atleti’s recent wobbles.
While Zidane might rotate with an eye on next week’s Champions League trip to Atalanta, you feel Los Blancos should have too much for Pucela who are winless in six, losing three times in that run. Valladolid have drawn two and lost ten of their last twelve meetings with Real and we expect that sequence to continue on Saturday.
Back Real Madrid to win at 1.52 odds on BetBiga.
FC Brest vs Lyon: Lyon to win either half @1.28
In France, the wonderfully named FC Brest welcome third-placed Olympique Lyon who are still smarting from last week’s shocking 2-1 loss at home to Montpellier in Ligue 1.
That loss denied Rudi Garcia’s men top spot and they will be looking to correct things at the Stade Francis Le Ble in Friday’s 9pm kickoff.
Against Olivier Dall’Oglio’s side, however, Lyon face a team on the up, unbeaten in four and buoyed by a great point at Lille last time out where they shut out the league leaders.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they managed yet another draw against another top side but we believe Lyon to win either half at odds of 1.28 on BetBiga should bang.
Coventry City vs Brentford: Over 2 goals @1.50
Struggling Coventry City welcome faltering Brentford to St Andrew’s in the English Championship on Saturday with the home side looking to boost their survival hopes by taking advantage of the away’s side recent run of bad form.
The only problem is Coventry are rubbish and Mark Robins side have lost their last two and are winless in five. Brentford themselves are on a two-game losing streak and in danger of repeating last season’s botched promotion push as they are just a point above third-placed Swansea.
It’s a game Thomas Frank’s side have to win to keep hopes of automatic promotion alive but with both sides incapable of keeping clean sheets, a punt on over 2 goals at odds of 1.50 on BetBiga appears a steal.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich: Frankfurt handicap (2-0) @1.41
German, European and World Champions Bayern Munich have set all manner of records in the last calendar year, most recently equalling the six trophies in a year haul of the revered Barcelona side of 2008/09 with victory in the World Cup Club.
So, they couldn’t lose at Eintracht Frankfurt, could they? Well, an upset at the Deutsche Bank Park in Saturday’s 3:30pm kickoff is entirely possible with Adolf Huetter’s Frankfurt on a six-match unbeaten run with four wins on the bounce and just one loss in their last ten games.
Despite leading the Bundesliga by five points and being favourites for a ninth straight league crown, Bayern have struggled defensively and have not really convinced this season as seen in last week’s 3-3 draw at home to struggling Arminia Bielefeld, admittedly in atrocious conditions.
With this fixture having produced more than 2.5 goals nine consecutive times, going for that option on BetBiga at odds of 1.30 is as safe as it gets. Additionally, at 1.40 odds, goal machine Robert Lewandowski to score at anytime looks appealing. The Pole who has 25 goals in 20 league games this season, netted a hat-trick in the 5-0 demolition of Frankfurt in the reverse fixture and has scored in 10 of his last 11 in the Bundesliga.
However, we smell an upset but will hedge our bets by backing Frankfurt to beat Bayern at a handicap of 2-0 at 1.41 odds on BetBiga.
Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund: 1st half over 1 goal @1.40
After years of flirting with relegation, it appears this is the season Schalke 04‘s goose will be well and truly cooked. The Bundesliga basement side welcome Borussia Dortmund to the VELTINS Arena on Saturday on the back of a seven-game winless run.
With Dortmund, however, one isn’t quite sure of what to expect with Edin Terzic’s schizophrenic side entirely capable of following up the midweek win at Sevilla in the Champions League by losing to Christian Gross’ relegation certainties.
Both Terzic and Gross were parachuted in to turn the tides for their respective teams, but neither manager has quite managed to, with Dortmund languishing in 6th place, six points off the Champions League places while only a miracle of seismic proportions will prevent Schalke from the drop.
Neither side can keep a clean sheet to save their lives, and while Dortmund should really be winning this, their exertions in Spain might have taken a toll so we’ll settle for over 1 goal in the first half at odds of 1.40 on BetBiga.
Atalanta vs Napoli: Atalanta win @1.85
Gennaro Gattuso is under pressure at Napoli and could conceivable lose his job before the end of the season if he fails to arrest his side’s worrying slide.
Last week’s narrow win against Juventus in Serie A keeps them within touching distance of Champions League qualification but is their only win in five in all competitions.
Defeat to Granada in the Europa League on Thursday has ramped up the pressure on Gattuso whose side has struggled in front of goal in recent times and can’t keep a clean sheet with only two in their last ten matches.
Record signing Victor Osimhen has failed to sparkle amid an injury-plagued debut season that has seen him score a paltry two goals in 9 Serie A games since his €70m summer move.
The Nigerian could score for the first time since November when they travel to the Gewiss Stadium to take on Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta on Sunday but that might not be enough to stave off defeat.
Gasperini might rotate his squad with an eye on the UCL encounter against Real Madrid in midweek but he knows the league offers his side the surest route back to Europe’s elite competition.
The most recent meeting between both sides ended in a comfortable 3-1 win at home for Atalanta in the Coppa Italia only nine days ago and with Atalanta guaranteed to leapfrog an injury-ravaged Napoli on the log with victory, there can be only one outcome.
Back Atalanta to win at 1.85 odds on BetBiga.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan: Both teams to score @1.60
It’s been ages since we had a Derby della Madonnina worthy of its name and Sunday’s top of the table clash is a welcome return to the days when this fixture had a bearing on the destination of the title.
A season heading for disaster for Antonio Conte has been given a whole new impetus as Inter have reeled in their hated neighbours after a seven-game unbeaten run in Serie A to assume the summit of the league.
No one quite expected Stefano Pioli to turn Milan into such title contenders this season after years of mediocrity and what he’s achieved with a squad decimated by injury has been nothing short of remarkable but the wheels appear to have fallen off Il Rossoneri’s title charge with three losses in their last seven matches in the league.
It is quite clearly Serie A title or bust for Conte and with momentum on their side, this fixture couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for I Nerazzurri to take definitive title charge of the title race and dethrone Juventus. They’ll also be the better rested team with Milan having to endure a long trip to Red Star Belgrade on Thursday.
A lack of fans is bound to take the edge off things (although it would be interesting to see how Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic get on after their clash in the Coppa Italia) and these affairs tend to disappoint but both sides should continue their recent trend of scoring in this fixture. Back both teams to score at 1.60 odds on BetBiga.
Sporting Lisbon vs Portimonense: Sporting win @1.45
Sporting Lisbon are ten clear in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, unbeaten since the start of the season with 16 victories and 3 draws in 19 games and they look set to claim a first league title since 2002.
Ruben Amorim’s side have won seven on the trot in all competitions and with Paulo Sergio’s Portimonense next up at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, that should be eight wins on the trot.
Sporting to win is at 1.45 on BetBiga.
PSG vs Monaco: Over 2.5 @1.40
Our final pick is in the French Ligue 1 where Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain welcomes Nico Kovac’s Monaco to the Parc des Princes in a tie that has huge significance for both sides aspirations.
Pochettino is aiming to win a first ever league title in a coaching career heavy on style but light on substance so far.
That could change at the end of the season as there are fewer clubs with a near cast iron guarantee of winning the league than the Parisians who have such a stranglehold on Ligue 1 that anything short of a title win is grounds for the sack.
PSG will be over the moon with their evisceration of Barcelona in the Champions League, but there is a danger they could be brought crashing down to earth by the impressive Monaco who are unbeaten in 11 in all competitions with the stalemate against Lorient the first time they failed to win in eight games.
Kovac has done an excellent job with Monaco but their inability to keep a clean sheet in this fixture – none in their last 14 against PSG – could prove their undoing in Paris.
With leaders Lille at Lorient, PSG could assume top spot with a win if Lille drop points while Monaco could go level third-placed Lyon with a win, should the latter lose at Brest.
Both sides pack massive firepower upfront and a punt on over 2.5 goals at odds of 1.40 on BetBiga is worth considering.
While we pray for a bountiful harvest please note that nothing is guaranteed and ultimately, you have to trust your intuition.
Code: WJ6M0 (50.89 Odds). Place your bet on BetBiga here.
