14:05 Manchester United vs Chelsea - Prediction 1.1
Past Meetings * 4 of the last 9 league meetings finished as draws * 4 of the last 6 meetings (all competitions) at Old Trafford finished as draws including 3 of the last 4 Premier League meetings Final Verdict It's the grudge match that the Premier League has been waiting for as Antonio Conte takes his Chelsea side north to take on Jose Mourinho's Man Utd at Old Trafford with both managers back in the spotlight following their highly controversial spat, earlier this season. Both Conte and Mourinho were guilty of some fairly ridiculous and controversial statements during that ugly back and forth exchange and irrespective of the childish nature of the dispute, there can be no doubt that this fixture now takes on an even greater significance and as a consequence, I expect a fairly negative, highly tactical, occasionally dirty, and low-scoring contest with both sides likely to operate with a defensive approach in a fixture neither manager would want to lose. Goals should be at a premium and I expect both managers would be relatively happy with a point so I'm taking the draw @11/5 with 3 of the last 4 Premier League meetings at Old Trafford also finishing with that outcome. Best Bets - Draw @11/5 - 1.5 stars 17:30 Valencia vs Real Sociedad - Prediction 3.1 Current Form * Sociedad have seen BTTS in 11 of their last 15 away league matches including 5 of the last 7 * 9 of those 11 matches went over 2.5 goals * Sociedad have scored at least 1 goal in 12 of their last 15 away league matches * Sociedad have scored 2 goals or more in 8 of their last 15 away league matches * Sociedad lost 5.2 and 4.2 in their last 2 away league matches at Villareal and Real Madrid * Valencia have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 6 home league matches * 4 of those 5 also went over 2.5 goals * Valencia have seen BTTS and over 2.5 goals scored in 8 of their last 10 La Liga matches Past Meetings * Each of the last 3 meetings has finished 3.2 * Sociedad won 2 of those matches, Valencia the other * Sociedad have actually won 4 of the last 5 meetings Best Bets BTTS @ 8/15 - 3.5 stars BTTS and over 2.5 goals @4/5 - 3 stars 19:45 Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid - Prediction 1.1 Best Bets - Draw @11/5 - 1.5 stars 14:30 Bayer Leverkusen vs Schalke 04 - Prediction 2.2 Current Form * Schalke have seen BTTS in 10 of their last 11 Bundesliga matches * Schalke have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 6 away league matches * 4 of those matches also went over 2.5 goals * Leverkusen have seen BTTS in 5 of their last 8 home league matches * Leverkusen have kept only 4 clean sheets in their last 11 home league matches * Leverkusen have won only 5 of their last 17 home league matches * Just 1 point separates these two sides with Leverkusen 4th and Schalke 6th Past Meetings * 4 of the last 5 meetings saw BTTS * The most recent meeting finished 1.1 at Schalke, earlier this season Best Bets Schalke vs Leverkusen - BTTS @8/13 - 3 stars BTTS and over 2.5 goals @1/1 - 2.5 stars 17:00 RasenBallsport Leipzig vs FC Cologne - Prediction 2.1 Current Form * RBL have seen BTTS in 9 of their last 12 home Bundesliga matches including 4 of the last 5 * RBL have kept only 2 clean sheets in their last 13 matches (all comps) * Koln have seen BTTS in 7 of the last 10 league matches including each of the last 4 * Koln have taken 11 points from their last 7 league matches, losing only 2 of those 7 matches * Koln had taken only 3 points from their first 16 league matches this season * Koln remain bottom of the table, 9 points adrift of safety * RBL have only won 3 of their last 10 league matches * Koln have scored 2 goals exactly in 3 of their last 4 away league matches Past Meetings * Each of these two sides 3 previous meetings saw BTTS * RBL won 2.1 at Koln in this season's first meeting between these two sides * RBL won 3.1 in last seasons corresponding fixture Best Bets - BTTS @4/5 - 2.5 stars 20:00 Paris Saint Germain vs Marseille - Prediction 2.1 Current Form * PSG have seen BTTS and over 2.5 goals scored in 4 of their last 7 home league matches including 3 of the last 5 * PSG have conceded 2 goals or more in 5 of their last 9 matches (Ligue 1 and CL) * PSG only kept 3 clean sheets in their last 9 matches * PSG have not lost any of their last 54 home matches (all comps) * PSG are unbeaten in 36 home league matches, winning 30 and drawing only 6 * PSG scored 4 goals or more in 7 of their last 10 home matches! (all comps) * PSG have scored 3 goals or more in 14 of their last 16 home matches! (all comps) including each of the last 6 * Marseille have scored at least 1 goal in 14 of their last 15 away league matches * Marseille have scored 21 goals in their last 8 league matches * Marseille have lost only 3 of their last 37 league matches and only 1 of their last 21 Past Meetings * 6 of the last 7 meetings saw BTTS and over 2.5 goals scored * 5 of those 6 BTTS matches were held in Marseille however * Marseille have failed to beat PSG in any of their last 15 meetings since 2011 * PSG won 12 of those 15 matches * PSG have won 8 of their last 9 home matches against Marseille * PSG scored exactly 2 goals in all 8 wins * Marseille have failed to score in 6 of their last 7 trips to Paris Final Verdict Marseille holds a pretty desperate record against PSG having failed to beat the reigning champions in 15 matches since 2011 and they will be up against it again on Sunday evening with the Parisians in especially sensational form on their own patch this season. The home side has now scored a remarkable 68 goals in their last 14 home matches including 21 in their last 4 and will be supremely confident against a Marseille side that they have beaten in 8 of their last 9 meetings at the Parc des Princes. Still, Marseille have performed well in recent months, losing only 1 of their last 21 matches in Ligue 1 and I expect them to score with PSG looking a bit leaky defensively of late and conceding 2 or more in 5 of their last 9 matches. BTTS is short but fair @4/6. With PSG scoring so many goals at home though, you would be surprised if they failed to score at least 2 here and while many will expect more, especially given their recent form, those past meeting stats make interesting reading with PSG scoring EXACTLY 2 goals in their last 8 home wins over Marseille and while this is certainly the best PSG side Marseille may ever have faced, it is also one of the better Marseiile sides in recent years and I expect this to be a close and competitive fixture with goals at both ends and the visitors putting up a decent showing. BTTS and over 2.5 goals therefore seems to be pretty likely with PSG seeing that outcome in 4 of their last 7 at home and considering Marseille's recent goal-scoring form, I am confident in backing that selection at relatively short 4/5 odds. Best Bets - BTTS and over 2.5 goals @4/5 - 2.5 stars Comments are closed.
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