It's a busy Sunday ahead in Europe with all of our major leagues now back in action and while there are no real current stats or form to go on, we do have some tasty looking contests on the cards and I haven't been doing too badly so far with stats not so relevant in these early days so I'll continue to go with my knowledge and instincts. Here are the previews and predictions for my favourite games today including a big fixture from MLS. Really. Bundesliga 17:30 Borussia M.Gladbach vs Mainz 05 - Prediction 2.1- Suggested Bets - Moenchengladbach to win @7/10 Monehchengladbach crashed to a 4.0 defeat to Dortmund last weekend but I believe they will get back to winning ways here with a fine home record to call on. They have only lost twice in 22 at home and won 9 of their last 10 home league fixtures, although their final day collapse at home at home to Augsburg does leave some food for thought. Still I expect a win for last seasons surprise team although it probably won't be easy and might not make it into my final picks. La Liga 18:30 Athletic Club vs Barcelona - Prediction - 2.2 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/11, Bilbao not to lose @9/5, Bilbao to win @ 11/2, Bilbao to score 2 more @5/2 It's hard not to like these bets with Bilbao at peak confidence following their 5.1 aggregate success over Barcelona in last week's Spanish Supercopa. For Barcelona, it could be the worst possible opener with their memories fresh from that 4.0 horsing suffered in Bilbao last week and given their subsequent failure to resurrect the tie in the 2nd leg, Enrique's men will surely have some serious trepidation at returning to this hostile arena once more for what is their first league fixture of the season. Bilbao really punished Barcelona in that first leg and the 4.0 score-line was by no means flattering for the Basque men and I just can't see them losing here with huge odds of 9/5 to either win or draw. The visitors are still without Neymar and the now suspended Heremy Mathieu and Gerard Pique as well as Jordi Alba and the now departed Pedro, and quite why bookies have Barca as short as 4/9. Yes they are the best team in Spain but they have had a poor pre-season, culminating in that crushing defeat by today's opponents and surely these prices will change as we get closer to kick-off. Without so many key players and the shaky Bartra set to come in to the heart of their defence, I really feel they will struggle against the experienced Aduriz who scored a fantastic hat-trick in that first leg and another defeat is certainly not out of the question for Barca here. They didn't score in the last trip to Bilbao, but surely BTTS is likely today at 8/11 and I'm definitely going to back the hosts not to lose @9/5. Bilbao to score 2 or more @5/2 also looks incredibly tempting. It should be another cracker and I feel we can really beat the bookies in this one. Serie A 20:45 Palermo vs Genoa - Prediction - 1.1 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @5/6 I fancy BTTS here with both sides prominent in the market last season. 8 of Palermo's last 10 home fixtures saw BTTS and 9 of Genoa's last 12 on the road also saw this result so I expect it could be on the cards here and the 5/6 odds look good to me considering those stats. Of course it's risky to rely on last season's stats, so my stakes won't be high for these euro bets but nonetheless, this one should be a closely fought contest and could end up even. 20:45 Sassuolo vs Napoli - Prediction - 1.1 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @5/6, Draw @5/2 Sassuolo are a tough side to beat on their own patch, losing only 3 of their last 16 home league games and I expect them to maintain that record against Napoli. The Naples side have won at Sass in the last 2 seasons but I have a feeling it will be 3rd time lucky for the home team as they take something from their more illustrious opponents. BTTS at 5/6 appeals and the draw at 5/2 is worth a punt. 20:45 Fiorentina vs AC Milan - Prediction - 2.2 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/11, Draw @23/10 Milan have strengthened significantly in the summer with big money spent on new strikers Bacca and Luiz Adriano and much is expected from this sleeping giant of a club. Florence is never an easy place to travel to though and 4 from 6 of the last meetings there between the 2 sides saw BTTS and I think we will get a decent encounter here with BTTS @8/11. 8 of Milans's last 11 on the road finished with BTTS while Fiorentina saw it 8 times from 12 in their most recent home fixtures in the league so while it is not nailed on, I fancy we will see it here with last season's meeting finishing in a 2.1 win for Fiorentina. Milan should have improved enough to get a result here, but I don't think it will be a full 3 points. Eredivisie 16:45 Feyenoord vs Vitesse - Prediction - 2.1 - Suggested Bets - BTTS @8/13, BTTS and over 2.5 goals @10/11 Two of the stronger teams in Holland go head to head in Rotterdam and it looks like an obvious BTTS selection. 9 of Feyenoords last 11 home fixtures going back to last season finished with BTTS while 7 of Vitesses last 9 away games also saw the BTTS result. In all 9 of those Feyenoord BTTS matches, we also saw over 2.5 goals so that's what I'm going for here at 10/11 odds. MLS 2100 - LA Galaxy v New York City - Prediction - 4.1 - Best Bets - Galaxy to score 3 or more @6/5, LA Galaxy to win and over 3.5 match goals @15/8, Galaxy -1 It's hard to see past a rampant LA Galaxy who welcome New York City to California for what is being billed as the Gerrard v Lampard show with the former English Internationalists coming head to head for the first time since their summer transfers to MLS. Galaxy have won each of their last 5 at home, scoring 22 in the process and given the leaky nature of this NYC defence, I can't see anything other than a high scoring home win for Bruce Arena's men. I've watched NYC and they are pretty rank at the back, conceding 20 goals in their last 9 fixtures, with 3 or more conceded in 4 of those matches, and when you factor in that they are travelling across the country (economy) to face the best team in the league, I really can't see them coming away without conceding a few goals here. They do of course have quality in the team with Pirlo, Villa and now Lampard, so I don't expect a crushing defeat but I feel they will struggle to contain this Galaxy side that have been so impressive lately. I'm backing the LA side to score 3 or more @6/5 odds and the 15/8 on a home win with over 3.5 match goals looks good when you consider that was the outcome in each of LA's last 5 at home. With only 1 defeat in 32 home fixtures, and 9 wins from their last 11 in Los Angeles, then you can be confident in backing the hosts @1/2 as well or on the handicap at 6/5. Suggested Bets Moenchengladbach to win @7/10 Bilbao v Barcelona - BTTS @8/11 Bilbao not to lose @9/5 Bilbao to win @ 11/2 Bilbao to score 2 more @5/2 Palermo v Genoa - BTTS @5/6 Sassuolo v Napoli - BTTS @5/6 Fiorentina v Milan - BTTS @ 8/11 Feyenoord v Vitesse - BTTS @8/13, BTTS and over 2.5 goals @10/11 LA Galaxy to beat NYC - @1/2 LA Galaxy to score 3 or more @6/5 LA Galaxy to win and over 3.5 match goals @15/8 Dour Draws Sassuolo v Napoli @5/2 Fiorentina v Milan @23/10 Palermo v Genoa @23/10 Comments are closed.
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