We have just 3 games to look at tonight but they are all important fixtures as the season reaches it's conclusion in the coming days. Rangers welcome Hibs to Ibrox in the SPFL Play-off semi-finals first leg while Sunderland need a point at Arsenal to ensure their Premier League survival and there should be fireworks (literally) as Juventus travel to Rome to take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia final as they look to secure the 2nd leg of a historic treble before their Champions League final on June 6th. 20.45 - Juventus v Lazio - Prediction - 1.1- Best Bets - BTTS@ 10/11, Juve to lift the trophy @8/15
It's the Italian cup final and a chance for Champions League finalists Juventus to win their 2nd trophy of the season as they travel to Rome and the Stadio Olimpico to take on home favourites Lazio who will be looking to upset the odds and deny the men from Turin the possibility of a remarkable treble. The final is being played at Lazio's Stadio Olimpico and with there sure to be more Romans in the crowd than Torinesi, I expect Lazio to really push the league champions hard with everything to play for and little to lose. Lazio won this trophy 2 years ago and will be super motivated to regain the title and deny Juve the possibility of that historic treble and with the crowd likely to be largely in their favour, this is sure to be a hugely competitive final. Of course the treble is now within touching distance for Juve and while Lazio are sure to make this an interesting final, particularly with having the "home” advantage in Rome, it's hard to see past a Juve team who looked so strong in Madrid last week and who will be motivated to the maximum in order to give themselves a chance to set up a stunning treble by beating Barcelona on June 6th in Berlin. Juventus will be missing 2 of their key men in the shape of midfield maestro Claudio Marchisio and Champions League hero Alvaro Moratta, both of whom are suspended for this big final and while they have plenty of squad depth, those strike me as two particularly important players for this Juve side to lose. Still Juve have a good record against Lazio in recent years winning 5 of their last 6 meetings and suffering just 1 defeat in their last 12 meetings with the men from Rome. Still, Lazio have scored in each of their last 8 home fixtures and a weekend win away to Sampdoria all but secured 3rd position and Champions League football for Lazio and with the pressure off, I believe they will score tonight. Of course with Juve in the form that they are in, I don't expect them to lose and for that reason, I'm going with a 1.1 draw, therefore BTTS and Juventus to win the trophy after extra time. You can back Juve @11/10 to win in 90 minutes or go with the safer option of 8/15 to win at any stage as I'm not too confident they will get the job done without the need for extra time or penalties. I expect this to be a keenly contested final with Lazio in their best form for many seasons and Juve of course standing on the brink of history and what we should be left with is a pretty good game from Italy's capital that could produce some goals and possibly BTTS @10/11 even if the stats don't make it an obvious selection. 20.45 - Rangers v Hibs - Prediction - 1.1 Best Bets - BTTS @8/13 It's a huge game from Glasgow as Hibs travel to Ibrox for the first leg of the rather convoluted SPFL play-offs which will see the winner of this tie take on Motherwell for a place in next year's SPFL and gives Rangers the chance to return to the top flight for the first time since the dark days of 2012. The Gers saw off the challenge of Q.O.S in the quarter finals on Sunday and now face a more difficult challenge in the shape of a Hibs side who finished 2nd in the division and beat Rangers 3 times in the regular season, including an impressive 4.0 thumping of a rotten Gers who had some serious issues both on and off the field under previous boss McCoist. Rangers will have feared this tie for much of the season with Hibs having won 3.1 and 2.0 at Ibrox as well as the 4.0 thumping at Easter Road but things have improved for the Gers since then with a new board and a new boss in place. New gaffer Stuart McCall has responded by overseeing a 13 match streak that has seen the light blues lose just once and there can be no doubt that this is a stronger Rangers with more heart and confidence than what was exhibited under the previous regime who clearly played with the stress of 5 years of bullshit on their shoulders. Now that the fans have the right men in charge of the club and with the confirmation yesterday that Dave King has passed his "fit and proper" person test which allows him to take his position as club chairman, the atmosphere should be absolutely electric at Ibrox tonight, an atmosphere which Hibs young players will have to deal with if they are going to keep this tie in their favour come Sunday's 2nd leg. Hibs come into this tie very well rested (rusty?) after 18 days without a game and should be as fresh as a button while Rangers face their 3rd fixture in 10 days and may well struggle to adopt the correct, high paced tempo that will be required for this crucial match which will give the winners 1 more shot at returning to the top flight. I expect both sides to be pretty cagey but Hibs certainly have the quality to win this first leg having dominated the Ibrox men in 3 of their 4 previous meetings this season, and if they can get their passing football going under bright young thing Scott Allan, it could be a long evening for the home side who will at least have the support of up to 50000 home fans on the night which makes a big change from their previous meeting when I believe the stadium was at least half empty. It's hard to pick a winner, based on Rangers recent revival so I'm looking at the goal markets here and BTTS is short at 4/7 but looks likely when you look at both teams’ stats for the market. Rangers have seen 6 of their last 7 at Ibrox finish with BTTS while Hibs are less prolific in this market but have also been involved in BTTS matches in each of their last 3 fixtures. It's hard to split these 2 but I'm going for a 1.1 draw to leave the tie on a knife-edge going into Sunday's 2nd leg at Easter Road. 20.45 - Arsenal v Sunderland - Prediction 0.0 - Best Bets - Draw @ 5/1 Sunderland travel to Arsenal knowing that 1 point will ensure their survival for another season and will earn interim boss Dick Advocaat a bonus thought to be in the region of £500000. Not bad for 2 months work eh Dick? There are increasing rumours in Scotland that the Little General (TM Napoleon) could be returning to Glasgow with Rangers next season in a possible director of football role, sohe would be well advised to save that money for Rangers transfer fund for next season! I'm not really buying into that speculation though and neither will Dick but what we do know for sure is that with Chelsea to follow on Sunday, Sunderland will be hoping to get the job done tonight against an Arsenal side that know a single point will be enough to ensure 3rd position and I have a sneaky feeling we might just see the points shared here in a rather drab encounter. One interesting little stat that I picked up on is that Sunderland and Arsenal have drawn 0.0 at the Emirates in 3 of their last 6 visits and another 0.0 tonight would be the perfect result for both sides. 0.0 is priced at a tempting 16/1. Of course Arsenal have been in terrific form this season, especially at home, but they have failed to win their last 2 home fixtures, and while you would usually expect Arsenal to blow away opponents like these, I feel the respective needs of the 2 sides could make the draw possible. Sunderland have drawn 3 of their last 6 on the road and have certainly improved under Advocaat and I expect a disciplined display tonight from the Wearsiders who will be desperate to avoid a final day shoot out with Hull and Newcastle that could yet go against them. Arsenal are as short as just 3/10 to win here and for me, even on the handicap, there is no value in that. If the Gunners do find the way to goal, then Aaron Ramsey can be backed at 15/8 to score anytime but for me, this one could be the surprise result of the night and the draw @5/1 is worth a punt on a low stakes line. Bo's Best Bets Rangers v Hibs - BTTS @4/7 Lazio v Juventus - BTTS @10/11 Juventus to lift the cup @8/15 Arsenal v Sunderland - draw @5/1 Comments are closed.
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