Category: Football

Liverpool host Lille in the champions league on Tuesday Night. Liverpool come off the back of an away win vs Brentford which they needed all of the 90 minutes to get that winning goal.

Liverpool vs Lille Preview

Can Liverpool maintain their perfect record in this season’s UEFA Champions League? So far, it’s played six and won six for Arne Slot’s side, claiming the notable scalps of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, before a rather less memorable 1-0 victory over Girona last month; Mohamed Salah’s second half spot-kick the only goal of the evening at Montilivi. Thus, the Reds are clear at the top of the Champions League table, knowing a win here will cement their spot in the last 16, ahead of next Wednesday’s clash with PSV Eindhoven.

LOSC Lille though cannot be taken lightly, given that they’ve been one of the surprise packages of this competition, currently eighth, on course to reach the round of 16 for only the third time in their entire history. Bruno Génésio’s side, who had to come through two rounds of qualifying just to get into the league phase, have 13 points on the board, doing the Madrid-double in October, beating Real 1-0 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and then Atlético 3-1 three weeks later, with Jonathan David the scorer of a brace in the Spanish capital.

Les Dogues have also held Juventus to a draw, before beating both Bologna and then Sturm Graz, the latter a 3-2 thriller in Northern France, decided by Hákon Arnar Haraldsson’s late strike. More-recently, les Nordistes have dumped Olympique Marseille out the Coupe de France, prevailing on penalties at Stade Vélodrome last Tuesday, while they’re now unbeaten in 14 Ligue 1 games, climbing up to third by defeating Nice 2-1 on Friday night, with Bafodé Diakité completing the comeback victory. Of course, Lille travel to Liverpool are underdogs, but they’ll do so believing an upset is within the realms of possibility.

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Nunez over 2.5 shots , David over 0.5 shots , over 9.5 goal kicks , over 1.5 offsides, a red card in the 1st half – no @ 2.05

Liverpool Team News

Given their imperious position at the top of the Champions League table, it’ll be interesting to see if Arne Slot rotates. Kostas Tsimikas was handed a rare start on Saturday, suggesting Andy Robertson will come back in at left-back. Meanwhile, in the middle, with Joe Gomez sidelined, if Ibrahima Konaté needs a rest, Jarell Quansah could come into the lineup, and it also would not be a surprise to see Conor Bradley’s name on the teamsheet. Diogo Jota is a doubt due to a muscle injury suffered at the City Ground last Tuesday, but weekend here Darwin Núñez will surely come in, having scored twice at Brentford. The aforementioned Konaté is one yellow card away from suspension.

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Lille Team News

The visitors travel without the injured Samuel Umtiti, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Tiago Santos, Nabil Bentaleb and Edon Zhegrova, while former Evertonian André Gomes was not included in the UEFA squad. Thus, André’s namesake Angel Gomes, who’s become a full-England international this season, could start at the base of midfield, with Rémy Cabella, out-wide. Thomas Meunier, Angel Gomes, captain Benjamin André and Jonathan David would all miss the matchday eight clash with Feyenoord if booked.

The Champions League is back for the penultimate gameweek in the new format of the iconic competition. Each team is about to play their seventh game of the league phase with the final gameweek seeing all 36 teams playing at the same time on the 29th January. What an interesting night, that’ll be. I’ve found a tip that has huge value and looks fantastic on paper. I’m backing Over 2.5 Match Goals at 1.90 in the Atletico Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen game.

Super Simeone

Atletico Madrid have had a great season so far as they sit 2nd in LaLiga two points behind Real Madrid. Whilst they chase their domestic league trophy, Atletico are within touching distance of automatic qualification to the knockout rounds of the Champions League, however so are plenty of other clubs with just three points separating 3rd and 19th place. Every goal is crucial as goal difference will likely be the decider between qualification, play-offs and elimination.

Luckily for Atletico Madrid, goals in the Champions League have been abundant in their matches with all six of their UCL games seeing at least three goals and an average of 4.00 goals per game. They are the tournament’s 4th highest scorers with 14 goals with a shaky record of 10 goals conceded too. Bayer Leverkusen will look to attack Atletico’s weak points with their blistering speed in attack, this is set to be an end to end game.

Trouble Brewing at Bayer Leverkusen?

With reports coming out that Carlo Ancelotti is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, current Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso is bookies’ favourite to take over. This could cause some unwanted attention for the German club who are sitting pretty in 4th in the Champions League and 2nd in the Bundesliga. They will not like one of the biggest clubs in world football distracting their manager during this mid phase of the season.

Back to our tip, the German side are no strangers to high scoring games. In the Bundesliga this season they are the 2nd highest scorers with 44 goals in 18 matches, 72% of their matches seeing over 2.5 match goals with an average of 3.78 goals a game.

With attacking talent such as Wirtz, Schick, Alvarez and Greizmann, we would be hard pressed to see a low scoring affair here, with odds close to evens that signals a high value bet to me.

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Chelsea host Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Wolves continue to float around the relegation zone with only four wins all season. Wolves have gone for thirteen losses this season and are in some difficult times in the league.

Chelsea vs Wolves predictions

Following a 2-1 victory over Brentford in December, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was adamant that the Blues were not Premier League title contenders this season. 

Many saw that as the Italian simply trying to take the pressure off his young side as victory over the Bees was Chelsea’s fifth in a row and put them firmly in a battle at the top with Liverpool and Arsenal. 

However, fast forward a few weeks and Maresca has been proved right. 

Chelsea have failed to win any of their subsequent five league matches and they are now 13 points adrift of leaders Liverpool, meaning the Blues are closer to 14th than they are the summit. 

Their sticky spell has included defeat at Ipswich and a draw with struggling Everton, results which will give Wolves, another club battling for survival, hope ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge on Monday night. 

Bet Builder in the game : Noni Madueke over 0.5 shots , Jackson over 0.5 shots , Cunha over 0.5 shots , Chelsea or draw , Gomes over 0.5 fouls , caicedo over 0.5 fouls @ 2.00

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The hosts’ task could be made harder by a host of high-profile absences – regular starters Cole Palmer, Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill all missed training on Friday – but Maresca has often cited potential fitness issues in the past only to name a full-strength team on matchday, so a few of his stars could still feature. 

That said, having spent so much money over the past few seasons, even a second-string Blues side should see off Wolves, who have won just two of their last 17 Premier League games on the road. 

The Blues ran riot in the reverse fixture, winning 6-2 at Molineux, and their determination to halt their poor run could see them cut loose at the Bridge. 

Wolves have failed to score in just two of their last 15 league games, though, so there is reason to believe they can play their part, especially if star man Matheus Cunha overcomes an illness in time to feature. 

But while keeping a clean sheet may prove beyond Chelsea, victory should not. 

Maresca’s belief that the Blues are not in a title race has proved correct, but his side are firmly in the hunt for a top-four finish and they can get their push back on track with a timely success in west London. 

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Free Tip

Man United host Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. A win for the Red Devils would draw them level on points with Brighton in the table seting them back for the European places. 

This Man United squad have been playing below par all season, however there has been one shining star who keeps winning them matches even when hopes are thin. Amad Diallo is having an impressive break-through season and scored a 12 minute hat-trick to snatch all three points late on against Southampton. I’m tipping Diallo to score or assist at 2.40.

Dynamic Diallo

After a successful loan spell at Sunderland providing 14 goals and three assists, Diallo had been in the fringes of the first team under former Manager, Erik Ten Hag. Since Ruben Amorim was appointed, Diallo has been given much more game time and is even starting to look like the next big star at Old Trafford. 

Diallo is United’s top scorer so far this season, he has six goals and six assists in 19 games. As mentioned prior, Diallo scored a hat-trick against Southampton on Thursday night, his first goal being the equaliser in the 82nd minute, his other goals came in the 90th and 94th minute. After much needed recovery before his next game less than 72 hours later against Brighton, Amorim will want to start the Ivorian again with another 90 minutes under his belt. 

Diallo is in fine form and has scored or assisted in his last two games. In the games he has started this season he has scored or assisted 64% of the time. He is likely to start on Sunday after his fine display mid-week. Diallo also scored the equaliser in the reverse fixture only for it to be cancelled out by a 96th minute winner by Joao Pedro. Diallo will fancy himself to score once more coming up against the Brighton’s back line again who have only kept three clean sheets away from home this season.

Brighton’s Chances

Brighton seem to be United’s bogey team, The Seagulls have beaten United in 4 of the last 5 Premier League games. This includes two Brighton wins at Old Trafford in September 2023 and August 2022. This encounter should be a close game with both teams scoring during both occasions at Old Trafford, will Diallo be the difference between the two sides?

Brighton are unbeaten in their last five games, their last defeat came against rivals Crystal Palace in a 3-1 loss at home. Since then they have picked up four draws and most recently beat Ipswich Town, their first in nine games. 

Brighton have conceded 29 goals in their 21 league games this season, 16 of those coming away from home. Brighton have conceded in 80% of their matches this season, with their high-pressing style often leaving gaps that quick, skilful players like Diallo can exploit.

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It’s Arsenal vs Aston Villa at the Emirates on Saturday as both teams hope to edge the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Gunners are coming off the back of a triumphant win against their North London rivals, Tottenham and despite their injury problems, The Gunners are still picking up points. Arsenal have still scored in their last five Premier League matches while Aston Villa have been involved in games where both teams have scored in four of their last five Premier League games. That’s why I’m tipping both teams to score at 1.72.

The Team’s Expected Goals (xG)

Arsenal’s xG at home is an impressive 1.98, so we expect the Gunners to score at least once. They have also scored in every home game this season except their 0-0 draw against Everton in December.

Aston Villa’s average xG is 1.33 goals per game. They have only failed to score once in their last seven Premier League games, that game they were beaten 3-0 away to Newcastle on Boxing Day. Away from home, Aston Villa’s xG against is 1.6 which favours the Gunners scoring at the Emirates.

Aston Villa’s season has been full of ups and downs showing they score as much as they concede. Villa have averaged 1.5 goals per game, but in contrast have conceded an average of 1.6 goals.

Will Both Teams Score?

Gabriel Jesus was stretchered off in their FA cup clash against Manchester United with a suspected torn ACL which means his season comes to a premature end. Awful news for Arsenal and the Brazilian who had finally found some confidence and was backing it up with goals. They now depend on Kai Havertz even more to deliver the goals for them while they potentially look for another striker in the January transfer window. Havertz has seven goals to his name this league season so far and five of those have come at home. 

Jhon Duran is back from serving a suspension after his red card for violent conduct away to Newcastle. We’re unsure if he will start the game as Ollie Watkins has been playing well in his place. Watkins even scored the winner against Everton midweek, but Unai Emery may want to rest the England international on Saturday. Either way, I think Duran will make an impact off the bench. Both players have 15 goals combined in the league, they should cause the Arsenal defence some problems. They both can compete physically against the likes of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes who have only conceded 16 goals in their 21 league games this season.

Their Last Meeting

Arsenal beat Aston Villa 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Despite Aston Villa having more shots on goal than their opponents that day, Arsenal still grabbed an away victory. This shows for a close encounter where either team are not scared to go on the front foot and attack for the three points.

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Form of Both Teams :

Arsenal will again host another match at the emirates on Saturday evening. Aston Villa are the visitors this time around. Both sides are in excellent form in the league.

Arsenal lost the previous meeting between the two which was held at the Emirates. They will look to avenge that with a robust home performance.

On the back of consecutive EFL Cup and FA Cup defeats, Arsenal welcomed a Spurs side boasting back-to-back wins in the knockout competitions, but form inevitably went out of the window as an own goal and a Trossard strike rendered son’s opener meaningless.

A plethora of promising attacks petered out in the second half for Arsenal – further highlighting their need for a ruthless finisher in the January window – but Arteta’s men never looked in danger of losing their slender lead and have returned to the runners-up position in the league.

Furthermore, the gap to leaders Liverpool has been cut down to four points – although the Reds still have their game in hand against Everton to come next month – and the Gunners are now officially the best team in the Premier League when it comes to home form alone.

Indeed, Arteta’s men have taken an unrivalled 24 points from a possible 30 at their Emirates headquarters, where they are still unbeaten in the Premier League this season, although few Gooners will need reminding of the game that ultimately cost them the title in 2023-24.

Arsenal will continue without front men – Jesus and Saka for this match.

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Martin Odegaard over 0.5 shots , Ollie Watkins over 0.5 shots , Morgan Rogers over 0.5 shots , A red card in the match – no, under 14 corners @ 2.00

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Already completing his Arsenal revenge mission after his premature 2019 departure, Emery delivered the killer blow to the Gunners’ Premier League hopes last April, masterminding a 2-0 triumph for Villa in what remains the hosts’ most recent top-flight loss on home soil.

Replicating that result this time around is not beyond the realm of possibility for the West Midlands side, who have condemned their awful autumnal period to history and head to North London fresh from a third win on the bounce in all competitions.

As a result, Emery’s seventh-placed side find themselves just three points adrift of the Champions League positions, and victory on Merseyside ended an abysmal away run for the Lions, who had previously lost five straight Premier League games on rival territory while failing to keep a single clean sheet since their Emirates success last April.

However, Arsenal have already avenged that devastating defeat with a 2-0 success of their own at Villa Park in August – still the Lions’ only Premier League home loss of the campaign to date – and righting the wrongs of last season’s home humbling would see them pass another massive test of their title credentials.

Burnley welcome Sunderland to Turf Moor on Friday Evening. Which sees two of the EFL Championships top teams go head to head.

Battling for precious points as the race for the Premier League intensifies, The home side will welcome the black cats to their fortress Turf Moor on Friday night in the Championship.

Burnley’s Form:

The Clarets are currently invincible on their own patch ahead of the visit of the Black Cats, who are making a surprise charge for a top-two finish in the second tier this season.t

Disregarding a poor showing in the FA Cup against the Potters, the North-East powerhouses have made a productive start to the new calendar year, securing back-to-back wins at the Stadium of Light in the Championship, including a 2-1 triumph over promotion rivals Sheffield United.

After collecting just 24 away points during the entirety of a wretched 2023-24 campaign, Sunderland have already earned 19 points from 13 outings this time around, with only the Clarets (28), Sheffield United (25) and Leeds (21) managing more points from their respective away contests to date.

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Josh Brownhill over 0.5 shots , Isidor over 0.5 shots , BTTS 1st half – no, under 4 goals , under 13 corners , under 3 home team goals , over 0 away team corners @ 2.00

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Burnley v Sunderland prediction

Just three points separate the top four in the Championship heading into the new weekend in what looks set to be one of the tightest and most congested promotion battles in the second tier for some time.

Friday night sees the act in the promotion-chasing script as Burnley and Sunderland come to blows as they each look to put distance between themselves and the rest.

Burnley head into Friday night’s blockbuster encounter as favourites, being at home and higher up the table, and carry with them a run of just one defeat in their last 24 matches in all competitions dating back to August, which includes being unbeaten in their last 14.

A hard-fought win at play-off chasing Blackburn in the East Lancashire derby a fortnight ago leaves them second in the Championship table and just a solitary point behind the league leaders Leeds, though remain ahead of third placed Sheffield United only on goal difference.

Scott Parker’s side have by far the best defensive record in the Championship this season, conceding just nine goals from their 26 matches so far after four clean sheets in a row in the league, including letting in only four from their 12 league games at home.

As mentioned above the key to Burnley’s success this season has been the defending. They have an unbeaten record at home and this is also gonna help the team with this record.