With the top 5 leagues in the crucial stage of the season, there will be some interesting matchups across the length and breadth of the country. Upsets, title deciders, relegation fights and the battle for European qualification will be on the front burner.
As usual, we have picked out 5 games that we feel will be of great value to our punters. Now, let’s dive into this week’s preview.
RB LEIPZIG VS HOFFENHEIM (OVER 2.5 @ 1.55)
Hoffenheim have been in a freefall in recent weeks and should be no match for the class and quality of Leipzig.
Die Roten Bullen (The Red Bulls) were rampant in their previous Bundesliga fixture as they claimed a 4-1 victory at Werder Bremen. Alexander Sorloth netted a first-half brace while Dani Olmo and Marcel Sabitzer were also on target in a comfortable win.
Julian Nagelsmann’s men still have slim hopes of catching Bayern Munich as they sit just five points behind the Bundesliga leaders. They have been in good form lately with eight wins in their last 10 league matches.
They have a solid record at the Red Bull Arena with four wins in the last six Bundesliga matches.
They have failed to keep a clean sheet in the last four matches in that run but boasting one of the best attacks in the German topflight, Die Roten Bullen often has the extra edge over most opponents.
Hoffenheim travel to the Red Bull Arena off the back of a 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen last time out. It was a game of few chances with Hoffenheim finishing without a single attempt on target.
Sebastian Hoeneb’s men have endured a disappointing campaign and are not entirely sure of survival as they sit just five points above the relegation zone.
They have been particularly poor in recent weeks and head into Friday’s clash with three defeats in their last four matches. Hoffenheim has also struggled on their travels lately and is winless in their last five away matches.
RB Leipzig often comes out on top in this fixture with six wins from 10 previous matches. Hoffenheim have claimed just two victories while there have also been two draws between both teams.
Leipzig claimed a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in December.
LILLE VS MONTPELLIER (1 @ 1.63)
Lille host Montpellier at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, after coming off back-to-back wins in the league and should have the edge over their inconsistent visitors.
They head into Friday’s match off the back of a 2-0 victory against Metz in their previous Ligue 1 fixture. Second-half goals from Burak Yilmaz and Mehmet Celik were enough to earn them a comfortable win.
Christophe Galtier’s men are looking confident at the moment having also knocked off champions PSG before the win at Metz. They sit three points clear at the top of the standings with six matches to go.
One source of worry for Les Dogues (The Mastiffs) is their poor defensive record at home, where they have kept just one clean sheet in their last four matches across all competitions.
However, with the likes of Yilmaz, Jonathan David, and Jonathan Bamba, they often have that extra bit of quality in attack to give them the edge over most teams.
Montpellier is coming off a thrilling 3-3 draw against Olympique Marseille last time out. They took an early lead through Andy Delort but soon found themselves behind before a second-half brace from Gaetan Laborde ensured they claimed a share of the spoils.
Michel Der Zakarian’s men still hold slim hopes of securing a Europa League spot as they sit eight points behind fifth-place RC Lens. However, their recent form has been troubling with just one win in their last six Ligue 1 matches.
The problem for Montpellier is their inability to keep things tight at the back with just one clean sheet in their last 20 league matches.
Lille has 16 wins from 36 previous matches while Montpellier has been victorious 12 times. There have been eight draws between both teams. Galtier’s men triumphed 3-2 in the reverse fixture back in December.
EVERTON VS TOTTENHAM (UNDER 4.5 GOALS @ 1.10)
Tottenham has won only three of their last 12 Premier League away matches and has just one of their last five games in all competitions.
Everton has avoided defeat in three of their last four league encounters with Spurs, and have already beaten Spurs twice this season.
The Toffes limped to a 0-0 draw at Brighton on Monday evening, pushing their winless run to five matches in the process. However, their record against Tottenham this season suggests they have nothing to fear when the Lilywhites visit Goodison Park on Friday.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men earned a richly deserved 1-0 win when they met in September. The Blues emerged on the right side of a nine-goal thriller when they hosted Spurs in a pulsating FA Cup tie in February.
The Toffees have a lengthening injury list to contend with ahead of Friday’s rematch with Yerry Mina, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Bernard all ruled out while Allan, Andre Gomes, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are touch-and-go.
Tottenham have won only three of their last 12 Premier League away games, and their reputation for being soft visitors should hold again.
Alongside their poor results, Spurs’ performances have been alarmingly abject, and they could struggle again against an Everton side that will fancy their chances of completing a hat-trick of victories against Jose Mourinho’s men.
Everton’s problems on Merseyside have been rooted in their inability to deliver goals and having notched exactly once in each of their last four Premier League home games, a low-scoring encounter seems on the cards.
BRENTFORD VS MILLWALL (DRAW OR OVER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.45)
Brentford has drawn four of their last five league games while Millwall is the Championship’s draw specialists with 16 draws in 41 games. Nine of Millwall’s 16 draws have ended 1-1, including against Brentford earlier in the season.
A series of draws have done serious damage to Brentford’s automatic promotion challenge and although they remain in the pole playoff position, the Bees look too short to master Millwall.
Thomas Frank’s side was back on song as they thumped Preston 5-0 last weekend, but they had played out four consecutive draws before that against Derby, Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield and Birmingham.
The Bees have drawn 13 of their 40 league games this season, with only Saturday’s visitors Millwall sharing the points more frequently.
Gary Rowett’s side should be full of confidence having won three of their last four league fixtures. A run of just four defeats in 18 games shows how resilient the Lions can be.
Given that Millwall’s fixtures are averaging only 1.98 goals per game and they are likely to sit deep to frustrate their classier opponents.
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH VS EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (GG @ 1.45)
Eintracht Frankfurt has lost only one of their last 16 games, and both teams have scored in 24 of Frankfurt’s 28 league fixtures. Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach has lost five of their last six home games.
This game becomes more intriguing following the news this week that Die Adler (The Eagles) manager, Adi Hutter will move to manage Gladbach next season.
In the meantime, Hutter will be focused on ensuring that Frankfurt continues its impressive form against the teams in and around them after recording back-to-back wins over top-four rivals; Borussia Dortmund (2-1) and Wolfsburg (4-3).
Only Bayern have netted more than Frankfurt’s 59-goal total this season and in prolific Portuguese striker Andre Silva (23 goals), they boast a player in the form of his career.
Monchengladbach has collected seven points from their last three league matches but each of those opponents was in the bottom-half. Before that, they had endured a seven-match winless spell.
The hosts’ performances have certainly dipped since manager Marco Rose confirmed he would take charge of Borussia Dortmund next season. They have lost five of their last six home matches across all competitions.
The problem for Frankfurt, however, is they have kept only three clean sheets in 28 league outings, with both teams scoring in 24 of those fixtures.
It was a 3-3 thriller when this pair met earlier in the season, so goals look guaranteed, but ready preference is for a Frankfurt win.
We expect the visitors to prevail and take a 2-1 win, just like in other big games against Bayern Munich and most recently against Borussia Dortmund.
PICK OF 5 GAMES
RB LEIPZIG VS HOFFENHEIM – OVER 2.5 – 1.55
LILLE VS MONTPELLIER – 1- 1.63
BRENTFORD VS MILLWALL – DRAW OR OVER 2.5 – 1.45
EVERTON VS TOTTENHAM – UNDER 4.5 – 1.10
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH VS EINTRACHT FRANKFURT – GG- 1.45
TOTAL ODDS: 5.85
CODE: ATXZL
