Sponsored by Sky Bet
So near, yet so far last week
We came within one goal of securing four out of four in last’s week group bet, and we’re back this week ready to do it all over again, except of course with a 100 percent success rate this time.
We’re looking across the whole of Europe this weekend in search of the matches we need to win, and we start with the biggest match of the weekend, Der Klassiker in Germany.
The Stat Man – Wayne: BTTS in Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund
This weekend’s match between Bayern and Dortmund is easily the most competitive in a long time. Lucien Favre’s side currently sit two points ahead of perennial Bundesliga super villains Bayern, giving them the upper hand in this one after a poor run of form which saw them relinquish a large lead at the top of the league table.
Both teams have an almost identical scoring and conceding record this season. Dortmund have 66 goals (three fewer than Bayern) and have conceded 30 (two more than Bayern), and with each team preferring an attacking approach we could easily see a repeat of the five-goal thriller in the previous match at the Westfalenstadion in November.
Bayern’s recent elimination from the Champions League makes this Bundesliga title more important than most they’ve won, and I think they’ll look to attack Dortmund from the off. And with the counter-attacking threat posed by the league leaders, I reckon we’re going to see a lot of goals.
Glory Hunter – Matt: Over 2.5 goals in Everton vs Arsenal
Arsenal are in very good form at the moment, with their four wins in five league games propelling them above bitter rivals Tottenham into third place. Though their place in next season’s Champions League remains far from certain, Unai Emery’s team have moved on from their woes of mid-season and have already equalled their points tally from last year.
Everton were another side massively struggling until recently, but three wins in their last five league games has restored some of the fragile confidence in manager Marco Silva. They convincingly dispatched Chelsea on March 17 and followed that up with an impressive 2-0 win away to West Ham, meaning they’ll be quietly confident of springing a surprise on Arsenal.
I personally don’t think they will do that, but I do expect them to challenge the home side and perhaps get a goal or two.
Dark Horse – Si: BTTS in Chelsea vs West Ham
Chelsea have had an absolutely horrible season so far, with the club in never-ending crisis management mode ever since their unbeaten run ended after an encouraging start to the season. Their only win in their last three league games was a late and incredibly lucky victory over Cardiff City, which followed a defeat to Everton and a draw at home to Wolves; another game in which they secured a late goal.
Against West Ham they face another side who are very hard to predict. The Hammers can be incredibly easy on the eye one week, absolutely awful the next and, sometimes, both in the one game.
Because of this, and because of each of these teams’ apparent confusion over what they are, I expect them to both defend poorly. Add to this both sides’ and managers’ need to end the season well and I reckon we’ll see some goals.
Captain Obvious – Reuben: Inter Milan to beat Atalanta
Inter Milan find themselves in third place in Serie A – 10 points behind second-placed Napoli – despite a run of form which has seen them take just two wins from their last five league games.
In Atalanta they face a side five points behind them but still very much in the race for Champions League football. It says a lot about the competitiveness in this season’s Serie A that no team in the league is unbeaten in the last five game weeks, and given both of these sides’ respective inconsistency this game could genuinely go either way.
However, given Inter’s clear advantage in the quality department and Lautaro Martinez’ recent good form, I think that the home side will have too much for Atalanta.
