Month: May 2024

Cars Jean Stadium at The Hague for a Netherlands Eredivisie 1^st leg semi final playoff, winner gets a place in the Promotion playoff final.

Den Haag finished 5^th in Eerste Divisie with 63 points. Overall form was 17 wins, 12 draws and 9 losses. Home form of 8 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses. Recent form is 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. They beat De Graafschap over 2 legs in the quarter final (A win away and a home draw) Excelsior are from Eredivisie and ended the season in 16^th, entering this play off due to inferior goal difference. Overall they had 6 wins, 11 draws and 17 losses. Away form was 2 wins, 4 draws and 11 losses. Recent form of 2 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses.

Team news: Home side misses Amir Abselem suspended. Sanches Fernandes is a doubt for Excelsior.

Head-to-head statistics: 10 games – 10  wins Den Haag, 6 draws and 3 wins Excelsior.

Betting selection – Superior squad is with the visitors and although they struggled in the top flight there was some decent results last few games with 4-0 wins over Heracles and Volendam. Take Excelsior +0.25 at 1.77 bet365. We get half win half stakes returned if it’s a draw.

Dublin and the Aviva Stadium for the 2024 Europa Liga final. Two sides who have had excellent seasons go head to head for the title.

Atalanta are 5^th in Italy Serie A and only need 1 point from their final two league games to ensure UCL qualification (they have 1 game in hand over everyone also) Form in Europa Liga this season is 7 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. Recent all competition form is 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Leverkusen have had a season for the ages. Unbeaten in all competitions they have won German Bundesliga, are in this final and will also play in German cup final.  In Europa Liga they have not lost with 9 wins and 3 draws. Overall this season they are unbeaten in 53 games with 44 wins and 9 draws across three competitions.

Team news: Atalanta miss defenders Martin de Roon and Emil Holm. Doubts over Toloi and Kolisinac. Full squad available for Leverkusen.

Head-to-head statistics: 2 games – 2 wins Atalanta.

Betting selection – Few injuries for Atalanta and key players too.They were very flat in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus and the length of the season seemed to catch up with them. Leverkusen have been like a juggernaut crushing everyone in sight. I take Bayer Leverkusen win at 1.85 or 17-20 PaddyPower.

Stade de la Tuiliere Lausanne for a relegation round match up in Switzerland Super League. Grasshoppers will play the relegation playoff while the home side are safe.

Lausanne are in 4^th place in the relegation zone with 44 points. Overall form is 11 wins, 11 draws and 15 losses. Home form of 7 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses. Recent form is 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Grasshoppers will playoff against Thun for a place in next year’s Super League. Overall form for them is 2 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses.

Team news: Home side are without Noe Dussenne while Grasshoppers miss Trae Coyle and Bradley Fink.

Head-to-head statistics: 4 games – 3 wins Basel and 1-win Yverdon.

Betting selection – I believe Grasshoppers will have entire focus on the two-legged playoff rather than this game. A warm up game for them for sure. Take Lausanne win at 1.91 or 10-11 888sport.

Basel on Tuesday night for a relegation round match, unreal to see Basel in this situation but here we are.

Basel sit 2^nd top of the relegation section and are 11 points above the playoff with just this game left. Overall, they have 48 points so far. Form is 13 wins, 9 draws and 15 defeats. Home form of 7 wins, 5 draws and 6 losses. Recent form is an unbeaten run of 7 games with 4 wins and 3 draws. Yverdon are just 2 points below the home side. Overall form for them is 13 wins, 7 draws and 17 losses. Away form is terrible with 1 win, 3 draws and 14 losses (-31 GD) – recent form is 4 wins and 4 losses (they have lost their last 9 consecutive away games)

Team news: Home side are without Vouilloz and Barisic. Yverdon have no new injury issues.

Head-to-head statistics: 4 games – 3 wins Basel and 1-win Yverdon.

Betting selection – Despite it being a final match and neither side in any bother this is a home win. Yverdon are simply terrible on yhe road and just one win from 18 games is awful. Poor coaching is often cited in these cases of bad away from. Basel win at 8-13 or 1.62 Bet365.

The home side are relegated and Verona do not want to join them so need points here as their last game is against champions Inter.

Salernitana are 20^th and bottom of Serie A. They have just 16 points from 36 games. Overall form is 2 wins, 10 draws and 24 losses. Home form of 1 win 5 draws and 12 losses.  Recent form is a winless run of 19 games with 4 draws and 15 defeats. Verona are 16^th and 1 point above the drop zone. Overall form is 8 wins, 10 draws and 18 losses. Away form of 2 wins, 5 draws and 11 losses. Recent form is 2 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses.

Team news: Salernitana are without Maggiore and GK Ochoa. They are seeing injury doubts over Gomis, Candreva, Gymober and Boateng also. Verons miss Thomas Henry.

Head-to-head statistics: 13 games – 6 wins Salernitana, 2 draws and 5 wins Verona.

Betting selection – Game over for the home side and Verona need points here as they don’t want to go into the final game agianst Inter needing a win. Take Verona win – odds are crashing and will continue to do so. Verona win at 7-10 or 1.70 Ladbrokes.

The race for 3^rd in Italy Serie A sees Bologna host Juventus at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara

Bologna are 3^rd in Serie A with 67 points.  Overall they have 18 wins, 13 draws and 5 losses. At home they have 12 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses.  They are unbeaten in 8 games with 4 wins and 4 draws. Juventus are level on points with the home side. Overall they have same record. 18 wins, 13 draws and 5 losses. Away form is 8 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses. Recent form for them is 2 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: Home side are without Zirkzee and Soumaoro. Juve miss De Sciglio

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 0 wins Bologna,  4 draws and 17 wins Juventus.

Betting selection – Bologna have not beaten Bologna in a staggering 20 matches over the years. They both share the same record this season. Juve sacked coach Allegri due to his temper tantrum during the Coppa Italia. Paolo Monteiro steps up for the last few games. Bologna coach Motta is likely to be Juventus next manager and I wonder will he want to put the boot in here? I am taking Juventus draw no bet at Evens or 2.00 Skybet.

Massive game in Turkey as the top 2 go head-to-head at Rams Park in Sariyer. If Galatasary avoid defeat the title is theirs.

Galatasary are top of the Super Lig with 99 points, holding 6 point lead over the visitors with 2 games left. Overall form is 32 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Home form of 18 straight wins! – Recent all competition form is 9 wins from last 9 games. Fenerbahce have 93 points. Overall form is 29 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss. Away form is 15 wins and 3 draws (no defeats) Recent all competition form of 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: Home side have a fully fit squad. Fener will miss Becao suspended while Kahveci, Kent and Yuksek are injured.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 6 wins Galatasaray, 9 draws and 5 wins Fenerbahce.

Betting selection – If its tight Fenerbahce will have no option to go for it in the latter stages. Galatasaray are the better team and have the better individuals. Take Galatasaray win at 2.25 or 5-4 Betfair.

League 2 playoff final and the two underdogs meet at Wembley.

Crawley ended season in 7^th place with 70 points. Overall form including playoff semis is 23 wins, 7 draws and 18 losses. Recent form is 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. They destroyed outright favourites MK Dons in the semis 8-1 on aggregate. Crewe finished season in 6^th and 1 point higher than Crawley. Overall form is 20 wins, 14 draws and 14 losses. Recent form is 2 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses. They beat Doncaster on penalties in the semis after both sides won their away leg 2-0.

Team news: Crawley have doubts over Kladi Lolos, Will Wright and Harry Foster. Crewe have no new injury worries.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 3 wins Crawley, 5 draws and 12 wins Crewe.

Betting selection – Crawley destroyed MK Dons in the semifinal and played some great football both legs. Crewe have been in poor form for most of the last month. They did overcome Doncaster but sneaked through. Take Crawley win at 23/20 or 2.15 Betfair

Wembley for a England League One playoff and two sides who once played in the top league on a regular basis.

Bolton ended season in 3^rd place with 87 points overall. Including the semifinal win over Barnsley they had 26 wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats. Recent league form for them is 4 wins, 4 draws and 1 loss. Oxford finished 2 places below Bolton but 10 points behind them. Overall they had 23 wins, 12 draws and 13 losses. Recent form for them is 5 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: No new injury problems for Bolton who could have Jon Dadi Bodvarsson available.  Oxford have a doubt over Tyler Goodrham.

Head-to-head statistics: 9 games – 5 wins Bolton, 2 draws and 2 wins Oxford.

Betting selection – Bolton smashed Oxford 5-0 in March, they finished 10 points ahead of Oxford so should fancy their chances. Will be a big crowd in Wembley for sure as two sides with decent following. Take Bolton win at 19-20 or 1.95 Betfair.

Saturday night and what could be a fight for the ages. The first undisputed world heavyweight title championship since 1999. Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for a historic title decider.

Tyson Fury holds a record of 35 fights 34 wins and 1 draw. Usyk has 21 straight wins.  Tyson Fury has 24 wins by way of knockout and 10 by decision. Beating the likes of Deontay Wilder twice by KO (with 1 draw) other notable wins are over Wladimir Klitschko by decision. Nobody else really of note in that win streak. Oleksandr Usyk has 14 of 21 wins by way of knockout and 7 by decision. He beat Anthony Joshua two times by decision, both times noticeably wary of Joshua’s knock out power. Most of his fights were at cruiserweight.

Betting selection – Awesome fight and one to watch for sure. Biggest heavyweight contest of recent years for sure. Take Oleksandr Uysk draw no bet at 2.00 or Evens Betfair.