Month: May 2024

England Championship playoff Semifinal first leg and two fallen EPL teams go head-to-head at Carrow Road.

Norwich ended season in 6^th place with 73 points. Overall, they got 21 wins, 10 draws and 15 losses. At home they have 15 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. Recent form is 3 wins, 3 draws and 2 defeats. Leeds ended up 17 points above the home side. Overall, they have 27 wins, 9 draws and 10 losses. Away form is 11 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses. Recent form of 2 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses.

Team news: Norwich miss Ashley Barnes, Onel Hernandez and Liam Hibbs. Leeds is without Patrick Bamford. Dan James is back after injury.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 6 wins Norwich, 4 draws and 10 wins Leeds.

Betting selection – Both scores has happened 4 of the last 6 for Leeds and 5 of last 8 for Leeds. Both sides in pretty scrappy form so Both scores yes at 4-5 or 1.80Betfair is the play.

Arsenal visits Manchester for their penultimate game of the season knowing three points is a must. Man Utd will want to spoil Arsenal’s party but they will hand the title to City doing so.

Man Utd are 8^th in the league with 54 points. Overall form is 16 wins, 6 draws and 13 losses. Home form is 9 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses. Recent form is 2 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses. Arsenal are 2^nd in table with 2 points to make up behind Man City with 2 games left. Overall, they have 26 wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats. Away form is 12 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Recent all competition form is 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats.

Team news: United add Mason Mount to their injury list. They could have a host of players back though as Rashford, Martinez, Fernandes, McTominay and Martial have trained. Arsenal has a fully fit squad.

Head-to-head statistics: 20 games – 7 wins Man Utd, 5 draws and 8 wins Arsenal.

Betting selection – Arsenal will be too much for a delicate Man Utd. The odds are very short though, so we need an angle in.  With some key men back Utd should score at least. Take Arsenal win and both score at 2.50 or 6-4 Betfair.

Early afternoon Auld Firm derby in Glasgow whets our appetites for the weekend. Two teams will go full pelt and it should be a cracking game.

Celtic are top of the league with 78 points and hold a 3 point gap over the visitors. Overall form is 24 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses. Home form is 12 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Recent form an unbeaten 8 games with 6 wins and 2 draws. Rangers are 2^nd with 75 points. Their form is 24 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses. Away form of 11 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Recent form of 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

Team news: No new injury worries for the home side, just James Mccarthy in the treatment room.

Head-to-head statistics: 14 games – 8 wins Celtic,  4 draws and 8 wins Rangers.

Betting selection – Tight match and will be 100MPH for sure. Bookings galore but for me Celtic have the upper hand and a better squad currently. A win here would go a long way to winning the title. Back Celtic win at 10-11 or 1.91 Coral.

Only two games left now and a bottom v top clash at City Ground. Forest are fighting relegation while Chelsea hop to sneak into a European qualification spot.

Nott’m Forest are in 17^th with 29 points and are 3 from the relegation zone. Overall form is 8 wins, 9 draws and 19 losses. Home form is 5 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses. Recent form of 2 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats. Chelsea are up to 7^th in the league after a good run. They are 2 points behind Newcastle. Overall they have 15 wins, 9 draws and 11 losses. Away form is 5 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses. Recent form is 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.

Team news: Home side are without Neco Williams. Chelsea welcomed back a few players from injury for last match. Nkunku, Sterling, Gusto and Disasi all made the bench and are not fully fit.

Head-to-head statistics: 14 games -3 wins Nottm Forest,  4 draws and 7 wins Chelsea.

Betting selection – Forest will battle hard but Chelsea have been much improved of late. With more players back from injury and key back available off the bench now. Take Chelsea win at 21/20 or 2.05 Williamhill.

Basque Country and Mendizorroza for Alaves v Girona on Friday night.

Alaves sit 11^th in La Liga with 41 points, safe from relegation and unable to make Europe so season is over. Overall form is 11 wins, 8 draws and 15 losses. Home form is 8 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses. Recent form is 4 wins and 4 losses (winning last three) Girona are in 2nd place with 74 points, UCL qualification is secured but they for sure will want to finish 2^nd. Overall form is 23 wins, 5 draws and 6 losses. Away form of 9 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses. Recent form is 5 wins and 3 losses (also won last three)

Team news: Alaves are with Andoni Gorosabel plus Samu Omorodion. Girona have doubts over Borja Garcia, Christhian Stuani and Savio.

Head-to-head statistics: 16 games – 5 wins Alaves, 4 draws and 7 wins Girona.

Betting selection – Alaves are in good form and have had a season to remember but Girona have been several levels above. UCL is confirmed and the Catalans will want to finish above neigbours Barcelona. Take Girona win at 2.00 or Evens Bet365.

England League 2 playoff semifinal 2^nd leg and the winner of this is likely to face Crawley at Wembley. Doncaster hold a 2 goal lead from the first leg.

Doncaster finished season in 5^th place with 71 points. Overall form of 21 wins, 8 draws and 17 losses. Home form of 14 wins, 2 draws and 7 losses. Recent form is amazing with an unbeaten run of 13 games with 11 wins and 2 draws. Crewe ended season with same points as home side. Overall they have 19 wins, 14 draws and 13 losses. Away form of 8 wins, 9 draws and 6 losses. Recent form is poor with 1 win, 4 draws and 4 losses.

Team news: Home side have a doubt over Matthew Craig who went off in the 1^st leg. No new injury worries for Crewe, although they have at least half a dozen players still unavailable.

Head-to-head statistics: 19 games – 7 wins Doncaster, 4 draws and 8 wins Crewe.

Betting selection – Doncaster won 2-0 at Crewe and I expect their excellent run to continue. They wont over stretch themselves with a final ahead but Crewe have too many injuries and are in poor form. Doncaster win at 1.80 or 4-5 Betfred.

Thursday night action in Piraeus as Olympiacos defend a 2 goal lead over Aston Villa after their tremendous peformance in the 1^st leg.

Olympiacos are 4^th in the Greek Super League championship round, but just 5 points off the tops spot. They dropped down to Conference this season after finishing 3^rd in Europa Liga group behind West Ham and Freiburg.  Overall European form is 7 wins, 2 draws and 4 defeats. Home form is 4 wins and 2 losses. Recent all competition form for them is an unbeaten run of 8 games with 6 wins and 2 draws. Villa are 4^th in EPL with just 2 points needed to end their season in that position. In Conference 6 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. Away form of 1 win, 3 draws and 1 loss

Team news: Jovetic is injured but Ndoj and Masouras are back after suspension. Villa are without Morgan Rogers and have doubts over Teilemens, Martinez and Zaniolo.

Head-to-head statistics: 1 game 1 Olympiacos win.

Betting selection – Olympiacos were full value for their 4-2 win in Birmingham. Striker Ayoub El Kaabi was a menace all game and deserved his hattrick. That takes him to 30 for the season and I bet El Kaabi score anytime at 3.10 or 21-10 bet365 to add to his tally.

Bergamo and the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia for this Europa Liga 2^nd leg. Marseille the visitors as Atalanta look to take the win that would take them to Dublin and the final.

Atalanta are 5^th in Serie A and are chasing UCL place. In Europa Liga so far this season they have 6 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat. Home form is 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Recent all competition form is 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Marseille are 9^th in Ligue 1 and Euro qualication looks slim, if they don’t win this cup. Overall Europa form is 5 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses. Away form of 1 win, 2 draws and 3 defeats.

Team news: Home side are without Saed Kolasinac who joins Rafael Toloi and Emil Holm on injury list. Isak Hien is back from suspension though. Marseille miss Chancel Mbemba, Valentin Rongier and Bamo Meite injured. Samuel Grigot is back from his ban.

Head-to-head statistics: 1 game – 1 draw.

Betting selection – Marseille just don’t travel well. Just one win in entire Europa run of games. The home side have been in superb form and I take Atalanta win 1.75 or 3-4 Coral.

We travel to Flanders and Bruges for our 2^nd leg semifinal of UEFA Conference League. Fiorentina hold a 3-2 lead after an action-packed 1^st leg.

Club Brugge are top of Belgium Pro League by 2 points with just three games left. In Europa Conference this season they have a record of 8 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. At home they are unbeaten with 4 wins and 1 draw. Recent all competition form of 7 wins and 1 loss. Fiorentina are 9^th in Serie A and are 6 points behind Euro qualification with 4 games left. Overall Conference record this season is an unbeaten run of 11 games with 6 wins and 5 draws. Away form is 2 wins and 3 draws.

Team news: Home side miss Raphael Onyedika suspended while Bjorn Meijer will probably sit out with injury.  Fiorentina miss striker Riccardo Sottil who broke a bone in the 1^st leg and his season is over.

Head-to-head statistics: 1 game – 1 win Fiorentina.

Betting selection – Five goal thriller in Florence as both sides attacked constantly. No reason to see anything different for this one. Fiorentina have had both score in all last four games and Brugge three of last five. Take Both Score Yes at 1.80 or 4-5 Betfair.

Santiago Bernabau for 2^nd leg semifinal of UCL. The tie is evenly balanced after the 1^st leg ended 2-2. No away goals mean the knockout ties are more open, so we are seeing plenty of goals over two legs.

Real Madrid have won La Liga with 4 games to spare. They have been using last few games to rest players for the UCL ties but have still won all the games. Overall UCL form is 7 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Home form is 3 wins and 2 draws they are yet to lose. Best Bayern can hope for in Bundesliga is 2^nd place with just two games left. They too have rotated last few games to try and keep players fresh for Champions League. UCL form for them is 7 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Away form of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

Team news: Madrid have no new injury worries but they have a huge boost in the return of keeper Courtois after long layoff. Right back Carvajal returns after suspension. Raphael Guerreiro’s season is over while Eric Dier went off last match with an injury and is a doubt. Matthijs de Ligt may be available though.

Head-to-head statistics: 17 games – 9 wins Real Madrid, 4 draws and 4 wins Bayern Munich.

Betting selection – Massive game and it should be hugely enjoyable also. Real Madrid at home are quality and they will win here. Take Real Madrid 1.96 or 20-21 Betfair.