After a thoroughly entertaining international weekend where we saw upsets galore, we were reminded that shocks can happen in the world of football. Imagine betting on Switzerland to beat Belgium when they were losing 2-0? Imagine betting on England to qualify for Nations League Finals following their defeat at home to Spain on the opening match day? Imagine Scotland winning the group after their poor start? Yes, all those things did happen last week. Anyway here are some tips for the upcoming weekend’s fixtures.
‘”Take a double chance on me”
Take a chance on me – in true Abba fashion, let’s take a chance of some underdogs this weekend and bet on a ‘double chance’ bet. We don’t think these teams will win, but avoiding defeat is certainly possible, and you have two outcomes to support instead of one – put it to the test!
Match 1: Bournemouth vs Arsenal
There are a lot of clues to show that Arsenal will not win this game. First of all, they haven’t won here in their last two meetings, and in fact, lucky to get just the one point from a possible 6. Secondly, they haven’t won in the league since for one whole month. Thirdly, Bournemouth is only four points behind their opponents and have only lost one home game all season. Bournemouth avoiding defeat is not exactly improbable.
Match Bet: Bournemouth to win OR draw, priced at 4/5
Match 2: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona
The first rule, don’t chase your losses, the second rule, quit while you are ahead, and thirdly, the most important rule of betting is, don’t back against Barcelona. However, let’s spice things up a bit and throw some peppers in the mix. Atletico Madrid is a solid team, chasing for the title with fantastic quality throughout their team. Their opponents Barcelona have failed to beat Real Betis, Leganes, Athletic Bilbao and Girona already this season, so betting on this is actually quite easy, right?
Match Bet: Atletico Madrid to win OR draw, priced at 4/7
Match 3: Mainz vs Borussia Dortmund
This won’t please the football enthusiasts, as I am well aware that Dortmund is everyone’s second favourite club. They play fluid football, come back from the dead during some games, and they have nurtured Jadon Sancho who is most definitely going to be the best English player since Jesse Lingard – or even better. However, Mainz is a tricky game for any team, which Bayern Munich had found out a few weeks ago when they had won 2-1 there in a hard-fought contest – the only victors there this season. Borussia Dortmund is not the finished article and can be undone in occasional games. Let’s hope it’s this one.
Match Bet: Mainz to win OR draw at 11/10
Bet Summary: Backing on the three double chances above can get you odds of about 5/1. Just take a chance.
‘Dar un baño’
The phrase ‘Dar un baño’ translates to ‘to give someone a bath’ in the Spanish language and means that you give your opponents a complete thumping. One team is having more shots, dominating possession, and cruising to victory. Therefore, for the next bet, I am predicting some teams to be on the end of a hiding, and in need of a washing!
Match 1: Juventus vs SPAL
Italian champions, league leaders, elite club Juventus are capable of giving a few baths here and there, and with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala, they can give defenders nightmares days prior to the meeting. Juventus host SPAL on Saturday and will expect to win and increase their point margin at the top to about 9 points, temporarily at least. SPAL are playing their second season in Serie A, having finished 17th last season, and they will be candidates for relegation again this year.
Match Bet: Juventus to win by 4 or more goals at 11/4
Match 2: PSG vs Toulouse
Let’s share some facts about PSG this season in Ligue 1. They have played 13 matches and won all 13. They have scored 45 goals from those matches, making it an average of 3.46 goals per game. It’s even slightly higher at 3.7 goals for home matches, and they have only conceded 7 goals in the league, with just three of them at home. Only Napoli have stopped the team from scoring at least 2 goals this whole season in all competitions, and even PSG managed to score one on that occasion. You are up next Toulouse – good luck.
Match Bet: PSG to win by 4 or more goals at 6/4
Match 3: Eibar vs Real Madrid
Santiago Scolari has the magic touch, as he has maneuvered four wins on the bounce for Real Madrid since taking over temporarily, and now he has been given the job full time (well, at least to the end of the season). Eibar hasn’t beaten Real Madrid in their history, with Real Madrid winning every time they have visited the infamous Ipurua Municipal Stadium. They have scored 12 goals in those four wins, making it an average of 3 goals per game. Continue the trend Scolari – muchas gracias.
Match Bet: Real Madrid to win by 4 or more goals at 15/2
Match Bet: Betting on all the teams to give their opponents to a thrashing as an accumulator is at odds of 79/1.
‘A Game of Two Halves’
The most overused cliché in the history of football – a game of two halves. Meaning the team who were inferior in the first half, can change their ways in the dressing room and become unstoppable in the second half. Therefore, this bet is going to choose two teams that will be losing at halftime, only for them to come back and win at full time. The odds for these are always very generous so betting on two matches can potentially produce a lot of money.
Match 1: Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Hardly an original choice. Anyone who hasn’t been in a coma recently will understand that Manchester United have been a second-half team of late. Aside from their whimsical defeat in their own city to their closest rivals before the international break, Manchester United have beaten Chelsea, Juventus, Bournemouth, Newcastle in the second half in the last month or so. In their last meeting against their upcoming opponents, Crystal Palace was winning 1-0 at halftime and went on to lead 2-0 in the second half only to lose the match 3-2. Can Crystal Palace take a surprise lead at Old Trafford to be eventually pegged back and lose? It has a ring to it.
Match Bet: HT/FT bet as Crystal Palace/Manchester United at 25/1
Match 2: Inter Milan vs Frosinone
Another team that has built their success this season on comebacks is Inter Milan. If matches had finished in the 85th minute, they would probably be facing Champions League elimination and mid-table mediocrity. Inter Milan have shown plenty of fight and spirit, and the team is capable of gifting some goals away. Frosinone is in 19th place in the table, and their chances of even scoring at San Siro are unlikely. Hopefully, the script I am sending them will get to them in time, as they take a surprise 1-0 lead in the first half, only for them to lose in the second half 2-1. Not too farfetched, even for Hollywood.
Match Bet: HT/FT bet as Frosinone/Inter Milan at 18/1
Bet Summary: Betting on those individually can win you big money, but betting on them both will increase the odds to 493/1. Astounding.
