Much of the focus this weekend is on the Emirates Stadium, where Liverpool take on Arsenal in a top of the table clash between two Premier League heavyweights. However, the best odds from a betting perspective come from Italy and a potential slip up at the summit of Ligue 1.
LIKELY BETS
Arsenal-Liverpool: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @1.53
A trip to the Emirates will provide a real test for Liverpool's title credentials this weekend. Arsenal are unchanging in their philosophy, and will once again set out to attack and look for the win, even with a key trip to Dortmund in the Champions League coming up. WhoScored's match forecast is sure only about one thing: it is likely that both Liverpool and Arsenal 'will create many scoring chances'.
Sevilla-Celta Vigo: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @1.72
Two struggling defences meet here, both having leaked plenty of goals already this season. Sevilla have the second worst defensive record (which is pretty incredible considering some of the other teams in La Liga), while Celta have conceded at least once in 9 of their 11 fixtures of this season. From the team characteristics analysed by WhoScored, it comes out that Sevilla are very weak at 'defending against attacks down the wings' and Celta Vigo are very weak at 'defending counter attacks', so the flood gates could open.
Hamburg-Borussia M'Gladbach: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @1.44
The Bundesliga has highest goal average amongst the top 5 European leagues, and a 'both teams to score' bet is always a good shout. This week the best bet is in Hamburg, where the third worst defence (22 goals conceded in 10 games) meets the second worst defence away from home (12 goals conceded in 5 games).
TEMPTING BETS
Manchester City-Norwich: MANCHESTER CITY -1.5 @1.65
Manchester City are expected to vent their frustration from last weeks defeat to Chelsea on an underperforming Norwich City. The Citizens need to send a message of intent to their Premier League rivals with a resounding victory over the Canaries. WhoScored’s match forecast is predicting a number of ways in which Manuel Pellegrini's side will score, with it extremely likely that the team will net 'as a result of a through ball' and 'from a wingplay situation'.
Rayo Vallecano-Real Madrid: REAL MADRID -1.5 @1.78
Things are beginning to look up for Real Madrid, regardless of the defeat in El Clásico, with it unlikely that they’ll be dropping points against teams below them in La Liga. One of Rayo Vallecano’s WhoScored.com statistically calculated weaknesses is 'defending against skillful players', an area in which Real Madrid aren’t exactly lacking in…
Eintracht Braunschweig-Bayer Leverkusen: AWAY WIN @1.44
Everybody is talking about the usual Bundesliga suspects Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but Bayer Leverkusen are hot on the heels of the pairing and are enjoying a fantastic season. Their strong team means it would be strange that they would suddenly crumble against the worst team of the league. The WhoScored match forecast focuses only on how Bayer will score, with it very likely that Sami Hyypiä’s side will net 'as a result of an opposition error' and 'as a result of a through ball'.
LONG SHOT BETS
Torino-Roma: TORINO DOUBLE CHANCE @1.90
Roma were able to record an historic 10th straight win of the season against Chievo but looked to be running out of ideas before netting the winner at the end of a fairly gull game. Their focus could now drop having reached the record, with Roma having had 24 hours less to rest, and the fact that Totti and perhaps Gervinho will still be sidelined means that Garcia has very few options to rotate. Moreover, Castan will be suspended, and there is a question mark over who will be paired with Benatia at centre back. Last but not least, even the best teams tend to struggle away at Torino, and the granata are even more motivated having dropped points in recent games when they have deserved more. The giants of Roma could finally fall - at least to a draw.
Milan-Fiorentina: FIORENTINA DOUBLE CHANCE @1.80
Fiorentina will still be fuming after losing against Napoli despite playing the better football, and after they were denied a clear penalty in the last minute, things were made worse when the referee gave Cuadrado a red card. The unstoppable winger will be suspended, but that's why Montella will prepare a more cynical XI to exploit Giuseppe Rossi's skills. Milan's defence will struggle to solve that issue, in fact lately they have had problems with even the simplest of tasks. Milan are heaping more pressure on themselves with those mistakes, and let's not forget that the majority of the starting XI this weekend will have to play at Camp Nou on Wednesday. Finally, don't forget that the Viola will be out for revenge after missing out on a Champions League spot to Milan in controversial fashion last season…
Lille-Monaco: DRAW @3.10
Lille are not only the surprise package of the season in Ligue 1 thus far, but the 3rd placed team also boast the second best home record behind this weekend's opponents Monaco. The area in which Ranieri's side still have to improve the most is their performance when playing away from home: they have not been able to win outside of Montecarlo in 2 months.
What are your top betting tips this weekend? Let us know in the comments below
