Liverpool, Juventus and Chelsea among top tips in Europe this weekend
The big game in the Premier League is reserved for Sunday this weekend but on Saturday Antonio Conte will attempt to take the crown from the King Power Stadium from Leicester’s Roman Emperor, Claudio Ranieri. There are also other top matches across Europe, stoked by big rivalries and history.
MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL – Under 2.5 Goals @1.80
When Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp met in the Champions League when both were in charge of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, respectively, Mourinho said Klopp had ‘too big a mouth’, which is rich coming from the now Manchester United manager. Nevertheless, the mutual respect between the duo is huge and there can be no denying their influence in modern football.
Liverpool currently occupy the position in the league that everybody assumed United would be in at the start of the season. Jurgen Klopp’s side might be five points clear and four places above United, but the home side are growing with confidence game-by-game and are currently in their best run of since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson. They are unbeaten in 11 matches and have won each of their last nine in all competitions.
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Despite failing to score for consecutive matches for the first time under Klopp since February, Liverpool have only lost one of their last nine away from home in the league and cannot be underestimated. There still a number of dilemmas for both managers in their team selection with Joel Matip, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson lacking match fitness, while Mourinho is without his first choice defender Eric Bailly. Marcos Rojo is also a doubt.
Everyone expects an explosive match, but when you consider the last four encounters between these sides have finished under 2.5 goals then perhaps this game of chess will only be decided by the odd goal. You can back this trend at 1.80 with Bet365.
LEICESTER vs CHELSEA - Chelsea to win by 1 @3.50
There have only ever been four encounters in the past between Conte and Ranieri resulting in one win for Ranieri and three for Conte, including the EFL Cup game in September. The last time they met in a league encounter, Conte’s Chelsea turned over Ranieri’s Leicester 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Ranieri would have preferred to face Chelsea with the winning run in tact and not after the Tottenham loss with the Blues keen to bounce back. Ranieri will ask for an extraordinary effort on home turf, but this Chelsea side seems to keep battling right up until till the end.
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Three of Chelsea’s last four away league wins were by a single goal, while four of Leicester’s five league defeats were by a one-goal margin. John Terry is suspended, but that was unlikely to affect Conte’s plans, while Diego Costa up against Wes Morgan seems inhumane. Worst still, Ranieri is without Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani, with the Foxes boss needing an inspired showing from striker Jamie Vardy if they are to secure a positive result on Saturday evening.
SEVILLA vs REAL MADRID - Draw @3.80
It’s take 3 in this fixture, after the two Copa del Rey legs played last week, and the return leg at Sevilla was way more demanding for the hosts, while Zidane was able to rotate. However, if Sampaoli will embrace the position of simply defending an excellent home record, then maybe they could withstand the siege.
FIORENTINA vs JUVENTUS - Juventus to win @1.80
The deep rivalry between these two will hardly be enough to stop a Juventus side that may not be at its most beautiful right now but it’s certainly an implacable one. In fact the WhoScored match forecast is listing three probable outcomes, all of which concern Juventus either scoring or dominating the game.
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MARSEILLE vs MONACO - Draw @3.30
This Nineties French classic will afford Marseille the chance to avenge the 4-0 loss in the reverse fixture last November, and they are in their best form of the season, winning 4 in a row. Monaco are still the most solid side so far this season though, but their recent away record reads just two wins from their last five outings.
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