CSKA Sofia vs AS Roma
FreeToday’s featured game is the UEFA Europa League encounter between CSKA Sofia and AS Roma. Hosts CSKA Sofia are already out of the competition having claimed just one point from a possible fifteen and have nothing to play for here. Visitors AS Roma know that a win will see them avoid some of the harder sides in this competition’s next round so they’ll at least have some motivation for the game
Hosts CSKA Sofia have endured a torrid time in this competition so far with four defeats in five games, drawing the other encounter. In some respects, they’ve been unlucky in this tournament as they have played some good football at times. They were particularly unlucky on their trip to London to face Fulham in their last match where they deserved at least a draw. However, if you don’t score goals then you don’t get results and the mere fact that the Bulgarian hosts have scored just twice in this competition so far speaks volumes as to why they’re already out of it. I expect CSKA Sofia to try hard in this game in their typical mental approach but they don’t have the additional motivation that they need to get a result here and they’re facing very good opponents so it looks unlikely that they’ll take anything from this game.
Visitors AS Roma are a side I generally don’t like to bet on because they concede goals far too easily in my opinion. However, they’ve done well in this competition and have only been beaten once, a run which now sees them top the group by a point. AS Roma have already secured their place in the latter stages of this competition but a win for Fulham or Basel in the other game could bring a second-place finish for AS Roma, which they will want to avoid. Their domestic form has been solid lately as they’ve won three out of four games, avoiding defeat in all of them and conceding just two goals along the way. AS Roma are beginning to return to the kind of form that we know they’re capable of and that kind of performance is what they’ll need to take three points from this game tonight.
CSKA Sofia knock the ball around nicely but have no final product more often than not. They’ll get some chances against AS Roma, I have no doubt, but AS Roma’s momentum and clinical displays of late have convinced me that they’ll have more than enough in their arsenal to win this game tonight.
Verdict: AS Roma to win at 5/6.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Hertha BSC Berlin vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa – home win at 5/6.
Hosts Hertha BSC Berlin are making a stealthy return to some decent football again! It’s happened mostly at home although a win at Ventspils in Latvia did much to boost their morale. Domestically, Hertha have scored three in their last two home games, losing to Eintracht Frankfurt but drawing with league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen against all odds. They’ve been looking very spirited and are scoring goals at home so I do harbour some hope that they’ll make a late show here. A win tonight guarantees them a place in the latter stages of this competition although a draw should suffice too. Nonetheless, Hertha will be motivated for this game and they finally have some momentum to clutch onto as they enter this game so it’ll be interesting to see how much that’s boosted them.
Visitors Sporting Clube de Lisboa are going from bad to worse as they continue to fail to score goals. Having already qualified for the latter stages of this competition as group winners, the Portuguese side are unlikely to be motivated to win this game. Having lost 1-0 at home to lowly Leiria at weekend, Sporting will be low on confidence and are despairingly short of momentum with their only win in recent times coming against bottom club Vitoria Setubal in the Liga Sagres. A side that isn’t playing well, isn’t scoring goals, and is low on confidence is not a side that are likely to cause any problems, in my opinion!
Although Hertha undoubtedly have problems of their own, I believe Sporting’s problems will be more apparent tonight with the visitors having nothing to play for. With the above in mind, you have to feel that Hertha have a very real chance of winning this game.
Verdict: Hertha HSC Berlin to win at 5/6.
Burnley vs Arsenal – away win with a -1.75 handicap at 5/4.
Hosts Burnley have fought bravely at home this season and claimed some historic results on a run that has seen them only lose one home game, winning five in eight. They’re not a particularly good side – they simply work hard and take their chances when they come. They’ve got a good manager in Owen Coyle and I honestly believe that without him they’d have already been condemned to relegation, although not in the pedantic mathematical sense of course! The fact is, however, that Burnley are now without a win in five games and their thin squad is starting to look very stretched indeed. The Premier League season is a long one and there’s only so far that hard-work can take you without the quality and strength in depth to match it. Burnley have averaged conceding over two goals per game in their last five matches and will most likely continue that unfortunate record against a very potent and talented Arsenal tonight.
Visitors Arsenal enter this game on the back of an impressive and morale-boosting 2-1 win at Anfield against Liverpool at weekend. They’ve now won two Premier League games in a row and look set for an early exit from a run of bad form that normally spans a longer period of time in comparison to Arsenal’s usual stint! They’ve beaten a very tough Stoke City very convincingly prior to the Liverpool game so their missing attackers are not as missed as I first feared. They’ve been playing some truly scintillating football lately as we all know that they can. My only concern is that they tend not to perform too well in the North-West but a win at Liverpool at weekend should have done enough to quell those cries. The fact is that Arsenal are twice the side that Burnley is and I feel the hosts are going to take something of a beating here.
I’ve got a really heavy scoreline in mind for this game tonight because Burnley can’t maintain their tremendous home form all season but Arsenal can maintain their footballing quality for a good majority of the season at least. Burnley will work hard but few managers surpass Arsene Wenger in spotting weaknesses in their opponents and exploiting them so I genuinely feel we could see a very one-sided result tonight.
Verdict: Arsenal to win with a -1.75 goal handicap at 5/4.
Le Mans vs Grenoble Foot – home win at 21/20.
Hosts Le Mans have had a poor season thus far and need whatever points they can get as they desperately attempt to flee the relegation zone. Just one defeat in their last three games and a win last match against high-flying Valenciennes will have done much to inspire the hosts and grant them momentum. They’ve only been beaten twice at home in eight games this season but have won three times so they’re quite a solid side at home, generally. The reason they’re doing so badly is because they’ve lost every away game in Ligue 1 that they’ve played this season but they’re deceptively a decent side. They’ve scored four goals in their last three games so I thoroughly expect them to score tonight against poor travellers Grenoble Foot.
Grenoble Foot are still rooted to the bottom of Ligue 1 after a horrendous campaign which has seen them virtually condemned to life in Ligue 2 next season already! They’ve lost six out of eight away games this season, drawing twice, and scoring a meager three goals on the road all season. Their form of late had been good prior to a defeat against Sochaux last match but I fear that result may have knocked the wind of their sails. It’s not difficult to knock a side with little ability that are relying heavily upon momentum and I suspect that’s what is going to occur tonight. Grenoble Foot really struggle to play football away from home and although they don’t concede as many away from home as you may think, they do concede goals nonetheless and don’t score enough to counter them.
This should be a really tight game between these two sides but I genuinely feel that Le Mans are a better side than Grenoble Foot by more than the statistics reveal. They’re a very capable side at home and they almost always score at home. Grenoble Foot’s poor away form plays a big part in my bet tonight but I think there’s enough in favour of the hosts to see them secure three points in this game.
Verdict: Le Mans to win at 21/20.
As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!
UEFA Europa League:
Hertha BSC Berlin vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (6) 1-0
Heerenveen vs FK Ventspils (6) 1-0
CSKA Sofia vs AS Roma (8) 1-2
Basel vs Fulham (5) 0-1
Panathinaikos vs Dinamo Bucharest (7) 2-0
Sturm Graz vs Galatasaray (6) 1-1
Club Brugge vs Toulouse (7) 1-1
Partizan Belgrade vs Shakhtar Donetsk (7) 1-2
Sparta Prague vs FC Copenhagen (6) 2-1
CFR Cluj vs PSV Eindhoven (7) 0-1
CD Nacional vs Austria Vienna (5) 1-1
Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Werder Bremen (6) 1-1
FIFA World Club Cup:
TP Mazembe vs Auckland City (6) 2-1
Atlante vs Barcelona (8) 1-3
Australian A-League:
Brisbane Roar vs North Queensland Fury (5) 1-1
Colombian Futbol Profesional:
Atletico Huila vs Independiente Medellin (6) 1-1
English Premier League:
Burnley vs Arsenal (8) -1.75 handicap
Chelsea vs Portsmouth (9) 2-0
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City (6) 2-2
Liverpool vs Wigan Athletic (4) 1-1
French Ligue 1:
Le Mans vs Grenoble Foot (7) 1-0
Lorient vs Olympique de Marseille (4) 1-1
Olympique Lyonnais vs Boulogne (6) 2-1
AS Monaco vs Stade Rennais (6) 1-2
Montpellier HSC vs Girondins de Bordeaux (5) 1-1
AS Nancy-Lorraine vs OGC Nice (5) 1-0
Paris Saint-Germain vs Racing Club Lens (8) 2-0
Spanish Segunda B:
Barakaldo vs Guijuelo (6)
Enjoy your free betting tips!