We aim to give you the best possible information before each game. However, the moment the game starts, anything can happen, ranging from red cards to snow storms to pitch invasions. We can only prepare you for so much; it's up to you to learn how to develop yourself as to know when to jump ship if things aren't going as they should.
Pay attention to the odds provided for each tip. Be aware that the longer the odds are, the less chance there is of it coming in. Don't lean toward backing the bankers containing teams you've heard of or selections at longer odds because you trust the team more or if you see the pound signs flashing before your eyes. Sometimes bankers won't win, try to use the previews to steer you toward the right selection to make rather than taking the quick/lazy way.
Please understand that every single tip has the capacity to win, push, or lose. We aim to find good value bets (probability vs odds) as our focal area.
KO: (UK time)
In order to keep their European dreams alive, Atalanta need to beat Spezia. The visitors have dug their heels in a lot of late but can’t win enough so relegation looks quite possible for them. Atalanta have been playing quite well of late, and should have enough at home to seal the deal here.
Verdict: Atalanta Bergamo to win at 9/25.
KO: (UK time)
The quality gap should be too big here. Ludogorets Razgrad need to win, Beroe don’t travel well, and the home team have just claimed a massive derby win against CSKA Sofia to put them top of the A PFG – failing to win here would make that result pointless. Ergo, anything but a home win would surprise me.
Verdict: Ludogorets Razgrad to win at 7/50.
KO: (UK time)
City are firing on all cylinders at the moment with three trophies very much in their sights. It’s difficult to imagine anyone standing in their way whilst they’re playing as well as they are, even a West Ham United that has mostly enjoyed their best section of their campaign in recent times.
Verdict: Manchester City to win at 1/5.
KO: (UK time)
Although Milan are suffering from a touch of fixture congestion at the moment, they should have enough in the tank to defeat Cremonese here. They’re in for a bit of a battle, I’m sure, but have enough firepower to do the business.
Verdict: Milan to win at 33/100.
KO: (UK time)
Cerro Porteno are natural goal-scorers, particularly at home. They don’t always have the work ethic to do the defensive side of things well but they do score goals. Hosting a team that is going to find it a nightmare to cope with the altitude difference, especially a team from Bolivia, should be something of a dream for the Paraguayan heavyweights.
Verdict: Cerro Porteno to win at 2/5.
KO: (UK time)
The quality gap is too big here. Atletico Mineiro do seem to prefer to play against teams that come at them more than Alianza Lima are likely to but I still expect the Belo Horizonte outfit to find a way to win it; they’ve got too many match-winners not to.
Verdict: Atletico Mineiro to win at 11/50.
All of the information in this section is listed to the best of our knowledge, and we use local sources for as many areas as we can.
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Union Saint-Gilloise – Vertessen is absent.
Antwerp – Gerkens, Engels, Haroun, Miyoshi, Valencia, and Verhulst are absent.
English Premier League:
Liverpool – Bajcetic, Firmino, and Ramsay are absent. Keita is a doubt.
Fulham – Kurzawa, Mitrovic, Pereira, and Ream are absent.
Manchester City – Ake and Mendy are absent. De Bruyne is a doubt.
West Ham United – Scamacca and Zouma are absent.
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois – Remy is absent.
FC Nantes Atlantique – Chirivella is absent.
German DFB Pokal:
VfB Stuttgart – Aidonis, Beyaz, Kuol, Ulrich, and Schock are absent.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Bignetti, Grahl, Horz, Jakic, Loune, Max, Otto, Schroder, Simoni, Wenig, and Smolcic are absent. Ndicka, Lindstrom, and Kolo Muani are doubts.
Italian Serie A:
Atalanta Bergamo – Ruggeri and Hateboer are absent.
Spezia – Moutinho, holm, Beck, Maldini, Zurkowski, and Nzola are absent.
Juventus – Jorge and Kean are absent.
Lecce – Pongracic, Strefezza, Gallo, and Dermaku are absent.
Sampdoria – Conti, Pussetto, Audero, and Nuytinck are absent.
Torino – Vieira, Zima, Radonjic, and Aina are absent.
Salernitana – Valencia, Crnigoj, and Fazio are absent.
ACF Fiorentina – Sirigu is absent.
Hellas Verona – Henry, Hrustic, and Lasagna are absent.
Internazionale – Skirinar and Gosens are absent.
SS Lazio – Cataldi and Romagnoli are absent.
Sassuolo – Lopez and Pinamonti are absent.
Monza – D’Alessandro is absent.
AS Roma – Karsdorp, Smalling, Llorente, Kumbulla, Belotti, and Matic are absent.
Milan – Tomori, Pobega, and Ibrahimovic are absent.
Cremonese – Quagliata and Tsadjout are absent.
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK – Ellingsen and Haugen are absent. Andersen and Sinyan are doubts.
Aalesund FK – Ammitzboll is absent.
Bodo/Glimt – Vetti, Saltnes, and Zugelj are absent. Fet and Wembangomo are doubts.
Odd – Solholm is absent. Hien is a doubt.
Rosenborg BK – Augustinsson is absent. Saeter and Skarsem are doubts.
Brann Bergen – Mathisen, Castro, and Pedersen are absent.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Valencia – Marcos Andre is absent. Kluivert is a doubt.
Villarreal – Coquelin and Morales are absent. Kiko and Gerard Moreno are doubts.
Atletico Madrid – Llorente, Mandava, and Savic are absent. Oblak is a doubt.
Cadiz – Cala, Chust, Garrido, Hernandez, Marti, Ocampo, San Emeterio, Sobrino, and Zaldua are absent.
Getafe – Villar and Arambarri are absent. Milla is a doubt.
Celta de Vigo – Marchesin and Mingueza are absent.
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Elfsborg Boras –Bernhardsson is absent. Boateng and Frick are doubts.
Halmstad – Wallentin is absent. Baffoe and Allansson are doubts.
BK Hacken Goteborg – Hammar, Sadiq, Sonko, Si. Gustafson, Tebo, Trpchevski, Turgott, Youssef, and Sana are absent.
Djurgarden – Kack and Zetterstrom are absent. Schuller and Finndell are doubts.
Kalmar FF – Nilsson is absent. Ylatupa, Jensen, Bjerkebo, and Gustafsson are doubts.
Sirius – Mito Nilsson, Karlsson-Lagemyr, Omarsson, Olsson, and Murbeck are absent. Bjarnason and Kouakou are doubts.
Mjallby Solvesborg – Pettersson is a doubt. Nwankwo and Adolfsson are absent.
AIK Solna – Durmaz and Papagiannopoulos are doubts.
The "remaining thoughts" section is there to be a rough guide in case you want to get involved in games we haven't tipped. It is not there to tell anybody to back specific scorelines, or to guarantee that "2-2" games will go over 2.5 goals, for example. Ian lists what he believes to be the most likely outcome, and this is based on his assessment as to which way each game will develop. However, a "remaining thoughts" game listed with a 2-2 scoreline may have only just edged out a 0-0 scoreline in terms of probability because each game can develop in different ways.
Copa Libertadores:
Internacional vs Club Nacional de Montevideo (6) 2-0
Independiente Medellin vs Metropolitanos (6) 2-0
Cerro Porteno vs Bolivar La Paz (7) over 2.5 goals
Barcelona Guayaquil vs Palmeiras (5) 0-0
Colo Colo vs Boca Juniors (5) 1-2, at least one red card in this game
Atletico Mineiro vs Alianza Lima (7) 2-0
Copa Sudamericana:
Guarani Asuncion vs Emelec Guayaquil (5) 2-2
Puerto Cabello vs Club Atletico Tigre (5) 0-0
Millonarios Bogota vs America Mineiro (5) 2-1
Palestino vs San Lorenzo de Almagro (6) 0-1
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Union Saint-Gilloise vs Antwerp (6) 1-0
Bulgarian A PFG:
Spartak Varna vs CSKA 1948 Sofia (6) 0-1
Arda vs Cherno More Varna (5) 0-1
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Beroe (7) 2-0
English Premier League:
Liverpool vs Fulham (6) over 2.5 goals
Manchester City vs West Ham United (7) over 2.5 goals
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tammeka vs Flora Tallinn (7) 0-1
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Flora Paide (6) 2-1
Vaprus Parnu vs Kuressaare (5) 0-0
Finnish Ykkonen:
HIFK vs TPS (5) 2-1
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois vs FC Nantes Atlantique (5) 1-1
German DFB Pokal:
VfB Stuttgart vs Eintracht Frankfurt (5) 0-1
Israeli State Cup:
Beitar Jerusalem vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (6) over 2.5 goals
Italian Serie A:
Atalanta Bergamo vs Spezia (7) 1-0
Juventus vs Lecce (6) 1-0
Sampdoria vs Torino (5) 0-1
Salernitana vs ACF Fiorentina (5) 2-1
Hellas Verona vs Internazionale (6) 1-2
SS Lazio vs Sassuolo (6) over 2.5 goals
Monza vs AS Roma (5) 0-1
Milan vs Cremonese (7) 2-1
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Banga Gargzdai vs Dainava (5) 2-1
Kauno Zalgiris vs FK Panevezys (5) 1-1
Riteriai vs Zalgiris Vilnius (6) over 2.5 goals
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Aalesund FK (6) 2-0, at least one red card in this game
Bodo/Glimt vs Odd (6) 1-0
Rosenborg BK vs Brann Bergen (5) 0-0
Spanish Primera Liga:
Valencia vs Villarreal (5) 1-2, at least one red card in this game
Atletico Madrid vs Cadiz (4) 1-1
Getafe vs Celta de Vigo (5) 1-1
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Elfsborg Boras vs Halmstad (6) 2-1
BK Hacken Goteborg vs Djurgarden (5) 2-2
Kalmar FF vs Sirius (6) 1-0
Mjallby Solvesborg vs AIK Solna (6) 1-1
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