Soccer betting tips and predictions

There are four live matches over this weekend from Saturday until Monday and all of the current top six in the Premiership will be in action on the live matches from Sky Sports and ESPN.

Saturday’s sole live action comes from ESPN and in this game we will see if Man City can recover from their loss against Everton with a win at home to Fulham. Man City may be going through a bit of a blip at the moment but they have won all eleven home games this season and look highly likely to record another win in this match against a team who has won just once on the road all season. The odds of 1/3 on City aren’t going to make anyone rich but it is worth including in any accumulators this weekend.

Both live games on Sunday are on Sky Sports 1 and the first of these fixtures is Newcastle v Aston Villa. Newcastle have been in great form despite the loss of Demba Ba to the African Cup of Nations, they have moved up to fifth place this week and should welcome back Ba plus new signing Papiss Demba Cisse for this match. Aston Villa have looked pretty poor all season and have won just three times on the road all season, Newcastle have more wins than that in their last six matches, and Newcastle look a value play at current odds of 11/10.

The second match in Sunday’s double header is probably the game of the weekend, Chelsea v Man Utd. United haven’t won at Stamford Bridge in the league for almost ten years and Chelsea have only lost once in eleven league games recently. Chelsea have struggled to win matches too though, five of their last eight have ended all square and with both teams looking unlikely to win the draw looks a really good bet in this match at odds of 23/10.

There is a great match to look forward to on Sky Sports 1 on Monday night too, Liverpool host Tottenham. Spurs won this reverse fixture 4-0 earlier in the season (the score could have been twice that) and also won 2-0 at Anfield last season. Spurs have improved since then and are eleven points above Liverpool this season so it is a big surprise that you can get 11/4 on Spurs, it was only a couple of weeks ago that they should have won at Man City and unless they massively under perform they should win this match at great odds.

Are these really the best bets from the week’s live Premiership action? Which game are you most looking forward to betting on?

Let us know your thoughts on the best bets this weekend by sharing them here.

Valencia last 5 matches: 

Valencia last 3 home matches: 

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 away matches: 

*matches in all competitions

We have reached the semi-finals stage on the Copa del Rey with the prime favorite Barcelona up against a though adversary as they travel to Valencia for the first leg of the tie.

Valencia sailed past Levante in the previous round of the Cpa del Rey, trashing their adversaries with the aggregate score of 7-1, after a 4-1 scoreline at home and a clear 0-3 victory away.

Their biggest name defeated so far in the competition has been Sevilla, which they just edged due to an away goal, but Barcelona is another matter. Not a great form for them in recent matches if we take out the cup as Valencia failed to win any of their past 4 games in the Primera Division but they still hold chances, especially in this home match.

Barcelona on the other hand, defeated their arch rivals in the previous round with an aggregate score 4-3 against Real Madrid and are now considered top favorites for the trophy.

Morale in the team is not that high after they conceded yet another blow in the league with a goalless draw against Villarreal so this will be a crucial match for them in terms of confidence.

My pick: Barcelona to win ( over 2.5 goals )

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Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Real Madrid last 5 matches: 

Real Madrid last 3 away matches: 

*matches in all competitions

Second leg in the most interesting quarter-final of the Copa del Rey as Real Madrid travel to their biggest rival Barcelona trying to restore the one goal deficit from last week’s match.

Barcelona has the upper hand in this double leg battle as they managed a superb performance last week on Santiago Bernabeu, surpassing their opponents from start to finis, and grabbing a well deserved 1-2 victory.

They should now have an easier match on home pitch, at least in theory, as the biggest derby in football can change the victorious side fast. They managed to build on their success and trashed Mallorca 1-4 in the weekend, keeping their morale at top levels. Barcelona’s tactic should remain the same and no big changes should occur from last week’s cup game, with the Catalan keeper still needing to prove it’s value for the fans.

Real Madrid apparently with a mountain to climb, after they employed an ultra defensive tactic in the first leg, stunning every one as they held back on home ground, is expected to change formation.

They will clearly need to go on the offensive and this in turn can leave big gaps in their defense. So far Mourinho has been clearly inferior to it’s direct opponent and it will be interesting if he can make the change.

My pick: Barcelona to win ( over 2.5 goals )

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Four live games from the Premiership to look forward to once again and this weekend’s Super Sunday offering really does look super with four of the top five all in action whilst six of the top seven will be featured on TV over the weekend on Sky Sports and ESPN.

The early kick off on Saturday sees Norwich host Chelsea and it is no surprise that Chelsea have been on the drift in this match as Norwich bring the same form as Chelsea into this match (two wins, three draws and one loss). Chelsea are out to 4/6 whilst Norwich have been backed into 5/1 but the best bet could be the draw at 3/1. All of Chelsea’s recent matches in the Premiership have been close, they haven’t won by more than one goal for two months and away at a team who has lost just three from ten at Carrow Road this season it looks well worth opposing Chelsea in this Sky Sports 2 fixture.

The Saturday evening game will be shown on ESPN and features struggling Bolton and top four chasing Liverpool. Bolton has often been a tough place to go but not this season, Bolton have the worst home record in the league with just four points picked up from ten games. Liverpool meanwhile actually look better away from home, they have the fifth best away record in the league and have won half their away matches and it is a little surprising to see Liverpool available at 4/6 in this match, that looks a price well worth taking advantage of.

The first game in Sky Sports 1’s Super Sunday line up is Man City v Tottenham, a game which Spurs will be looking to win to put themselves firmly in the title race. Man City have been extremely strong at home this season, winning all ten home matches in the league, scoring 31 goals and conceding just 4. Crucially in this match Spurs will be without their top scorer Emmanuel Adebayor who is on loan from Man City and that could be the biggest nail in Tottenham’s coffin for this match, another City home win looks likely and at 10/11 we are getting a more generous price than we should be really.

Super Sunday concludes with Arsenal v Man Utd, Arsenal fans will be hoping for a big performance that will draw a line under the 8-2 loss suffered at Old Trafford earlier in the season. Arsenal still have some defensive problems going into this match and it is easy to see why they have struggled recently, they have lost their last two away matches and their last three home games have seen them draw with Wolves and beat Everton and QPR 1-0. Man Utd meanwhile haven’t quite been at their best either but they still have the best away record in the entire league (seven wins, two draws and a loss) and they are worth backing in this match and fair odds of 13/8.

Are these really the best bets from the week’s live Premiership action? Which game are you most looking forward to betting on? Let other football fans know YOUR thoughts on the best bets this weekend by entering the discussions at OLBG.com.

*matches in all competitions

Real Madrid last 5 matches: 

Real Madrid last 3 home matches: 

Barcelona last 5 matches: 

Barcelona last 3 away matches: 

The first El Clasico of 2012 as Real Madrid faces Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, a two leg knock-out anticipated by many to establish the trophy winners.

Above all this will be once again a duel of coaches, a personal battle fought by Mourinho and Guardiola, won in latest matches the superior tactic of the Catalan coach.

Real Madrid has a slight advantage over their rivals as they have the home pitch and a better morale due to their position in the Primera Division table compared to Barcelona.

They suffered a painful defeat in their last game played against their rivals as Barcelona managed to humiliate Real Madrid on Santiago Bernabeu, 1-3 the final score.

Barcelona is seen as the favorite as far as betting odds go but their latest games played away have revealed problems with the team once thought to be invincible.

Their one all draw away to Espanyol followed by their 1-2 victory against Osasuna have raised flags in Barcelona’s squad with the team not being able to score whilst leaving gaps in defense.

My pick: Draw ( over 2.5 goals )

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