Newfanzone Bookies Corner (Game week 17)

Bookies Corner returns this weekend after an eventful week that has seen the sack of an influential Gaffer in England. We bring to you tips for your betting accumulators which our Punters have carefully picked 10 games all from the top 5 leagues in Europe.

Tobi Olubiyi’s (@tobipreety) predictions:

French Ligue 1

TROYES VS MONACO: MONACO WIN- 3rd place Monaco are playing against 20th Troyes who haven’t won a game all season and have lost 11 games from 18 matches played so far. Monaco are level on points with 2nd placed Angers and would like to keep pressure on their pursuit of the 2nd spot. I don’t expect this to be a tough game for Leandro Jardim’s men who will want to bounce back after a shock 3-0 defeat at Bordeaux in the French Cup. Monaco are undefeated in their last 5 league games so I see them getting a win at Troyes.

ST ETIENNE VS ANGERS – ANGERS WIN OR DRAW: Angers have been the surprise package of the league this season and very few would have envisaged their incredible performance this season which has taken them up to 2nd place only bettered by power house PSG. Saint-Etienne have not won in their last 5 games in all competitions and thier poor form would affect them against high flying Angers. Moulin’s men are in form and are yet to be defeated in their last 5 games in all competitions which included games against Lille, PSG, Lyon and Bordeaux. I expect Angers to get at least a draw in this game.

Manchester United’s Old Trafford a.k.a The Theatre of Dreams, photo credit http://www.guts.com/en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

English Premier League

MANCHESTER UNITED VS NORWICH CITY- MAN UTD WIN: The Red Devils will be hosting Norwich who have been on a bad run all season with 7 losses from their last 11 matches winning just once during that time. LVG’s men haven’t been fantastic of late themselves without a single win in their last 5 matches in all competitions. This is their chance to end their bad run and they can do that infront of their home fans against 18th placed Norwich. This should be an easy victory for Manchester United and I don’t expect any upsets.

ARSENAL VS MAN CITY – ARSENAL WIN OR DRAW : This has always been an exciting fixture in recent years and it is also a top of the table clash as the 2nd and 3rd placed teams face off at the Emirates. Both teams are in form and neither will want to drop points at this stage, and Arsenal are unbeaten in the last 5 games. I expect Arsene Wenger’s men to get a result at the Emirates.

Mesut Ozil
photo credit: Brian Sikorski
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Italian Serie A

INTER MILAN VS LAZIO – INTER MILAN WIN : Mancini’s revolution continues at Inter Milan as their form of just 1 defeat in 11 games has seen them leap to the top of the table. Lazio will have a mountain to climb when they travel to the San Siro as they have won only once in 7 games in all competition. I expect Inter Milan to continue their fine form with a win against Lazio.

ATLANTA VS NAPOLI – NAPOLI WIN OR DRAW: Napoli are 4 points behind league leaders Inter Milan and a trip to 8th placed Atlanta could hinder chase for top spot. Napoli have only lost one of their last 5 games in all competition but their only defeat in that time was away from home. It was also their first defeat in 10 away matches. With the form of Higuain and Insigne, I expect Napoli to get something out of this game at Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia

Spanish La Liga

ATHLETIC BILBAO VS LEVANTE – ATHLETIC BILBAO WIN : Bilbao will be hosting 20th placed Levante after a run of just 2 defeats in their last 15 matches has seen them rise to 9th place. They will be heading into this game in high spirit while Levante have not won in their last 5 matches. I see Bilbao getting a win in this game against relegation threatened Levante.

REAL SOCEIDAD VS VILLARREAL – BOTH TEAMS SCORE: Although Real Sociedad have not been so fantastic this season with just 4 wins from 15matches, they do score in matches. They have scored at least a goal in 5 of their last 6 matches and only failed to score against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. 5th placed Villarreal have scored 19 goals so far, 2 points more than their opponents. I expect both teams to get at least a goal each in this match.

German Bundesliga

BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH VS DARMSTADT – MONCHENGLADBACH WIN – Monchengladbach are currently having a slight dip in form after a run of 3 straight defeats in all competitions albeit against Manchester City in the Champions league, a 5-0 demolition from Bayern Leverkusen and a close 4-3 defeat against Werder Bremen. They will aim to bounce back against newly promoted Darmstadt‎ who have surpassed all expectations as they lie in 12th place after 16 games . I see the home side getting a much needed victory as they look to push for a place in Europe next season.
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HAMBURGER VS AUGSBURG – BOTH TEAMS SCORE – 13th placed AUGSBURG will face a tricky tie at 9th placed Hamburg who have only 1 defeat in their last 5 matches. It’s difficult to separate both teams going into this encounter but I believe both teams would get onto the score sheet. Both teams have already scored at least 19 goals this season so it’s safe to say they are not shy infront of goal.

Newfanzone Bookies Corner (Game week 14)

Bookies corner returns for week 14 action after some teams have participated in the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League Competitions. Some teams however have been on break during this period and it could be an advantage as the various league actions resume in the top 5 leagues.

Tobi Olubiyi’s (@tobipreety) predictions:

French Ligue 1

PSG VS TROYES – PSG WIN: Runaway league leaders PSG have been tearing apart opponents as the matches come by, a 5 nil away win against Swedish team Malmo was the latest of their onslaught as the attacking force of Ibrahimović, Cavani, Lucas Moura and Di Maria have been unstoppable so far this season. They are yet to taste defeat in the league this season, a record shared with Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich in the top 5 leagues.
This would be a comfortable home win for the Parisians at the Parc des Princes where they have not lost a league game since May 2014.

ANGERS VS LILLE – UNDER 2.5 GOALS: There have been less than 3 goals scored in 13 of the last 14 games involving Lille this season. Having scored just 8 league goals in 14 games they also don’t give away so many goals as they have only conceded 9 goals so far. Their opponents Angers also don’t score much as they have scored just 12 goals in 14 games conceding 9 goals in the same time. Both teams are joint second on the least goals conceded so far this season with table toppers PSG conceding a mere 7 goals.
I see this as a low scoring game, though the result could go either way and I predict a total of less than 3 goals would be scored in this match.

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard takes on Norwich City’s Jonny Howson
photo credit: Ben Sutherland
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English Premier League

TOTTENHAM VS CHELSEA- TOTTENHAM WIN/DRAW: Only one team has defeated Spurs so far this season, it was a 1 nil defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day courtesy of an own goal. Since then Pochettino’s men have been unbeatable playing 12 matches without loosing including a 4-1 win against Man City . Chelsea on the other hand have had a season to forget as they languish in 15th place and holding the record of the worst start by a defending champion. They have only won 4 matches all season loosing 7 matches and have spent most of the season battling relegation rather than fighting to retain the league title. I don’t see Chelsea getting a win at White Hart Lane as a resurgent Harry Kane who is a nemesis to the Chelsea defence would pose a lot of threat going forward for Tottenham

MANCHESTER CITY VS SOUTHAMPTON- MANCHESTER CITY WIN: Pellegrini’s men have had a blip in form recently, failing to win in any of their last 3 matches collapsing like a pack of cards in front of their home fans against Liverpool last time out thus leaving them 2 places away from the top of the table. Southampton have had a rollercoaster season winning 5 matches in 13 games, a trip to the Etihad stadium would be coming at a wrong time when they are just gathering momentum having lost just 1 game in their last 5 matches. I see Manchester City with a fit Sergio Aguero grinding out a win and putting pressure on the league leaders Leicester City.

Italian Serie A

ROMA VS ATALANTA – ROMA WIN: 4th placed Roma have not done much wrong in the Serie A this season and the Scudetto favourites are just 3 points away from top spot. Rudi Garcia’s men never look like loosing in front of their home fans and they are yet to loose at the Stadio Olimpico this season despite playing tough oppositions like Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern Leverkusen and arch rivals Lazio. Atalanta has only 1 away win all season, so a trip to the Stadio Olimpico which has become a fortress would be an uphill task. I tip Roma to get a win inspired by the good form of Salah, Iturbe, Dzeko and Pjanic who have played well for them this season.

PALERMO VS JUVENTUS WIN- JUVENTUS WIN: The old ladies had a night mare start to their scudetto defence this season but they seem to have gotten their season on an upward thrust as they are unbeaten in their last 5 matches in all competitions including a win against English Giants Manchester City in a crucial top of the table clash in the Champions League. Star striker Dyabala would be returning to face his old side and eyes would be on him if he would be able to sting his former team. Palermo haven’t been in the best for this season with just 4 wins from 13 games, they have also failed to win against Juventus in their last 6 matches. I believe Juventus will do enough to get a win away from home, their firepower will be too much for Palermo to contain.

FC Barcelona
photo credit: Nathan Rupert
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Spanish La Liga

BARCELONA VS REAL SOCIEDAD – BARCELONA WIN: Barcelona are the most inform team in Europe’s top 5 leagues at the moment putting different clubs to the sword and scoring a lot of goals even during the absence of star player Lionel Messi. Suarez and Neymar have carried the burden of leading the club to glory as they have not lost in their last 9 games scoring 32 goals in the process including 4 goals against Real Madrid and 6 goals against Roma. Sociedad have just parted ways with Coach David Moyes and have lost 3 of their last 5 games. The deadly trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar will all be available for selection in this match and I expect them to inspire Barcelona to another dominating victory at the Camp nou where Soceidad have not won in 14 matches.

SEVILLA VS VALENCIA- BOTH TEAMS SCORE: This is a game where both teams usually score each other as they are known to attack. In the last 6 matches between these two sides both teams have failed to score only on one occasion. Unai Emery’s men are in a very bad form at the moment winning just 1 of their last 5 matches which was surprisingly against Real Madrid. Valencia have not been too fantastic themselves, currently sitting 7th on the log 4 points and 4 places above their opponents Sevilla. This is a difficult game to call, but I see both teams getting on the score sheet.

Borussia Dortmund

German Bundesliga

BORUSSIA DORTMUND VS STUTTGART- DORTMUND WIN: After 7 straight victories, 2nd placed Dortmund suffered a shock defeat in their last league game away at Hamburg in a game many felt they would get a result. The yellow submarines would be playing against relegation strugglers Stuttgart at the Segunde Igunda Park in front of their ever present and loud supporters. I expect them to get back into winning ways with an emphatic victory and putting pressure on Bayern Munich. Stuttgart are facing a team they are yet to win against in 6 league meetings.
With the form of attackers Reus, Aubameyang and Kagawa, I expect the BVB to get a solid win in this fixture.

BAYERN LEVERKUSEN VS SCHALKE 04- DRAW: Bayern Leverkusen played out a shambolic and disappointing draw against BATE Borisov in the Champions League and it would be a tough ask for them to quickly get such a horrid game behind them quite quickly. They still have a chance to progress from their group albeit against “Almighty Barcelona” in their last group game at home, so that could influence their performances in other competitions prior to that match. Schalke are currently sitting 7th on the log just behind their opponents with both teams on 20 points. It is difficult to tear these two teams apart so I would be going for a brave draw.