Pep004

Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Betting suggestion: 
Crystal Palace to score @1,71 Pinnacle
Both teams to score & over 2,5 @2,26 Pinnacle
Short preview: Crystal Palace again. Current league leaders are coming on to Selhurst Park in London, where they will surely look for the win, and put more pressure on Manchester City who will play against Chelsea later. International break brought plenty of worries for Klopp, as Henderson was ill, Gomez picked up an injury on the training,… While Robertson and Salah had problems with ankle and even though they are close to being fully fit, I wouldn’t expect Klopp to send both in the action. In any case, Liverpool have an amazing squad, and even if they rotate with the squad, we will still see a very decent squad on the pitch. As I mentioned last time, I think Crystal Palace is a team, who is made to make surprises. They are a team, who is easily fired-up against big teams. With the names, they have in the squad, especially offensively, I think that things will soon turn around, as they scored only once in the last four matches. Well, the truth is they faced Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester, and Chelsea, and with Liverpool coming, their schedule was far from easy, but as mentioned, international breaks aren’t helpful at all for big teams and every season we can see, that some of them have big problems on first matches… Will that be the case for Liverpool?

Leganes v Barcelona
Betting suggestion: 
Barcelona -1 @1,84 Short preview: The last positioned Leganes, who “collected” only 6 points in 13 rounds will early on Saturday host the current leaders of La Liga, FC Barcelona. Besides the catastrophic start of the season 2019/20 for Leganes, they won’t be able to count on several players – Marc Navaro and Cristian Rivera are injured, while Recio and Kevin Rodrigues are suspended for the clash with the Catalan giant. On the other side, Barcelona is coming without Semedo, Alba, Lengled, Arthur and Sergi Roberto, which means Valverde will face problems especially in the defensive part of the team, as he will be without the right fullback. As it looks, that will be a chance for young Moussa Wague, who will partner Pique, Umtiti, and Firpo in the back four. However Barcelona lost 2-1 here last season, I can not past the value bookies are offering with odds above 1,80 on asian handicap -1, which once again means that if Barcelona wins for only a goal difference, your stake will be voided. La Liga is completely La Liga Loca this season as only 5 points are between 1st Barcelona and 10th Levante. Therefore there will be no room for mistakes and I expect favorites to get the job done, even though it’s gonna be the first match after the international break. I think that even though this season all Spanish giants made several fails, lost points literally everywhere, I believe that we won’t see odds like 1,45 on the victory of Barcelona.

Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Betting suggestion: 
Crystal Palace to score @1,71 Pinnacle
Both teams to score & over 2,5 @2,26 Pinnacle
Short preview: Crystal Palace again. Current league leaders are coming on to Selhurst Park in London, where they will surely look for the win, and put more pressure on Manchester City who will play against Chelsea later. International break brought plenty of worries for Klopp, as Henderson was ill, Gomez picked up an injury on the training,… While Robertson and Salah had problems with ankle and even though they are close to being fully fit, I wouldn’t expect Klopp to send both in the action. In any case, Liverpool have an amazing squad, and even if they rotate with the squad, we will still see a very decent squad on the pitch. As I mentioned last time, I think Crystal Palace is a team, who is made to make surprises. They are a team, who is easily fired-up against big teams. With the names, they have in the squad, especially offensively, I think that things will soon turn around, as they scored only once in the last four matches. Well, the truth is they faced Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester, and Chelsea, and with Liverpool coming, their schedule was far from easy, but as mentioned, international breaks aren’t helpful at all for big teams and every season we can see, that some of them have big problems on first matches… Will that be the case for Liverpool?

Completely agree with you @StevieDay1983... Besides the ht/ft market, I am also looking at win with the clean sheet, and asian handicaps (-1, -1,5)... I think that Wales will be the one scoring first and after that, there will be simply too much space as Hungarians will have to push higher...
 

Completely agree with you @StevieDay1983... Besides the ht/ft market, I am also looking at win with the clean sheet, and asian handicaps (-1, -1,5)... I think that Wales will be the one scoring first and after that, there will be simply too much space as Hungarians will have to push higher...
 

Wales vs Hungary
OK, so this is it. Wales play Hungary in their final 2020 European Championship qualifier (hopefully!) in a 7:45pm GMT kick-off tonight at the Cardiff City Stadium. The situation is simple. A win for either side in this game will seal their place in the finals next summer. A draw and it then allows Slovakia to sneak in through the back door if they can beat Azerbaijan at home. I'll be there tonight in the Canton Stand. If you're not doing anything I recommend you watch it for the home crowd's rendition of our national anthem alone.
Wales are looking a lot more balanced in recent games. Ryan Giggs bringing in Kieffer Moore up front was a leftfield choice given his poor strike rate for Wigan this season but he's been a revelation for us. It's freed up Gareth Bale to play deeper, helps to bring the likes of Daniel James and Harry Wilson in the game more, and he offers a different type of threat so if our free-flowing football doesn't create any opportunities we can go the ugly route. I had serious doubts about Giggs as a manager but I genuinely think he's learning from his mistakes. Football is a fickle game though. Failure to win this game and the fans will feel Giggs has failed. The big news is Aaron Ramsey being fit to come back in. In my opinion, he's our most important player and we've not had him for any of our matches until the Azerbaijan win last week.
Hungary will come into this game feeling they can win. They got a lucky 1-0 win against us in their home leg and the news that their star defender Willie Orban is out injured plus key players Mihaly Korhut and Laszlo Kleinheisler are also suspended means they're up against it. Marco Rossi's side have lost 4 of their last 5 matches including friendlies. They play a Wales team that are undefeated in their last 5 matches.
I feel uncomfortable saying this but I'm quietly optimistic. It worries me. Wales are looking more like the side that dismantled Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League and we're a far better side at home than we are away. Ramsey returning is a huge boost. Joe Allen is back from suspension. Bale is fit too. The only absence is David Brooks which is a big loss but we have enough attacking depth to cater for that. My head says we can win this game by 2-3 goals if we start well. My heart says this is Wales and we'll still probably mess it up! Argh, the dilemma! As a neutral, I'd say back us to win and back Bale to score.
Wales HT/FT @ 2.62 with Coral
Anytime Scorer: Gareth Bale @ 2.10 with Sportingbet

Romania v Sweden
Betting suggestion: 
both teams to score @1,91 Pinnacle  Short preview: Two rounds before the end of qualifiers, we have Sweden on 2nd and Romania on 3rd spot, with only 1 point advantage for Scandinavians, who are coming in Bucuresti, where they will try to remain unbeaten and look for confirmation of the final 2nd place in the last round when they will host Faroe Islands in Stockholm. Romania, on the other hand, have to win all three points and surprise Spain in the last round. The fact is that Spain is already 1st in the group, and will probably add another 3 points tonight against Malta, so their coach might give a chance to some players who haven't played that much so far... In any case, there are still chances for Romania and as long as they are, I believe they will fight for that. While Sweden is coming with the full squad, Romania will miss striker Andone, which means Puscas will most likely play the role of number 9, with Coman, Deac, and Hagi behind him. This Romanian squad have scored in every match in those qualifiers and at home, in front of the huge support from the stands, I expect them motivated and hyped... Regardless of the importance of this match, I believe they won't calculate too much and play in the way they prefer - offensive, but on the other side I do expect that the tough Sweden side, with most likely 442 formation, will score at least once, if not even twice, regarding the fact that Romanians will push higher if they won't have the result which will suit them. The last match in Stockholm finished with 2-1 for Sweden. Scandinavians have scored 11 goals in 4 matches away from home (0 against Spain, 4 against Malta and Faroe Islands, and 3 against Norway). Once again, for the home side, everything that counts is to take all three points tonight...

Turkey v Iceland
Betting suggestion:
Turkey -0,75 @1,90 SBO Short preview: Everyone expected France to beat Turkey in the last international break, but the match on Stade de France finished with 1-1, and Turkey was actually as close to all three points as France, if not even a bit more. Today, they will miss their best goalscorer Cheikh Tosun, which probably means that the tall offensive midfielder of Fortuna Dusseldorf, Kenan Karaman will take his spot aside from Yilmaz, who will most likely take the spot number 9. Both sides are mathematically still “in the game”, but the fact is that Turkey will take care of everything if they win tonight. As they have better h2h with France, they will remain 1st as long as they will have the same number of points as the current World champions. If they beat Iceland, they will have an easy task in the last round, as they travel to Andorra. On the other hand, if they fail today, they will for sure find themselves on the second spot as I am 100% sure France won’t lose points against Moldova at home. Turkey is expected to be positioned in 433 formation, but even if so, I believe they will be careful against the Icelandic 4411, where probably the only question is who will lead the attack – or Sightorsson, or Finbogasson. A huge blow for the away side is the absence of Burnley’s winger Gudmundsson. As said, a very important match for Turkey, while for Iceland, even if they win, I believe they are very aware of the situation, which means that if Turkey wins the last match, they have no chance of qualifying. H2h stats are strongly on the side of Iceland (they won on the last 3 meetings), but the truth is also that Iceland reached the top of this generation on Euro 2016 and since then, they started slowly falling. Honestly, I am surprised to see them at 15 points, but it’s also true that they have two very poor teams in the group (Andorra and Moldova).
 
Czech Republic v Kosovo
Betting suggestions: 
Kosovo to score @1,60 Pinnacle both teams to score & over 2,5 @2,240 Pinnacle In group A, we have only 5 teams and England is even though they lost in Czech Republic with 2-1, still in the first place with 3 points advantage and will most likely keep the first spot. Tonight, they play at home against Montenegro and are huge favorites to beat them, which means they will be at 18 points. An answer to the question who will take the second spot will be probably known tonight after this match as currently, Czech Republic is 2nd with 12, and Kosovo is 3rd with 11 points. One big difference is also that Czech’s will play their last match in Bulgaria (3 points), while Kosovo will host England at home. It can easily happen that England will already 1st and play in Pristina with the rotated squad, but for that, Kosovo needs to take at least a point today in Prague. I’d probably suggest taking the +0,5 as well here, but the fact that Kosovo is coming into this match without their key striker Muriqi pushed me away from this idea. Still, with Muriqi or without him, this side possess something special. In my opinion, the biggest difference is in their nation, belief and simply a fighting spirit. Will that be enough to surprise pretty much solid Czech’s tonight? Czech’s will miss the Leipzig’s striker Schick as well, but with the way how those two national sides play, I expect to see at least a goal on both sides.
 

Chelsea v Crystal Palace 
Betting suggestion:
Crystal Palace team totals over 0,5 @1,80 Pinnacle Crystal Palace +1,5 @1,95 Short preview: Chelsea is coming into this encounter after a goal-fest with Ajax in midweek, where they returned in the match after being 1-4 behind. The way how they play, they like to have the possession, they play with plenty of offensive-minded players in the lineup and even though Crystal Palace is one of the most inconsistent teams in the league, especially when considering the quality they possess, I do think that Chelsea’s game style will suit them, as they like to sit deeper and strike with counters. They have some very pacy players, and they have 0 problems with injuries for this match. Palace got the same amount of points at home and away in the last 10 matches, and they are usually a team that is tough to beat when you are a “big” favorite. I honestly expected to see odds a bit less in favor of a team, who won with more than a goal difference only once in the last five home matches. Therefore I like both, Crystal Palace to score and Crystal Palace to cover the +1,5 asian handicap, which means Chelsea should not win with more than a goal difference.

Real Sociedad v Lleganes
Betting suggestions:
Real Sociedad -0,75 @1,97 Pinnacle over 2,25 goals @2,06 Pinnacle Short preview: Firstly, I had only Real Sociedad to win on my list, but I suggest a bit smaller stake on over in goals as well. I can remember matches from the last season, where Sociedad entered them as a big favorite but started the match with few missed chances and playing too much comfortably, letting a lot of space in the defense and the opponent took advantage. Truth is, that they look a bit more serious this season, more mature, and therefore I believe that they will win this match, but I think they will have to score twice to get it “c0mfortably”. Leganes is in a horrible form, winning only 5 points in 12 matches so far and it’s not a surprise to see them at the bottom of La Liga. Their opponent is completely on the other side of the league table, as they are “sharing” the first spot with Barcelona and Real Madrid. Unfortunately, Odegaard is still out injured, but they seemed pretty strong without him in Granada. Basque team has an opportunity to jump on the first place of La Liga, and who else would you want to play against than the worst team in the league at the moment?
 
Valencia v Granada
Betting suggestion:
Valencia -1 @2,26 Pinnacle Short preview: Valencia overturned the result in mid-week against Lille, and won 4-1, so they are coming into this clash with Granada with heads up. With some players coming back from injury, they start looking better and better, and soon, I expect them higher on the league table. Current 13th place looks bad, but results in La Liga this season are something “new”, as even Valencia is only 5 points behind the league leaders. Therefore nothing is lost but it will be crucial to collect points at home. Granada seemed like a surprise of the season three weeks ago, but two consecutive defeats against Getafe away and Real Sociedad at home “pushed” them in the 6th place. Still, they are 2 points behind the 1st and 3 in front of 13th Valencia, but I think Valencia should simply take advantage of quality difference and the home stadium, so I expect all three points to stay at home. Granada isn’t afraid to attack, so I believe they won’t play defensively, which I see as an opportunity for the home side to score even more.
 
Atletico Madrid v Espanyol
Betting suggestion:
Atletico Madrid -1 @1,88 Pinnacle Short preview: Talking about the worst team in the league, Espanyol isn’t far from that. They’ve got 3 points more than Leganes, but still… 8 points of possible 36 is a catastrophic result and considering the away match on Wanda Metropolitano, where Atletico conceded only 1 goal in last 4 matches, I can not see “anything good” happening for Espanyol in this round. Atletico lost the champions league match in Leverkusen on Wednesday, but Espanyol will play the match even a day later (today against Ludogorets), so all in all, Atletico will have a day more to rest. Besides all of that, Simeone has a way bigger squad, so that’s the factor going in favor of the home side. Atletico is at the moment only a point away from the first three teams, but as mentioned above, one or two bad results can very easily kick you down to the 13th spot. I’ve been looking at the odds on the clean sheet, on Atletico to win to nil, but I think the best suggestion is simply to take the Asian handicap -1, which means the bet will be voided in case of only a goal difference in favor of Atletico. Honestly, I can not see Espanyol setting up a surprise in this one …
 

Betis v Sevilla
Betting suggestion:
over 3 goals @2,46 Pinnacle Short preview: Without a doubt the biggest match of La Liga this round will be played in Sevilla, where Betis will host the city rival Sevilla on Benito Villamarin stadium, which is known as one of the loudest venues in Spain. While Sevilla is doing pretty fine, having 21 points, being on the 5th place, only 2 points behind the league leaders, their rival, with 13 points in 12 matches aren’t in the best form, but at the same time we have to mention that they’ve won against Celta in the last match at home, and snapped a point on Santiago Bernabeu last round, so they are coming in to the derby Sevillano with a solid atmosphere. In any case, in matches like this, current standings aren’t really important… The last match on Pizjuan finished with 3-2, and I expect to see a goal-fest this time as well.

Latvia v Poland; 20:45
Betting suggestion: Poland -2 @1,80 Pinnacle 
Short preview: I think there is no need for a special explanation. True, every win counts only three points, regardless if it’s 0-1 or 0-5, but with 2-0 defeat in Slovenia, and 0-0 draw at home against Austria, things got complicated even for Poland, who was the big favorite in this group and at the end, it might happen that the goal difference will play its role as well. At the moment, Slovenia and Austria have the best one (+7), Poland is at +6, both Israel and North Macedonia at +0. Slovenia made the biggest difference exactly here in Riga, where they’ve won 0-5. Lewandowski is in a superb form, scoring most goals in Europe this season, scoring every match for Bayern Munchen. The national coach of Poland made a small mistake in the lineup against Slovenia, positioning Zielinski out on the side, instead of more central as he plays in Napoli (in 433 formation). Without “active” Zielinski, Poland depends too much on the individual work of Lewandowski, which wasn’t enough against Slovenia, but even so, it should be enough against a poor side as Latvia (6 matches, 6 defeats, goal difference 1:21).

North Macedonia v Slovenia; 20:45
Betting suggestion: Slovenia -0,25 @1,90 Pinnacle 
Short preview: group G is one of the most interesting so far. It's not that interesting because of teams playing in, but because of the situation on the table. Except for Latvia (6 matches, 6 defeats, goal difference 1:21), all teams are still in the position to qualify. North Macedonia is 4th, with 8 points, same as Israel, 2 less than Austria, 3 less than Slovenia and 5 less than Poland. Group leaders Poland were in a great position before the last international break, but they lost in Slovenia (2-0) and played a draw with Austria at home (0-0). Regarding the not the best start of Slovenia in qualifications, no one really expected 6 points in the last int. break, but that's exactly what happened, and not just that they got it, they also played really solid, which means that the national manager Matjaz Kek, who already led this country to the World Cup in 2010, is once again on a good way to make something big with the small country as Slovenia is. A classic problem of their team is that often, there are players who aren't regulars in their clubs, but football played in clubs, and football played in national level is completely different, preparations are different, therefore players need to know how to listen, adapt, and simply do their best for the country. It looks like Kek is on a good way of reaching that, but even though they are on the 2nd spot at the moment, the next two fixtures are once again crucial. First, they have to win North Macedonia, especially if Austria wins against Israel at home, and then they will host Austria on Sunday in Slovenia... Tonight's opponent will be everything but easy, as they look better and better under the leadership of Angelovski, who will miss Levante's midfielder Bardhi and Rijeka's defender Velkovski, who are pretty important players. Besides them, another important player Ristovski who plays for Sporting Lisbona is not 100% fit, so we will see some changes in the lineup. One point would probably be pretty much useless for both sides, especially for Macedonia, as they are traveling to Poland in the next match. With some difficulties especially in defense and need of 3 points, I think Slovenia will have enough space in counters, to grab an important win.

Looking forward to your posts as usual @Pep004   

Hello,
major football leagues are slowly coming back to the action. Most of Ligue 1 clubs have already started with their pre-seasons, and I decided to keep an eye on them, following their squads, transfers, changes in the style of playing etc. For the first time, I've decided to get involved in friendly matches. All the analyses will be posted on my site, but I will be posting them here as well if anyone is interested.
I thought the match will start at 20:00, so I am too late with todays suggestion (Marseille half time -0,5 @1,85) but I'll post others.
 
Cheers

Watford v Wolverhampton; 16:00
Betting suggestion: Both teams to score @1,85 Pinnacle
Short preview: That will be a meeting of two very interesting sides this season in Premier League, who are neighbors on the league table as Watford is 7th with 51 points, and Wolverhampton is just a point behind on the 8th place. Even though we can see they don’t have a chance to enter the top6 and be a part of the European competition, that might not be true. Watford is playing the FA cup final and if they win it, they will get the ticket for the Europa League next season, while if Man City wins, the 7th place in Premier League will lead to Europa League, therefore they have chances of entering this competition on two different fronts. I’ve seen debates about Watford players have their heads at the final already, I think the club knows that there is still much to play and that to count on a win against City won’t be really an easy thing to do. When Wolves are coming in Watford with the full squad, Javi Garcia has some problems as his captain and best scorer Troy Deeney is suspended for this match, and Bertrand and Armstrong are doubtful. In any case, both teams have lots of offensive potentials and I expect both teams to score at least a goal here.

Watford v Wolverhampton; 16:00
Betting suggestion: Both teams to score @1,85 Pinnacle
Short preview: That will be a meeting of two very interesting sides this season in Premier League, who are neighbors on the league table as Watford is 7th with 51 points, and Wolverhampton is just a point behind on the 8th place. Even though we can see they don’t have a chance to enter the top6 and be a part of the European competition, that might not be true. Watford is playing the FA cup final and if they win it, they will get the ticket for the Europa League next season, while if Man City wins, the 7th place in Premier League will lead to Europa League, therefore they have chances of entering this competition on two different fronts. I’ve seen debates about Watford players have their heads at the final already, I think the club knows that there is still much to play and that to count on a win against City won’t be really an easy thing to do. When Wolves are coming in Watford with the full squad, Javi Garcia has some problems as his captain and best scorer Troy Deeney is suspended for this match, and Bertrand and Armstrong are doubtful. In any case, both teams have lots of offensive potentials and I expect both teams to score at least a goal here.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Hertha Berlin; 15:30
Betting suggestion: Eintracht Frankfurt first half -0,5 @1,88 Pinnacle
Short preview: Eintracht is still one of the biggest surprises in Europe this season, holding the 4th position in Bundesliga and reaching semis of Europa League, recently beating Benfica with 2-0 and overcoming the 4-2 defeat in Lisbon. The away side is coming into this match with much more problems in the squad, as Grujic and Stark are suspended, Luckassen is doubtful, and some others are still on the injury list. Still, the great season can quickly turn into an “average” one, as Gladbach, Leverkusen, and Hoffenheim are all on 3 or fewer points difference. Therefore we can expect a huge battle between these clubs in the final run of Bundesliga. Hertha is on the 11th spot, 15 points above the relegation zone, so they can play without any pressure. Of course, in football that often brings pretty good performances, but there is a reason why is Frankfurt holding the Champions League spot right now. In matches like this, it usually happens that longer it stays 0-0, more nervous the match gets, and I expect Frankfurt once again making a difference already in the first half.

Sampdoria v AC Milan
Betting suggestion: over 2,5 & both teams to score @2,37 Bet365
Short preview: I was surprised to see odds that high, even though it’s true that Milan is capable of playing a bit more cautious, but I think they won’t be able to take this road today, as Sampdoria will try to attack and stay close to European places. Milan is currently holding the 4th place with 4 points above Roma, they had a very good streak but ruined it in the last match where they lost to their city rival Inter with 2-3. Bonaventura will be the only missing for the away side, while Sampdoria will miss Ekdal, Barreto, and Caprari. Even though we’ve seen some crazy results already, which is just proving the point that is important to be really smart with stakes after international breaks, I think that mentality of the home team is simply too offensive minded. I think that the first goal will change things completely and we’ll watch a pretty open match. Sampdoria scored 49 goals in 28 matches, and at the same time conceded 38. Milan scored 6 goals less, and conceded only 26, which is less than a goal per game, and which is also why odds aren’t really favorizing the over here, but I think that Sampdoria will inject a quick tempo to this match, and Milan, as they can, will simply have to follow it.

Portugal v Serbia
Betting suggestion: Serbia team totals over 0,5 @1,854 Pinnacle
Short preview: I tweeted about this match this morning, expressing my leans to Serbia covering the Asian handicap +1 and odds for this selection jumped from starting 1,63 to 2,04. I don’t have any news about it, but seeing the potential lineups nothing has really changed in the squad of Serbia. Of course, the fact that they have billions of problems with the football association in this country isn’t anything new, but I think that between players who are there and the coach – who is apparently problematic as well, there is a solid relationship. With performance against Germany, they showed once again that they have a very decent squad with at the moment the hottest number 9 in Europe. Luka Jović, who scored 23 goals this season (10 with the right foot, 9 with left, 4 headers) is probably one of most complete forwards at the moment and in a very good form. Of course, on the other side, there will be Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s in excellent form as well and besides him, in my opinion, one of the most improved players in past years Bernardo Silva – who is currently one of the best if not the best individual in Premier League. Without a doubt, Portugal have covered all places very well, but as they play with both fullbacks pushing really high on the pitch, I see chances for Serbia. Tadić is another great name in the squad of Krstajić, whose performances are on the highest level this season, but besides him, Krstajić has other individuals as Ljajić, Gaćinović (teammate of Jović in Frankfurt), Milenković, Milinković-Savić, and others. There is another thing when it comes for matches of “Balkan teams” and that is self-confidence and morale in general. They are capable of setting the mindset much higher of their abilities. Generations coming into senior squad have won a lot so good results against teams like Portugal isn’t anything new for them. There are some changes expected from the side of Portugal as Dyego Sousa might come in instead of Andre Silva, and Rafa instead of Ruben Neves. Even though I won’t be surprised to see Portugal starting cautiously, I think that both sides have a lot of offensive talent and that we’ll see some goals here. Therefore, my suggestions are also both teams to score @2,20.

wonder what price city were -6 lol

Manchester City vs Schalke
The second leg of the last 16 tie between Premier League club Manchester City and Bundesliga side Schalke is taking place tonight in an 8pm kick-off at the Etihad Stadium. Apologies for a late preview post. Storm Gareth has been a right little terror in South Wales and caused issues with my internet. Hopefully all fixed now so let's crack on!
Manchester City won the first leg 3-2 in what can only be described as one of the knockout stage's most riveting ties in recent memory. Pep Guardiola's team came from behind to take the win with the in-form Raheem Sterling scoring a last minute winner. The Citizens will be without Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi. They are hoping Aymeric Laporte will return to the first team but John Stones is likely to miss out.
Schalke will be desperately disappointed to come into this second leg at a disadvantage. Domenico Tedesco's men were 2-1 up going into the last 5 minutes of the game. To put it simply, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! Three defeats in the league conceding 11 goals in the process have followed. How badly has that first leg capitulation affected the team? Badly, it would seem. The club has the triple blow of playmaker Daniel Caligiuri missing out injured with ill-disciplined duo Mark Uth and Amine Harit also being left out for their behaviour.
On each of the previous 27 times when a team has won the away leg scoring 3 or more goals in the Champions League knock-out stages, that team has gone on to progress to the next stage of the competition. That's what we were saying for PSG last week but this feels a bit different with Schalke not quite on a resurgent level of Manchester United. City also not quite the bottle jobs of PSG either.
Further evidence backs the Schalke win with City having won all three previous meetings with Schalke. The English side have also only lost 1 of their last 10 home matches with German teams in European competition. That lone defeat came against Bayern Munich in the 2013/14 season.
I have to back a solid City win here. I think that late collapse by Schalke has knocked the wind out of their sails. This City team is pretty special and they've drawn comparisons to Pep's Barcelona team. I can see them making light work of this. The weakened defence means they'll have to attack and that won't be pleasant for the German side.
Manchester City HT/FT @ 1.55 with Boylesports
Manchester City -2 @ 2.05 with Coral
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Napoli v Torino
Betting suggestion: over 2,5 & both teams to score @2,37 Bet365
Short preview: We tried with Sampdoria to score last time against Napoli, but we’ve seen another clean sheet of Napoli – 3 in a row actually. This time, I am eager to try one more time. We could say that Serie A starts after 3rd place as Juventus (66) and Napoli (52) are far from Inter, Milan, Roma, Atalanta and others with less than 43 points. Therefore, Napoli can play without extra pressure even though they lost 4 points in the last 3 matches. They played in midweek, beating Zurich away with 1-3 and are comfortably waiting for the Swiss club on Thursday. Torino on the other side is holding the 9th position, but Sampdoria is only a point behind, while 5th placed Roma is only 4 points in front, so one solid streak can change a lot. I expect them to play one similar match like against Roma away, without fear, with attacking mind and trying to get as much as possible from the favorized Napoli. I’m not sure if we’ll see any rotations from Napoli’s manager or not, but in any case, he has plenty of quality players on the bench. All in all, I expect Torino to score at least once, but still, I do think that Napoli will be the better opponent and win the match at the end.

Schalke vs Manchester City
The first leg matches of the last 16 of the Champions League draw to a close tonight. Our attention turns to the match-up between Bundesliga strugglers Schalke and Premier League table toppers Manchester City in this 8pm kick-off at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
Schalke are having a season to forget on the domestic front. Domenico Tedesco's men are 14th place in the Bundesliga. Relegation might well be staved off this campaign but qualifying for European competition in 2019/20 is looking remote at best. Not a great outcome for what was a season of high expectations. Still, the club remains in Europe's elite competition but for how long?
Manchester City appear to be a team ready-made to win the Champions League. The financial backing, managerial prowess, quality playing squad, and performances have all suggested this could be the best chance yet for Pep Guardiola's side to take home the elusive trophy.
Both teams made relatively light work of the group stage. Schalke finished as runners up in a group with Porto, Galatasaray, and Lokomotiv Moscow. It was considered one of the easier groups but they still qualified with ease. City lost their opening game versus Lyon at home but then won 4 of their next 5 group games to qualify as group winners.
This will be the third time these two sides have met in European competition. The first time came in the 1969/70 Cup Winners' Cup Semi-Final and the second occasion was in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group phase. City won the 1969/70 matches with a 5-2 aggregate victory and then won the solitary 2008/09 group stage game 2-0 away.
The omens aren't good for Schalke. City are unbeaten against German opposition in their last 7 Champions League matches. Schalke have also been eliminated at this stage of the competition on the past three occasions that they have reached the last 16.
I'm going to have to back a City win here. Schalke have seemingly turned it on for the Champions League and their results have improved domestically over the past few months. They are proving a difficult side to beat at home having gone undefeated for their last 9 European home games but I think this City side should pinch a narrow win.
Manchester City HT/FT @ 1.91 with Ladbrokes
Manchester City to Win by 1 Goal @ 3.96 with MarathonBet

Liverpool v Bayern; 21:00
The match between Liverpool and Bayern München will start at 21:00 on Anfield in Liverpool. Referees are coming from Italy – the main one will be Gianluca Rocchi who has shown 20 cards in the last 4 matches, twice red. Liverpool have lost the first place, but as they have one match less than the first City, they are still having everything in their own hands. Bayern is coming closer and closer to Borussia Dortmund, and I think that even though their season isn’t anything special, they will beat their German rivals till the end of the season.
Liverpool: so far, the team of Jürgen Klopp is on fire, having a season full of records in Premier League but they had some problems in the group stage of Champions League after losing 2-0 in Belgrade and 2-1 in Paris. Anyway, since then they have won 10 matches, then started the year 2019 with defeats against City and Wolverhampton, added two wins against Brighton and Crystal, then two draws with Leicester and West Ham. In last match they finally added important three points on their account, beating Bournemouth at home with comfortable 3-0. We can say that they arrived in the most important period of Champions League a bit “out of form”, comparing results with some other months. Don’t get me wrong, winning 10 points of possible 15 is far from the bad form, but even two wins over Brighton and Crystal came after huge fights, none of them was an easy win, but at the same time that’s pretty normal, regarding the crazy schedule English teams are having over this period. Huge blow for Klopp is that he cannot count on the key player in defense – Virgil van Dijk. Besides him, Wijnaldum, Lovren, and Shaqiri are all slightly injured and it’s unsure if they will participate in the match or not. Another problem for Klopp is the health condition of Firmino, who has suffered a virus and didn’t train on Monday.
Bayern: the team of Niko Kovač already had several ups and downs this seasons, and there is plenty of those who would like to see Croatian manager sacked, ass well as some “veterans” in the team, but so far it looks like they are slowly getting in the shape. If they were tempting for March, April, May, that might be perfect as they still have all competitions in their hands. Still, with the seasonal plan – if they were really trying to get the team in the best possible state in the final third of the season, they probably didn’t expect Liverpool immediately in the knockout phase of Champions League. In 2019, they’ve lost the match in Leverkusen (3-1), won against Hertha in DFP after extra time, won against Schalke 3-1 and in the last round Augsburg away with 2-3. Kovač cannot count on injured Boateng, Robben, and Tolisso, and while the status of Goretzka is doubtful, Kingsley Coman got the green light and will be able to help Bavarians in England. As Boateng hasn’t been named in the squad, we can expect to see Süle next to Hummels, but the question if Kovač will start with Kimmich as a fullback or in the midfield. Another question is if Ribery will come back directly in the first lineup after being given an extra time due to the birth of his child.
Betting conclusion: English teams aren’t really among my favorites in Champions League. We were able to see what happened with Manchester United, but I think that in this case, we will have a totally different situation as the home manager is the one having much more experiences in matches like this. Actually, Kovač has them only as a player. We were able to see dozens of times how huge impact Anfield has on players of Liverpool and as everything will be completely burned up once again, I think that Liverpool will win this match. With all respect for Bayern, I suggest lower stakes as always in Champions League, but I think that at the moment, Liverpool, especially at home, is strong enough to beat Germans. I think that the right side of Bayern will suffer as it isn’t really the fastest. I expect huge pressure of Liverpool and as Bayern isn’t at their prime version at the moment, I expect to see Lpool winning the “first half”. Odds on Liverpool are still around 2,14.
 
Lyon v Barcelona; 21:00
The match between Lyon and Barcelona will start at 21:00 on Groupama Stadium in Dècines-Charpieu. Referees are coming from Turkey – the main one will be well known Çakir. Lyon is currently on the 3rd place in French Ligue 1. Barcelona is comfortably sitting on the first place of Spanish La Liga with 7 points advantage in front of Atletico Madrid.
Lyon: the team of Bruno Genesio is coming in the match after beating last-placed Guingamp with only 2-1. Anyway with 6 wins in last 7 matches, including the derby against PSG (2-1) is showing that Lyon is in a superb form. Even a match they’ve lost, the match against Nice could have finished completely different, as they were a pretty much better side, but Nice scored from one of their few chances and that was enough. Genesio rotated a bit in the league, let Depay, N’Dombele, and Mendy on the bench, but right now it’s hard to predict the “best” 11 of Lyon as especially in offensive coach has lots of choices with Dembele, Traore, Fekir, Depay, Terrier and Cornet all competing for 3-4 spots. Due to suspension, Genesio won’t be able to count on his captain Nabil Fekir, which is a blow for sure, but as mentioned, there is lots of depth when it comes for attacking positions. In the goal, they have in my opinion the best goalkeeper in Ligue 1. In defense, the only question is probably if they will start with experienced Rafael or lately in superb form Dubois. I expect to see two holding, defensive midfielders – probably N’Dombele (if 100% fit) and Tousart, even though I wouldn’t be surprised to see young, prolific Aouar who is much more offensive minded than Tousart. Without Fekir, I think that Aouar will start a bit higher on the pitch with Depay and Traore on wings and Dembele in a number 9 role. That’s somehow expected lineup, even though I do expect Cornet having a chance from the first minute as he had amazing matches against City. Lyon is still undefeated in CL, and I believe that they won’t be easy to beat.
Barcelona: the team of Valverde is coming in the match after a minimal win against 16th placed Valladolid. For sure that isn’t really a great ticket for the tough Champions League match, especially if we consider that Barça won only twice in last 5 matches. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a great Barça, capable of destroying the opponents as they played 2-2 against Valencia, 1-1 against Real Madrid and 0-0 against Athletic Bilbao. At the same time, we have to admit that on the only match, where they really needed to win with goal difference they won 6-1 and qualified in the next round of Copa. And no, the opponent wasn’t “Huesca” but Sevilla. It is obvious that Barcelona isn’t the same as it was. They aren’t as “crazy” not with possession, not with pressing, but they still have some individuals who can decide the match in every second of the game. Great news for Valverde is that Umtiti is finally fit and ready to play, but I think that the coach won’t risk him yet. We can expect Ter Stegen in the goal, Pique and Lenglet as center backs, Roberto and Alba on fullback positions, Rakitić, Busquets and probably Coutinho in the middle, if Valverde will decide to put offensive trio with Dembele, Suarez, and Messi. Other options are Coutinho instead of Dembele and experienced Vidal in the midfield partnering Busquets and Rakitić. Lyon isn’t the only one missing an important figure in the club – Barça will miss Arthur, who is by far most creative midfielder. Of course, 433 isn’t the only possible formation of Barcelona, as 442 isn’t something odd to Valverde.
Betting conclusion: I see Lyon “copying” their tactics from the match against City. While there is faster buildup and much faster wide players in City, there is no Leo Messi, so it won’t be a clear copy, but I do expect players being really close to opponents, trying to fight for every single meter on the pitch and as they are playing against huge favorites, I see this team, full of young talents or showing their best or be burned out totally. They really surprised me so far in Champions League, obviously especially on both matches against City where they caused so many problems in midfield. I think that with given odds, we cannot say there is no value on Lyon not losing this match (+0,5 @2,19). Even though it’s much easier to think odds around 1,80 on a club like Barcelona in France? They’ve never lost against Lyon, they will beat them! I think that from what we’ve seen from Barcelona lately, Lyon can surprise and with odds above 2,20 I see some value.

Liverpool v Bayern; 21:00
The match between Liverpool and Bayern München will start at 21:00 on Anfield in Liverpool. Referees are coming from Italy – the main one will be Gianluca Rocchi who has shown 20 cards in the last 4 matches, twice red. Liverpool have lost the first place, but as they have one match less than the first City, they are still having everything in their own hands. Bayern is coming closer and closer to Borussia Dortmund, and I think that even though their season isn’t anything special, they will beat their German rivals till the end of the season.
Liverpool: so far, the team of Jürgen Klopp is on fire, having a season full of records in Premier League but they had some problems in the group stage of Champions League after losing 2-0 in Belgrade and 2-1 in Paris. Anyway, since then they have won 10 matches, then started the year 2019 with defeats against City and Wolverhampton, added two wins against Brighton and Crystal, then two draws with Leicester and West Ham. In last match they finally added important three points on their account, beating Bournemouth at home with comfortable 3-0. We can say that they arrived in the most important period of Champions League a bit “out of form”, comparing results with some other months. Don’t get me wrong, winning 10 points of possible 15 is far from the bad form, but even two wins over Brighton and Crystal came after huge fights, none of them was an easy win, but at the same time that’s pretty normal, regarding the crazy schedule English teams are having over this period. Huge blow for Klopp is that he cannot count on the key player in defense – Virgil van Dijk. Besides him, Wijnaldum, Lovren, and Shaqiri are all slightly injured and it’s unsure if they will participate in the match or not. Another problem for Klopp is the health condition of Firmino, who has suffered a virus and didn’t train on Monday.
Bayern: the team of Niko Kovač already had several ups and downs this seasons, and there is plenty of those who would like to see Croatian manager sacked, ass well as some “veterans” in the team, but so far it looks like they are slowly getting in the shape. If they were tempting for March, April, May, that might be perfect as they still have all competitions in their hands. Still, with the seasonal plan – if they were really trying to get the team in the best possible state in the final third of the season, they probably didn’t expect Liverpool immediately in the knockout phase of Champions League. In 2019, they’ve lost the match in Leverkusen (3-1), won against Hertha in DFP after extra time, won against Schalke 3-1 and in the last round Augsburg away with 2-3. Kovač cannot count on injured Boateng, Robben, and Tolisso, and while the status of Goretzka is doubtful, Kingsley Coman got the green light and will be able to help Bavarians in England. As Boateng hasn’t been named in the squad, we can expect to see Süle next to Hummels, but the question if Kovač will start with Kimmich as a fullback or in the midfield. Another question is if Ribery will come back directly in the first lineup after being given an extra time due to the birth of his child.
Betting conclusion: English teams aren’t really among my favorites in Champions League. We were able to see what happened with Manchester United, but I think that in this case, we will have a totally different situation as the home manager is the one having much more experiences in matches like this. Actually, Kovač has them only as a player. We were able to see dozens of times how huge impact Anfield has on players of Liverpool and as everything will be completely burned up once again, I think that Liverpool will win this match. With all respect for Bayern, I suggest lower stakes as always in Champions League, but I think that at the moment, Liverpool, especially at home, is strong enough to beat Germans. I think that the right side of Bayern will suffer as it isn’t really the fastest. I expect huge pressure of Liverpool and as Bayern isn’t at their prime version at the moment, I expect to see Lpool winning the “first half”. Odds on Liverpool are still around 2,14.
 
Lyon v Barcelona; 21:00
The match between Lyon and Barcelona will start at 21:00 on Groupama Stadium in Dècines-Charpieu. Referees are coming from Turkey – the main one will be well known Çakir. Lyon is currently on the 3rd place in French Ligue 1. Barcelona is comfortably sitting on the first place of Spanish La Liga with 7 points advantage in front of Atletico Madrid.
Lyon: the team of Bruno Genesio is coming in the match after beating last-placed Guingamp with only 2-1. Anyway with 6 wins in last 7 matches, including the derby against PSG (2-1) is showing that Lyon is in a superb form. Even a match they’ve lost, the match against Nice could have finished completely different, as they were a pretty much better side, but Nice scored from one of their few chances and that was enough. Genesio rotated a bit in the league, let Depay, N’Dombele, and Mendy on the bench, but right now it’s hard to predict the “best” 11 of Lyon as especially in offensive coach has lots of choices with Dembele, Traore, Fekir, Depay, Terrier and Cornet all competing for 3-4 spots. Due to suspension, Genesio won’t be able to count on his captain Nabil Fekir, which is a blow for sure, but as mentioned, there is lots of depth when it comes for attacking positions. In the goal, they have in my opinion the best goalkeeper in Ligue 1. In defense, the only question is probably if they will start with experienced Rafael or lately in superb form Dubois. I expect to see two holding, defensive midfielders – probably N’Dombele (if 100% fit) and Tousart, even though I wouldn’t be surprised to see young, prolific Aouar who is much more offensive minded than Tousart. Without Fekir, I think that Aouar will start a bit higher on the pitch with Depay and Traore on wings and Dembele in a number 9 role. That’s somehow expected lineup, even though I do expect Cornet having a chance from the first minute as he had amazing matches against City. Lyon is still undefeated in CL, and I believe that they won’t be easy to beat.
Barcelona: the team of Valverde is coming in the match after a minimal win against 16th placed Valladolid. For sure that isn’t really a great ticket for the tough Champions League match, especially if we consider that Barça won only twice in last 5 matches. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a great Barça, capable of destroying the opponents as they played 2-2 against Valencia, 1-1 against Real Madrid and 0-0 against Athletic Bilbao. At the same time, we have to admit that on the only match, where they really needed to win with goal difference they won 6-1 and qualified in the next round of Copa. And no, the opponent wasn’t “Huesca” but Sevilla. It is obvious that Barcelona isn’t the same as it was. They aren’t as “crazy” not with possession, not with pressing, but they still have some individuals who can decide the match in every second of the game. Great news for Valverde is that Umtiti is finally fit and ready to play, but I think that the coach won’t risk him yet. We can expect Ter Stegen in the goal, Pique and Lenglet as center backs, Roberto and Alba on fullback positions, Rakitić, Busquets and probably Coutinho in the middle, if Valverde will decide to put offensive trio with Dembele, Suarez, and Messi. Other options are Coutinho instead of Dembele and experienced Vidal in the midfield partnering Busquets and Rakitić. Lyon isn’t the only one missing an important figure in the club – Barça will miss Arthur, who is by far most creative midfielder. Of course, 433 isn’t the only possible formation of Barcelona, as 442 isn’t something odd to Valverde.
Betting conclusion: I see Lyon “copying” their tactics from the match against City. While there is faster buildup and much faster wide players in City, there is no Leo Messi, so it won’t be a clear copy, but I do expect players being really close to opponents, trying to fight for every single meter on the pitch and as they are playing against huge favorites, I see this team, full of young talents or showing their best or be burned out totally. They really surprised me so far in Champions League, obviously especially on both matches against City where they caused so many problems in midfield. I think that with given odds, we cannot say there is no value on Lyon not losing this match (+0,5 @2,19). Even though it’s much easier to think odds around 1,80 on a club like Barcelona in France? They’ve never lost against Lyon, they will beat them! I think that from what we’ve seen from Barcelona lately, Lyon can surprise and with odds above 2,20 I see some value.