The Champions League’s return dominated last week, but it gave little value on many games, with several big favourites, most of whom delivered the goods. A far more open week of football awaits this time around, both domestically and in Europe. From the latest EFL Cup action to leagues around the continent, there are some fantastic games to look forward to this week.
The EFL Cup opens up to the Premier League sides who qualified for Europe but will we see any more giant killings? Some big shocks in the second round have set up some fascinating ties this time. Chief among those is Manchester United’s trip to Northampton. There’s also a clash between Leicester and Chelsea, and that’s only the English football. Europe’s biggest leagues are also in action.
Arguably Spain’s most spiteful derby takes place on Tuesday night, while Barcelona face their biggest test of the season at Atletico Madrid. In the Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund travel to Wolfsburg, and AC Milan host Lazio in Serie A. We’ve taken a look at all of those massive games, putting together our betting tips for week packed full of top class matches.
- Leicester v Chelsea – Chelsea to win (13/10 with Bet365)
- Leeds v Blackburn – Leeds to win (11/10 with Betfair)
- Northampton v Manchester United – United to win and both teams to score (2/1 with Betfair)
- Southampton v Crystal Palace – Palace to win (3/1 with Coral)
- Sevilla v Real Betis – Sevilla to win and both teams to score (9/5 with Coral)
- Barcelona v Atletico Madrid – Barca to win by one goal (5/2 with Bet365)
- Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund – Wolfsburg to win (14/5 with Sky Bet)
- AC Milan v Lazio – Draw (5/2 with Bet365)
EFL Cup
This competition had some big sides enter in round two; Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea all featured. They’re back again, joined by the sides who qualified for Europe last term. The Premier League’s top seven return, but will any of them be strong enough to win it? Tuesday and Wednesday night are full of League Cup games, here we’ve picked the four that catch our eye.
Leicester v Chelsea – Tuesday 20th September
The last two Premier League champions meet on Tuesday night, with Chelsea heading in as clear favourites. The Blues won this trophy in 2015, can they make another push for some early silverware?
You’d imagine Leicester will be going all out for the cups this season. Their players have already tasted success, but they’ve been written off for the league title already. You’d imagine this is their best shot at another trophy, so they’ve surely got to make a real go of things. However, they’ve been in poor form so far this season, which doesn’t bode well for this clash.
It sounds strange, but Leicester have the Champions League to worry about, while Chelsea don’t. The Foxes will be boosted by their 3-0 win in Brugge but the fixtures will be taking a physical toll. That should give the Blues a slight edge, plus they’re playing far better domestically than the East Midlands outfit. The 4-1 defeat Claudio Ranieri’s men suffered at Liverpool showed how flimsy they are at the back. Chelsea have been fantastic going forward this term, and that should earn them a victory here.
Chelsea to win – 13/10 with Bet365
Leeds v Blackburn – Tuesday 20th September
This isn’t a standout game, but it seems like one with some value in it. It would be hard to imagine how Blackburn’s season could get worse. They’re bottom of the Championship, while Owen Coyle looks set for the exit soon. Rovers are deep in debt, while their owners refuse to sell. Things at Ewood Park are a shambles and they actually make Leeds look well run. It’s hard to see Rovers’ fans coming in to this clash with much hope.
Blackburn travelled to Elland Road a week before this game, losing 2-1 in the league. That was a much needed boost for Gary Monk, a man who seemed under pressure from the moment he arrived at Leeds. The former Swansea boss is a good coach, and he should get results with his new club – if he’s given time. We’re backing him to start by securing a win over bottom of the table Blackburn, which is priced incredibly high at 11/10. Leeds might not be in great shape, but we’d take almost anyone to beat Blackburn at that price. They will also have the psychological edge having beaten them on home soil so recently so odds-against looks cracking value.
Leeds to win – 11/10 with Betfair
Northampton v Manchester United – Wednesday 21st September
Northampton saw off West Brom in the last round, and they were rewarded with a massive clash with Manchester United. Jose Mourinho always takes this competition seriously, but he still tends to rest his star names. He’ll pick a strong side for this game, but it won’t be his first 11. The Cobblers will be delighted with this tie, facing off against the biggest side in the country live on Sky. Their main aim will be to avoid a heavy defeat, but they showed enough in the last round to show they have spirit.
Their fightback against West Brom was impressive, so United will have to watch out here. While they should cruise through, we know that the cup can throw up a shock now and again. The Cobblers have made a solid start in League One, and we’re backing them to find the net against this makeshift United side.
There’s not a lot of strength defensively in United’s squad, it’s probably their weakest area. We expect them to struggle a little at Sixfields, so we’re backing Northampton to score in a defeat to United, with 2-1 or 3-1 to the Reds the likely score.
United to win and both teams to score – 2/1 with Betfair
Southampton v Crystal Palace – Wednesday 21st September
Alan Pardew heads back to his former club in this third round clash but can he lead Palace to victory? The Eagles came up short in last season’s FA Cup final, but they’ll be hopeful of a run in the EFL Cup this term. This was a tie Palace faced on their way to Wembley last term. They’ve actually made quite a habit of travelling to Saints in the cup. The last two seasons have seen these two clash in the FA Cup, on both occasions Palace managed to win.
On current form, it’s hard to pick a winner. Southampton have struggled in their first few games of the season. Their first four matches yielded two points, from home draws against Watford and Sunderland.
Equally, Palace haven’t set the league alight, but they picked up a much needed win away at Middlesbrough. With Christian Benteke among the goals, he should be able to fire them to safety. We’re backing him to fire them to a cup victory too, given the Eagles’ strong recent record here in the cup. They look great value for the win at 3/1 as well.
Palace to win – 3/1 with Coral
La Liga
It’s still early days in La Liga, but Real Madrid are looking incredibly strong. Barcelona’s slip up against Alaves shows that there is a title race in prospect this season. It says a lot about this midweek action from Spain that the clash between Real Madrid and last season’s fourth placed Villarreal isn’t in our top two games. We’re looking at two fantastic matches, both hard fought, but for differing reasons.
Sevilla v Real Betis – Tuesday 20th September
This game is one of the world’s great rivalries, with these two sides really disliking each other. It will be a heated affair to say the least. Europa League holders Sevilla are heavy favourites, but Betis will give them a game. Having just won in Valencia, expect the visitors to come here full of confidence. They shouldn’t need any motivating, given the size of the clash. However, Betis are without a league win away to Sevilla since 2012. Can they end that wait on Tuesday?
In fact, of the last 10 Seville derbies, Betis have won just one. Meanwhile, Sevilla have been achieving consistent European success, and they’ve been pushing towards the top four. Their new coach favours a very attacking style, as shown in their 6-4 win against Espanyol on the opening day. They will give chances away in this clash, which should make for a fantastic game. This one is sure to be worth watching, given the atmosphere a midweek derby under the floodlights will create. We’re tipping Betis to make the most of Sevilla’s poor defence, but we’re backing a win for the Europa League champions.
Sevilla to win and both teams to score – 9/5 with Coral
Barcelona v Atletico Madrid – Wednesday 21st September
The following night has another huge game, as Barcelona take on Atletico Madrid. While it’s too soon to be a title decider, both sides have dropped early points and come the end of the season this could well be looked back on as a six-pointer.
Given how high the bar is usually set in the La Liga title race, a further defeat here could be a crucial blow for both. Barcelona will be out to show their Alaves defeat was just a fluke, while they’re looking to follow up a 7-0 win over Celtic. We struggle to see a repeat of either result on Wednesday.
Atletico are known for keeping things tight, they’re an excellent defensive unit. This defence got the better of Barca last season, putting them out of the Champions League. Atleti shouldn’t face the drubbing Celtic received, we expect much better here. Before the last meeting, which Atletico won 2-0, Barca had won six games in a row against the Madrid side. Each of those victories came by a single goal. Given how tight Atletico keep games, we’re backing the same to happen this week.
Barca to win by one goal – 5/2 with Bet365
Bundesliga
In Germany, weeks with midweek action are nicknamed “English weeks”. The Bundesliga faces one here, either side of weeks filled by Champions League football. That’s a lot of English weeks in a row! The standout game in Germany this midweek pits Dortmund against Wolfsburg. While Borussia were being tipped for the title in some quarters, they’re already lagging behind Bayern Munich. That said, they put Legia Warsaw to the sword in their recent Champions League game, winning 6-0 in Poland and so confidence should be restored.
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund – Tuesday 20th September
Dortmund had a pretty high turnover of players in the summer. They lost stars like Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. However, they’ve made a lot of signings which has added even more attacking threat. That prompted some to call them title contenders, but their defeat against Red Bull Leipzig has raised some questions. They were always going to struggle given the changes they’ve made, but their injury worries have made things even worse.
Wolfsburg have lost a few players too, but they have regrouped after a poor year last season. They made the Champions League quarter-finals last term, and there is certainly enough talent in their side to have a strong league campaign. With Dortmund missing a few players and having a slow start in the league, we think Wolfsburg might cause a shock here.
Wolfsburg to win – 14/5 with Sky Bet
Serie A
While Joe Hart is busy with Torino, our attention is elsewhere in Italy this week. Juventus are hoovering up talent from their rivals, which has made the league a little more interesting. Sure, no one will challenge Juve, but there’s now a battle on for the Champions League spots. That makes every clash between the established Serie A sides even bigger.
AC Milan v Lazio – Tuesday 20th September
Both of these sleeping giants are eying a return to the Champions League. A top three finish is a possibility for both, but they have the likes of Napoli, Roma and Inter to deal with. The two haven’t had starts worthy of the Champions League thus far though. Both have recorded just one win from their first three games and need to improve.
Heading in to this clash, neither side will want to suffer another defeat. The two are building their way back to the top, but they’ve got quite a way to go. Just three points separated them in the league last term, illustrating that these are two very evenly matched teams. They drew 1-1 back in March, and we’re backing a similar result this time around.
Draw – 5/2 with Bet365