Football Betting Tips – 20th September 2015

It is not often that Bradford is mentioned in the same breath as the Castelló region, Naples or western Germany. However, this week the West Yorkshire city is as much of interest to punters as the European tourist hot spots. Phil Parkinson’s Bradford City host Sheffield United in a Yorkshire derby, and the Bantams can join their visitors in the upper echelons of League One with a win. On the same day, Villarreal look to continue their unbeaten start to the Liga season in Spain and recover from a midweek setback in the Europa League against Super Cup champions Athletic Bilbao.

Two sides who fancy themselves as contenders for the top spots in the Bundesliga meet at the Signal Iduna Park this weekend as Borussia Dortmund take on Bayer Leverkusen. Two penalties in a 4-2 win over Hannover helped the hosts maintain their 100 per cent league record last weekend, and they will look to build on that form against Sunday’s visitors. Sunday evening sees Napoli, who finished fifth last season in Serie A, take on Lazio, who finished third. The hosts are yet to win in the league this season and will be desperate to open their account on Sunday. All four games will be hotly contested, with narrow margins likely, and it will take some shrewd and selective betting to bring home a profit.

  • Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao – Villarreal to win (21/20 at Totesport)
  • Bradford City v Sheffield United – Sheffield United to win (15/8 at Coral)
  • Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen – Borussia Dortmund to win (7/10 at BetVictor)
  • Napoli v Lazio – Both teams to score (4/6 at Bet365)

Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao – 20th September

The season had started swimmingly for Marcelino and Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine’s quest to improve on last season’s sixth place league finish and knockout failures in the Copa del Rey and Europa League started with a 1-1 draw against Real Betis, before twin 3-1 victories over Espanyol and Granada. However, Villarreal’s Europa League campaign got off to a poor start, as Rapid Vienna defeated the Spanish side 2-1 in Austria. This Sunday they take on an Athletic Bilbao side still on a high after beating Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup to win their first silverware in 31 years.

However, Bilbao’s post-triumph hangover was severe, as Barcelona exacted swift revenge with a 1-0 win in the league before Eibar defeated their Basque neighbours 2-0. Ernesto Valverde’s side got their season up and running with a 3-1 win over Getafe before starting their Europa League campaign in style with victory by an identical scoreline against German side Augsburg. However, it is not a good time to travel to Castelló. Villarreal look in top form domestically, with Roberto Soldado revelling in his return to Spanish football with two goals in the opening three games. The fact that Villarreal can be found at odds outside evens to win at home is testament to Athletic Bilbao’s quality, but still the 21/20 offered by Totesport on Marcelino’s side notching up their third win of the domestic campaign is too good to turn down.

  • Villarreal to win – 21/20 at Totesport

Bradford City v Sheffield United – 20th September

From Spain, we go to Yorkshire, and a meeting between two sides looking to propel themselves into the Championship. At 1-0 up and with a penalty after 16 minutes against Swindon on the opening day, Bradford looked set to start their season in style. But Billy Clarke’s penalty was saved, and the Bantams went on to lose 4-1. Two defeats and two draws compounded their poor early form, but Phil Parkinson’s side have picked up seven points from their last three games and are finally enjoying a positive run. After signing a new three-year deal, Parkinson will be looking to lead his side out of League One. If they are to do that, the 2013 League Cup finalists must find the net more often.

Their opponents, Sheffield United, have been blighted by inconsistency. Nigel Adkins began his tenure as Blades boss with a 4-0 thrashing away to Gillingham, before embarking on a run of four consecutive league wins. That form has however been arrested entirely, with 3-1 and 3-2 home defeats to Bury and Colchester in the past week. The latter defeat was the most entertaining yet, after the Blades came from 2-0 down to draw level, only to concede in the last 10 minutes and miss a penalty in the dying embers of the game. Adkins will ensure the same does not happen again, and with the firepower of Billy Sharp and Che Adams among others United are always likely to get on the scoresheet multiple times. Sheffield United are as far out as 15/8 to win, and Coral’s offer is worth taking, though it is hard to tell which United will turn up at the moment.

  • Sheffield United to win – 15/8 at Coral

Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen – 20th September

Things could not be going better for Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel. The ex-Mainz manager has won all of his first 10 games in charge of the free-scoring Germans, who have scored 36 goals in that time. The highlights have certainly been the 4-0 win over rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach and the incredible 11-5 aggregate victory over Norwegian side Odds BK, but Dortmund have shown plenty of resolve as well. Beating Ingolstadt 4-0 despite the scores being level at half time and overcoming Hannover 4-2 thanks to pure firepower shows Dortmund’s strength lies in the attack. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng have already scored nine goals apiece this season, but goals do come from elsewhere, as evidenced by defender Park Joo-Ho’s last-gasp winner over Krasnodar in the Europa League. Tuchel is enjoying an incredible and prolonged honeymoon at Borussia Dortmund, but all good things must come to an end.

Roger Schmidt will be hoping that his Bayer Leverkusen side will be the one to stop Tuchel’s Dortmund in their tracks. However, Leverkusen have enjoyed mixed form this season. They defeated Hoffenheim and Hannover 2-1 and 1-0 respectively to start the season in style, but were then thrashed by Bayern Munich before handing Darmstadt their first Bundesliga win since 1982. A 4-1 win over BATE Borisov in a Champions League group also featuring Barcelona and Roma is encouraging, but in all likelihood Leverkusen will be outgunned at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday. In this form, it is impossible to bet against Borussia Dortmund winning and expect success, so it is best to take BetVictor’s offer of 7/10 on Thomas Tuchel continuing his superb start to life in Dortmund.

  • Borussia Dortmund to win – 7/10 at BetVictor

Napoli v Lazio – 20th September

Napoli have not enjoyed life under Maurizio Sarri so far. The former Empoli boss joined a club replete with such talent as Gonzalo Higuain, Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne, but has yet to inspire the side to a league victory. Napoli began the season with defeat to Sassuolo before letting a 2-0 lead slip in a draw with Sampdoria. Another 2-2 draw, this time against Sarri’s former club Empoli, has fans worried that the new manager will not even match the fifth place finish achieved by former boss Rafa Benitez, let alone top it. A crushing 5-0 victory over Club Brugge in the Europa League does however provide some respite for the already under fire Sarri.

This Sunday, Napoli take on a Lazio side still disappointed by failure to reach the Champions League group stages. Bayer Leverkusen forced Stefano Pioli’s side into the Europa League, where they began with a 1-1 draw against 2014/15 finalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Lazio have already mustered up two home wins, beating Bologna and Udinese 2-1 and 2-0 respectively, but a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Chievo raised many eyebrows. After three games the two sides have already scored nine and conceded 11 between them. The likes of Lazio’s Alessandro Matri, Antonio Candreva and Lucas Biglia are all capable of finding the net, as are opposite numbers Higuain, Mertens and Insigne, amongst others. Therefore it seems obvious to plump for both teams scoring in this fixture, and Bet365 are offering 4/6 on that likely eventuality.

  • Both teams to score (4/6 at Bet365)