Roma, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund in Europe's top tips this weekend
This is realistically the last weekend for those teams currently occupying third in Europe’s top five leagues to put some pressure on the league leaders.
ROMA vs NAPOLI – Roma to win @2.05
The heat is really on Napoli at the moment. They are on the brink of being dumped out of the Champions League and Coppa Italia and defeat here would almost certainly mean they can no longer finish in the top two in the league.
Defeat in the derby to Lazio in midweek means Roma also face a huge mountain to climb if they want to progress into the Coppa Italia final, but they are generally in fantastic form coming into this huge match with rivals Napoli. Three defeats in their last four matches would have knocked Napoli’s confidence and they can’t underperform in this match as the likes of Radja Nainggolan, Edin Dzeko and Mo Salah will pick them off at will.
The WhoScored Match forecast predicts many scoring chances for both teams, but only Roma are likely to score.
LIVERPOOL vs ARSENAL – Draw @3.60
Among all of their recent defeats, the one to Leicester last time out was probably the most embarrassing for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp have now only won two of their last 12 competitive matches and only one of their last seven in the Premier League. The only positive they can draw here is that they have the best record of sides in the top six against one and other.
Arsenal aren’t in great shape either. They have only won two of their last five and haven’t even played a game in nearly two weeks. The Gunners have also only won one of their last five away matches and have lost to Chelsea, Manchester City and Everton in that run.
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While Liverpool’s form against the top teams perhaps give them the edge, the loss of Jordan Henderson levels the fixture. Klopp’s side have struggled without their captain in central midfield and this should give Arsenal some encouragement.
The WhoScored Match Forecast predicts that Arsenal will very likely make a comeback if they go behind and therefore the draw at 3.60 represents the best value on Bet365.
BORDEAUX vs Lyon – Lyon to win @2.25
It may come as a surprise to some that Bordeaux are fifth in Ligue 1. However, their surprising league campaign has almost entirely been built on their stellar away performances, which should not inspire much confidence this weekend. In fact, when you take into account home performances alone, Bordeaux are down in 13th! There are three situations labelled as ‘very likely’ by the WhoScored Match Forecast, all back Lyon to score and make it five wins in a row.
ATLETICO vs VALENCIA – Draw first half-Atletico second half @4.00
Nothing is going Atletico Madrid’s way in La Liga at the moment. They keep suffering bad results and the shock of Fernando Torres’ nasty head injury was incredibly unfortunate. While hosting Valencia would normally be a guaranteed victory based on the form of Valencia over the last 18 months, things are slightly different this weekend.
Valencia finally look to be on the up and even stunned Real Madrid 2-1 last month. They are now 10 points adrift of the bottom three and will be looking to break into the top 10 in the final three months of the season.
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Diego Simeone will not let this mediocrity go on for much longer. They are out of the title race but are now in danger of dropping out of the top four, which would be a disaster. They haven’t led any of their last four league games at the interval, while Valencia haven’t been behind at half time in any of their last five either.
While a draw at half time seems sensible, the WhoScored Match Forecast can only see goalscoring situations in favour of Atletico. The Rojiblancos should come out winners in the second half and get their season back on track.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs BAYER LEVERKUSEN – Dortmund HT-Dortmund FT @2.20
Borussia Dortmund may not be having the best season by their recent standards but Thomas Tuchel’s side are still unbeaten in their last 31 league games on home soil, a record to be feared for anyone playing in front of the Yellow Wall. When you consider Bayer Leverkusen, without their star midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, have only won two of their last five away matches, there is only one outcome here, which the WhoScored Match Forecast reinforces.
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