All articles by: Jools Jordan-Probert

Wigan vs Manchester City – Match Preview

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Wigan vs Manchester City
Monday 19th February, DW Stadium
FA Cup 5th Round

BBC One – 20:00 GMT Kick-Off

Wigan vs Manchester City. Wigan Athletic and Manchester City meet in the 5th round of the FA Cup in a repeat of the dramatic 2013 final.

On that occasion, Wigan were a Premier League team. Roberto Martinez’s already-relegated side claimed the trophy with a last-minute Ben Watson goal. The Latics, now managed by Paul Cook and in League One will be even bigger underdogs against a phenomenal Manchester City team with Pep Guardiola at the helm.

It will take some stopping to repel a team that has only failed to score two times in all competitions all season. City have smashed an incredible 79 goals in 27 matches, scoring at least two in 22 of those fixtures. Sergio Aguero has once again been at the heart of that attacking prowess, finding the net 29 times in just 33 appearances this campaign.

The Sky Blues have 12 league clean sheets and the fact they have dropped points in just four games. This sees City with an almost insurmountable 16-point lead at the top of the Premier League. But Guardiola, fresh from a 5-0 demolition of FC Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday, will want to win every trophy possible. Especially seen as they lost in extra-time to Arsenal in the semi-finals of this competition last year.

Wigan have had a very strong season too. They sit in 2nd place with 63 points, level with Blackburn in 3rd. Shrewsbury are just a point ahead at the top but The Latics have a game in hand. Cook’s side will want to put aside the disappointment of the last two games (defeats to Southend United and Blackpool) when welcoming the Premier League Champions-elect. Wigan will surely not lack the motivation to do so.

Anthony Taylor has been confirmed as the official for this one. The English referee is yet to give out a red card in the Premier League so far this season. However, Taylor has dished out a very high average of 3.7 yellow cards per game in his 18 matches this term so that could be the safe bet.

It is hard to look past anything other than a dominant Manchester City victory. Even with what will be a changed side following the trip to Switzerland in the Champions League the depth of talent available should comfortably see the tie through. But stranger things have happened in the FA Cup.

The match will be shown on BBC One with kick-off at 7:55pm.

Prediction: Wigan 0-4 Manchester City

Suggested tips – Wigan vs Manchester City – (SKYBET):

  • Correct score, Manchester City to win 4-0 – 8/1.
  • Price Boost: Kevin De Bruyne to score from outside the penalty area – 5/1.
  • Scorecast Boost: Sergio Aguero to score first and Manchester City to win 4-1 – 50/1.
  • Scorecast Boost (Double Chance): Raheem Sterling to score first and either Manchester City to win 3-0 or Manchester City to win 4-0 – 10/1.

RequestABet Suggested Tips – Wigan vs Manchester City – (SKYBET):

  • UK Televised RequestABets – Monday 19th Feb – BLA & MCY to score 2+ goals each & 5+ corners each & BUR & WIG 20+ booking pts each in each of BLA v BUR & WIG v MCY – 9/1.
    (Note this market can be found away from the match – in Football > Specials > UK Televised RequestABets).
  • Popular RequestABets – Wigan vs Manchester City – Aguero to score a header and Gundogan to score from outside the area – 200/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 to above –  Wigan to win, BTTS, 4+ Wigan corners and 30+ Manchester City booking points – 450/1.
  • Pundits RequestABets – Wigan vs Manchester City – Matt Le Tissier’s RAB: Sane & Gundogan to score and Manchester City to win to nil – 12/1.
  • Popular RequestABets – Wigan vs Manchester City – Over 2.5 goals, 9+ match corners and 10+ booking points each team – 13/8.
  • RequestABet Specials 33/1 to 66/1 – Wigan v Manchester City –  Bernardo Silva to score, Manchester City to win, BTTS, 4+ corners each team and Delph to be carded – 66/1.
  • Popular RequestABets – Wigan vs Manchester City – David Silva to score first and Dunkley to be shown the first card – 150/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 33/1 to 66/1 – Wigan v Manchester City –  Aguero to score a header and Manchester City to score a penalty – 28/1.
  • Popular RequestABets – Wigan vs Manchester City – Laporte to score a header and Wigan to miss a penalty – 400/1.
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 to above – Grigg to score, Wigan 2-1, Under 13 match corners and 20+ booking points each team – 350/1.

Odds and markets last updated on February 19 February 2018 @16:45 GMT.

More markets will be added over the weekend prior to the game kicking off on Monday evening. Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and previews for this weeks UEFA Champions League action.

Ostersunds vs Arsenal – Match Preview

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Ostersunds vs Arsenal
Thursday 15th February
Europa League, Round of 32 -1st Leg

Jamkraft Arena, BT Sport 3 – 6:00pm

Ostersunds vs Arsenal – Arsenal seek Europa League glory to salvage their season and a trip to Sweden against Ostersunds in the Last-32 is the first obstacle in doing so.

After a crushing defeat to bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the North-London derby, Arsenal’s top-four hopes hang in the balance. Wenger’s side are in 6th place, now seven points away from Spurs and eight adrift of Chelsea in the Champions League places.

Winning the Europa League remains the most realistic chance of qualifying for Europe’s elite competition next season, and after defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup it is expected Wenger will play a full-strength side to do so.

Ostersunds are currently enjoying the best period of their existence. Established in 1996, Englishman Graham Potter has led the Swedish outfit from the fourth tier in 2011 (averaging attendances of 783) to the top division in just half a decade.

A fantastic victory in the Svenska Cupen (Sweden’s primary cup competition) signified the magnificent rise of the club, but perhaps even more excitingly has taken them on a European adventure for the first time in their history.

Finishing 2nd in a group that also contained Athletic Bilbao, Hertha BSC and Zorya Luhansk continues the fairy-tale and has rewarded the club with their greatest-ever fixture – a clash with English giants Arsenal.

When looking for clean sheets the blatant choice here would be to go for Arsenal, they have kept nine this season – only the top five and Burnley have more. The fact they are overwhelming favourites is another matter. Being prone to a defensive mishap it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to see Ostersunds on the scoresheet, however. It would probably take a miracle for Potter’s side to deny Arsenal the away goal for 90 minutes though.

David Fernandez Borbalan has been named in charge of this one, the Spaniard has been very active in La Liga this term – giving out 62 yellow cards in his 12 matches. This places him 7th from 20 in Spain’s top tier for average cards per match at a rate of 5.64. Arsenal are yet to receive a red card in the Premier League this year and have picked up a middling 42 yellows, so shouldn’t offer too much in terms of headaches for the referee.

With the Swedish league not starting until April, Ostersunds may not be up to speed in dealing with an Arsenal side deep in the midst of a multi-faceted season.

But, maybe that means the underdogs have had longer to prepare and focus their energy on what would be the most remarkable of giant-killings. There’s only one way to find out.

Prediction – Ostersunds 1-3 Arsenal

Realistically, Arsenal should be far too strong for the Swedish counterparts and easily push them aside.

Ostersunds vs Arsenal will be televised live in the UK on BT Sport from 6PM GMT.

Suggested Tips – Ostersunds vs Arsenal – (BET 365)

  • Arsenal to win – 3-1 – (link no longer available)
  • Arsenal Clean Sheet – Yes – (link no longer available)
  • Arsenal to Win to Nil – Yes – (link no longer available)
  • To Score Any Time – Aaron Ramsay – (link no longer available)

Suggested Tips – Ostersunds vs Arsenal – (SKYBET)

  • Price Boost – Danny Welbeck to score a brace – 15/2
  • Both Players to score – Henrikh Mkhitaryan & Mesut Ozil both to score – 11/2
  • Pundits RequestABets – Charlie Nicholas’ RAB – Welbeck to Score First and Arsenal to win by 3+ Goals – 12/1
  • Popular RequestABets – Mkhitaryan to score, Arsenal to score 2+ Goals, 5+ Arsenal Corners & 30+ Ostersunds FK Booking Points – 15/2
  • RequestABets 80/1 and above – Ostersunds FK 2-0 & Mukiibi, Monreal and Mustafi to be carded – 500/1

Odds and markets last updated on Wednesday 14 February 2018 @18:10 GMT.

More markets will be added tomorrow afternoon prior to the game kicking off in the evening. Be sure to keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates.

 

Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspur – Match Preview

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Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspur
Tuesday 13th February, Allianz Stadium
Champions League – 2nd Round – 1st Leg

BT Sport 1 7:45 pm

Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspur – The Champions League knockout stages commence with a tantalising match between Seria A Champions Juventus and Premier League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur.

The last-16 has already began to pit the elite European sides against one another, Spurs won all but one game in Group H – containing double reigning Champions League Winners Real Madrid and German giants Borussia Dortmund – while The Old Lady gained qualification by coming 2nd in Group D behind Barcelona.

There is no question that Mauricio Pochettino is building a fantastic team at Spurs, but the dark cloud of ‘no trophies’ forever lingers ominously over the North-London side and their Argentinian manager.

86 points and finishing 2nd in the league last year signified huge progress but to really stamp a mark on Europe Spurs need either a trophy (the FA Cup is the most realistic opportunity to do so) or a run deep into the Champions League against the very best teams around – which this season seems to be the case so far.

A first-ever competitive meeting with Juventus is arguably the most difficult draw Spurs could have faced, Massimiliano Allegri’s side have made two of the last three Champions League finals and have won the Italian league on no less than the last six occasions.

And whilst a wonderful Napoli side have taken the league by storm this season, Juventus are still just one point behind – on a current unbeaten streak of 11 matches, winning the last eight and remarkably only conceding one goal in their last 16 fixtures.

Spurs have been in brilliant form themselves, riding the crest of a wave after thrashing both Manchester United and North-London rivals Arsenal and earning a dramatic point at Anfield couple of weeks.

All of this perfectly tees up a night of delightful football in Turin between not only two of the best sides in the continent, playing some of the most attractive football, but also under two of the most promising managers in the game right now. What a prospect.

This clash sees two of Europe’s best defences go head to head. Renowned for their defensive prowess, Juventus have an incredible record this season, keeping clean sheets in 14 of their 23 league fixtures so far (a league-leading total). Spurs have earned 11 shutouts in the Premier League – only behind Chelsea and both Manchester clubs.

As both sides also have imperious attack forces, a clean sheet for either team would be hard-earned but at their best both are more than capable of restricting the opposition. Harry Kane and Gonzalo Higuain, in particular, are constant threats to defences.

Felix Brych will be in charge of the game, the German referee has been one of the Bundesliga’s most active referees this season, giving out an average of 3.6 cards per game – including two red cards in the ten games he has officiated.

However, if league matches are anything to go by then Brych will be not made to work too hard, the 32 yellow cards Spurs have accumulated is lowest in the Premier League whilst also picking up two reds so have only amassed 14.2 average booking points per match. Juventus rank 17th in Seria A for average booking points per game with 16.7 with 36 yellows and one red card.

The sensible option for corners would steer towards Spurs, Pochettino’s side have received 170 this year (2nd only to Manchester City in the Premier League) whilst Juventus have surprisingly only received 112, ranking them as low down as 11th in Seria A.

Juventus vs Tottenham Hotspur will be televised in the UK on BT Sport from 7:45 PM GMT.

Prediction – Juventus 1-1 Spurs

Suggested tips – Juventus vs Spurs (BET365):

  • Correct Score: Juventus 1 – Spurs 1 – (link no longer available)
  • Anytime GoalScorer – Gonzalo Higuain – (link no longer available)

Suggested tips – Juventus vs Spurs (SKYBET):

  • Skybet Price Boost – Both Player To Score – Harry Kane and Gonzalo Higuain – 11/2.
  • Both Score – No Draw – YES – 2/1.
  • Scorecast Boost – Douglas Costa to score first and Juventus to win 2-1 – 66/1 
  • Scorecast Boost – Double Chance – Harry Kane to score first and either Draw 1-1 or Draw 2-2 – 22/1 
  • Matt Le Tissier’s RAB: Eriksen to score and Draw – 14/1
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Higuain to score, Juventus 4-0, 8+ Juventus Corners & Marchisio to be carded – 350/1
  • RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above –  Mandzukic & Kane to score a header – 80/1

Odds and markets last updated on Tuesday 13 February 2018 @17:20 GMT.

More markets will be added tomorrow afternoon prior to the game kicking off in the evening. Be sure to keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates.