All articles by: Thomas Mcgrath

Newcastle United vs Manchester City – Match Preview

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Newcastle United vs Manchester City
Saturday 30th November 2019
FA Premier League, St James Park

Live on BT Sport 1 – Kick Off: 12:30 GMT

Newcastle United return to St James’ Park this weekend, as they welcome the arrival of Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

Steve Bruce’s side will be looking to bounce back from Monday night’s disappointing showing, where they were well beaten by 2-0 by Aston Villa.

City on the other hand picked up a needed, and gritty 2-1 win over Chelsea; a win which already so early in the season proved important in City’s pursuit of a third consecutive Premier League title. City trail Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side by eight points.

The Magpies are currently 14th in the league, but a win would see them climb as high as 8th, and into the top half. Newcastle have won two of their last five, with wins against Bournemouth and West Ham. Their last win before that was the 1-0 home win over Manchester United on the 6th of October.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side were held to a 1-1 midweek draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The point sealed their fate as group winners with a game to spare. City travel to Croatia on their final matchday, as they face Dynamo Zagreb.

City have also bounced back well from their defeat at Anfield earlier in the month. Their weekend win against Chelsea got them back on track as the Christmas period approaches, and the December fixtures mount up.

On course to their second Premier League triumph last season, City were defeated only four times; but one of them defeats came at St James’ Park. Matt Ritchie struck the winner from the penalty spot in Newcastle’s 2-1 win in January, a result which threw City’s title charge into doubt

To say Newcastle’s win in January was an anomaly is an understatement. That victory for the Magpies was their first win against City in the Premier League in fourteen years (September 2005). Manchester City have lost two of their last twenty-five matches against Newcastle, winning twenty of them, a truly remarkable record.

The referee for this fixture Chris Kavanagh. The 34-year old has appeared in ten premier league matches so far this season, awarding thirty-three yellow cards and no red cards in these fixtures. This considered, I would suggest a minimum of 20+ booking points for this fixture. Kavanagh is yet to oversee a Premier League match including either of these two sides so far this season.

This match will be shown live on BT Sport 1, with kick off scheduled to take place at 12:30 GMT.

Prediction: Newcastle United 0-2 Manchester City

Suggested Tips – Newcastle United vs Manchester City – (BET 365)

  • Correct Score – Manchester City 2-0 – (link no longer available).
  • Player to be booked – Isaac Hayden – (link no longer available).
  • First Goalscorer – Raheem Sterling – (link no longer available).

Suggested Tips – Newcastle United vs Manchester City – (SKYBET)

  • Correct Score Group Betting – Manchester City to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 – 2/1.
  • To Score and Win – Kevin De Bruyne – 5/2.
  • Player Carded Accumulators – Fernandinho and Isaac Hayden to be carded – 10/1.
  • G.O.A.T (Named player to score 1+ goals, get 1+ offside, make 1+ assist, and make 1+ tackle) – Raheem Sterling – 12/1
  • Player Stats RequestABets – Sterling to score, Jesus 1+ shots on target, 3+ Newcastle corners, 4+ Man City corners & 20+ Newcastle booking pts – 8/1.

Markets last updated on Saturday 30th November 2019 at 11:41 GMT.

 

Sporting Braga vs Wolves – Match Preview

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Sporting Braga vs Wolves
Thursday 28th November 2019
UEFA Europa League, Braga Municipal Stadium

Live on BT Sport 2 – Kick Off: 17:55 GMT

Wolverhampton Wanderers look to secure passage to the Europa League knockout stages when they travel to Sporting Braga on Thursday evening.

They face a Sporting Braga side, who too know that a win will confirm their qualification for the next round. It’s a top of the table clash in group K, with Braga leading the way, with Wolves in second.

In Portugal’s Primeira Liga Braga are currently 9th, but have shown consistency over the last batch of games. Ricardo Sa Pinto’s side have lost only one of their last six league affairs, which is a good return following their slow start to the season, where they won only one of their opening five.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves side have won their last three group matches, but did suffer defeat on matchday one, to Thursday nights opponents Braga. Since defeat Wolves have taken maximum points, and conceded only once, keeping two clean sheets. It’s a welcome turnaround at Molineux both in the Premier League and Europe, following Wolves sluggish start to their 2019/20 campaign.

But a win on Thursday night will ensure a safe passage to the knockout phase, with a game to spare

Braga’s 1-0 victory at Molineux back in September was the only time on record that these two sides have met in a European competition.

The referee for this encounter is Aleksey Kulbakov. The 39-year old from Belarus has taken charge of only three matches so far this season, accumulating a total of twelve yellow cards, average four per match. Kulbakov took charge of PSV’s 3-0 triumph over Apollon Limassol, where he awarded three yellow cards.

This match will be shown live on BT Sport 2 with kick-off scheduled to take place at 17:55 BST.

Prediction: Sporting Braga 1-1 Wolves

Suggested Tips – Sporting Braga vs Wolves – (BET 365)

  • Correct score – Draw 1-1 –(link no longer available).
  • First Goalscorer – Diego Jota – (link no longer available).
  • Half-time/full time – draw/draw – (link no longer available).

Suggested Tips – Sporting Braga vs Wolves – (SKYBET)

  • Correct Score Group Betting – Draw 1-1, 2-2, or 3-3 – 3/1.
  • Player Carded Accumulators – Romain Saiss and Nuno Sequeira to be carded – 4/1.
  • RequestABet Specials – BTTS, 5+ corners each team and 20+ booking points each team – 12/1.

Liverpool vs Napoli – Match Preview

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Liverpool vs Napoli
Wednesday 27th November 2019
UEFA Champions League, Anfield

Live on BT Sport 2 – Kick Off: 20:00 GMT

Liverpool return to Champions League this week as they welcome Napoli to Anfield on Wednesday night.

A win for Jurgen Klopp’s side will secure qualification to the knockout phase with a game to spare. The Red’s currently sit top of Group C, a point clear of Napoli who occupy second place.

Liverpool have won their last three consecutive group matches following the victories home and away against Genk, along with the home win against Red Bull Salzburg. Their only defeat came on matchday one against Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli side.

Napoli come into Wednesday night’s encounter second in the group, one point behind leaders Liverpool. They do however boast the only unbeaten record in the group, winning two and drawing two.

Napoli boast an impressive defensive record in this seasons group stage, and have conceded only three times in four matches, keeping two clean sheets. Liverpool on the other hand are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League so far this season, and have conceded almost double the amount as Napoli, with seven goals shipped in four matches.

Napoli will be without playmaker Lorenzo Insigne for Wednesday nights affair. The Italian has been fined £300,000 by his employers after being identified as a ringleader in unrest in the Napoli side earlier this month.

However, the Napoli side who Liverpool face on Wednesday night are a shadow of the team they faced on the opening group match. Napoli have failed to win in Serie A in over a month, and have a number of off field distractions to contend with, most notably an on-going row with President Aurelio De Laurentiis continuing to fester. The Reds will be looking to avenge their defeat on matchday one.

The referee for Wednesday night’s encounter is Carlos Del Cerro Grande from Spain. The Spaniard has overseen a total of nine matches across the Champions League and La Liga this season, accumulating a total of thirty-seven yellow cards. This considered I would recommend a minimum of 30+ booking points for this fixture.  The 43-year old has never officiated a Champions League encounter involving Liverpool. But did take charge of Napoli’s 3-1 defeat to Salzburg in the Europa League in March 2018 where he awarded three yellow cards.

This match will be shown live on BT Sport 2 with kick-off scheduled to take place at 20:00 BST on Wednesday evening.

Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Napoli

Suggested Tips – Liverpool vs Napoli – (BET 365)

  • Correct score – Liverpool 2-1 – (link no longer available).
  • First Goalscorer – Roberto Firmino- (link no longer available).
  • Half Time / Full Time – Draw / Liverpool – (link no longer available).
  • Player to be booked – Dejan Lovren – (link no longer available).

Suggested Tips – Liverpool vs Napoli – (SKYBET)

  • Correct Score Group Betting- Liverpool 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 – 15/8.
  • Price Boost – Virgil Van Dijk to score a header – 14/1.
  • Firmino to score, Liverpool to win, over 2.5 goals and 9+ Liverpool corners – 11/1.
  • Mohamed Salah to score a brace – 6/1.

Markets last updated on Wednesday 27th November 2019 last updated at 19:20.