It’s slim pickings as another magical FA cup weekend restricts the amount of Premier League games to four. We have gone for a Banker double and a 5-fold accumulator to try build a little bankroll for Cheltenham next week.
Banker – €50 Returns €150
Celtic should be in every shrewd accumulator this weekend. There’s no question they will defeat bitter rivals Rangers in the Glasgow derby, the question is by how much? The Hoops are on a 17-match winning streak and won their last 6 games by 2 goals or more. Celtic -1 is the bet 10/11 is the price. Let’s hope we don’t see many cards!
Next Monday nights Serie A clash sees an in-form Lazio play host to Torino. Italian international Ciro Immobile has been banging them in for Lazio of late, netting 6 goals in as many games. Torino, a midtable side, have average form recently but a poor away record.
5-Fold Accumulator – €10 Returns €150
Liverpool to beat Burnley looks rock solid at 1/4. Burnley have the worst away record this season getting just two points from 11 games. This should be a perfect opportunity for Liverpool to build some consistency after their 3-1 win against Arsenal last week.
A nice bit of value here, Fleetwood are on cracking form winning the last 4, they have a solid home record and play a recently out of form Bolton side who managed one win in their last 6 games.
Athletico Madrid have been underperforming this season in La Liga, but against 18th placed Granada they should grind out a badly needed win. Not much value at 4/9 but with Atletico’s world class strike force they are worth including.
No Championship game is easy and Newcastle v Fulham should be no different, however The Magpies have just played the 3 most in-form teams away and took 7 points. Expect Fulham to come up short despite their solid record on the road. Newcastle’s experience should be just enough here.
Backing away sides is usually risky especially when their recent form is poor, but Darmstadt 98 are at the foot of the Bundesliga table with a stinking record. Losing 13 of their last 15 games is enough for me to take a chance on Mainz 05 who also look unconvincing. Hopefully new loanee Bojan can add to Darmstadt’s misery, the ex Barca and Stoke player joined Mainz 05 in late January. This selection is the biggest threat to busting the accum.
By Ciarán Cunningham, 15:16 – 10th March 2017
