Weekend Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview
Barcelona vs Napoli Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview. 08-08-20
Barcelona welcome Napoli to the Camp Nou for the second leg of their last-16 standoff, with both clubs looking to progress further in this year's UEFA Champions League. They go at each other on Saturday from 19:00 GMT, bidding to salvage their 19/20 campaign after poor displays on the domestic front.
The first leg at Naples ended in a stalemate as both teams settled for a 1-1 draw. Dries Mertens gave his side the lead with his record-equalling goal only 30 minutes into the game. Antoine Griezmann cancelled Napoli’s lead as he tucked in Nelson Semedo’s cross twelve minutes into the second half. With the match perfectly poised at 1-1, we would see which European giant will come out on top, and progress to the quarterfinals.
Barcelona were very fairly decent before the coronavirus lockdown as they headed into the enforced break atop the table. However, as a result of a series of unnecessary draws after the league was restarted, they conceded top spot to Real Madrid who absolutely ran away with the baton. Ultimately, the Blaugrana failed to defend their La Liga Santander title.
Barcelona will be staring at a trophyless season if they don't win the Champions League after getting knocked out by Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey respectively.
Winning the coveted cup five times only seems to be history, with their last success coming back in 2016. Quique Setien would be looking to correct that as they restart their Champions League campaign this weekend.
Napoli were also disappointing in the league this season as they went through one of the club’s worst seasons in recent memory. They came up short as they finished in seventh place conceding both Champions League and Europa League spots. However, they would take comfort from the fact that they sealed a trophy of their own after beating Juventus in the Coppa Italia final.
They’re heading into this game as sharp as ever following a 3-1 win against Lazio only five days ago with goals from Fabian Ruíz, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens- Ciro Immobile scoring Lazio’s only goal.
With the Italians having an away record of two wins and five defeats in this competition against Spanish opposition, they would be considered as underdogs heading into Saturday’s game.
Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets are suspended while Ousmane Dembele and Samuel Umtiti are ruled out via injuries. With regards to the visitors, Kostas Manolas and Nikola Maksimovic are both unavailable while Lorenzo Insigne is rated doubtful.
Barcelona vs Napoli Prediction: 3-1
Both teams are heading into this game after performing abysmally on the domestic front. However, Barcelona has a slight advantage in the fact that they're unbeaten in their last 35 matches in the Champions League on home soil. Given this, the Spanish giants are expected to come out on top with a win on the night.
Bayern vs Chelsea Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview. 08-08-20
We conclude the last-16 phase with two games to be played on Saturday. Our focus for this one will be at the Allianz Stadium as Bayern entertain Chelsea. With kick-off set for the regular 19:00 GMT, both teams will go toe-to-toe for a place in the last-8 to face either Barcelona or Napoli.
Bayern Munich are favorites heading into this one after establishing a healthy 3-0 lead in the first leg at Stamford Bridge with a brace from Serge Gnabry and a solitary goal from the competition’s top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern Munich are one of the teams to watch out for in this season's Champions League. The Bavarians have been unplayable throughout their 19/20 campaign securing the German double amidst a 17 match winning run.
The German Champions became the only German team to win all group stage games in a Champions League season, scoring 24 goals in the process. However, they couldn't equal Paris Saint-Germain’s record of 25 goals set in the 17/18 season.
They have a lot of players to keep an eye on, however, our focus will be on top scorer Robert Lewandowski who will be looking to stretch his tally of 11 goals and etch closer to Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 17 goals which the Portuguese ace set in the 13/14 season.
Chelsea are heading into this game having already secured Champions League qualification on the final day of the season, beating Wolves 2-0 courtesy of goals from Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud.
The blues don't have history on their side as they're currently without a win in their last seven away matches in the UEFA Champions League since a 1-0 first-leg victory against Benfica back in the 11/12 campaign.
Benjamin Pavard is the only player on the treatment table for the Bavarians. Whereas, Frank Lampard has a fairly long injury list as Billy Gilmour, Pedro, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as all ruled out via injuries. Marcos Alonso and Jorginho are both suspended.
Bayern vs Chelsea Prediction: 2-0
Chelsea are faced with an uphill battle after being humbled at Stamford Bridge. They would have had a chance to at least give their fans reasons to cheer by emerging victorious on the night. However, with key players out, Bayern Munich are fully expected to come out on top, both on the night and on aggregate.
Rangers vs St. Mirren Predictions, Betting Tips, and Match Preview. 09-08-20
There's plenty of action in the Scottish Premiership with two games on Sunday afternoon much to the delight of Scottish football fans. From 14:00 GMT, we would see Rangers welcome St. Mirren to the Ibrox Stadium with all three points up for grabs.
Rangers got off to the perfect start as they recorded a win against Aberdeen. After 21 minutes of play, the Aberdeen defence couldn't keep up with Ryan Kent’s pace as he latched on to Alfredo Morelos’ through ball to slot it past Joe Lewis. Aberdeen’s woes were compounded when Andrew Considine saw red only four minutes from time. Seeing out the game from then on was easy for Rangers as they ran out 1-0 winners.
St. Mirren also got off to a positive start as they beat Livingston on home soil. Richard Tait scored the opening goal at the Simple Digital Arena to give his side the lead. This was to be the only goal of the game as they went home with all three points. Jim Goodwin’s side will be faced with an uphill battle at Glasgow as they're a lot better on home soil in the Scottish League.
Rangers front-three in persons of Ryan Kent, Ianis Hagi, and Alfredo Morelos are expected to feature again as they were been impressive last time out.
Rangers vs St. Mirren Prediction: 2-0
Rangers are heading into this game as favourites give that they've won the last seven matches against their opponents at the Ibrox Stadium. They're fully expected to make it eight wins from eight games on Sunday.
Kilmarnock vs Celtic Prediction, Betting Tips, and Match Preview. 09-08-20
We finalize the second round of fixtures in the Scottish top-flight as Kilmarnock welcome Celtic to the Rugby Park. The game gets underway from 15:30 GMT as the home side will be bidding to cause a huge upset on Sunday afternoon.
Kilmarnock are heading into this one following a 2-1 loss in the first game of the season. Martin Boyle proved to be a thorn on the side of Alex Dyer’s defence as he recorded a brace only 34 minutes into the game. Chris Burke pulled one back for Kilmarnock in the first half, however, it wasn't supposed to be as The Killies lost their opening match.
Celtic continued where they left off last season as they thrashed the Accies 5-1 last weekend. Odsonne Edouard was too much to handle as he registered his first hat-trick of the season. Jeremiah Frimpong and Patryk Klimala score the other two goals while Scott Martin scored the only goal for the away side.
Kilmarnock vs Celtic Prediction : 1-2
Celtic have been absolutely dominant against their opponents as they’re managed to win the last six games against them in the Scottish League. As a result, they’re expected to emerge victorious on Sunday. Odsonne Édouard to score anytime is also a bet to be considered give them French star’s form of late.
