Fiorentina somehow remain the only team in the entirety of Serie A, who are yet to pick up a single win. The team remains at the very bottom of the table, and week after week show that this is a team that is relegation bound. They've shown little moments of hope and brilliance, but from top to bottom this is an organization that looks disjointed and unable to fix their current form. This team is essentially what Wolves are to the Premier League. It doesn't matter who their opponent is, I'm going to continue to fade Fiorentina until we see some serious changes from this club. Udinese should be good for at least a point.
It's my opinion that Vincent Kompany is one of the most intense managers in European football. You can search "Kompany passion" compilations online and find hours of him yelling and getting heated over just about everything. This is a man you don't want to disappoint, and that's just what Bayern Munich did against Mainz last matchday. The team took things too lightly, squandered big chances, and played to lax, and they were punished for it. Manager Kompany has made it VERY clear, they won't be doing that against against Heidenheim. Bayern Munich are going to field their best XI, come out swinging, and run this score up. I wouldn't be shocked if Bayern win by 4+ goals against the worst defense in the Bundesliga.
We took over 3.5 goals in Bayern's Munich match against Mainz last week, and hit that in the most unlikely way possible. Bayern Munich made the mistake of counting out a weak opponent before the match even started, and they paid the price dropping points against 18th on the table Mainz. Well, now Bayern Munich play 17th on the table, and manager Vincent Kompany won't make the same mistake twice. I'm going to give a hot take here and say this match could see Bayern Munich score 6+ goals. I'll take the over 3.5 all day as the worst defense in Germany, takes on a pissed off Bayern Munich side with a chip on their shoulder, and a healthy starting XI ready to strike.
Aston Villa remain one of the best attacking teams in England as Unai Emery and his men sit comfortably at third on the table. Their matches have been absolutely electric with BTTS + Over 2.5 goals hitting in six of their last seven matches. Even though United will be without Bryan Mbuemo, they'll still have Sesko, Cunha and Mount available. Manchester United have the highest BTTS hit rate when playing on the road this season. Expect fireworks at Villa Park.
I love goals in this game. (Take Aston Villa over 1.5 TT as well). I also think Aston Villa continue their incredible run and pick up their 10th straight win over all competitions. This club is playing a Bayern Munich style of play, where defense is optional, because they're scoring two, three, or four goals a game. Their opponents lost three massive players to AFCON (Bryan Mbuemo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoi, and will struggle defensively against an explosive Villa attack.
This is going to be a banger of a matchup between two juggernauts of LaLiga. Barcelona currently sits top of the table with the best offense in the league and it's not even close. Villarreal, however, have been not one of the best sides in Europe, but are currently undefeated at home this season. They have seven wins and one loss. This is a team that knows how to hold down the fortress in front of their home fans, and are a team that has shown in recent years they know how to take points off Barcelona. Barcelona will press for goals, like always, but their backline is leaky. I think Villarreal not only score here, but will manage to at the very least, draw.
Over the last two years of LaLiga play, no fixture has seen more goals than when Barcelona and Villarreal clash. Their last four LaLiga matches saw the following score lines. 2-3 to Villarreal, 5-1 to Barca, 5-3 to Villarreal, and 3-4 to Barcelona. Goals just everywhere when we see these titans clash, and per usual, the pitch will be loaded with tremendous goal scoring talent. Barcelona has slowed down every so slightly in recent weeks, but I'm expecting a clash between a long-time rival to bring out their goal scoring boots once more. Have fun with this one, and bet on goals!
I know what everyone is of us thinking, and I get why we're thinking this. "Buckets, this has to be a trap right". It might be, but it's also a trap I'm going to fall for every single time haha. Atletico Madrid matches should rarely have the goal-line set to over/under 2.5 goals, especially when they're playing a team as defensively vulnerable as Girona. While Girona are slowly showing signs of improvement, they are still outclassed here in every way. If Girona plans on getting points off Atleti, they won't be able to sit back and keep things cagey, they will have to push. When you push players like Julian Alvarez, Antione Griezmann and Alexander Sorloth, you're in for a rough time. Goals Incoming.
If I can be honest with you all, everything about this match confuses me in terms of the lines available. I expect Atletico Madrid to win this match, and dare I say, win this match easily. Girona are terrible this season. No need to beat around the bush. They are a fraction of their former UCL self, and have been dropping points to weak clubs all over Spain. Atletico Madrid, are not a weak club in Spain. They are loaded with attacking talent and have depth that Girona can only dream of this season. I have Atletico not only winning this match, but I have them doing it by multiple goals. Back the better team and don't overthink this one!
Pisa are a side who did a fantastic job to find promotion from Serie B this season. While they did a good job getting here, it appears they might quite not be ready for the change to the top flight of Italian football. Pisa are the lowest scoring team in Serie A and have now failed to score in, and have lost their last three matches straight. Cagliari are the better side on paper, and will use their massive home-field advantage to propel them further out of the relegation scrap with a big win over an out of form opposition.
Real Madrid continue to be a brutal side to try to predict. One week they're beating up Athletic club 3-0, the next they're struggling to win a cup match against a club in the third tier of Spanish football. There's a couple things I'm just going to auto bet right now. I'm going to bet Kylian Mbappe to score, I'm going to bet BTTS, and I'm going to bet the overs. Sevilla is much worst than Real Madrid, but with that being said I expect them to see a defensively struggling Madrid side and press for goals. Real Madrid should win this easy, but wins aren't coming easily for Los Blancos, so just sit back, bet on the over, and enjoy the chaos.
I watched Crystal Palace host Finnish club KuPS in their midweek Europa Conference fixture, and man did they look tired. This is a team that doesn't have a ton of experience juggling multiple competitions lately, and the wear and tear is starting to show. Even though Palace did rotate for that matchup, their core players looked sluggish when they took the pitch. While this is a team I normally prefer taking unders on, they're going to have their hands full when they take on a Leeds side who is firing on all attacking cylinders.
The EPL title race is back on as unfortunately for everyone, Manchester City has rediscovered their goal-scoring boots. With Pep's squad breathing down the necks of Arsenal, they've once again found them in a position where they will require perfection in their upcoming matches, especially with no UCL play till next month. Everton are not a bad side, but showed some glaring weakness against Chelsea, that Arsenal will look to exploit. Calafiori is back in the lineup, so expect Arsenal to play high and go for goals.
Tottenham and Liverpool matches have been thrilling for decades now. There is currently no other Premier League fixture that has seen more goals than when these two sides clash. All you need to do is look at what happened when these teams met last year. A 5-1 victory for Liverpool, a 6-3 victory for Liverpool and a 4-2 victory. I know that neither team is in particularly good form, but to be honest, I don't care. This is the kind of matchup that can bring back Liverpool into the title race, and with no Salah available, players like Ekitike, Isak and Wirtz will press for goals.
No team has vexed me more this season that Arne Slot's Liverpool. Liverpool spent more money than any other team in England picking up some of the most elite strikers and midfielders in the world, and then, didn't really do much with them. Mo Salah had arguably his best season last year, and has done almost nothing this year, and the club dropped points left and right. It does seem though, after a drought, like things are starting to click. The win in UCL play over Inter on the road was massive, and was the turning point for this squad. I think they get their third win in a row taking on a disjointed Spurs cast.