Free Soccer Betting Tips For Friday and Saturday

I've also got some pre-Christmas socialising to do this weekend, hence the early post.

The weather is still playing havoc across Europe and that's why I've got nothing for Portugal - the last round of games is scheduled to finish this afternoon, but even that far south the wind is causing problems and it'll be worth checking to see if some of the northern European games are still on before parting with your cash.

Both the Hungarian and Croatian leagues have gone into hibernation and won't be back until February, but I've done some research into both of them are there are some very strong trends to exploit when they resume at the end of February.

Gent would have been my home banker selection on Saturday, but there's next to no value in the win market. So teams in bold represent the best chances of home wins; Sunday tips will be up either tomorrow or Friday and I'm going to have an depth look at Manchester United v Arsenal as well.

FRIDAY
CHAMPIONSHIP
7:45pm
Swansea v Millwall under 2.5 goals

SATURDAY
CHAMPIONSHIP
3:00pm
Burnley v Leeds over 2.5 goals
Reading v Coventry


GREECE
3:15pm
Olympiakos Volos v Aris Salonika under 2.5 goals
Aris could be the most boring side in Europe at the moment. There's only been one goal in every one of their six away games.

5:30pm
PAOK v Iraklis half time draw


FRANCE
6:00pm
Lorient v Lens
Draw/Lorient might work in this game, but any way to oppose Lens looks more likely to pay off. The visitors have not been ahead at half time in any of their seven away games in Ligue 1 this season, Lorient have only been behind once in their eight home games but have been level in four of them. Additionally, Lorient have won the last three league games between these two at the Stade de Moustoir.

Valenciennes v PSG
Draw. Two of the last four league games on the Belgian border have been draws and the hosts have drawn recent games with Lille and St. Etienne. PSG are on a three game away drawing streak,  and their away record is similar to that of QPR.


BELGIUM
7:00pm
Gent v Charleroi
Gent should win this at a canter, but there's absolutely no value here apart from in the over 2.5 goals market.

Cercle Brugge v Zulte Waregem
Although Cercle Brugge's home record is superior to Zulte's away record, the visitors have only lost one of their last six league games at the Jan Breydel stadium and they're the draw specialists in the Jupiler League this season. Although Cercle could win this, there's value to be had on a draw at half time with 0-0 as a possible correct score after 45 minutes.

Ten Man Espanyol Win & Keep A Clean Sheet

Very satisfactory late afternoon early evening.

Even after going down to ten men early in the second half following the dismissal of Jose Baena, Espanyol beat Sporting Gijon 1-0. There were also single goal victories for Villareal and Sunderland, so not a bad day at the office at all.

Very big game in the NFL tonight, I might post a preview later but unless something really statistically significant stands out then I won't be making any recommendations.

Free Tips For Sunday 5th December

Oddly enough, despite being from different leagues, there's a common theme to the games I'm looking at today. With the possible exception of Villareal v Sevilla, the other games feature away sides that aren't doing particularly well at the moment but have decent records at the teams they're visiting today. Bold represents home win, bold caps is a home banker.

Spain
4:00pm
ESPANYOL v Sporting Gijon
Espanyol have failed to beat Sporting Gijon in any of the last six home games in Barcelona, but they're on a seven game home winning streak while Gijon have failed to win any of their last fourteen away games. There are good reasons to support a nibble at an Espanyol clean sheet too - in four of their six home games this season they've prevented their opponents from scoring and Gijon have failed to score in the four away games where they've faced opponents that are currently above them in the league.

6:00pm
Villareal v Sevilla
Villareal have a formidable home record over the last 20 games (only two defeats) and have only lost twice at home to Sevilla in the league in the last decade. There's a bit of health warning on this game though as the visitors have now gone 26 games without an away draw(!) but the last time Sevilla travelled to a top four side Barcelona beat them 5-0. Although Villareal aren't in the same class as Barcelona I think they're a genuine contender for Champions League football next season and they should win this one.

Watching Brief Only
Premiership
4:00pm
Sunderland v West Ham
Raw numbers indicate a 50% chance of a draw and opposing West Ham seems like the logical thing to do, but Sunderland's home record against teams that are currently below them in the Premiership features two draws in three games so a draw cannot be completely ruled out. Sunderland have only won eight of their last 20 games at the Stadium of Light and as West Ham haven't won an away game for well over a year now they are due a win at some point; The trouble is will it come today?
Recommendation: nice pot of tea and some crumpets, feet up and curse the fact you didn't back a West Ham win.

Saturday Results

Not bad at all, although at one point during the Leeds v Crystal Palace this afternoon I didn't think it was going to come off. The only duffer was backing the draw in the first half at Manchester City, but the game in Portugal that I mentioned yesterday ended up with Sporting Braga being reduced to eight players and losing 3-1.

More to come tomorrow, I've already ruled a couple of potential games out.