The football excitement never stops and some of Europe’s big leagues are in mid-week action to keep us glued to our screens. The biggest showdown is undoubtedly a blockbuster clash between struggling Manchester United and Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea. As always, you can count on Betking, Nigeria’s #1 online sports betting platform, to provide you with the best betting tips and bet predictions to help you win. **Luton Town vs Arsenal** The Gunners are starting to hit their stride with 5 wins on the bounce, and they maintained their lead at the top of the table by winning 2-1 against Wolverhampton Wanderers. Their rivals, Spurs and Manchester City, drew 3-3, and it would have been an even better week for Mikel Arteta’s men if Liverpool hadn’t found a way to score a late winner against Fulham. Nevertheless, Arsenal maintain a 2-point lead at the top and look like the most solid team in the division. Despite their excellent form, Arsenal face a new challenge against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. The new boys,, despite being expected to finish last, are currently outside the drop zone, mainly due to Everton's points deduction. Surprisingly, the Gunners have not won in their last 10 visits to Luton, but the last one was in 1991. Luton's boss, Rob Edwards, knows that winning at home is crucial for their survival, and they are unbeaten in their last two home games, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool and beating Crystal Palace 2-1. Artea must make sure his men do not underestimate their opponents or a shock result could be on the cards here. The Gunners will definitely be favourites to take all three points, and have the defence to keep anyone at bay, boasting the league’s best defensive record (11 conceded). However, Arteta’s men haven’t been as solid on their travels and have won just two of their last 5 away games in all competitions. They have conceded in 5 of their last 6 on the road, which makes our bet of the day an Arsenal win with both teams to score. Bukayo Saka has scored 2 goals and created 3 in Arsenal’s last 3 games and leads the team in both goals and assists this season (8G, 9A). On the back of such excellent form, we are backing him to find the net again. There have been 3 second half bookings in 5 of Luton’s last 8 games, so enjoy high odds by backing the cards market to come up big again.
**Manchester United vs Chelsea** Manchester United and Chelsea, two struggling heavyweights of the English game meet at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, in a mouthwatering Premier League clash. The Red Devils' disappointing season continued in a 1-0 defeat to an utterly dominant Newcastle United over the weekend, while Mauricio Pochettino's men returned to winning ways by seeing off Brighton 3-2 at home. Ten Hag’s men went into the game against Newcastle with some good form behind them, winning 5 of their last 6 league games, but they were second-best for 90 minutes at St James’s park. Still nursing their wounds after the 3-3 collapse against Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, the defeat to Newcastle means Manchester United have now been pushed down to seventh place in the Premier League. They are five points behind Aston Villa in fourth place and must avoid falling further behind. So far, they have scored only 16 league goals, which is the lowest among the top-half teams, with just 8 goals coming at Old Trafford this season. They have also won just 1 of their last 3 at home — a scrappy 1-0 victory against Luton Town. Chelsea have not fared much better either. The Blues have been up and down this season but fought hard to earn all three points against Brighton at the weekend. Enzo Fernandez, who had gone 30 Premier League games without scoring, found the net twice to help the blues prevail in a 5-goal thriller. Pochettino’s men have scored an impressive 12 goals in their last 4 games, but have also conceded 11 goals over the same period. Before their 4-1 loss to Newcastle at the end of November, the Blues had secured three consecutive victories in away games in the Premier League. United have been far from impressive this season, but the last time Chelsea visited Old Trafford, United ran riot, winning 4-1 and recent history suggests they will not succumb to defeat against the Blues easily. In fact, the Red Devils have only lost once to Chelsea at home in 9 years. They have dominated this fixture winning 4 of the last 10, with Chelsea winning just one — the 3-1 victory in 2020 under Frank Lampard. 5 of the last 10 meetings between these two sides have ended in a draw, with both teams scoring in 6 of the last 9. That said, Our bet of the day is the Red Devils to avoid defeat at home, with both teams to score.
**Aston Villa vs Manchester City** This is probably the best time for anyone to face Manchester City. With injuries piling up for the champions, suspensions and a shaky defence, there might not be a better time for Villa to steal a first win over City since 2013. Unai Emery has transformed Villa from a team languishing under Steven Gerrard, to a team ready to go toe to toe with the Premier League’s big boys. The Villans are actually a single point behind Manchester City ahead of kickoff (29 points after 14 games) and could knock City out of the top 4 should they conjure a victory. Emery’s men are imperious at Villa Park, where they have won their last 7 games in all competitions and lost just once in their last 12 at home. Regardless of their sparkling home form, we must remember, City are still the defending champions. Guardiola’s men are in a bit of a tough moment. The Etihad club have won just one of their last 4 games, and drawn their last 3 in the league. In fact, their only win over this 4-game period was a comeback 3-2 win over Leipzig in the Champions League, after going two goals down. They drew 3-3 with Tottenham at the weekend, and never looked like winning at any point, despite creating a host of chances. They bossed the game in every metric, having more shots (18-8) more possession (55-45) and a superior xG (2.87-0.54). On another day Erling Haaland might have had a hat-trick. The City man had 5 shots and missed an absolute sitter in the first half, before blazing over in the second period. The defence has been uncharacteristically shaky, letting in 10 goals in the last 4 games, but they have scored 11 in that period. Scoring goals has never been City’s problem — they lead the league in scoring with 36 goals so far. However, they are not defending anywhere near as well as they did last season. They have conceded 16 goals in their first 14 games this season and must tighten up to avoid slipping further behind Arsenal who now have a 3-point lead at the top. This game will also be made more difficult by the fact that key midfielder Rodri and Jack Grealish will both be suspended for accumulation of yellow cards. Add the absence of Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and potentially Jeremy Doku who hobbled off against Tottenham to the list, and you have a serious banana skin fixture for the champions. Take advantage of Betking’s best betting offers and high odds by backing both teams to score.
**Sheffield United vs Liverpool** In the wake of Paul Heckingbottom’s deserved sack, Sheffield United must be dreading the prospect of returning to a disgruntled Bramall Lane faithful when they host Liverpool on Wednesday night. While Sheffield were being trounced 5-0 at Burnley last weekend, Liverpool fought their hardest to maintain their 2023 unbeaten league home record, prevailing 4-3 against Fulham. Sheffield are bottom of the Premier League with 11 defeats in 14 games, and just 5 points to their name. They have also conceded the most goals in the division (39) and scored the least (11). With a four-point gap to make up to 17th-placed Luton Town, Sheffield United will remain in the bottom three even if they claim a shock victory against Liverpool but failure to keep a single clean sheet this season renders that highly unlikely. Liverpool were defensively frail in their weekend comeback win against Fulham. The Reds won 4-3 in the end and their manager Jurgen Klopp admitted that his side got punished for being "a bit dumb" in the defensive third. The result did flatter Fulham in some ways as the Reds were utterly dominant, bossing possession (62-38) and shots (24-9). Failure to take their chances almost cost them when Bobby De Cordova-Reid made it 3-2 to Fulham but a late rally capped by an 87th-minute Trent Alexander-Arnold strike sealed the win and propelled the Reds to an 11th win from 11 home games in 2023-24. Liverpool have won the last 5 meetings between these wo sides, dating back to 2007 with a combined scoreline of 11-1. With the likes of Mohamed Salah(10G, 6A) and Darwin Nunez (7G) starting to gel, Klopp’s men should have no trouble putting away a truly terrible side. Our bet of the day is a comfortable Liverpool win.
**Marseille vs Lyon** Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s return to the side last week and subsequent return of 4 goals in 3 games has made Marseille even more dangerous than they have been in recent weeks. The Ligue 1 side won a thrilling Europa League match against Ajax 4-3, before putting up a solid performance in the 2-0 win over Rennes at the weekend. They are currently 9th with 17 points and seem poised to keep climbing up the table. On the other hand, Lyon, traditionally seen as contenders for Champions League or Europa League spots, have experienced a significant decline in the past 12 months. Despite having some of the world's most exciting talents, they have been unimaginably poor this season and must arrest the decline quickly. They are currently at the bottom of the table with just one win in 13 games, and are the second lowest scoring team in Ligue 1 (11 in 13 games) — 2 goals more than Clermont. They have kept just 3 clean sheets all season and 1 in their last 8 games. There were some positives in the weekend’s 3-2 loss to Lens though, Lyon played much better in that game and were perhaps, unlucky to lose. They had more shots (12-10) created more big chances (7-5) and had a better xG (2.7-1.9) than their opponents but poor finishing let them down. They will certainly need to do better with their chances, to take anything away from a resurgent Marseille side at the Stade Velodrome. Marseille have won 3 of the last 10 meetings between these two sides, with Lyon winning 5, showing their superiority over the years. Still, the hosts will be favourites here. Aubameyang is in excellent form with 4 goals in his last 2 games and we are backing him to find the net in a Marseille home win. Take advantage of our well-analysed soccer betting tips and back today’s bet of the day, which is Aubameyang to score in a Marseille win.
**Juventus vs Napoli** Juventus will host Napoli in a highly anticipated clash on Friday night at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy. Both teams are having vastly different seasons, with Juventus looking to push Inter Milan all the way for the title, and Napoli looking lost. The Old Lady defeated Monza 2-1 at the weekend, courtesy of last minute goal by Federico Gatti. That victory was their 6th in the last 7 games, which takes them just two points behind leaders Inter. It has not been a prolific season in terms of attacking output as the Bianconeri have only scored 22 goals all season (6th most in the league), but their defensive solidity (9 goals conceded) has carried them along. They come up against a Napoli side searching for their best form. After sacking the faltering Rudi Garcia, and appointing Walter Mazzari, things are yet to improve. The new boss has won just one of his first three games in charge, losing 3-0 last weekend to a rampant Inter side. Osimhen made his first start since returning from Injury at the weekend and looked rusty. They will need him firing on all cylinders to take anything from this game. The Super Eagles striker is still the club’s top scorer (6) despite missing six weeks with injury. Napoli are at their best when Osimhen is flying, evdenced by their league triumph last season, where the Nigerian striker scored 26 goals to win the Golden Boot. He is still their best route to success but the team’s approach must change if they are to get the best of him. In the 3-0 defeat to Inter at the weekend, Osimhen was in several promising situations and not picked up. It is no secret that the relationship between the 24-year-old and some teammates remains frosty after the incident earlier in the season when Osimhen felt disrespected by the club’s portrayal of him on social media. Napoli won home and away against Juventus last season, including a famous 5-1 win at the Diego Maradona, but this is a different Juventus side and we expect a different outcome. There have been at least 3 yellow cards in Napoli’s last 5 away games and we expect the same here with Juventus dominating the attacking play at home. Both sides have split the last five meetings, with Juventus winning twice and Napoli claiming two wins, both coming last season. If there is ever a game for Victor Osimhen to return to scoring ways and add to his 6 goals this season, this is the clash. Want the best odds? Back Juventus to win a low-scoring game, with Osimhen to find the net for Napoli.
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