Barcelona, Fiorentina and Villarreal the real deal for enhanced triple
Coral are offering 13/5 on Barcelona, Fiorentina and Villarreal all winning their home matches in Spain and Italy.
Barca face lesser-known Madrid side Rayo Vallecano, Vincenzo Montella’s Viola host Inter Milan as fourth plays fifth in Serie A and the Yellow Submarine welcome mid-table Celta Vigo to El Madrigal.
Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano
Table toppers Barca meet relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano in a potential fixture of slaughter at the Nou Camp. Barcelona are heavily odds-on at 1/12. It’s 8/1 for a draw and Vallecano are massive 33/1 outsiders.
In the last three seasons, these sides have played each other five times with Barca winning them all and scoring a devastating 23 times.
That averages out as 4.6 goals per game, and Coral have offered enticing odds of 13/2 for a 4-0 victory or 12/5 for the Catalan side to net over 4.5 times.
The reverse fixture resulted in a 4-0 scoreline for Tata Martino’s team, with Pedro hitting a hat-trick. Back the 37-times capped Spaniard to get another treble at 20/1 or 11/10 to score at anytime.
Lionel Messi unsurprisingly has seven in his last five against Rayo, and is heavily odd-on to score anytime again at 1/4. Reports suggest that Barcelona are set to rest midfield metronome Xavi, while Neymar is expected to return from a sprained ankle.
Fiorentina v Inter Milan
This is a huge game in the race for European places for next season in Serie A. Fiorentina hold an eight-point advantage over Inter, but have won just once in the last six meetings.
Montella’s Viola battered the Nerazzurri 4-1 last in Florence last season. Punters can get 11/10 on another home win here. Fiorentina have lost just once at home in the league all campaign.
Inter are a short price at 5/2 for three points. Walter Mazzarri’s side have no win in their last five away trips. It’s 23/10 for the match to be drawn.
The Nerazzurri have recently been relying on defenders for goals; in fact, the last three times Inter have found the net in Serie A one of the back five has scored.
Although that is a concern for Mazzarri, he may have something up his sleeve in Florence. Stocky Argentine striker Diego Milito has five in 10 career appearances against Fiorentina. He is 7/4 to net anytime.
Despite the absence of Viola front pair Mario Gomez and Giuseppe Rossi for much of the season, Montella’s men have scored two or more goals in six of their last nine matches in all competitions.
Coppa Italia finalists Fiorentina have shared the burden in their absence, with 11 different players on the scoresheet in those matches. They are 7/2 to net over 2.5 times.
Villarreal v Celta Vigo
Champions League chasing Villarreal have only one of their last four home matches against Galician outfit Celta Vigo, but that opposition’s poor recent away form should mean that changes.
The Yellow Submarine may be without top-scorer Ikechukwu Uche because of a thigh strain, yet are odds-on at 4/7 to close to within a point of fourth-place Athletic Bilbao. Vigo’s leading marksman is Brazilian-born Charles and you can get 10/3 on him grabbing a goal at anytime.
If Nigeria attacker Uche is absent, former Tottenham and Barcelona player Giovani dos Santos could step into the scoring breach. The creative Mexican is a 7/2 shot to score first at El Madrigal.
Hosting Celta is the start of a run of four relatively easy games for Villarreal. There is no margin for error, however, as Bilbao – the side the Submarine want to overtake – also face a similar standard of opposition before the two sides meet on March 16th.
