Saturday Acca Tips: Ajax, Monaco and Everton amongst the picks
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Big clashes across the Premier League and Europe
European football is well and truly back this weekend. The Bundesliga is the latest of the big continental leagues to return. And there’s also top action from Eredivisie, Ligue 1 and closer to home – the Premier League.
Ahead of a busy day of action, the Coral News Team have five top tips, kicking off with an away trip for Ajax…
Newly promoted VVV should be easy fodder for an Ajax side who routed Standard Liege 3-0 in the Champions League in midweek.
This is also a fixture De Godenzonen have dominated. They’ve won nine and drawn one of the last 10 meetings, scoring 29 times and conceding just three.
Always a strong side, Ajax have also added real quality this summer in players like Dusan Tadic and Hassane Bande. This could well be a rout.
Les Monegasques are looking for a fifth successive victory over Lille. And the previous four have included a pair of 4-0 hammerings.
Monaco looked impressive last weekend, netting three goals in a 15-minute span to secure a 3-1 win at Nantes. But it’s at home where they’re especially strong.
Leonardo Jardim’s side won 15 of their 19 league games at Stade Louis II last season. With Lille picking up just 14 points on the road in 2017-18, this looks like a comfortable home win.
Wolfsburg survived by the skin of their teeth last season, edging out Holsten Kiel in the relegation-play offs after a 16th-placed finish.
They host a Schalke side who finished second in 2017-18, and have dominated in head-to-heads against Die Wolfe.
Domenico Tedesco’s side have won each of the last two meetings without conceding. And that’s part of a longer-term trend. Five of the last six clashes have been Schalke wins – including a 4-1 mauling in 2017.
Celta have done some good business this summer, including the signing of midfield prodigy Fran Beltran from Rayo Vallecano. So they’re likely to improve on last season’s points tally of 49 – the same total Espanyol managed.
It’s Celta who have home advantage for this season opener. And their home record last season was pretty decent – the ninth best in La Liga.
Having lost just one of the last seven head-to-heads, Carlos Mourino’s men should have enough to edge this one.
The Toffees looked bright on the opening weekend, grabbing a 2-2 draw at Molineux – with new signing Richarlison grabbing both the goals.
As for the Saints, they failed to break down a Burnley side in a goalless stalemate. That marked the fourth time in seven games that the South Coast club have drawn a blank.
With hosts Everton boasting some good attacking options and Saints struggling for goals, it’s hard to see past a home win here.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
