UCL Match Preview : Bayer Leverkusen vs Atletico Madrid

Bayer Leverkusen bounced back from successive league defeats with back-to-back wins and will look to carry this momentum into the welcome of Atletico Madrid. They are unbeaten in the Champions League this term, though drew two of their three home group games earlier in the season.

Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last seven games away from home, though four of those have been draws.

A 4-1 win at the weekend ended a run of successive stalemates on the road as they returned to winning ways on their travels at just the right time.

Neither side will want to give too much away in the first leg with a draw on the cards in Germany. Naija and Bet

Team News

Bayer Leverkusen – Hakan Calhanoglu is suspended for the remainder of the season.

Jonathan Tah is injured, which could see Aleksandar Dragovic feature alongside Omer Toprak at the heart of the defence, though Tintin Jedvaj is pushing for a start.

Lars Bender is a doubt for the Bundesliga outfit.

Atletico Madrid – Tiago and Augusto Fernandez are both injured for Atletico Madrid.

Jan Oblak and Juanfran are both closing in on a return to fitness, though played no part in the 4-1 win at Sporting Gijon and will sit this one out.

Kevin Gamiero is pushing for a start at Fernando Torres’ expense after bagging a quick fire hat-trick at the weekend.

Match Facts

Leverkusen have seen under 2.5 goals in their last 4 matches against Atletico in all competitions.

There have been under 2.5 goals scored in 6 of Atletico’s last 7 games (UEFA Champions League).

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Leverkusen are undefeated in their last 8 matches (UEFA Champions League).

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As at this post Bayer Leverkusen has 3.02 odd to win the match on Naija and Bet while Atletico Madrid has 2.64 has odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 3.14.

How will this Match end?

 

CL Match Preview : Manchester City vs Monaco

Manchester City will look to bounce back from their 0-0 draw with Huddersfield in the FA Cup last time out. On home turf, however, City have impressed and are unbeaten in their last six, winning four.

Free scoring Monaco were held to a 1-1 draw with Bastia on Friday evening, yet maintained their three-point lead at the summit of Ligue 1 as PSG dropped points. Away from home, they are unbeaten in seven, winning five, including a 1-1 draw with domestic rivals PSG.

This promises to be one of the ties of the round, with a high scoring affair a possibility.

Team News

Manchester City – Vincent Kompany and Gabriel Jesus are both sidelined for Pep Guardiola’s side, while Gael Clichy will face a late fitness test with the left-back suffering with a back problem. NaijaBet.com

Yaya Toure has been recalled to City’s Champions League squad and is expected to start alongside Fernandinho, with one of Raheem Sterling or Leroy Sane set to start from the bench.

Sergio Aguero is likely to lead the attack here, while Willy Caballero could keep his place between the sticks.

Monaco – Leonardo Jardim is without the suspended Jemerson for the trip to Manchester, with the doubtful Andrea Raggi in line to partner Kamil Glik in defence.

Tiemoue Bakayoko and Guido Carrillo are also doubts, though the former should start.

Boschilia is ruled out due to a knee issue.

Match Facts

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Monaco’s last 3 games in UEFA Champions League.

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As at this post Manchester City has 1.61 odd to win the match on Naija and Bet while Monaco’s has 5.66 has odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 4.37.

How will this Match end?

FA Cup Match Preview : Sutton United vs Arsenal

Sutton have lost both matches since booking their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup but they have only lost one of their last 14 matches at home soil in all competitions.

Arsenal have endured an awful few weeks and defeat here would really ramp up the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger. He is expected to field a strong side here in order to avoid further embarassment.

Sutton have a real chance to create history here and should try and get at Arsenal as early as possible. The Gunners have lost three of their last four in all competitions but should manage to overcome some hairy moments to come through this tie. Naija and Bet

Team News

Sutton United – Sutton have four former Arsenal players on their books and each of them will be looking to make a statement on Monday night. Craig Eastmond is free to play against his former club after completing his three-game ban in midweek.

Arsenal – Arsene Wenger is expected to field a fairly strong side here in a bid to avoid further embarassment following a week to forget for the Arsenal manager.

Laurent Koscielny is not expected to feature after coming off injured in their 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Danny Welbeck played for the U23s on Sunday and won;t be involved here as Arsene Wenger manages his return from long-term injury very carefully.

Injury ruled Lucas Perez out of the Bayern game and he should feature here if he can recover in time.

Match Facts

Arsenal are undefeated in 18 of their last 19 FA Cup matches.

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Arsenal’s last 8 games in FA Cup.

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Sutton United have won 5 of their last 6 matches (FA Cup).

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As at this post Sutton United has 24.89 odd to win the match on Naija and Bet while Arsenal has 1.07 has odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 10.53.

How will this Match end?

 

Match Preview : Real Madrid vs Espanyol

Real Madrid have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven competitive outings, but have lost only one of their last 24 home games in La Liga.

Zinedine Zidane’s men have won their last seven consecutive league fixtures at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, leaving Espanyol with quite a task on their hands.

Espanyol’s impressive three-match winning run was ended away from home last time out, as Quique Sanchez Flores’ men sank to a 2-1 loss against Real Sociedad. NaijaBet.com

Team News

Real Madrid – Toni Kroos is available for league action once again after his ban, which will mean that Mateo Kovacic starts on the bench.

Lucas Vazquez should be preferred to James Rodriguez out on the right-hand side against his former club.

FA CUP Preview : Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Chelsea

Wolves’ form has tailed off since beating Liverpool in the last round of the FA Cup. Paul Lambert’s side have lost each of their last three, although their last two have only ended in 1-0 defeats.

Chelsea are unbeaten in seven matches since losing to Tottenham at the start of January and should have more than enough to overcome Wolves on Saturday despite the fact Antonio Conte is expected to make wholesale changes once again. NaijaBet.com

Chelsea won 6-0 the last time these two sides met back in 2012 and a repeat scoreline may not be far off this weekend.

Team News

Wolverhampton Wanderers – Wolves manager Paul Lambert could make changes to his normal XI here and reward some of the players that helped them beat Liverpool in the last round.

FA CUP Match Preview : Huddersfield vs Manchester City

Huddersfield are in tremendous form having won each of their last six. In fact, David Wagner’s side have won 12 of their last 14 in all competitions.

Manchester City have won each of their last four but have been rocked by Gabriel Jesus’ long-term injury.

Depending on the strength of the two sides fielded by either manager there could be a real chance of a cup upset for Huddersfield this weekend.

Team News

Huddersfield – Huddersfield manager David Wagner has rotated his squad in the previous rounds of the FA Cup and could do so again here with the club only four points adrift of second place in the Championship. NaijaBet

Aaron Mooy is ineligible due to the terms in his loan agreement with his parent club Manchester City.

Manchester City – Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out for up to three months with a broken metatarsal, while Ilkay Gündogan is also ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Claudio Bravo could be given the chance to regain his starting berth in the Manchester City team with an appearance against Huddersfield here, while Vincent Kompany is also expected to make his first appearance since the end of January.

Jesus Navas, Fabian Delph, Kelechi Iheanacho, Nolito and Fernando have struggled for game time of late and will also be pushing for starts, while Pep Guardiola could even turn to some of the youngsters at the club.

Match Facts

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Man City’s last 5games (FA Cup).

There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Huddersfield’s last 4 games in FA Cup.

Huddersfield have scored at least 2 goals in their last 4 FA Cup matches.

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As at this post Huddersfield Town has 7.93 odd to win the match on Naija and Bet while Manchester City has 1.36 has odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 4.87.

How will this Match end? ?

Europa League Preview : Manchester United vs Saint-Etienne

Manchester United have not lost in 12 European home matches against sides from France, while Saint-Etienne have lost each of their last three matches in England.

The French side not be underestimated, however. Saint-Etienne are unbeaten in all 10 of their Europa League games this season and have four of their five away matches in the competition.

Saint-Etienne are currently fifth in Ligue 1 where only Paris Saint-Ger- main (19) have conceded fewer goals (18). United are been guilty of missing plenty of chances this season and they will need to improve their form in front of goal here in order to try and get the job done in the first leg. Place Bet on NaijaBet.com

Team News

Manchester United – Jose Mourinho is expected to name a near full strength side for the first leg of their Europa League clash against Saint-Etienne, with a view to making changes in the FA Cup at the weekend.

Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones missed out at the weekend and are still injury doubts for Thursday’s clash.

Europa League Preview : Villarreal vs Roma

Villarreal have only lost two of their last 14 matches in all competitions but have struggled to turn draws into wins. In fact, half of those matches have ended in a draw.

The Yellow Submarines have only won one of their last five in the Europa League and they must change that run to have any chance of overcoming Roma in this tie.

Roma have won nine of their last 11 matches and have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven away matches in all competitions. Luciano Spalletti’s side will be happy to come away with a draw here and will fancy their chances of winning in the return leg at home. Naija and Bet

Team News

Villarreal – Roberto Soriano was sent off at the weekend but his suspension in La Liga will not prohibit his involvement in Thursday’s meeting with Roma.

Europa League Preview : Gent vs Tottenham

Tottenham are winless in four matches in Belgium and have only won one of their last seven away matches in the Europa League. Mauricio Pochettino’s side also come into this match off the back of a dreadful 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Gent’s results have been disappointing this season but their home form has been strong. They did lose last time out on home soil but that was only their third defeat in 19 home matches in all competitions this season.

Tottenham are favourites to come through this tie but may still have some work to do when they return to London for the second leg.

Team News

Gent – No surprises are expected from Gent, who are expected to line up with much of the same team that has got them this far in the competition. Renato Neto is one booking away from suspension. NaijaBet.com 

Europa League Preview : Borussia M.Gladbach vs Fiorentina

Gladbach are unbeaten in five competitive matches in 2017 and have won each of their last four.

Fiorentina’s form away from home hasn’t been great in recent months. In fact, the Viola have only won two of their last six on the road and have lost the other four.

Gladbach did not win any of their three home matches in the Champions League before dropping into the Europa League knock-out phase but have reason to be optimistic ahead of the return leg in Italy.

Team News

Borussia M.Gladbach – Raffael hasn’t featured in any of Gladbach’s last two and is a doubt ahead of the reception of Fiorentina on Thursday, while Jonas Hofmann is also a doubt. Kolo, Ibrahima Traore, Marvin Schulz and Mamadou Doucoure are sidelined.Predict,Play & Win big on NaijaBet.com

Gladbach seemed to use the winter break to work on a 4-4-2 formation and they are unbeaten in competitive matches in 2017 having moved away from a three-man defence that has been seen at the club in recent times. New coach Dieter Hecking should continue with two banks of four and two strikers against Fiorentina on Thursday.