WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE: The Ultra previews Wednesday’s games between INTER MILAN v JUVENTUS and RAYO VALLECANO v BARCELONA both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
INTER MILAN V JUVENTUS
8pm The midweek action from Europe continues on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with two massive fixtures on Wednesday! All eyes will be on the Coppa Italia as Inter Milan face Juventus in their second leg of the Semi-Final. The first leg of this tie was very spicy with red cards and late goals. To be honest, you couldn’t blame Romelu Lukaku for the way he acted given the racial abuse, but nevertheless the way things ended I would expect this tie to have an edge to it again. Last week was a good week for both sides – Inter Milan reached the Semi-Final of the Champions League and Juventus got their 15 point deduction overturned. Even though they lost to Napoli at the weekend, they still jumped up the table into third and they are in a pretty strong position for a top four finish. Things could be a lot better though – they have lost their last three Serie A games, and with wins for AC Milan and Inter Milan at the weekend we’re set to have a fantastic finish in the top four race. This should be a high quality game though, and it’s going to be a real tense affair. It’s hard to see the game being very open – I can see a very cagey first half anyway before things open up slightly in the second half. The tie probably comes at a good time for Inter as they have been playing the better football.
They have home advantage too, which is a big positive given the atmosphere in the first leg. The home side come into the game as the 2.14 favourites with Juventus trading 3.9 and the draw is 3.4 at the time of writing. There isn’t much between the sides when you look at the under-lining numbers, but Inter have created the better chances this season. Their average xG created is 1.8 compared to Juventus at 1.5. What I will say about Juventus however is that they have grinded out a lot of results; Inter have created a lot of chances but struggled to take them – especially recently. They dropped a lot of points in Serie A when they shouldn’t have. For example they finished a 2-1 loss to Spezia with an xG of 3.51, a 1-0 loss to Fiorentina with an xG of 2.71 and a 1-1 draw to Salernitana with an xG of 2.28. The sides met in March in Serie A, and Juventus won here 1-0 despite conceding an xG of over double what they created. I feel Inter will be the better side, but they haven’t been converting their chances enough to back them at 2.14. I feel we’ll see another very cagey game here without many chances – Under 2.5 goals jumps off the page at 1.75 and I have to say I expected that to be trading shorter. Unders has won both times when the sides met in Serie A this season, and the first leg too.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.75 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/IntJve
RAYO VALLECANO V BARCELONA
9pm We move to La Liga to finish the evening as Rayo Vallecano welcome Barcelona. At the start of the midweek La Liga fixtures, Barcelona had an 11 point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of the table, and they are currently sailing to a title win. Quite the achievement considering what they went through off the pitch last season, and on it to be honest. They have had to re-form, and they have been fantastic this season. They won another big game at the weekend with a hard fought 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid – although they had to settle for two 0-0 draws against Girona and Getafe prior to that game, they had created enough to win those games. Most casual football fans will expect a Barcelona win here, and I’m sure they will be a popular bet at 1.8! At the time of writing, Rayo Vallecano are 5.2 and the draw is 3.9. Rayo Vallecano will be pleased with their season – they currently sit in mid-table and they have been stress free all season too. It’s a great achievement for them to finish in the top half of the table after coming from the Segunda playoffs in 2020/21 where they finished sixth too – 15 points behind Espanyol who are massively in the relegation fight this season!
The Rayo Vallecano under-lining numbers aren’t impressive however, and Barcelona should get the job done here. Rayo Vallecano are conceding marginally more chances than they are creating – their average xG conceded is 1.5 while their average created is 1.3. Compare this to Barcelona who create an average xG of 2.2! They have been rock solid at the back too – that’s where they have the most impressive numbers actually. Their average xG conceded is 0.9, but their actual goals conceded works out at only 0.3! Barcelona have been impressive away from home all season, they are six points clear on the away form table. Rayo Vallecano have been solid at home and away this season, but I feel there’s a gulf in class between the sides and I was surprised to see Barcelona trading as big as 1.8 when I clicked into the market. I know they were held to two draws recently, but they still played very well – they are worth backing here at 1.8.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Barcelona to beat Rayo Vallecano at 1.8 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/RayBar
