SATURDAY IN EUROPE: The Ultra previews Saturday’s top games from Serie A and La Liga with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
JUVENTUS V LAZIO
2pm We have a blockbuster Saturday from Europe on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE this week! What a way to return after the International break with high quality action from Serie A and La Liga. We have two huge clashes in Serie A, including a Milan Derby because we move over to La Liga to finish the day with Barcelona. We kick off the action with Juventus hosting Lazio. It felt strange not having Juventus in the Champions League draw this season, and we kick off that tournament next week. Of course they were hammered with a ten point deduction, otherwise they would have been there. The aim this season has to be to get back into that top four, and they’ll be eying up Lazio’s place despite Lazio managing to finish in second place ahead of the two Milan clubs. Lazio produced some very consistent football last season, but their xG stats were the weakest of any club around them – they will be a target for anyone this season wanting to improve their spot. You have to give them credit for grinding out so many results, but they definitely over-performed. They are on the back foot already this season with two losses from their opening three games, but after a terrible start to the season with losses to Lecce and Genoa they shocked everyone before the International break with a 2-1 win away to Napoli!
That was a big surprise considering their opening losses against weak clubs. Juventus wouldn’t have been taking this fixture lightly at all after last season, but that result will certainly focus the minds in the dressing room! The home side are trading marginally odds on at the time of writing – Juventus are 1.95 with Lazio 4.6 and the draw is 3.55. Juventus are unbeaten in their three Serie A games thus far, but they would have been very disappointed to draw 1-1 with Bologna with home advantage. It’s not like they were creating a host of chances either, and they have been a little sluggish in front of goal to start the season. Their average xG is 1.42; they could only managed 1.51 against Bologna. Lazio have conceded more chances than they have created, but they will approach this fixture in a very cagey fashion in my opinion. From the 38 times the sides have met, only 45% of games have finished with Over 2.5 goals. Under 2.5 is goals is trading 1.81 here and I feel that bet jumps off the page. Lazio will be quite negative with their tactics and Juventus are clearly struggling to create chances.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.81 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/JveLzo
INTER MILAN V AC MILAN
5pm We stay in Serie A next for the biggest fixture of them all in Italy; the Milan Derby! This is a top of the table clash too after both sides won their opening three games – the only two sides left with a perfect record. Looking at the under-lining numbers, AC Milan are definitely the luckier side of the two to win their opening three games. They had the tougher fixture list as well though having to play away to Roma before the International break. Their average xG was 1.37, whereas Inter Milan created an average xG of 2.09. They have also conceded less chances as well; to be honest last season the only side who could perform even close to the level of Napoli was Inter Milan on xG figures. But they conceded too many sloppy goals and didn’t take their chances. If they can start taking all the chances they are creating they should make a huge challenge for the title this season in my opinion. On the other hand, AC Milan will have a challenge on their hands to keep their top four spot. Juventus would have knocked them out of the top four bar the point deduction, but AC Milan will be hoping that Lazio don’t grind out as many results as last season. We always have a fascinating game between these two, and I don’t expect anything less here – there’s always plenty of drama too!
Inter Milan are the favourites at 2.22 with AC Milan trading 3.6 and the draw is also 3.6 at the time of writing. Historically, Inter have had the upper hand in this fixture. They’ve won 56% of the meetings between the sides while it’s only 22% of AC Milan. The Over/Under 2.5 goals market is very close to 2.0 either side of the book, and historically that’s pretty much bang on too – 47% of the meetings have had Over 2.5 goals. Inter Milan have definitely been the better side over the last few seasons though; they have won the last four meetings and they have been playing much better football this season too. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a cagey affair here with AC Milan happy with a draw – the last three meetings have ended with Under 2.5 goals so I would lean towards that outcome, however the 2.22 looks like a nice price on Inter Milan here. They have started the season creating lots of chances, and they can out score AC Milan in what should be a low scoring game anyway.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Inter Milan to beat AC Milan at 2.22 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/IntMln
BARCELONA V REAL BETIS
8pm We move to La Liga to finish a cracking Saturday as Barcelona host Real Betis. What a day of superb fixtures! This should be a cracking game too; Real Betis weren’t at their best last season but they will be eying up a top four challenge again this season. They came up short when they got close in 2021/22 and to be honest they would have been the favourites to take that spot in the top four when Sevilla started the season so poorly last season. They weren’t good enough however. It’s interesting to see Sevilla have started their season with three losses again; and Real Betis will be one of the sides hoping to get into fourth spot. I thought Sevilla might improve this season to re-claim their top four spots, especially after winning the Europa League and still getting the Champions League money too. Whether or not Real Betis are good enough to take that fourth spot, it might not depend on their results against Barcelona. They have a terrible record against Barcelona – from the 25 times they’ve met they’ve only won twice! Barcelona have won 19 of the 25 meetings, it’s no wonder to see them trading as short as 1.41 then. If you fancy a surprise, Real Betis are 8.8 with the draw 5.5 at the time of writing.
Barcelona have started the season in great form. Unfortunately they dropped two points with an opening 0-0 draw away to Getafe, but they have an average xG of over 2.0 – a little worry would be how poor at the back they were against Villarreal, but they out-scored them in a 4-3 win! Real Betis, looking at the under-lining numbers, have started the season poorly. They won’t be unhappy with seven points from four games – they got a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid too – however the fact they have conceded more chances than they have created catches my eye. Their average xG created is only 1.07 too which is pretty poor. They struggled last season and it looks like they might struggle again this season too. To be honest I can’t see past the Barcelona win here, and I would recommended including them in any Acca this weekend at 1.41. I quite fancy them to score a few goals here though, and I’m going to take a chance on them to cover the 2.5 goal handicap at a very appealing price at 3.65.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Barcelona -2.5 goals to beat Real Betis at 3.65 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BarBts
