THE ULTRA SATURDAY: The Ultra previews the start of the new Serie A season as Sassuolo host Napoli and then over in La Liga Levante host Barcelona with two recommended BETDAQ bet’s.
SASSUOLO V NAPOLI
5.30pm We have a cracking Saturday from Europe on Betdaq Betting Exchange! We had the return of the Bundesliga with Friday night football, and now Serie A is back with a bang on Saturday! Napoli opening things up away to Sassuolo, and then later on we have Barcelona back in action in La Liga after starting their campaign with a win last weekend. I’m sure the away double with the reigning Champions will be a popular bet this weekend! As you would expect, Napoli come into the game as the odds on favourites – they are trading 1.64 with Sassuolo 6.4 and the draw is 4.0 at the time of writing. We had an incredible title race in Serie A last season which went all the way down to the final day of the season – or the final weekend given Serie A break up their fixtures – and hopefully we see a similar amount of drama in the title race this season! This is a game that Napoli will be fully expected to win – Sassuolo go relegated in 2023/24 but backed straight back up finishing top of Serie B last season. They won that very easily, but obviously the gulf in class is massive between Serie A and Serie B.
When Sassuolo went down in 2023/24, it was because they were so poor at the back. They had the third worst defensive xG figure but they were conceding close to two goals per game on average – as the saying goes you don’t win many games conceding twice! Their attacking figure was only an average xG created of 1.15 too; obviously it’ll be interesting to see how they improved since then and perhaps they gained some confidence in Serie B, but it is really hard to see past a Napoli win here. Sassuolo are very limited, and I’d have Napoli sub 1.5 to be honest – the 1.59 looks cracking value. I know Napoli over-performed in front of goal last season, but they were exceptionally good at the back – they finished the season with an average xG conceded of just 0.98. Both Teams Not To Score has to be an option here at 1.87 given how solid Napoli were at the back last season. I couldn’t put anyone off that bet, however Napoli at 1.64 looks cracking value to start the Serie A season. It’s the opening weekend so I’m not going to go crazy with stakes!
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Napoli to beat Sassuolo at 1.64 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SASaNa
LEVANTE V BARCELONA
8.30pm We move over to La Liga to finish Saturday night with the Champions back in action! Barcelona travel to take on Levante who are back in La Liga again after getting relegated in 2021/22. We know the gulf in class between La Liga and the Segunda is big, and Levante were a little unlucky not to bounce straight back up as they finished third in 2022/23 – level on points with Las Palmas too. They had a shocker the following season finishing down in eighth, but got things right topping the table last season. Despite that obvious boost in confidence, it’s hard to not see them struggling this season – their main goal will be avoiding relegation. We see time and time again how hard it is to stay up given all the money in the top flight these days. Levante opened their season with a loss away to Alaves and given how close Alaves finished to the relegation zone last season, you know it might be a long season for Levante. Their home form will be absolutely key if they are indeed to survive, and perhaps we shouldn’t judge them on games with Barcelona!
It’s very hard to see past a comfortable win for Barcelona here, and it’s no surprise that they come into the game as the red-hot favourites. Barcelona are trading 1.28 with Levante 12.0 and the draw is 7.0 at the time of writing. With Barcelona so short, we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value here – that being said, I’d happily include Barcelona in any weekend Acca! Barcelona kept a clean sheet on their way to winning 3-0 against Mallorca last weekend, but that was made a little easier with a reasonably early red card for Mallorca. Both Teams Not To Score is trading 2.2 which is an appealing bet in my opinion given Barcelona are very likely to dominate the game here and have a lot of the ball. Another nice option is Barcelona to cover the 1.5 goal handicap which is trading 1.77. I couldn’t put anyone off either bet to be honest, but I marginally prefer Both Teams Not To Score at 2.2.
The Ultra Says:
One point win Both Teams Not To Score at 2.2 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LLLeBa
