BETDAQ’s Greg Walker is back with an in-depth preview Sunday’s La Liga clash between FC Barcelona v Real Betis which is live on Sky.
Greg is now 17.67 points in front with 18 WINNING BETS FROM 32 !!
Greg is BETDAQ’s spokesperson and has plenty to say on the subject of football. Each week he brings his recommended BETDAQ bets across a range of matches but with focus on his area of expertise – European and International football.
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He now previews FC Barcelona v Real Betis…..
La Liga
FC Barcelona v Real Betis
KO 20:00, Sunday
Bravo Bundesliga….
What a sensational couple of weeks it has been in European football with the Bundesliga blazing past the Primera Liga to claim both places in the 2013 Champion’s League final and firmly establish Germany as the number one league in Europe. FC Hollywood showed that both pressing whilst playing top quality football can be played by teams other than FC Barcelona. Bayern’s compatriots, the entertaining Borussia Dortmund, were more than deserved of their victory over a Real Madrid side that would NOT merit the nickname ‘Los Galacticos’. I had mentioned in past articles that Lionel Messi plays too many games a season, every season, and there is a serious risk of burn out for the world’s best player. I firmly believe this was a factor over the two legs against Bayern Munich however the German’s played so well that even Messi at his best may not have been enough to stop the Munchens. Dortmund for their part scraped through to the semi-final in controversial circumstances against a dogged Malaga outfit but their was nothing controversial about Dortmund hit-man Robert Lewndowski. The clinical Croatian stuck four past Los Blancos in the first leg and that was enough to have Mourhino looking for an exit door quicker than an arsonist in a fireworks factory.
Wide open races….
There are just five games left in this season’s La Liga and as with most leagues across Europe the relegation battles and qualification for European places is coming to the fore. At this stage in La Liga the relegation battle is still wide open with three of any seven teams in danger of going down. At the other end the current top three are all set for Champion’s league places with surprise pack Sociedad fighting it out with Valencia for the coveted fourth place (Malaga banned). In the race for Europa league places it is Andalusia club Real Betis who lead the way and it is their visit to Champion’s elect FC Barcelona for which I will be previewing this week.
Villanova’s Victory….
Pre-Season Champion’s League favourites FC Barcelona were emphatically knocked out by a fantastic Bayern Munich side over two legs and all thoughts of negativity must be well and truly erased come Sunday. The ‘Blaugrana’ could become Champion’s on this night in the unlikely event that Real Madrid fail to beat Real Valladolid the previous day. Barca coach Tito Villanova has only recently returned to normal coaching duties from personal illness however it seems clear now that he does not have the same psychological impact on this team as his predecessor Pep Guardiola. In saying that Villanova is on the verge of winning the La Liga title in his first season as first team coach however in this writer’s opinion if the Champion’s league is not won by the Catalan born coach next season then president Rossell will be calling for an amicable farewell handshake.
Whilst Villanova and his team of superstars will be devastated by their recent CL defeats it should not be too difficult to pick themselves up for a game in front of their faithful followers that may win or cement their victory in La Liga 2012-13.
6/4 FC Barcelona 12/5 Draw 15/8 ‘Black Swan 11’…..!
In the aftermath of last Wednesday’s defeat Villanova strangely announced that their star player, Lionel Messi, was fit to play however was concerned about a knock he took in the previous weekend’s Athletic Bilbao game (should he have played there?!). In fairness to the Barca coach, had things gone Barcelona’s way early on then I can understand there would be no better player in the world to spring into a game and hunt down a victory than Leo Messi. The fact that a more or less fit Messi did not start then is surely bad news for next Sunday’s visitors Real Betis. Their is a strange train of thought that in football gambling a team that plays a tough midweek European game should always be worth laying in their domestic game the following weekend. I for one do not believe in this and just to destroy the social media and sporting medias thoughts over the past few days, FC Barcelona (& Real Madrid) have not become an inferior team to the ‘black swan’ Sunday morning pub team based on getting knocked out of the CL at the semi-final stage.
Mel’s Matadors….
Real Betis are a fantastic side to watch. The Seville based club have been playing exciting football all season and are the third highest scorers away from home with twenty six goals. Betis star player is Ruben Castro in which they have a wonderfully talented striker who is on sixteen goals for the season to date. Betis coach Pep Mel believes in his players enough to let them play attacking football no matter what the opposition. Their defence is not exactly watertight but Mel’s policy of we will score more than ye has paid off with a Europa league place within touching distance. In Betis’s last away game to Real Madrid they lost three goals to one however had seven shots on target and hit the woodwork twice. Previous to that they were involved in a six goal thriller against bitter rival’s Seville. The Andalusia club’s form has dipped of late having won only three of their last fourteen Liga games but their offensive style remains intact.
Gols per favour….
The Champion’s league is over for FC Barcelona this season and all that matters now is the closing out their La Liga victory. They are coming up against a team when at their best are very dangerous however play a risky style of football. The World’s best player will be back in the starting eleven for the home side and Messi has scored goals aplenty against teams of this stature throughout his career. I will be pretty shocked if the Catalans do not manage to score at least two against this Betis dodgy defence however based on the visitors ability to create chances I feel we should play it safe and may or may not need a little help from the away team to secure a profit.
Betting on BETDAQ-Greg’s Tips:
BACK 4 POINTS OVER 3.5 GOALS @ 2.04
PROFIT TO DATE: 17.67 points
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