FRIDAY IN EUROPE: Our football tipster The Ultra previews Friday’s games between BOCHUM v GLADBACH and ATHLETIC BILBAO v GETAFE both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.

BOCHUM V GLADBACH

7.30pm It’s been a blockbuster week in Europe with the Last 16 of the Champions League and Europa League, but we get back to our usual Friday night slot on BETDAQ Betting Exchange with one game from the Bundesliga and one from La Liga. We start in the Bundesliga with Bochum hosting Gladbach, and I’m sure nobody at Gladbach thought they would be sitting behind Bochum in the table at this stage of the season. Gladbach were a top four side in 2019/20 but their fall has been sharp – they could only manage 8th last season and now they start the weekend sitting down in 13th. They need to really shake things up in the summer because they are going nowhere at the moment. All their issues have been at the back, and they are conceding two goals per game in the Bundesliga this season. I know the Bundesliga is a high scoring league, but you’re not going to win many games with stats like that. Bochum have adjusted to life in the Bundesliga very well this season, and they will be delighted with their performances. They have avoided a relegation battle, and although they aren’t great going forward they have kept things reasonably solid at the back.

This will be an interesting clash to see who wins out here – Gladbach are terrible at the back and Bochum are average going forward! I’m in the Bochum camp here because I feel home advantage is very important for them. They have only collected eight points away from home this season, but they have been much more comfortable at home netting 24 points from their 13 games. That’s a pretty good record considering they are new boys this season, and I’d have a much more open market here. We already have an open market with Gladbach trading 2.42, but I would have the sides closer together in the betting and I’m happy to lay the away win at the odds here. Gladbach have been so poor this season it’s hard to make a big case for them here, especially away from home. Bochum might only have eight points from 13 games away from home, but Gladbach only have nine! I expect Bochum to make this a very tough night for Gladbach, and I wouldn’t even be surprised if they won but it’s the Gladbach lay for me.

The Ultra Says:
Three points lay (liability) Gladbach to beat Bochum at 2.42 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQBocGla

ATHLETIC BILBAO V GETAFE

8pm Next we move to La Liga as Athletic Bilbao host Getafe. Athletic Bilbao have to pick themselves up after getting knocked out of the Copa Del Rey at the Semi-Final stage. They target that competition every season and before this season they had made it to the last two finals. After getting knocked out of that competition, they pretty much have nothing to play for now and it will be interesting to see how they perform going forward. Getafe have put a decent run together coming into this game, only losing twice in their last six and one of those games came away to Atletico Madrid. They are still in the relegation battle however, and although they have collected plenty of points in 2022 they can’t really put distance between themselves and the bottom three. They start this weekend four points ahead of Cadiz in 18th which is a nice cushion plus they have Mallorca and Granada between them, but they are by no means comfortable. Bilbao are having a decent season as they sit in 8th, but Getafe might feel that this is a good time to meet Bilbao and I’m sure there will be plenty of layers out there for Bilbao at odds on. Although there’s no getting away from the fact that there is a gulf in class between the sides here, I feel Bilbao are a good value lay at 1.78.

Getafe have been putting in some solid performances recently. They have been really solid at the back since the 4-3 loss to Atletico Madrid which was a crazy game. Since then they have conceded xG figures of 0.59, 1.36, 0.15 and 0.24. Those are some very good figures, and they were very unlucky to lose 2-0 to Espanyol while conceding an xG of 0.15. We all know Athletic Bilbao are a very up-and-down side – they can be brilliant or very average, however they have been much better at home recently. They are clearly struggling away from home, and home advantage might be a big factor here so I’m happy to keep stakes limited but I still feel Bilbao are worth a small lay at the odds. I expect Getafe to make this one a lot closer than 1.78 given how solid they have been at the back recently. Given the likely tactics from Getafe, it seems obviously to look at the goals market here with unders in mind, but the market is expecting a quiet game with under 2.5 goals trading 1.53.

The Ultra Says:
One point lay (liability) Athletic Bilbao to beat Getafe at 1.78 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.

You can view all markets here -> https://bit.ly/BDQBilGet