LA LIGA AND SERIE A: The Ultra previews BARCELONA v ATHLETIC BILBAO and NAPOLI v ATALANTA both with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
BARCELONA v ATHLETIC BILBAO
3.15pm It’s superb to have domestic football back, and we have a huge Saturday on Betdaq Betting Exchange! We have some cracking games from La Liga and Serie A to enjoy! We kick the day off over in La Liga as Barcelona host Athletic Bilbao – the return of the Camp Nou awaits! Barcelona had a good weekend prior to the International Break as Real Madrid dropped points away to Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona had already done that previously this season, but now the gap is down to just three points after Real went five clear winning El Clasico. There’s going to be a lot of drama in the La Liga title race this season yet; Barcelona might be the behind but they have the best attacking figure and the best defensive figure. The margins are very small though – there’s only 0.04 between the sides on attacking figures and 0.05 between them on defensive figures. The market is expecting a straightforward win for Barcelona here, and it’s clear that Athletic Bilbao haven’t been at their best this season – they were fourth last season and it looked like they had a chance to lock in that fourth spot for a few years with Sevilla dropping off, but they have already lost five games this season and they are eight points off the top four coming into this weekend.
Barcelona are trading 1.46 with Athletic Bilbao 7.4 and the draw is 5.3 at the time of writing. Barcelona’s under-lining numbers have been exceptionally good this season – their average xG created is 2.3 and their average xG conceded is 1.04 – you can’t really find fault with that! Obviously they have the ongoing injury concern with Lamine Yamal, and it seems that they will have the manage his workload very closely this season. Bilbao are in the top seven on attacking figures; a good bit behind Barcelona but they can hold their own at the back – they are actually only 0.01 behind Barcelona on defensive figures which is very impressive. Their success last season was built off being strong at the back. What has gone wrong this season is they have struggled to convert their chances! I actually feel this will be hard work for Barcelona, and I wouldn’t be rushing to back them at 1.46 – I’d expect Bilbao to come here and defend. Under 2.5 goals is 2.56 which looks a very nice price, Both Teams Not To Score is also very appealing at 2.16 given how good both sides have been at the back and how much Bilbao have struggled to find the net this season. I couldn’t put anyone off either bet, but Unders looks very good value in my opinion.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 2.56 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/LLBaAt
NAPOLI v ATALANTA
7.45pm We move over to Serie A to finish Saturday with another cracker! Napoli host Atalanta is another huge game today, and this is a massive game for both sides too. Napoli are on the backfoot in the title race after losing to Bologna prior to the International Break. That followed a draw at home to Como – Cesc Fabregas is doing a wonderful job there – and that left Napoli two points behind Inter Milan and Roma. Inter Milan lost back-to-back games quite early into the season, and Napoli have already given up quite an advantage. Now without International football for a while, they need to build a run of momentum. It’s quite clear that Inter Milan have been playing the better football in Serie A this season – granted everyone has dropped points at some stage, and I’m sure there’s plenty more drama to come in the title race this season! Atalanta are going through a very rough patch this season – they come into this weekend sitting down in 13th, miles off the European spots. They are already nine points off the top four, and they have gone seven Serie A games without a win. Indeed, they’ve only managed two Serie A wins this season!
If you look at their under-lining numbers, it’s clear to see what’s going wrong. Their average xG created is 1.57 and in the top five, but they simply aren’t converting those chances. They have been woeful in front of goal, and that is obviously costing them dearly. We should have an interesting games here though – there’s actually only 0.06 between the sides on attacking figures if Atalanta were actually converting their chances. As you would expect with home advantage, Napoli are favourites at 2.34 with Atalanta 3.5 and the draw is 3.4 at the time of writing. Neither side would fill you with confidence recently, and the draw does make appeal at 3.4 in what should be a very close game. You’d have to feel that there won’t be many chances here either, a classic cagey Italian game, and Under 2.5 goals has to be an option at 1.83 too. I couldn’t put anyone off either bet to be honest, but for me there is more value in the Unders bet, and that’s a confident selection in what should be a very tight game.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.83 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/SANaAt
