SUNDAY IN EUROPE: The Ultra previews Sunday’s top European matches all with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
BARCELONA V VALENCIA
3.15pm We have another cracking day of action around Europe on BETDAQ Betting Exchange on Sunday! Barcelona and Real Madrid are both in action in La Liga after their El Clasico in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night, and then we have Roma v Juventus in Serie A! It’s going to be a fantastic day, and we kick off the action in La Liga with Barcelona hosting Valencia. Barcelona recorded a huge 1-0 win over Real Madrid away from home in the Copa del Rey, and they have one foot in the Final given they’ll have home advantage in the second leg plus they could have some of their major players back. There’s a month between the home and away ties in the Semi-Finals! Valencia also come into this game off the back of a huge win – they managed a 1-0 win last weekend at home against Real Sociedad. That stopped a run of seven losses and one draw in their eight games since La Liga returned after the World Cup. They dropped all the way down to the relegation zone on that run, and they are still sitting in the bottom three despite that win last weekend. A fixture away to Barcelona isn’t going to decide their fate this season, anything here is a bonus, but they really need points over the next month.
I was surprised to see Barcelona trading as high as 1.56 when I clicked into the market. I felt we’d see them trading closer to 1.4. I know they have a few players missing at the moment, but it didn’t bother them away to Real Madrid on Thursday. We landed a Max Lay on Real Madrid then, but Barcelona did let us down last weekend against Almeria. In fairness, they did finish the 1-0 loss with an xG of 1.91 and could have won the game if they took their chances. It’s hard to find a better value bet in this game than the Barcelona win at 1.56. Valencia have been very poor this season, and even in their win last weekend they conceded an xG of close to double what they created and they had home advantage too. They have been very poor away from home – they’ve only managed six points on the road this season and I’m very happy to take the 1.56 on Barcelona. A confident bet to start the day!
The Ultra Says:
Four points win Barcelona to beat Valencia at 1.56 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BarVln
RAYO VALLECANO V ATHLETIC BILBAO
5.30pm We stay in La Liga next as Rayo Vallecano host Athletic Bilbao. This might not be one for the casual fans, but it’s a massive game for these two sides in the race for European football next season. Rayo Vallecano are having a dream season and started the weekend sitting in sixth place. Even getting into the Europa Conference League would be a great achievement considering Rayo Vallecano finished sixth in the Segunda in the 2020/21 season! Their aim last season would have just been to stay in La Liga, and now they are battling for European football. Athletic Bilbao come into this game two points behind Rayo Vallecano at the start of the weekend, and they have Villarreal and Osasuna in between them. Bilbao lost midweek to Osasuna in the Copa del Rey, and if they don’t win it they’ll be hoping that Real Madrid or Barcelona do from the other Semi-Final so there is another European spot down the table. This is a huge game for both sides in the race for sixth – the top five look too far away now, and to be honest too good to be caught.
We have a very open betting heat here, and it’s hard to see anything bar a very close game. Athletic Bilbao are the marginal favourites, and they have been the better side this season if you look at the under-lining numbers. Rayo Vallecano are marginally conceding more chances than they create this season so from that point of view, you would expect to see them drop down the table as the season goes on. They would have been very disappointed to lose to Cadiz last weekend, but what a big win that was for Cadiz. Athletic Bilbao have been a lot more solid – their average xG created is 1.6 and their average conceded is only 1.0. I would definitely lean towards them as my winner here, however this game screams a lack of goals and a very cagey affair. I can’t see either side playing an open game, and Under 2.5 goals really stands out at 1.63. I would be surprised if we saw an end-to-end open game here!
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Under 2.5 goals at 1.63 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/RayAth
ROMA V JUVENTUS
7.45pm We move over to Serie A next for an absolute cracker! This is the highlight of the day as Roma take on Juventus. Both sides have been playing alongside each other over the last while – they were in action in the Europa League and then both played on Tuesday night. Juventus ran out 4-2 winners over Torino, and who knows they might actually creep back into the European spots. They started the weekend six points behind Atalanta in sixth. I think the Champions League is gone, but they could still end up in the Europa League which wouldn’t be a bad outcome considering they got docked 15 points! Roma fell out of the Champions League spots last weekend, and then didn’t get back in with a 2-1 loss to Cremonese. Jose Mourinho got a red card on the side line, and it was just a total disaster for them. Roma probably deserved a draw, but they didn’t create enough to win the game. That was Cremonese first win of the season – and what a bad time for Roma! I said in my preview of that game that if Roma get a Champions League finish this season winning games against sides in the bottom three was a must – they slipped up!
Another loss here would be a huge setback for Roma in the top four race. They started the weekend only three points behind Inter Milan and AC Milan, and then one point behind Lazio. All it not lost, but they need a result here. A draw wouldn’t be a bad result and move on. Anyone following Serie A this season will know that Juventus haven’t been at their best this season, but they have been grinding out a lot of results. That’s a massive credit to them, and they have been hard to beat too – they would be sitting in second without the 15 points deduction. We have an exceptionally open market here, and Roma are the marginal favourites at 2.86. There’s only ten ticks between the sides with Juventus 2.96, and all I can see is a very cagey game here. Mourinho won’t play an open game, and Juventus haven’t been creating a huge amount of chances this season. I really likes the draw at 3.15 in what should be a very cagey and close affair. Roma keep things tight in the big games, and I’d expect to see that again.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Draw at 3.15 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/RomJuv
REAL BETIS V REAL MADRID
8pm We move back to La Liga to finish a cracking Sunday as Real Betis host Real Madrid. This is a huge game for both sides, and we should have an entertaining game here. Manuel Pellegrini has done a wonderful job with Real Betis, but they must be a little disappointed not to be sitting in the top four. After Sevilla had such a bad start to the season you would have thought Real Betis were the next in line, but Real Sociedad have gone past them. That being said, Sociedad lost last weekend and Betis started the weekend only three points behind them, and two behind Atletico Madrid in fourth. Everything is still to play for! Real Madrid had a poor night on Thursday losing an El Clasico Copa del Rey Semi-Final – Barcelona were without three of their four best players and Real Madrid were well backed all day on Betdaq but they lost 1-0. They face a tough challenge now 1-0 down with the second leg at the Camp Nou. The only positive was that it wasn’t in La Liga because they remain seven points behind Barcelona there. Every game has become a must win game for Real Madrid now with that gap – Barcelona lost last weekend too but Real had to accept a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid despite finishing the game with an xG of over 2.0.
Betis haven’t been as good this season compared to last, and Real Madrid come into this game as the odds on favourites. They are trading 1.8 at the time of writing, perhaps a reflection of Betis missing two key players in Canales and Fekir through injury. The brilliant Luka Modric is out for Real though, and I wouldn’t be rushing to back them at 1.8 away from home. Betis have been playing a very open game this season – their average xG created is 1.6 and their average conceded is 1.5. Real are obviously creating very high figures going forward, and I’d be surprised if we didn’t see goals here. Betis have been conceding a lot of sloppy goals recently too – their last five games have all had Over 2.5 goals. That’s trading 1.94 and that price really jumps off the page here. Bigger than the Real Madrid win, I’m very happy with Overs here. If we see an early goal I wouldn’t be surprised to see five or more goals as the game will be so end-to-end, but the 1.94 on Over 2.5 goals is too big to ignore.
The Ultra Says:
Three points win Over 2.5 goals at 1.94 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/BetRma
