THURSDAY IN EUROPE: The Ultra previews ESPANYOL v BARCELONA with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
ESPANYOL V BARCELONA
8.30pm The midweek action from Europe continues on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE with the focus on La Liga on Thursday night! We have a local derby as Espanyol host Barcelona, and after Barcelona won El Clasico at the weekend, Hansi Flick’s side have the opportunity to confirm the title win here. They came into this midweek round of fixtures seven points clear with three games to play, so we all know it’s all over bar the shouting! Espanyol are still on the edge of the relegation battle – they started the weekend five points away from the bottom three, so there’s a lot at stake here.
As you would expect given the gulf in class between the sides, Barcelona come into the game as the red-hot odds on favourites. Barcelona are trading 1.33 with Espanyol 10.5 and the draw is 6.4 at the time of writing. Espanyol have actually done remarkably well to not be sitting in the relegation zone looking at their under-lining numbers. They have the second worst attacking figure with an average xG created of 1.05, and they have the second worst defensive figure with an average xG conceded of 1.72. Very poor figures to be honest; you have to give them credit for grinding out as many results as they have managed, but obviously their level is very low.
Compared to Barcelona, the under-lining numbers are night-and-day apart. It’s hard to knock Barcelona as Champions of La Liga this season – they have the best attacking figure and the best defensive figure this season. They are the only side with an average xG created over 2.0 and an average xG conceded under 1.0 – very impressive figures, and bar a very dramatic Semi-Final they could easily be going for the treble in the Champions League Final in a few weeks but Inter Milan had different ideas!
Given the gulf in class between the sides, it’s exceptionally difficult to see past a Barcelona win here. There’s no prizes for tipping 1.33 shots however, so we’ll have to look around the side markets for some value. I feel this one is about how many goals can Barcelona score rather than will they actually win, so obviously attention goes to the handicap and goal markets. Barcelona are trading 1.87 -1.5 goals in the handicap market, and another nice option is Both Teams Not To Score at 2.1. Given how limited Espanyol have been going forward and how good Barcelona have been at the back, I actually feel the best value is with Both Teams Not To Score – Barcelona can keep a clean sheet on the way to winning here.
The Ultra Says:
Two points win Both Teams Not To Score at 2.1 with BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE.
You can view all markets here -> https://betdaq.biz/EspBrc
