Mark O'Haire is in great form with his weekly column this season
Mark O'Haire is in great form with his weekly column this season

Mark O'Haire: Weekend football best bets and nap for December 18-19


Having seen 12 of his last 17 bets land, Mark O'Haire is a man in form, and he returns this week to share his best bets.

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  • Marl O'Haire's tipping record: 65 points staked | +72.3 points returned

Football betting tips: Serie A, Bundesliga

3pts Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals in Fiorentina v Sassuolo at 4/5 (bet365)

1.5pts Hoffenheim Double Chance and Over 2.5 Goals v Gladbach at 6/5 (bet365)

0.5pts Samir and Martin Caceres to be carded in Cagliari v Udinese at 11/1 (Sky Bet, William Hill)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

Members Extra: Football

Fiorentina vs Sassuolo

Fiorentina are flying in Serie A and La Viola have proven particularly impressive at their Stadio Artemio Franchi base in Florence.

Vincenzo Italiano has guided the group to fifth with the Tuscans tabling five successive victories on home soil, including a 4-0 thrashing of rock-bottom Salernitana last weekend.

Star striker and Serie A top goalscorer Dusan Vlahovic has been in fine form and is now just one goal away from equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-breaking total of 33 Serie A goals in a calendar year.

The 21-year-old is scoring at a rate of a goal every 101 minutes this term and has now notched in six of his past seven outings for Fiorentina ahead of Sunday.

The Serbian hitman should have plenty of opportunity to enhance his excellent return when Sassuolo pitch up at the Franchi for what’s expected to be a mouth-watering match-up with goals top of the agenda.

Fiorentina have struck 21 goals in eight home encounters under Italiano and managed to bag multiple goals in six of those fixtures as hosts.

All eight outings in Tuscany paid out for Over 2.5 Goals backers – four of which featured Over 3.5 Goals – with matches at the Franchi producing a whopping 3.88 goals per-game average.

The hosts have now seen 13/17 (76%) Over 2.5 winners across all venues, whilst their four clean sheets this campaign arrived against bottom-six opposition.

That should encourage attack-minded Sassuolo on Sunday.

Alessio Dionisi’s outfit have fired only two blanks in 2021/22, whilst keeping a paltry tally of two shutouts of their own. A hefty 14 (82%) Serie A contests have seen a minimum of three goals, including all eight of the Neroverdi’s road trips, five of which have also banked in the Over 3.5 Goals market.

Remarkably, Sassuolo’s away showdowns are also producing a massive 3.88 goals per-game, as Both Teams To Score has clicked in all eight previous tussles.

Indeed, Dionisi’s troops have delivered BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS profit in 11 consecutive league fixtures, making the 4/5 (1.80) on a repeat too good to turn down on Sunday.


Hoffenheim vs Borussia Monchengladbach

The Bundesliga has taken over as Europe’s highest scoring league this season following a few high-scoring shootouts. The division is running hot at 3.17 goals per-game with 40% of contests producing a minimum of four goals and 61% of matches seeing both sides score.

And it’s difficult to oppose goals when Hoffenheim and Borussia Monchengladbach lock horns in Sinsheim on Saturday. In-form Hoffe have climbed to fourth in the standings, winning four of their last five fixtures, as well as impressively battling back from 2-0 down to pinch a share of the spoils at Bayer Leverkusen in midweek.

TSG now return to their PreZero Arena home, where Sebastian Hoeness’ charges produce their best work. The home side have collected six straight victories here, and have managed to notch twice or more on each occasion. However, things are rarely straightforward when Hoffenheim are involved with basketball-style contests regularly served up.

"No team have had more yellows than Leeds this season!" | Premier League Best Bets

Across 15 Bundesliga encounters, Hoffe have scored twice or more on 10 occasions, yet leaked multiple goals in eight match-ups. We’ve had a 6-3, a 5-0, two 4-0s, two 3-2s, two 2-2s and two 3-1s – it’s been pretty wild following TSG with matches averaging a massive 3.67 goals per-game.

Visitors Gladbach are at a low ebb and appear particularly vulnerable this weekend. Die Fohlen have suffered four straight losses - conceding 17 goals - a run of results that includes a shocking 6-0 shellacking at home to Freiburg.

In midweek, Adi Hutter’s team chucked in another concerning defensive display in a 3-2 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Die Borussen have nilled their opponents just twice all season, suffered six defeats in eight on their travels, with half of their road trips seeing Over 3.5 Goals backers collect.

With confidence-sapped, and a potential relegation scrap incoming, it makes sense to oppose Gladbach this weekend in a high-scoring clash.

HOFFENHEIM DOUBLE CHANCE & OVER 2.5 GOALS is the play in this one.


Cagliari vs Udinese

Arguably the most card-heavy referee across Europe’s five major leagues returns to action on Saturday night to oversee proceedings between relegation-battlers Cagliari and Udinese, and I’m keen to be involved.

Fabio Maresca has averaged 6.58 cards in 26 league games going back to the beginning of last season.

The 40-year-old has flashed Over 3.5 Cards in 25 of those encounters, with 15 fixtures seeing the no-nonsense official produce a minimum of six cards. This season alone, stringent Maresca has produced six bookings or more in six of his seven appearances.

Considering Maresca’s high card counts, I’m happy to take a chance on the 11/1 available for the SAMIR and MARTIN CACERES TO BE CARDED.

Udinese’s left-sided centre-back Samir has already been booked five times in 13 outings this term, commits the most fouls in the Zebrette squad, and will have plenty of traffic down his channel with Cagliari captain Joao Pedro and schemer Nahitan Nandez often patrolling the right-hand side of the hosts’ attack. Both are also prolific at drawing fouls and cards.

Meanwhile, Martin Caceres has been cautioned in three of nine starts for Cagliari, whilst also picking up a red after arriving off the bench.

The 34-year-old lacks pace and is happy to take a booking to avoid being exposed by tricky or pacy opponents. He’s undoubtedly the weak point of the islanders’ rearguard and should give us a good run for our money.

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