Mark O'Haire's football betting tips, best bets and nap: City slickers, goals in Belgium
Mark O'Haire's column is firmly in the green as we head down the home stretch of the season. Check out his selections for this weekend's action.
Mark O'Haire (@MarkOHaire) is a renowned football betting analyst and tipster, who boasts an excellent P+L
- Mark O'Haire column 21/22: +21.8pts profit | 15% return on investment
- Mark O'Haire column 22/23: +24.3pts profit | 15% return on investment
Football betting tips: Mark O'Haire
2.5pts Man City to win and Under 4.5 Goals v Man Utd at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
2.5pts Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals in Genk vs Antwerp at 4/5 (Sky Bet)
Genk vs Royal Antwerp
- Kick-off time: 17:30 BST, Sunday
- Genk 13/10 | Draw 13/5 | Royal Antwerp 8/5
The final weekend of league action in Belgium’s top-flight promises plenty. The First Division A has been great fun to follow in recent years and the 2022/23 edition has averaged 3.03 goals per-game with 58% of contests producing Over 2.5 Goals, 36% of fixtures featuring four strikes or more, and 56% of encounters producing profitable Both Teams To Score bets.
With one round of action now to play, we have a three-way race for title honours with one point separating the trio of hopefuls. Two of those teams now face-off on Sunday as third-placed Genk welcome league leaders Antwerp to their Cegeka Arena home.
Genk know victory here is essential if they are to pinch top spot, yet the hosts will also be reliant on Union St Gilloise dropping points against Club Brugge. For Antwerp, the task is much simpler – Mark van Bommel’s boys will be crowned champions should they win away at Genk. But fail to succeed and the door will be left open for their opposition, and Union.
Considering the circumstances, an exciting and entertaining encounter could well be on the cards with BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE AND OVER 2.5 GOALS trading at an eye-catching 4/5 with Sky Bet.
It’s a selection that’s banked in two of the three head-to-heads this term with those previous meetings producing a hefty 3.20 Expected Goals (xG) average.
Genk’s games tend to be expansive. The hosts saw half of their regular season contests feature Over 3.5 Goals, whilst four of their five play-off dates have crossed the Over 2.5 Goals barrier. Both sides have notched in four of those five outings, and Antwerp arrive with a solitary shutout in five, yet getting on the scoresheet themselves on four occasions.
Chuck in the state of play as the campaign comes to a conclusion, and we should be treated to a thrilling finale with goals top of the menu.
Manchester City vs Manchester United
- Kick-off time: 15:00 BST, Saturday
- TV Channel: BBC One
- Man City 1/2 | Draw 7/2 | Man Utd 21/4
Manchester City and Manchester United will met for the 189th occasion this weekend yet Saturday’s showdown will be the duos first-ever meeting in a major cup final.
City have been chalked up as understandable short-priced favourites. Pep Guardiola’s group are chasing a historic treble and have taken top honours in four of the past six renewals between the rivals. Although United secured a 2-1 success at Old Trafford in January, the Citizens have looked imperious in recent months and are difficult to dismiss.
However, Man City are unlikely to run away with a walkover win. These big occasions at Wembley rarely descend into high-scoring shootouts or one-sided thrashings with seven of the past 10 domestic cup finals paying-out for Under 2.5 Goals, and 16 of the most recent 25 FA Cup finales also producing a maximum of two strikes.
With that in-mind, MAN CITY TO WIN & UNDER 4.5 GOALS looks well worthy of an interest at 10/11 (1.91) quotes with Sky Bet.
Only two of the past 25 FA Cup finals have featured five or more goals, whilst the Citizens’ 6-0 destruction of Watford is the only occasion since 1979 a side has succeeded in an FA Cup final that delivered five goals or more.
The wager allows us to back the Citizens to win by a 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 2-1 or 3-1 scoreline on Saturday and that holds plenty of appeal considering Man Utd’s struggles when facing elite opposition outside of Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag’s troops returned W0-D1-L7 at top-nine finishers, whilst the Red Devils went off as outsiders against Brighton at Wembley.
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Expert xG analysis and features
- Transfer news and done deals
- Football and other sports tips
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
MOST READ FOOTBALL
FOOTBALL TIPS
