Members Extra free Mark O'Haire football betting tips, best bets and nap: Goals and a Swedish double
Football betting tips: Weekend
3pts Viking and Hacken both to win at 11/10 (Sky Bet)
2.5pts Over 2.5 goals & BTTS in Leverkusen vs Leipzig at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
2.5pts Over 2.5 goals & BTTS in Lens vs Rennes at evens (Sky Bet)
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Lens vs Rennes
- Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Sunday
- Home 29/20 | Draw 5/2 | Away 7/4
Sunday night’s showdown in Ligue 1 promises plenty of excitement and entertainment as attack-minded outfits Lens and Rennes cross swords at the always-atmospheric Stade Bollaert-Delelis. Again, OVER 2.5 GOALS & BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE looks too big ignore.
Lens saw six of their nine dates with top-half teams here last season break the Over 2.5 Goals barrier with Les Sang et Or managing just two shutouts in that sample. A healthy six of those fixtures also banked for BTTS hunters, including the visit from a Rennes side that’s well-accustomed to high-scoring shootouts.
Les Rennais saw 74% of their road trips in 2022/23 feature three goals or more, with eight of nine trips to top-half teams delivering BTTS winners. Bruno Genesio’s boys managed only four clean sheets on their travels, three of which were earned against bottom-five opposition.
The pair were each involved in high-scoring Week 1 contests and with plenty of firepower on either side, plus reasonable doubts over the duos defensive structures, we should be in a goal-heavy Ligue 1 treat.
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Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig
- Kick-off time: 14:30 BST, Saturday
- Home 6/4 | Draw 13/5 | Away 13/8
A humdinger could be in the offing as the Bundesliga returns to action this weekend. It’s difficult to dismiss a goals-based angle with OVER 2.5 GOALS & BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE standing out when Bayer Leverkusen entertain RB Leipzig on Saturday afternoon.
If this match was taking place in November, I’m adamant the odds on offer would be much shorter. The Bundesliga boasted a 3.17 goals per-game average in 2022/23 with 60% of showdowns crossing the Over 2.5 Goals barrier and 59% of fixtures featuring winning Both Teams To Score selections.
Leverkusen bagged Over 1.5 Goals in 12 of their 17 BayArena battles last time out, doing so in seven of eight here against top-half opposition. Overall, 71% of home dates paid-out for Over 2.5 Goals backers.
Leipzig scored in 12 of 17 away days, including in six of eight trips to top-half teams, yet RB also only managed to record four clean sheets on their travels.
Both sides have undergone a degree of change over the summer. Leverkusen will hope to field exciting forward Victor Boniface in attack, alongside the exceptional Florian Wirtz and excellent capture Jonas Hoffman, although centre-back Piero Hincapie is suspended.
Leipzig have endured a more extreme overhaul, though watchers of last weekend’s Super Cup victory couldn’t fail to have been impressed by Marco Rose’s new-look roster. Lois Openda and Xavi Simons made an immediate impression with Dani Olmo yet again showcasing his quality in RB’s front-foot approach.
Viking vs Stabaek and Hacken vs Sirius
- Kick-off time: 14:00 BST, Sunday
My favourite bet of the weekend arrives from Scandinavia with two of leading lights in Norway and Sweden combining for a juicy double. Both VIKING and HACKEN arrive in excellent condition, boasting phenomenal home records and welcoming out-of-form bottom-half opposition on Sunday.
Viking are enjoying a remarkable nine-game winning streak, a run that’s seen the Stavanger side go level on points with Bodo/Glimt at the top of the Eliteserien table. The Dark Blues have posted W7-D1-L1 at their Viking Stadion base, striking twice or more on eight occasions, and notching three goals or more in six of those showdowns.
Stabaek head to Stavanger having picked up just two points from their past nine league dates since May (W0-D2-L7), whilst suffering six losses in eight previous eight away days. The visitors have been beaten in six of their seven match-ups with top-six opposition and may find it hard to contain a Viking side averaging 2.41 expected goals (xG) as hosts.
In Sweden, Hacken sit just a solitary point off the summit. The Wasps have been almost flawless at the Bravida Arena (W9-D0-L1), notching multiple goals on nine occasions, netting three or more in eight of those 10 encounters, whilst averaging 2.49 xG on home soil.
Hacken come into the weekend with seven victories in nine across all venues, striking at least twice in eight of those outings. Meanwhile, Sirius have suffered five defeats in seven, seven losses in nine winless matches with top-seven teams and only three top-flight clubs are posting a lower xG output when on their travels this term.
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