Manchester City vs Arsenal: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  

Manchester City and Arsenal will go head-to-head this Wednesday in arguably the biggest game of the Premier League season for a  top-of-the-table clash that could decide where the title will end this season. Both sides are in a heated title race, with Pep Guardiola hoping to ensure his mentee and former assistant Mikel Arteta does not end their run to a third straight Premier League title. After slipping up, Guardiola’s side has fought well to keep up with Arsenal, thanks to a strong run of six straight Premier League wins.   They have done so while keeping their quest for a historic treble alive. They saw off Bayern Munich last week ( 4-1 on aggregate) to reach the Champions League semi-finals before beating Sheffield United (3-0) last weekend to book a place in the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Read more: Girona vs Real Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  So they come into this time in solid shape as they attempt to close Arsenal’s five-point gap at the top of the table, knowing they still have two games in hand. Their form at the Etihad will give them belief here, as the Cityzens have won each of their last six home PL fixtures by at least a two-goal margin, even though only two came with a clean sheet.  But Arsenal could struggle to score here as the hosts haven’t conceded in any of the last four head-to-head meetings (W4). The North London side have had terrible outings in their recent visits to the Etihad and cannot afford another poor result as that will take the title destiny out of their hands. Although they are five points ahead of City, they have played two more games and must win this game to ensure that the title destiny is still in their hands at the end of this round.  They could have been okay with a draw if they hadn’t shot themselves in the leg with three straight draws in which they conceded seven goals. They travel to the Etihad without a clean sheet in their last six games and must sort out their terrible defence to get all three points in this game and keep their title quest alive. Meanwhile, this season, Man City’s Premier League home games have produced a league-high average of 2.2 goals per first half. So we expect a high-scoring game at the Etihad, with over 2.5 goals a high possibility.

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Girona vs Real Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction 

Real Madrid will travel to Estadio Municipal de Montilivi on Tuesday to face Girona in the 31st Round of the 2022/23 La Liga season. Girona saw their four-game unbeaten run in La Liga (W2, D2) ended on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 by Valladolid. The result was a huge blow to their chances of qualifying for European football for the first time in their history.  So a more realistic target for this season will be eclipsing their best ever top-flight finish of tenth in 2017/18, with their next assignment a Real Madrid side against whom they’ve fared well recently (W1, D1, L1). Read more: Leeds United vs Leicester City: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  Although they lost the last two home head-to-head despite scoring on both occasions, draws away to Barcelona (0-0) and Real Madrid (1-1) this season suggest they could influence the title race.  They will fancy their chances of causing another upset here, given that they have lost only one of their last five home La Liga fixtures (W4). Meanwhile, Real Madrid kept their unlikely La Liga race alive by beating Celta Vigo 2-0 on Saturday. The win was their fourth consecutive game to have finished in their favour with that scoreline.  But they remain eleven points behind table toppers Barcelona. But they will hope to keep winning, hoping for a slip-up from the Catalan side with seven games still to play. Meanwhile, mixed away form since November has been a key factor in Los Blancos falling so far behind Barcelona (W4, D1, L4), a far cry from when they began their league campaign with six consecutive victories on the road.  But recent campaigns suggest they should finish strongly, as when including only their final four away trips of a La Liga season, Madrid have lost just one of their last 12 fixtures away from the Bernabéu (W8, D3). Meanwhile, Girona’s home La Liga games have produced the second-highest average of total goals per game (3.07) in the division. So we can expect an over 2.5 goals game here. 

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Leeds United vs Leicester City: Preview and Expert Football Prediction 

The Premier League resumes this week with two relegation-threatened sides, Leeds United and Leicester City, battling for three points at Elland Road this Tuesday. Both sides are separated by one point after 32 games and are among the nine teams currently fighting for their lives in the Premier League. Leeds United find themselves at the head of what might be a five-horse race in 16th place since the bottom five clubs are only separated by as many points.  They have not helped their course recently after their 2-1 defeat to Fulham last time out made it three defeats in a row for Javi Gracia’s side. Read more: Atalanta vs AS Roma: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  A return to Elland Road usually helps their course, but they’ve been bad in their recent home games, suffering heavy 5-1 and 6-1 defeats to Crystal Palace and Liverpool, respectively.  Nerves might be exacerbated when a desperate Leicester City visits them then, especially with Leeds winning only one of the last nine head-to-head meetings (D3, L5) and keeping only one clean sheet then. Meanwhile, Leicester took a giant step towards their step to survival with a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out.  The result ended a run of four straight losses and ten competitive games without a win for the Foxes. But the result kept them waiting for a clean sheet for another game. Leicester are the only club in Europe’s top-five leagues without a top-flight clean sheet since the World Cup. It’s now been 17 PL matches since their last shutout. But they would be okay with it as long as they keep getting three points, as that win against Wolves made them climb out of the bottom three into the coveted 17th place. Securing back-to-back wins for the first time since February will therefore see them leapfrog their hosts and give them their first league double over Leeds this century after winning the reverse fixture 2-0 in October.  The Foxes have either been the hunter or the hunted on the road this season, though, as they’ve only drawn a league-low one away match. Meanwhile, twenty of Leeds’ PL matches this season have seen both teams score a league-high. So a BTTS/GG game should be expected here.

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Atalanta vs AS Roma: Preview and Expert Football Prediction 

After their exertions in Europe last week, AS Roma will turn their attention to their top-four quest in the Italian Serie A when they travel to Bergamo to face Atalanta on Monday. Atalanta come into this tie on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fiorentina, which left them trailing in the battle for the top four places. La Dea were among the seven teams expected to battle for the top four this season, but after a brilliant start, they lost their trail. They are currently sitting seven points behind fourth-placed AS Roma ahead of this round, having won just three times in their last ten league games (D2, L5). That poor form has been down to a porous defence that has managed just two clean sheets in the last ten games, making them the side with the second-worst defence among the current top-seven teams. But if they keep a clean sheet here, it will mark consecutive head-to-head top-flight shutouts for the first time since January 1965, having won the reverse fixture 1-0. Read more: Juventus vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  Meanwhile, AS Roma will travel to Bergamo in a good mood after securing a semi-final place in the Europa League thanks to a 4-2 aggregate win over Feyenoord on Thursday. That win was their fourth win in their last five games and saw them score 3+ goals in a game for the third time in their last five competitive matches.  Having dropped to the fourth position because of the 15-point added back to Juventus, Jose Mourinho’s side now have a more difficult top-four fight at hand, with Inter Milan and AC Milan hovering beneath. Meanwhile, although they can play in the UEFA Champions League next season by winning the Europa League, Mourinho is not thinking about that, as he asked his side after their midweek win to “forget about the Europa League” and prepare for this match. They will go into this tie looking to build on a run of three straight league wins. Each of those and all nine of their Serie A victories in 2023 have come with a clean sheet, adding an aura of defensive invincibility to Roma.  Given how tight Roma has been at the back,  we can expect a tight game with few goals scored. An under 2.5 goals bet will be the most likely outcome of the game.

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Juventus vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction 

After their exertions in Europe in midweek, Juventus and Napoli will turn their attention to Serie A this Sunday when they meet at Allianz Stadium. Juventus enjoyed a productive outing on Thursday in the Europa League, with a 1-1 draw in Portugal giving them a 2-1 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon and qualifying them for the semi-final competition. Not only were they celebrating a place in the final four on Thursday, but the Old Lady also saw their 15-point deduction revoked on the same day, albeit temporarily. So they come into this round of games sitting in third position, six points ahead of AC Milan in fifth place. Read more: Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction But having lost their last two league games, they will be desperate to avoid a first three-game losing streak in Serie A since 2011. Then, after their partial stadium closure was suspended, they could at least rely on their fans again.  That raucous support has been influential for Juventus this season, and they can cement their record as the best-performing home Serie A side this term (W11, D3, L1) with another win here. They will fancy their chances against runaway leaders Napoli after winning four home league outings in a row. The visitors had a disappointing outing in Europe on Thursday as a 1-1 draw with AC Milan was not enough to guarantee their passage into the last four of the Champions League. The result means that the Partenopei are winless in their last three games and have recorded just one win in their last five competitive matches (D2, L2). With every distraction now out of the way, Luciano Spalletti will hope his side can channel all their energy on finally securing the Scudetto. After recording a 5-1 win in the reverse fixture, he believes his side will triumph in Turin on Sunday. Also, a run of seven consecutive away league wins will give them the confidence boost they need to get maximum points here. Meanwhile, Juventus (17) and Napoli (15) rank in the top four for the most clean sheets in the top five European tournaments this term. So we expect to see a low scoring under 2.5 goals game.Click here to get today’s football tips.

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Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

La Liga leaders Barcelona will look to continue their unhindered march towards the league title when they host top-four chasing Atletico Madrid this Sunday. With no European games, the hosts enjoyed an entire week on the training field. That extended time of rest and recuperating may have arrived at the perfect time for Barcelona as they look to bounce back from a three-game scoreless and winless run (D2, L1).  That winless run included a goalless La Liga draw at Getafe last Sunday. Despite the result, Barca’s eleven-point lead at the top of the table ahead of this round remains comfortable. Read more: Juventus vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  However, if their scoring woes aren’t addressed and Real Madrid keeps picking up points, it won’t be long before the title race is back on. A return home could be a blessing as Barça have scored in 12 of their last 13 league games here, averaging over two per game. However, they won’t be short of motivation either, as the hosts stand a chance to win both seasonal H2Hs for the first time since the 2015/16 campaign, having won the reverse fixture 1-0. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid will travel to Camp Nou in beast mode, having gone unbeaten across 13 league games (W10, D3). That run includes six straight wins that consolidated their top-three spot.  This has softened the blow of dropping out of Europe and getting knocked out of the Copa del Rey, although a win here could receive the biggest cheer from their arch-rivals Real Madrid. Yet, the visitors still have much to aim for, sitting just two points shy of Real ahead of the weekend.  However, this fixture hasn’t been kind to them in recent years, with Atlético failing to win an away La Liga head-to-head since February 2006 (D5, L11 since).  But four wins from their last five league road trips (D1) suggest the visitors are well prepared this time and will take the 1-0 scoreline recorded in three of those victories. Meanwhile, given how tight Barcelona have been at home, we expect a low-scoring encounter in this game. Click here to get expert football predictions.

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Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Bayer Leverkusen will welcome top-four rivals RB Leipzig to Bay Arena this Sunday as both sides battle for three points that will set them on course for a top-four finish. After a terrible start to their season that saw them meddle with relegation, Leverkusen are fully in the top-five race thanks to a change of fortune under Xabi Alonso. The hosts come into this tie in good form and will be keen to continue that run here after progressing to a European semi-final for the first time since 2001/02 in midweek. They will swiftly turn their attention back to the Bundesliga race for Europe. They entered this round six points adrift of the top five, so their most likely finish will be a Conference League place unless they can eat up the ground. Read more: Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and Expert Football Prediction But confidence should be high ahead of this game after Leverkusen’s seven-game unbeaten Bundesliga run (W5, D2). However, extending that run here could be tricky as they are yet to win a Bundesliga home game against RB Leipzig (D3, L3). The visitors could do Leverkusen a favour further down the line if they win the DFB Pokal and extend the European places to seventh. However, the more pressing matter for themselves is to cling to their top-four place.  Marco Rose’s side entered this round with just a one-point buffer to fifth, but with Freiburg playing at home to Schalke just before kick-off here, they may need maximum points to reclaim the fourth spot. They travel to BayArena with a good record against Leverkusen. Yet, Marco Rose’s personal record against Leverkusen doesn’t inspire much confidence, with four losses and three wins in seven meetings. Meanwhile, Leverkusen have scored a Bundesliga-high 15 goals in the 15 minutes directly following half-time this season.  That said, we can expect BTTS/GG here, given that only one of Leverkusen’s last eight home matches have featured a clean sheet.Click here for sure home win prediction.

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Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Top four rivals Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur will face each other at St. James’ Park this Sunday. Both teams are fighting for a place in next season’s Champions League and will be desperate for three points, which could completely change the direction of the top-four race. The hosts come into this tie ahead of their rivals in the race, winning three points more than the visitors, with a game less. They currently sit in fourth position after an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Aston Villa last time. Read more: Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Preview and Expert Football Prediction That loss was just the second time the Magpies had conceded three times in a PL game this term, with manager Eddie Howe admitting his side were ‘off it in every discipline’.  Returning to Tyneside may be the perfect way to refocus his side’s energy then, as the only side to beat Newcastle on their own turf in the PL since the start of 2022 is Liverpool (two times). Moreover, they have conceded just nine league goals at St James’ all season–only Manchester United (8) has conceded less at home this season. Meanwhile, Tottenham will consider this an opportunity to rekindle their fading dreams of a top-four finish. The North London club missed the chance to draw level with Newcastle last time as they were beaten 3-2 by relegation candidates Bournemouth. Interim boss Cristian Stellini bemoaned that Spurs’ poor form ‘isn’t a tactical problem, but individual mistakes’. The Italian has every right to be livid about his side’s leaky defence, which has conceded 45 goals this season–the second-highest total among sides currently in the top-15 of the PL table. They will also travel to Tyneside in terrible away form, having won none of their last four league road trips (D2, L2). But given that they are unbeaten on their last four trips to Newcastle, scoring at least twice in each of those meetings (W3, D1), they will fancy their chances of snatching a result here.Click here to get accurate bet tips today.

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Mainz vs Bayern Munich: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Bayern Munich will travel to Mewa Arena this Saturday to face Mainz in the 29th Round of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season. After back-to-back draws, Mainz will be desperate to return to winning ways and get their top-six quest back on track. The hosts are loitering just outside the top six but well placed to make a late assault on the Bundesliga table in search of a first appearance in European competition since 2016/17.  They find themselves in a cluster of four sides who harbour realistic hopes of claiming the Bundesliga’s sixth and final European spot, and their aspirations certainly boosted by a nine-match unbeaten league run (W5, D4). Read more: Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  However, head coach Bo Svensson will be worried that all four draws in that run came in their last five games. But having scored in 14 consecutive Bundesliga games (a club record), they will fancy their chances of getting a result here against a Bayern side still finding their feet under Thomas Tuchel. The former Chelsea boss, who played under Svensskn at Mainz, has lost and won just two of his opening six games at the Bavarian club (D2, L2). His last outing was in the Champions League, where his side were kicked out after a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Allianz Arena. When Tuchel arrived, Bayern were on course to win three trophies. But as it stands, they only have the Bundesliga title to fight for, having been kicked out of the DFB Pokal and Champions League. But no guarantee just being able to focus on the Bundesliga will help them, as their 59-point haul is their worst after 28 games in 11 years. Playing away from home probably wouldn’t be the Bavarians’ premier pick to improve upon that tally either, not only because they’ve alternated between wins and defeats across their last five away league games (W3, L2) but also because they’ve lost both Bundesliga away games against a Svensson-managed Mainz. Both sides do not struggle to score goals, so we can expect a BTTS/GG game at Mewa Arena on Saturday. Click here to get soccer Predictions today.

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Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo: Preview and Expert Football Prediction 

After their Champions League exertions at Stamford Bridge in midweek, Real Madrid will turn their attention to La Liga when they welcome Celta Vigo to Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. The hosts secured their place in the sending final of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday. A brace from Rodrygo Goes sealed the win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, handing them a 4-0 aggregate win and securing a date with Manchester City in the next Round. Their attention will now turn to securing their 20th win in La Liga this game as they look to keep their unlikely league title charge alive. However, they come into this tie sitting eleven points behind Barcelona, with little or no chance of closing the deficit. Read more: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest: Preview and Expert Football Prediction  But they will keep trying to win games, especially at the Bernabéu, where they will be hoping their fans are treated to a battery performance than their most recent home outing when they were beaten 3-2 by Villarreal. Meanwhile, Celta Vigo will look to get back to winning ways after their Monday night 1-0 defeat to Mallorca ended their seven-match unbeaten run in the league (W3, D4). That loss dented their ambitions of a top-half finish this season. But it is still achievable, given that they come into this Round of games sitting just two points off ninth-placed Girona.  Repeating their top-ten finish two seasons ago would be a fine way to mark their centenary year, as would beating Madrid, which they haven’t managed in the league since May 2014 (D2, L15). Yet they are unbeaten in the league away action since the start of February (W2, D3) and will fancy their chances here. But you have to go back to November 2006 for the last time they claimed a head-to-head league triumph in Madrid (D1, L9), highlighting the scale of the task Celta face. Click here to get Football Prediction for today.

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