Match Previews and Predictions

Inter Milan vs Udinese: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Inter Milan will welcome Udinese to San Siro this Saturday for the 23rd round of the 2022/23 Serie A season.

The hosts will look to bounce back from their disappointing draw in the last round when they host Udinese. Despite firing 25+ shots, they failed to score against Sampdoria last Monday.

The result was just the third time in Serie A across the last ten seasons they had that many shots without scoring. They are now 15 points adrift of league leaders Napoli and will see the title as an impossible task.

After keeping two clean sheets in their last two games, the hosts are closing on a third consecutive league clean sheet for the first time since December 2021. They will fancy their chances of doing that and winning here as they have won ten of their last eleven league games at the San Siro (L1).

Udinese failed to capitalise on scoring a goal after just 25 seconds in their last game against Sassuolo, eventually drawing the game 2-2. They are still within the top half (eighth place) but are on a terrible run of form, having won just once in their last 15 games in all competitions (D8, L6).

Having beaten Inter 3-1 in the reverse fixture, they will be confident of improving their dreadful form here. However, the visitors have seen their last three away games (W1, L2) end with a 1-0 scoreline, so we expect a low-scoring game of under 2.5 goals.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Arsenal will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Birmingham this Saturday to face Aston Villa.

The hosts, like their opponents, come into this tie looking to get back to winning ways after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend.

The loss was the second loss in a row for Unai Emery’s men and also saw them concede 3+ goals for the second game in a row after recording a 4-2 loss to Leicester City before their latest loss.

While those high-scoring affairs may have been exciting to watch for neutrals, the fact that they have kept just two clean sheets from their last 12 matches will make it difficult for the 11th-placed Villa to break into the top half of the table.

Arsenal dropped from first place to second last Wednesday as they were beaten 3-1 by fellow title challengers Manchester City. The loss sliced their once eight-point lead and capped off a four-game winless run (D1, L3) for Mikel Arteta’s side, who will be desperate to get back to winning ways against their former manager.

They can find confidence that they have won four of their last six visits to Villa Park (L2), making it their second-most winning away PL ground with 13 victories after their 14 wins at West Ham.

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Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayern Munich: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

After their Champions League exertions, Bayern Munich will turn their attention to the league as they travel to Borussia Park this Saturday to face Borussia Monchengladbach.

The hosts come into this tie in terrible form, having won once since the restart (D1, L3). Their last outing was a 4-1 loss to Hertha Berlin.

The result spoiled their hopes of gatecrashing the European places as they now sit in tenth place, nine points behind sixth-placed Frankfurt.

While they would love to rekindle their hopes here, there are better fixtures to finally secure their first home league win of 2023 (D1, L1). They have a rich history against Bayern, as no side has recorded more league wins against the Bavarian giants than Gladbach’s 27 (D31, L51).

However, Bayern will not fear Gladbach as they come into this fixture on a run of four straight wins with three clean sheets.

After a run of three draws in the league that reduced their lead at the top to one point, the Bundesliga defending champions have rekindled their strong form. They are just one point ahead of Union Berlin ahead of this round, but they have momentum on their side and will fancy their chances of extending their incredible 11-game unbeaten run of away games (W9, D2).

With 31 goals scored in their last 11 away games, it’s easy to back Bayern to score Over 2.5 Goals in this game.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Nottingham Forest will welcome Manchester City to City Ground this Saturday as both sides battle for three points.

Forest endured a poor outing last time as they were beaten 2-0 by Fulham. However, the game was characterised by injuries to centre-backs Willy Boly and Scott McKenna inside the first ten minutes, so Steve Cooper will count that loss as a fluke result.

Since they are unbeaten in this stadium since losing to Fulham in September (W4, D3), they will be confident of a good result when they host City.

The Premier League defending champions reclaimed the top spot thanks to a 3-1 win over Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday. The win made it two consecutive wins for City and ended a run of two straight PL away defeats.

Given that they have won their last nine PL games against promoted sides while scoring an average of 3.56 goals per game, another high-scoring affair can be expected here. Therefore, the best prediction for this game will be over 2.5 goals.

Sassuolo vs Napoli: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Napoli will continue their quest for the Scudetto on Friday when they visit Mapei Stadium to face Sassuolo.

The hosts overcame conceding the fastest goal in Serie A goal of the season (25 seconds) to record a 2-2 draw with Udinese last time out. The draw stretched their unbeaten run to four matches (W2, D2), their joint-longest unbeaten run this term.

The goal will be to extend that run in this game. However, doing that against runaway league leaders Napoli will be a challenging task considering that they’ve won just one of the last 15 competitive H2Hs (D6, L8), which includes two heavy defeats by a combined 10-1 scoreline across the previous two such meetings.

Napoli will be confident of getting another win here–their seventh consecutive Serie A win. The league leaders extended their lead at the top of the Serie A table to 15 points thanks to a 3-0 win over Cremenose last time.

They have now secured 59 points after 22 rounds, a record which has only been bettered in the three points for a win era by Juventus and Inter Milan, who had 60 points at this stage.

The visitors have won each of their eight Serie A matches against sides currently sitting 15th or below. Seven of those victories came by two or more goals, and having scored 2+ goals in each of their last six league games, the correct score prediction for this game will be a Napoli win with over 2.5 goals scored.

Girona vs Almería: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Almería will travel to Estadio Municipal de Montilivi this Friday to face Girona in the 22nd Round of the 2022/23 La Liga season.

Girona come into this tie on the back of a disappointing 2-0 loss to Cadiz. The result means they sit just four points ahead of the relegation zone, even though they are sitting in eleventh place.

So this game is a must-win for the hosts, who Almería beat in the reverse fixture. But they are more potent at home, where they have gained 18 of their 24 points this season, including one defeat in their last seven league games (W3, D3).

Almería are sitting in 15th place, two points ahead of 18th-placed Valencia. Yet they could provisionally move above Girona into 11th place with victory or possibly complete the round in the relegation zone should they lose.

So this comes as a make-or-break game for them. They are an entertaining side with 25 goals scored, but they also are bad defensively, having kept just one clean sheet in La Liga this season.

It’s unlikely they will get a win here, given that they are without an away win in the league this season (W0, D3, L7).

And so we can expect both teams to score in this game. Click here for accurate football predictions.

Ajax vs Union Berlin: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Ajax will welcome Union Berlin to Johan Cruijff Arena for the first leg of the 2022/23 Europa League knockout playoffs.

Ajax find themselves in this stage of the Europa League by finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group stage behind Napoli and Liverpool.

They have not had a good season since Erik ten Hag left, with his replacement Alfred Schreuder sacked last month after overseeing a seven-game winless run of league games.

But things have looked up under Johnny Heitinga, with the new coach leading Ajax to four consecutive league wins.

They will turn their attention to this tie, hoping to build on their all-time record against German opponents in search of progression (W23, D7, L8). The hosts have progressed from ten of their 12 two-legged UEFA ties against German opponents, so they will back themselves to record a straight win here.

Union Berlin qualified for this stage of the Europa League courtesy of a second-place finish in their Europa League group.

This is their first taste of knockout European football, and they will be hoping to get their first-ever positive result against Dutch opponents after a pair of defeats against Feyenoord last season.

Urs Fischer’s men look well placed to do exactly that after maintaining their perfect 2023 competitive record (W6) with a 2-1 win at Leipzig at the weekend, a victory which kept them just one point in arrears of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich as they strive for a maiden top-flight title.

Union Berlin games have been characterised by tight margins, as four of their last five victories came by a 2-1 scoreline. All six of their UEL group games also ended with a 1-0 scoreline either way (W4, L2), highlighting the Iron Ones’ steely determination.

That said, we can expect an Under 2.5 Goals outing in this game.

Barcelona vs Manchester United: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Barcelona will welcome Manchester United to Camp Nou this Thursday as both sides faceoff in the first leg of the 2022/23 Europa League knock playoffs.

Barcelona qualified for this stage of the Europa League by finishing in third place in their Champions League group, behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. While that represented an embarrassment for the La Liga giants, they will want to make the most of their opportunity here.

Last season they also found themselves in the Europa League after exiting the UCL. Still, they failed to win the title after losing to eventual winner Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.

Coming into this tie on the back of a 16-game unbeaten run (W15, D1) shows that Barca aren’t as lousy as they were early this season or last season when they crashed out of the UCL.

Unlike Barca, who came from the Champions League, Manchester United qualified for this stage by finishing second in their Europa League group on goal difference.

They are also a team in form, having lost just once across 17 competitive matches (W14, D2) whilst managing eight clean sheets in that period.

So, they will travel to Camp Nou full of confidence despite their poor record against Barcelona (five losses in the last five head-to-heads).

Given how solid both teams’ defence is, this game could end in under 2.5 goals.

Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

Chelsea will travel to Signal Iduna Park this Wednesday to face Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the 2022/23 round of 16.

The hosts come into this tie on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. The win was their sixth consecutive win in all competitive games after the restart, with each of those games seeing them score at least twice each occasion.

Their results, plus a patchy run of form by Bayern Munich, has seen the Black and Yellow move to within three points of the top spot in the Bundesliga. So they will welcome Chelsea to this tie full of confidence yet desperate to improve on a winless record from their last 12 games against British clubs (D3, L9).

However, Chelsea will travel to Germany in patchy form, having won just once in their last eight outings in 2023 (D4, L3). Despite being richly loaded in attack, they also failed to score more than once in any of those games.

With the pressure mounting on manager Graham Potter, there is a feeling that his performance in the UCL could determine, to a large extent, how long he will last in Stamford Bridge this season.

However, the manager has a good European record as he won his first four UCL games and could become the first English manager to win five consecutive UCL matches.

However, overall, Chelsea’s record in the UCL round-of-16 remains patchy, as they have progressed from this stage of the competition just twice in their last six attempts.

Given Dortmund’s form at home, this will be another tough outing for Chelsea, and this game will likely feature goals from both teams. Click here for the best BTTS/GG bets.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: Preview and Expert Football Prediction

It’s the top-of-the-table clash in the Premier League this Wednesday as league leaders Arsenal take on defending champions Manchester City.

The Gunners come into this tie just three points ahead of City with a game in hand, so there is a chance that Pep Guardiola’s side will overtake them here if they drop points. That makes this tie a must-win for Mikel Arteta’s title chasers.

However, they come into this tie in dire form, having not won in three competitive games (D1, L2). Although their last game saw a VAR error. Arteta will hope the conditions are okay in this game as he attempts to beat his mentor.

Guardiola is the only manager Arteta has failed to beat in the PL (L5), and City have also emerged victorious the last ten times these clubs have faced each other in this competition. So, the Catalan coach will feel confident here.

Yet his team’s run of three losses in the last seven games (W4) shows that things can go wrong for them if they lose focus.

With three clean sheets in the last five meetings between both sides, we can expect a low-scoring affair when both teams meet. However, given the league position of both teams and the magnitude of this game, we can expect a cagey affair. So a bet of under 2.5 goals could be the best prediction for this game.

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