Lyon V Nancy
Kick-Off: Saturday 29th August – 20:00 GMT
Competition: French Ligue 1
Lyon come into a tricky home fixture with plenty of form behind them and will be hoping to maintain their winning run and stretch it to three wins in succession. A draw in the opening fixture of the new season away at Le Mans was an early setback (2-2), but they put their early woes to one side by brushing both Valenciennes (1-0) and Auxerre (0-3) a-side. That victory over Valenciennes was their first and only home game to date but the players will be extra motivated to impress their home following in front of what is an expected capacity crowd at Stade Gerland.
Lyon will be more then happy with their early league form but what will impress the locals was their impressive and comprehensive two-legged victory over Belgian giants, Anderlecht. Lyon were the favourites to progress over two-legs but they swept the Belgian’s a-side in an 8-2 aggregate thrashing. That result will leave the players on cloud nine but none more so than new boy Lisandro Lopez – who scored a Hat-trick on the night. He’s had a few injuries to contend with but that fine performance in front of goal would be just what the doctored orderer and he will be a huge threat in this league fixture with Nancy on Saturday evening.
Nancy have also made a very good start to the season but they’ve failed to maintain their unbeaten record. A comfortable 1-3 victory away at Valenciennes followed by a 4-0 drubbing of Monaco in front of their home fans sent the fans into raptures about this possibly being a very successful year for the club. However, they were soon given a reality check by a team on the up in Le Mans. Nancy lost 2-1 at Le Mans, a result which ended Nancy’s impressive early form.
That defeat will only hinder what must have been a buoyant Nancy dressing room although Nancy have still been a massive threat in front of goal. They’ve scored in each of their three opening games, scoring eight but conceding three also. However, they played two away fixtures thus far and have failed to keep a clean sheet in either so although they look a real threat in attack, they also look very vulnerable at the back.
Lyon should really record their third win of the season despite the threat Nancy pose in the final third. They have more then enough quality within their squad to deal with a club like Nancy although we mustn’t forget that Karim Benzema did move on during the summer, like anyone missed that. Lisandro Lopez & St Etienne’s Bafetmibi Gomis have been brought in to fill the void left by Benzema with the pair shaping up as one lethal striking partnership this season with the blistering pace of Gomis and the class and composure of Lopez.
We fancy Lyon to do the business here but their odds of 2/5 isn’t tempting us. However, both sides have the potential to score a few goals so Over 2.5 looks a big call here as well as backing an in-form Lisandro Lopez to brace the score sheet.
Matt’s Tip: Over 2.5 Goals – 11/10 SkyBet
Matt’s Alternative: Lisandro Lopez to Score Anytime – 4/5 Bet365
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Matt’s European Acca!
After coming oh so close in the previous two weeks it’s time to back the shorties to comply. Get on these slim pickings to bring home the bacon – Bayer Leverkusen (2/5), Liverpool (8/15), Real Madrid (1/4), Real Zaragoza (10/11) & Schalke (1/3) @ nearly 6/1 with Bet365!
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Real Madrid V Deportivo La Coruna
Kick-Off: Saturday 29th August – 19:00 GMT
Competition: Spanish La Liga
The start of the Spanish season has been a highly anticipated one, mainly because the whole of Europe is waiting to watch the new look Real Mardid. No, it’s not because of the talent they have on show but because we can’t wait to see them flop after spending well over £220 Million on players over the summer. Anything less than instant success would be a seen as a major failure and the pressure is firmly on the shoulders of Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini to return the club back to winning ways.
It’s imperative that Real Madrid get off to the best possible start and only a victory against Deportive will be good enough. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue if the head-to-head record between the two is anything to go by. Madrid have won the last four encounters at The Bernabeu with three of them being comfortable ones at that. However, this has been a game where Madrid have failed to keep clean sheets, which is where my tip comes into it. Despite all the big money signings during the summer, Real Madrid failed to reinforce what was a weak defence last season, with Raul Albiol being their only real defensive signing of note. Arbeloa was also brought in but like he’s going to keep Sergio Ramos on the bench. Who’s he kidding?
Deportivo are far from the force they were several seasons ago but they had a very good season last year, finishing in 7th position. I’m actually not too impressed with their striking options but they will be a threat from set-pieces and Real Madrid will concede plenty of them. Sergio Ramos may appear one of the world’s best full-backs when he’s bombing forward down the flanks but he’s shocking at tracking back and actually tackling. Valeron, Guardado & Sergio will all be a danger in midfield for Deportivo while defenders Ze Castro & Piscu will be a big threat from corners with their aerial ability.
Real Madrid should stroll to victory in all honesty but Deportivo could give them a few scares along the way. They’ve scored in four of their previous six visits to The Bernabeu and they’re very good odds to breach the Madrid goal once again, although, Deportivo haven’t scored more then one in Madrid in any of the previous eight visits so maybe backing Deportivo to score ‘EXACTLY ONE GOAL’ @ 13/8 with SkyBet could be more beneficial.
Matt’s Tip: Deportivo to Score 1+ Goal – 4/5 Expekt
Matt’s Alternative: Kaka to Score Anytime – 11/10 Bet365
