For Saturday’s European football we’re taking a look at the title races in Italy, Portugal and Turkey and it’s the DFB Pokal final in Germany where Bayern Munich can, well, probably will, win it for the 20th time.
16.15: Juventus vs Torino – Juventus to Win to Nil
While it’s not the most well-known of local rivalries in Europe it’s a derby nonetheless that locals take great pride in winning. Torino fans are used to seeing their team have a terrible season but so long as they can beat Juventus it’s worth it. Basically it’s the Merseyside derby but with far better weather.
There have been 12 meetings between the pair since 2005, Torino have won one, Juventus have won nine. At home for Juventus, they’ve not lost to Torino since 1995 and the odds of the Old Lady winning here reflect that.
Juventus have kept five out of five Clean Sheets at home of late. Torino have failed to score in two out of four recent away matches and Juve have kept Torino scoreless in three out of five recent visits across the city. With those stats, we’re backing the Old Lady to Win to Nil here.
19.00: Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich – Both Teams to Score
Leverkusen were pipped at the post by Monchengladbach for the final Champions League place on the final day of the Bundesliga last weekend while Bayern celebrated their 30th Bundesliga title win.
It’s going to be all about Bayern isn’t it? The Bayern to Win price certainly reflects what the market thinks is going to happen here but Leverkusen have one of the highest-scoring records in the league over the season and against Bayern they’ve scored in seven out of seven previous meetings. While Bayern should win, Both Teams to Score looks like a given.
19.00: Antalyaspor vs Basaksehir – Basaksehir to Win
Antalyaspor have been good since the restart with two wins and a draw. Basaksehir have won two and drawn one as well and are currently two points ahead of Trabzonspor at the top of the league. With Trabzonspor not playing until Sunday they can put some more distance between them even for 24 hours here.
The away side have won here in four out of five recent visits, keeping Antalyaspor scoreless in three of those matches and while Antalyaspor have been good since the return to action they’ve only won four times at home this season, drawing five and losing five while the away side have won seven, drawn five and only lost two. With the title within their reach we see the away side taking all three points here.
20.45: Lazio vs AC Milan – Over 2.5 Goals
Lazio obviously have to go for the win here, going into this match they are four points behind Juventus. Milan though are chasing European football and could overtake Napoli with a win.
Over recent season these haven’t been high scoring affairs, with just one out of five seeing Over 2.5 goals, BTTS occurred in three of those five though. Both teams are in great goal scoring form though, scoring six and eight respectively over their three Serie A matches since the restart. With so much to play for for both teams and those recent scoring records we’re going with Over 2.5 goals here.
21.15: Benfica vs Boavista – Benfica to Score Over 1.5 Goals
Playing a day earlier than their title rivals, Porto, Benfica can cut the gap to just three points with a win here. The home side have beaten Boavista in eight out of ten previous meetings at the Estadio da Luz and have scored Over 1.5 goals in all seven out of eight of those victories so we’re backing that to occur here again.
All five of these picks into an Acca will give you odds of around 14/1 with Paddy Power.
Tips for Saturday’s European football action
16.15 Juventus to beat Torino to Nil
19.00 Bayer Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich: Both Teams to Score
19.00 Basaksehir to beat Antalyaspor
20.45 Lazio vs AC Milan: Over 2.5 Goals
21.15 Benfica vs Boavista: Benfica to Score Over 1.5 Goals
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