* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
West Ham v Sheffield United
6pm – BT Sport 1
For West Ham and Sheffield United, it’s been a contrasting season to say the least. The Hammers, under David Moyes, have been one of the success stories of the Premier League campaign so far and their incredible run in 2021 has seen them jump up to sixth place in the table, having lost only once since the turn of the year.
Make no mistake about it, their away form has been just as solid as what they’ve been doing at the London Stadium but in their last seven games at home in the league, it’s worth bearing in mind that both teams have scored on six occasions. So while they’re favourites to add another win to their season’s tally, they’re by no means guaranteed to keep a clean sheet.
For Sheffield United, they couldn’t have got off to a worse start to the season and when they lost 12 of their first 13 league games, their bid for survival already looked doomed. But their form in 2021 has been much improved and wins over Man Utd, Newcastle and West Brom has given them a new lease of life, and they have also found their scoring touch with goals in eight of their last nine games.
The only time they didn’t score in that period was in a 1-0 defeat to champions-elect Man City and there’s no shame in that. So, they’ll undoubtedly fancy their chances to get a positive result here and when you throw into the mix that both teams have scored on three of the last four occasions that the Blades have visited the Hammers, that trend should continue here.
Bayern Munich v Arminia Bielefeld
7.30pm – BT Sport 2
For those who haven’t heard of Bayern Munich’s opponents for this evening’s Bundesliga clash at the Allianz Arena, it’s safe to say that you won’t be the only one. Arminia were promoted to the German top flight for the first time in 11 years last June but were given a major wake-up call by losing seven of their first nine games this season.
Since then, things have been going somewhat better and while they won’t be expected to bring down the mighty Bayern on home soil this evening, there is every reason to suggest that they might find the back of the net at some stage. In five of their ten games on the road this season, ‘The Blues’, have scored and in recent weeks they’ve shown their fighting spirit with wins over Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin. In their previous meeting with the German champions, they also managed to find the net too.
For Bayern Munich, it is surely going to be a case of how many they win this game by but there’s plenty of reasons to think that they mightn’t keep a clean sheet. Firstly, they come into this game having contested the FIFA World Cup last week in Qatar so returning to domestic duty just four days later is far from ideal.
It’s also worth noting that, while Bayern are unbeaten on home soil this season, their record at the Allianz Arena hasn’t been as comprehensive as it sometimes has been. They’ve conceded at least one goal in their last six home games, including two goals against second-from-bottom Mainz, and they were far from impressive in their wins against Freiburg and Wolfsburg in that same period. So, while we’re all expecting a Bayern win, both teams finding the back of the net should also be on the shortlist.
MONDAY’S TOP TIPS:
- Phil Thompson’s 9/1 play for Chelsea v Newcastle tonight
- Treble tips: Our 25/1 BEST bets for West Ham v Sheffield United
Cadiz v Athletic Bilbao
8pm – La Liga TV
If you’re a fan of La Liga, then there’s every chance you’ll be looking forward to today’s sole game in Spain’s elite league when Cadiz welcome Athletic Bilbao to their home stadium for just the second time. Having been promoted to the Spanish premier division last season, the west coast club find themselves 14th in the league and just three places behind tonight’s opponents.
What’s been most impressive about Cadiz though since their promotion has been their away results but in saying that, two of their wins on home soil have come against Barcelona and Alaves. They head into tonight’s clash in mixed form but in each of their last three games at the Neuveo Estadio Ramon de Carranza, they have scored at least two goals and they have plenty of scoring power in their ranks, including former Man City striker Alvaro Negredo, who bagged a brace in the 4-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid as well as scoring the winner against Barcelona back in December.
Win, lose or draw, it’s extremely hard to see Cadiz not scoring tonight. As for Bilbao, they will want to avenge the 1-0 home defeat to tonight’s opponents from their meeting back in October and they’re on a fine run at present, having lost only one of their last nine games.
What’s even more impressive is that they have found the back of the net in their last 11 games and that includes visits to both Barca and Real. That makes Both Teams To Score in this match as solid an option as you’re going to get anywhere this Monday.
Verona v Parma
7.45pm – Premier Sports 1
When it comes to head-to-head stats, and particularly in games where traditionally both teams seem to score against each other, it’s games like these which is always worth keeping an eye on. And history says that’s going to be the case in the only Serie A game taking place today.
In the last five head-to-heads featuring these sides in recent seasons, Verona have only lost on the one occasion but the average amount of goals per game in that period has been three goals and both teams have scored on three occasions as well. But there are plenty of more reasons to suggest that we’ll have goals in tonight’s fixture at the Marc’Antonio Bentegodi Stadium.
This season, Verona’s home form has been rock solid, scoring in nine of their 11 home games in all competitions and some of their victims in the league include Roma, Napoli and Udinese. On the contrary, they have yet to keep a clean sheet in their last eight home matches and that will give Parma some hope, who are on an abysmal run of four straight loses and have not won a game since November.
Saying that, they will be buoyed by the fact that they did find the net on their trip to the Olympic Stadium last month, in a 2-1 loss to Lazio, and in their last five games, they have won in the possession stakes on each occasion. It’s only a matter of time before their winless run comes to an end and they’ll fancy themselves, at the very least, to find the target this evening.
Monday’s BTTS accumulator tips
West Ham v Sheffield United
Bayern Munich v Arminia Bielefeld
Cadiz v Athletic Bilbao
Verona v Parma
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
More top tips for Monday
- Phil Thompson’s 9/1 play for Chelsea v Newcastle tonight
- BET BUILDER: Our 16/1 selections for Chelsea v Newcastle
- Treble tips: Our 25/1 bets for West Ham v Sheffield United
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