*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
It’s not a Thursday without a fairly random selection of games to get stuck into. This week we’ve got AFCON action as well as a meaty Carabao Cup clash to devour.
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The latest football odds are on PaddyPower.com right nowThere’s also Coppa Italia and Copa del Rey games featuring some huge clubs and some absolute minnows. All I’m worried about is finding some winners and some decent value so let’s get stuck in.
* An accumulator on these four best bets pays at approximately 24/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
7pm: Gambia v Tunisia – Tunisia to Win
TV: Sky Sports Arena
Crunch time in the Africa Cup of Nations where the final group games take place on Thursday night. One of the pre-tournament favourites Tunisia have work to do if they’re to make it through to the knockouts.
They’re probably assured of one of the best 3rd-placed team spots and might be safely through at kick off. That’s all conjecture at the time of writing, but one thing we know for sure is that they’re taking on Group F leaders Gambia here.
I think Tunisia are up and running now and, after their farcical opener against Mali, they pumped Mauritania 4-0 next time out. Gambia could only draw 1-1 with the minnows so I think Tunisia to Win should get the ball rolling nicely.
7.45pm: Arsenal v Liverpool – The Draw
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League
To the more familiar surroundings of the Carabao Cup next where Arsenal and Liverpool duke out their rearranged first leg Carabao Cup semi-final. It’s now the second leg, of course, after their 0-0 draw in the hastily rebranded first leg last Thursday.
Arsenal showed uncharacteristic resilience to cling on for a goalless stalemate after some trademark dimwittedness from Granit Xhaka who was sent off early in the first half. It’s worth pointing out at this stage that Liverpool have won just two of their last seven games, one against League One opponents and the other against Brentford at the weekend.
Loathe as I am to say it, I think Arsenal might get something out of this with The Reds missing Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. I know The Gunners are missing players too but I think we could see another stalemate and extra time after a Draw in 90 minutes.
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8pm: Roma v Lecce – Roma (-1)
Coppa Italia time now where Jose Mourinho’s Roma welcome lowly Lecce of Serie B. The Special One’s team are typically dysfunctional and some high scoring wins were followed by a draw, some high-scoring losses and finally a 1-0 win last time out.
Lecce are 5th in the second tier, just four points off top with a game in hand. They’ve only lost twice this season and should be no pushovers. The question here is; what kind of team is Mourinho going to send out?
One thing we do know is that the Portuguese likes to try and win a cup in his first season at a club so I think he’ll be targeting this one. With that in mind I’ll take Roma (-1) on the handicap if Roma go anywhere near full strength.
8.30pm: Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona – Under 2.5 Goals
TV: Premier Sports 1
We close off the night with a juicy Copa del Rey clash between Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. Bilbao seem to be playing in every cup competition possible on every day of the week at the moment. By the time they play this tie, four of their last five games will have been in one cup or another.
Anyway, they take on Barcelona who sit three places and four points higher than them in La Liga here. The Catalans’ problems are well documented and you don’t need me to tell you they’re a shadow of the club they once were.
Instead of blowing teams away like they did week-in week-out in the good old days, they’re now seemingly more focused on being hard to beat and goals are at a premium. In their last five, Under 2.5 Goals has landed three times and one of the Over games was against Linares Deportivo from the 5th tier in the last round of this competition.
Unders has clicked in three of Bilbao’s last four games and, with the matches racking up for both, I think a fairly tepid affair might be on the cards. There might be some value in backing Bilbao to Win but I’ll go with Under 2.5 Goals in this one.
Thursday football acca
7pm: Gambia v Tunisia – Tunisia to Win
7.45pm: Arsenal v Liverpool – The Draw
8pm: Roma v Lecce – Roma (-1)
8.30pm: Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona – Under 2.5 Goals
* An accumulator on these four best bets pays at approximately 24/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
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