Football Tips: 4 best bets for Saturday night’s European action

Oli Nixon fancies an Ousmane Dembele goal on Saturday as PSG head to Toulouse.

With so many big sides involved in European competition play-off games in midweek, the added bonus is that we get a stacked line-up of domestic matches on Saturday across the big leagues in the continent – so let’s get stuck in!

With Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and PSG all in action on Saturday night, our tipster Oli Nixon has dived into the markets, with four value picks.

Saturday’s European football tips

3:15pm: Osasuna v Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham and Aimar Oroz both to be fouled 2+ times
5pm: Lazio v Napoli: Mattia Zaccagni to score or assist
5.30pm: Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich: Jamal Musiala to have 1+ shots from outside the box
8:05pm: Toulouse v PSG: Ousmane Dembele to score anytime

Osasuna v Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham and Aimar Oroz to be fouled 2+ times

TV: La Liga TV, Premier Sports Player

Real Madrid kick us off in the mid-afternoon slot, hoping to stretch their lead at the top of the La Liga table. Key to their chances will be star man Jude Bellingham who has been getting a kicking all season.

The England midfielder has drawn 2.42 fouls per 90 and been fouled at least twice in 12 of his last 13 starts. He’ll be up against Lucas Torro who averages 2.61 fouls per game, so there should be plenty of late challenges.

Osasuna have a foul magnet of their own in Aimar Oroz who has been booted 2.2 times per 90 this season. The attacking midfielder has drawn a whopping 38 fouls in his last nine starts and was also fouled twice in the reverse fixture.

Lazio v Napoli: Mattia Zaccagni to score or assist

TV: One Football

Next on the agenda is one of the biggest games of the day as 4th placed Lazio host league leaders Napoli in Rome. Lazio have won four of the last five head-to-heads and will be confident of putting a dent in their opponents title charge.

If they’re to do just that, Mattia Zaccagni may be the player to secure it, as he’s in a rich vein of form, having provided six goal contributions in his last five matches in all competitions. The tricky winger landed this bet with an assist in this fixture in the Coppa Italia back in December and is certainly capable  of a repeat.

Napoli have the best defensive record in Serie A and will be a tough nut to crack, however, having scored against them seven times across the aforementioned last five meetings, Marco Baroni’s men will fancy their chances of netting again, hopefully with Zaccagni involved.

Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich: Jamal Musiala to have 1+ shots from outside the box

TV: Sky Sports Football

In recent seasons, this fixture has replaced ‘Der Klassiker’ as the biggest of the domestic calendar in Germany. If Leverkusen are to retain their title, they need to start closing the eight-point gap to their rivals and what better way to start than by beating them here?

28% of Jamal Musiala’s shots in the Bundesliga have come from outside the box this season. Despite not being on free-kicks, he’s clearly happy to pull the trigger from range – and having done so four times in his last two appearances against Leverkusen, he looks a lovely price to do so again.

Due to their dominance of the ball, 30% of all shots faced by Leverkusen this season have come from outside the box, and with Xabi Alonso’s men holding a handsome record in recent head-to-heads, it may take a bit of Musiala magic to break their resolve.

Toulouse v PSG: Ousmane Dembele to score anytime

TV: Ligue 1 Pass

The final offering in our feast of European football comes from France as Toulouse entertain Paris Saint-Germain. The giants have a 10-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 and have won four of their last five away trips and will expect to extend that cushion further.

Crucial to PSG’s season was always going to be replacing the goals of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele has done an excellent job so far. The Frenchman has thrived in a more central role with 16 goals, the most of any player in the division. He’s also in sparkling form with 15 goals since the turn of the year in all competitions with 10 in his last four.

Toulouse have a decent defensive record and will be tough to beat, however, PSG’s 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture demonstrated their superiority and with Dembele in irresistible form, we can expect him to add to his tally.

Saturday’s European Football tips

3:15pm: Osasuna v Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham and Aimar Oroz both to be fouled 2+ times
5pm: Lazio v Napoli: Mattia Zaccagni to score or assist
5.30pm: Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich: Jamal Musiala to have 1+ shots from outside the box
8:05pm: Toulouse v PSG: Ousmane Dembele to score anytime

*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.

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