Football betting analyst Mark O’Haire returns to share a couple of his favourite fancies across the globe with a focus on the Championship and Bundesliga this weekend.
Record-breaking Burnley have kept a remarkable 11 consecutive Championship clean sheets following their goalless draw at rivals Preston in last week’s feisty Lancashire derby. Scott Parker’s side did have the better of the opportunities but once again lacked a ruthless streak in front of goal, playing out a 12th goalless game of their campaign thus far.
The Clarets may have fallen short in the final-third, but the promotion-chasers are delivering extraordinary defensive numbers, making them incredibly difficult to oust. Burnley have been beaten just twice this term, neither of which came in front of their own supporters – Parker’s posse are W8-D8-L0 at Turf Moor, recording 12 shutouts in those 16 home outings.
Those figures make the 2.10 available on Burnley Double Chance and Both Teams To Score – No stand-out on Friday night. We’re effectively backing the hosts to beat Sheffield Wednesday to nil, as well as keeping the 0-0 correct score onside. A tasty 12 (75%) of the Clarets’ aforementioned 16 Turf Moor tussles have seen this wager pay-out already.
Wednesday arrive following a dramatic late loss at home to fellow play-off hopefuls Coventry last time out with Owls goalkeeper James Beadle’s error proving decisive. Skipper Barry Bannan is rated doubtful for Friday night’s fixture and Danny Rohl’s troops come into this clash dogged by inconsistency of late, returning W3-D4-L4 in their past 11 league dates.
The visitors are W1-D0-L7 against top-six teams this term – failing to even score in all six of their games against the current top-five – and rated 15th on Expected Points (xP) across the campaign, with a negative Expected Goals (xG) process. The Owls were blanked in the reverse meeting with Burnley and may fall short against the stubborn home rearguard.
Bayern Munich and Vincent Kompany have been heavily criticised in the German press this week after two lacklustre efforts raised valid questions on the Bavarians’ ability to challenge across multiple fronts between now and May. FC Hollywood required a last-gasp equaliser against Celtic on Tuesday night and were dominated by Bayer Leverkusen last week.
Against Leverkusen, Bayern were completely outplayed. Kompany’s crew failed to have a shot in the first 72 minutes of the match, saw their woodwork hit twice, cleared another effort off the line and saw Florian Wirtz fluff a fantastic late opportunity for the opposition. Meanwhile, the expected backlash against Celtic in Munich just never materialised.
How will Bayern react on Sunday when an enterprising Eintracht Frankfurt side arrive at the Allianz Arena? It’s hard to know but few punters should be looking to get the Bavarians onside at miniscule quotes. Instead, expect the visitors to provide Bayern with plenty of headaches, as they’ve routinely done in recent head-to-heads.
The German giants have won only three of their last eight Bundesliga battles with Eintracht, only one of which arrived by a margin of two goals or more. Frankfurt have gotten on the scoresheet in seven of those eight encounters and Die Adler have delivered winning Both Teams To Score wagers in eight of their last nine trips to face Bayern in Munich.
The reverse meeting ended in a 3-3 thriller and Eintracht have the capacity to cause the table-toppers serious problems on Sunday. Die Alder have proven on trips to both Leipzig and Leverkusen that they have the ability to mix it with the league’s elite away from home and Hugo Ekitike’s form has ensured Omar Marmoush’s sale hasn’t derailed their season.
To engineer a more palatable price on BTTS, we can include Under 6.5 Goals for a 1.83 shot. Only Bayern’s matches with rock-bottom Holstein Kiel have featured seven strikes or more, whilst Frankfurt have seen that tally hit just once, against second-from-bottom Bochum.
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