Football betting analyst Mark O’Haire returns to share a couple of his favourite fancies across the globe, focusing on Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga this weekend.
Rennes’ results have yet to drastically improve since the eye-catching appointment of Jorge Sampaoli as head coach with Les Rouges et Noirs’ latest loss – a 3-2 reverse at Nice – leaving the club languishing only two points above the relegation play-off position.
The Argentine has overseen W2-D0-L3 thus far, with wins arriving against Angers (2-0) and Saint-Etienne (5-0). There have been flashes of the dynamic and fluid football promised by the experienced boss, though the squad looks ill-suited to his adventurous approach and so Sampaoli has made it explicitly clear he expects reinforcements to arrive during the window.
With Rennes looking fragile, Saturday night’s visitors Marseille should smell blood. Roberto De Zerbi’s troops sit second in the Ligue 1 standings following their 5-1 thrashing of Le Havre and comfortably boast the division’s best road record (W7-D0-L1). Les Phoceens have plundered 23 goals in those seven away days, striking twice or more on seven occasions.
OM will expect to get on the scoresheet again here – only twice this term has De Zerbi’s outfit been silenced in domestic action, whilst Rennes have conceded in 10 of their 11 encounters against sides currently above them in the Ligue 1 table with four of their five clean sheets coming at home against bottom-five opposition.
Nevertheless, Rennes have been at their best at Roazhon Park (W5-D1-L2), finding the back of the net in seven of those eight dates and notching in 23 of their 25 home outings since the start of last term. A tasty 64% of those tussles paid-out for Both Teams To Score backers and a repeat appeals at 1.77 considering it’s also landed in 11/16 (69%) Marseille matches.
The Bundesliga is Europe’s top major league for goals in 2024/25 with Germany’s top-flight averaging a hefty 3.30 goals per-game – 62% of overall outings have featured Over 2.5 Goals, a massive 45% of those fixtures have produced four goals or more, whilst 61% of showdowns have paid-out for Both Teams To Score backers.
I’m expecting more entertainment from Sunday afternoon’s clash between Augsburg and Stuttgart at the WWK Arena with the combination of Over 2.5 Goals and Both Teams To Score standing-out at 1.88. It’s a wager that’s already won in 10 (67%) of the duos 15 combined home and away Bundesliga matches with both well-versed in high-scorers.
Augsburg traditionally operate in the bottom-half of the German top-flight, yet the Fuggerstadter are always capable of causing problems at their WWK Arena base. The hosts have gotten on the scoresheet in 20 of their 25 Bundesliga dates here going back to the start of last term, averaging 1.52 goals per-game in that same sample.
However, Augsburg have also managed just four shutouts in those 25 tussles, leading to a tasty 68% of matches here featuring BTTS. Meanwhile, Stuttgart have scored in 19 of 24 away Bundesliga battles under Sebestian Hoeness (avergaing 1.63 goals), managing only six shutouts of their own with a massive 75% of those tussles producing Over 2.5 Goals profit.
The visitors have only failed to score at Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen this term, recording only two shutouts of their own, suggesting Sunday’s showdown should provide plenty of entertainment.
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