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 Japan this weekend.
It’s a bleak time to be a Sheffield Wednesday supporter. Highly-rated head coach Danny Rohl walked away from the club a fortnight before the season start with his former assistant Henrik Pedersen taking charge of first-team affairs. He has just 12 senior players to select from, a skeleton coaching team and an owner who is reluctant to bankroll the club.
The Owls have had the heart ripped out of them over the past 12 months and it’s difficult to see a positive future picture. Despite the troubles, Pedersen has produced a side that has shown grit, battle and determination in all of their four Championship games with experienced heads like Barry Bannan, Liam Palmer and Jamal Lowe vowing to battle on.
Regardless, Wednesday have slipped to second-bottom in the second-tier standings (W0-D1-L3), shipping multiple goals in all four fixtures, allowed 14 Big Chances and generating just five of their own. Stoke and Swansea have both enjoyed reasonable victories at Hillsborough this term and Bristol City are fancied to repeat the feat on Saturday.
Bristol City have made a positive start under new boss Gerhard Struber – the Robins are unbeaten (W2-D2-L0) and impressed in a hugely entertaining 4-2 triumph over Hull before the international break. Only three sides have managed more shots from inside the penalty area and City’s aggressive and attacking approach should cause Wednesday problems.
With that in-mind, Bristol City appeal at the prices. The Robins are attractive odds-against favourites this weekend, though we can include protection against the draw by backing Bristol City -0.0/0.5 at 1.82. We’ll only lose half of our stake should the game end all-square with a full pay-out at 1.82 earned should the Robins pick up maximum points.
You won’t find a more competitive title race across world football than the J-League right now where six sides are separated at the top of the table by just points with a quarter of the campaign still to play. One of those high-flyers is Kashima Antlers, positioned in fourth and only two points off the summit following a solid recent run of results (W3-D2-L0).
Kashima have produced their best work at their mercari Stadium base where the hosts have tabled nine victories in 14, including going five from five when welcoming bottom-eight opposition, as they have here in Shonan Bellmare.
Shonan Bellmare started the season in fine form, winning their first three fixtures and sat unbeaten after five rounds of action. However, the visitors have plummeted down the standings to third-bottom following a dreadful return of 15 defeats in 23 games, including nine losses in their last 11 away days.
The club from Hiratsuka are winless since early May (W0-D4-L8) and have conceded multiple goals in six of their last seven (leaking 21 goals in total). Shonan have been turned over in eight of 10 trips to the top-13, whilst they’ve been beaten in six of seven away days at the top-nine by an aggregate of 16-2. It’s been unimaginably grim for the visitors.
This is all backed up by the data. Shonan Bellmare are rock-bottom of the J-League for Expected Points (xP), Expected Goals (xG) supremacy, shot supremacy and Big Chance supremacy and so I’m happy to oppose them here. We can back Kashima to win and Under 4.5 Goals at 1.86 – just five of their combined 56 league games have featured 5+ goals.
+1.81 units – Mark O’Haire’s 2025/26 Insights P&L (+30% ROI)
Subscribe to the Matchbook Betting Podcast here
Subscribe to the Matchbook YouTube channel here
