The first legs of the European semi-finals take place this week and with two English sides competing, there is plenty of interest in the North West as Manchester City and Liverpool look to continue their European dream.
There is also action from the Football League, with a number of important games taking place and our BTTS tips come from the glamour of Madrid to the somewhat more earthy surroundings of Hull.
Tuesday 26th April 2016
- Manchester City v Real Madrid (3/5 with BetVictor) – We start off at the Etihad where the glamour tie sees City take on Real Madrid in what should be a highly entertaining game of football as two attacking sides go head to head. Both teams have plenty of goals in them, whilst their respective defences are a bit suspect, hence the BTTS odds are fairly short – but still good value.
- Portsmouth v Wimbledon (evens with Coral) – Down in League 2, Portsmouth will be looking to arrest their recent slide and there could be goals on the South Coast. Both sides have been a bit inconsistent of late, but we think that both keepers will be kept busy in this clash with so much at stake and the Dons potent on their travels.
- Hull City v Brentford (7/10 with BetVictor) – This looks as though it will be a fairly run of the mill Championship clash but we can see both sides scoring given Brentford’s recent results as Hull City look to cement their place in the play-offs. Moreover, no side has scored more away goals than Brentford in the second tier.
- Walsall v Shrewsbury Town (11/10 with Ladbrokes) – Out of all the Football League matches, this is the one we’re most confident about as it has been a long time since Shrewsbury last saw a clean sheet in one of their matches. At the back, they are poor but they have been scoring to be fair to them and they will be looking to rock a Walsall side who will still believe that they can secure automatic promotion. 11/10 is great value!
Wednesday 27th April 2016
- Atletico Madrid v Bayern Munich (evens with Coral) – Pep Guardiola and Diego Simeone have very different styles of management but both are highly successful and it will be interesting to see who wins out in this clash. Atleti’s home form has been brilliant this season and they will be confident that they can score, whilst Bayern can call upon the services of one of the best strikers in the world.
Thursday 28th April 2016
- Villarreal v Liverpool (4/5 with Sky Bet) – Villarreal’s last Europa League match saw six goals scored whilst Liverpool triumphed over Borussia Dortmund 4-3 in a thrilling night at Anfield. Both teams have goals in them and there should be plenty of attacking football on display at El Madrigal, making BTTS a steal.
- Shakhtar Donetsk v Sevilla (19/20 with Bet365) – Holders Sevilla travel to Lviv to face Shakhtar Donetsk and it could be a highly entertaining game. The Europa League has seen plenty of high scoring games in the knockout phase and this one could follow a similar path with Shakhtar scoring 13 in their last five Europa League matches.
See also:
- Midweek football tips (26th to 28th April)
- Acca tips (26th to 28th April)