Saturday usually brings with it more betting opportunities than any other day and this weekend is no different. With an entire programme of English league football below the Premier League, European matches, and some high-quality tennis to look forward to, we have selected four bets for our latest Lucky 15 attempt.
While both of our football tips in the Championship last night came in, the tennis went against us. It has been that sort of week. However, as a Lucky 15 combines four separate bets into one four-fold, four trebles, six doubles and four singles, we still got something out of it.
Here are today’s bets:
- Tennis: Philipp Kohlschreiber to beat Joao Sousa at around 4/9
- Football: St Etienne to beat Nice at around 6/5
- Football: Aston Villa to beat Hull at around Evens
- Football: Borussia Dortmund to beat Bayern Munich at around 2/1
Philipp Kohlschreiber to beat Jaoa Sousa
Kohlschreiber missed the chance to get into last week’s final in Hamburg when he suffered an injury in the semi-finals. This week, he has been superb, beating Facundo Bagnis, Jiri Vesely, Dusan Lajovic and Fabio Fognini to reach the final. Sousa is a tricky opponent – he has upset two of my bets this week already – but Kohlschreiber is on a better run of form overall (11-6 on clay this season versus Sousa’s 12-12). Although Sousa leads the head to head 2-1, those two wins came in 2015 and Kohlschreiber won their last meeting earlier this year.
St Etienne to beat Nice
St Etienne host Nice this evening and can take advantage of Nice’s exertions against Ajax in midweek. Their 2-2 draw with the Dutch side put them into the Champions League playoff stage, but now they must head to St Etienne to start their league campaign. Under a new coach, St Etienne will be keen to get their season off to a flyer, and this is a tough task for Nice so early in the season. Nice have not kept a clean sheet in the league for a long time, by the way, so do not expect this to finish 0-0.
Aston Villa to beat Hull
Aston Villa are my tip for promotion from the Championship this year. Adding John Terry and other players such as Glenn Whelan and Ahmed Elmohamedy to their squad after a year where they did not go anywhere should help them get back on the right track. An early indication of their early-season form comes against Hull, tonight, but I think they will win. They have lost six of their last eight meetings against Hull, a side still in transition following relegation and under a new manager in Leonid Slutsky.
Bayern Munich to beat Borussia Dortmund
The German heavyweights get their season underway when they meet in the German Super Cup this evening. In recent meetings, the winner of this fixture has generally been the one playing at home, so a neutral venue should give neither side a significant advantage. Dortmund are unbeaten in their last eight league matches, and I fancy them to beat a Bayern side that has looked shaky in pre-season. A 3-0 loss to Liverpool and a 2-0 defeat to Napoli suggests they are not in great shape ahead of taking on a young and hungry Dortmund today.