In this section you’ll find our free football betting tips which cover a selection of the best matches from today, tomorrow and this weekend. The predictions made by our tipsters focus on value and can easily be combined into accumulators. The predictions & tips mainly focus on domestic games with a heavy slant towards the Premier League and Championship, plus major international fixtures.
Upcoming Football Matches
20:15 - Fulham v Cardiff City
Fulham and Cardiff City clash at Craven Cottage in the EFL Championship on Friday night with both sides looking to cement their place in the top six. The Cottagers are in high spirits after winning three games on the spin. With Brentford not playing until Saturday, Fulham would move into third with three points from this one. However, the Bluebirds have been strong on their travels lately, winning five of their past six away games. This should be a thriller in the English capital and it could go either way.
After two defeats, three wins on the bounce is just what the doctor ordered for Fulham. The Cottagers are now firmly in the play-off spots with four matches to go. Cardiff crashed to a surprise 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers in midweek, but they were unbeaten in six games (four wins, two draws) before that. This promises to be an entertaining game between two very different styles of play. All things considered we think they might end up cancelling one another out, so we’ll be backing the draw and over 2.5 goals to be scored at odds of 12/1.
12:30 - Norwich City v West Ham United
Defeat for Daniel Farke’s Norwich City on Saturday would see them relegated back to the EFL Championship, and in some ways that might just put them out of their misery as there is surely no way they can realistically survive now. The Canaries entertain West Ham United, who still have work to in their battle for Premier League survival. The Hammers start the weekend in 16th place in the table with just 31 points from their 34 games to date this term. After a 1-0 home loss to Burnley last time out, can David Moyes’ men strike back with a vital three points at Carrow Road on Saturday?
Norwich won the Championship last season, but Farke’s men have struggled to adapt to Premier League life, picking up just five wins from their 34 games. West Ham have failed to build on their win over Chelsea, but the Irons should squeeze past a poor Norwich side on Saturday. You can get the 1-0 away win at the tempting price of 8/1.
12:30 - Watford v Newcastle United
Nigel Pearson’s Watford and Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United square off at Vicarage Road in the Premier League this Saturday afternoon with Watford desperate for points as they bid to earn another season in the top flight. The Hornets secured a massive three points in midweek, with Craig Dawson and Danny Welbeck scoring in a 2-1 home victory over rock-bottom club Norwich City. As for Newcastle, they lost 5-0 to a rampant Manchester City side at the Etihad Stadium.
Watford’s win in midweek was their first since shocking Liverpool back in February. The three points they gained put them level with West Ham United on 31 points and four points above the relegation zone. The Magpies have been in good form lately, even though they were heavily beaten at Man City in midweek. Before Wednesday’s loss, Newcastle had won three away league and cup games in a row. Take a punt on the away team to get the victory at Vicarage Road on Saturday at odds of 15/4.
12:30 - Derby County v Brentford
Phillip Cocu’s Derby County host Thomas Frank’s Brentford at Pride Park in the EFL Championship on Saturday. Derby will be looking for their first victory in three games, while three points for the Bees would be their seventh successive success. Who will prevail in this big Championship clash at Pride Park at the weekend?
Derby’s play-off hopes have been dealt a huge blow as the Rams have taken just one point from their last two games. A trip to Cardiff City is up next after Saturday’s showdown with Brentford. Thomas Frank’s men are keeping the pressure on the top two, winning six in a row. The Bees have lost just one Championship encounter since January. Check out the decent price of 11/5 for the away side to win with a -1 goal handicap in the East Midlands.
15:00 - Liverpool v Burnley
Premier League champions Liverpool welcome in-form Burnley to Anfield this Saturday. After a heavy defeat at Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp’s men have hit back with wins over Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion. Sean Dyche’s men will be tricky opponents for the Reds, though, as the Clarets have won seven, drawn four and lost only one of their last 12 games in the Premier League.
Liverpool will be hoping to preserve their 100% Premier League record at Anfield this season. The champions have won all 17 of their home league matches thus far. Burnley have been solid on the road, with only six teams picking up more away points. However, getting anything at Anfield at the weekend will be a tough task for Dyche’s boys. Back Liverpool to be winning at half time and full time at a decent price of 4/5.
17:30 - Sheffield United v Chelsea
UEFA Champions League hopefuls Chelsea travel to Bramall Lane to take on Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United in the Premier League on Saturday. Frank Lampard’s men have won seven of their past eight matches in all competitions. After three league and cup defeats, the Blades are back in form after two wins and a draw from their last three games. This has the potential to be a real thriller in the Steel City.
United left it late to see off Wolverhampton Wanderers in midweek, with John Egan’s injury time effort giving Wilder’s troops a 1-0 home win. Meanwhile Chelsea have won back-to-back games against Watford and Crystal Palace since their shock defeat at rivals West Ham United. Sheffield United are a tough nut to crack at Bramall Lane, but our money is going on a Chelsea win. Take a punt on the Blues win and both teams to score at odds of 13/5.
20:00 - Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City travel to the Amex Stadium to take on Brighton and Hove Albion in Premier League action on Saturday night. City were back to their brilliant best in midweek, thumping Newcastle United 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, while Brighton were beaten 3-1 at home by Liverpool. Pep’s men are the big favourites in this one.
Incredibly, Man City have lost seven times on the road in the Premier League this season. They have lost each of their last three away league matches, failing to win away from home in league action since a 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium back in February. Brighton are not mathematically safe just yet, but Graham Potter’s men should be fine for another season in the top flight. We fancy the Seagulls to hold Man City to a draw at the Amex at odds of 17/4.
12:00 - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
Having suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats, Wolverhampton Wanderers will be desperate to get back to winning ways this weekend. On Sunday afternoon, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves welcome Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton to Molineux. Wanderers are still in the hunt for a UEFA Champions League spot, but three points is a must this weekend.
Wolves had won three in a row before a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in their last home match. Nuno’s men then followed that up with a disappointing 1-0 loss at Sheffield United in midweek. Everton have had a mixed bag of results of late, and they head to Molineux having lost three of their previous four on the road. Still, we fancy the Toffees to battle to a draw in the West Midlands on Sunday. The draw and both teams to score is priced at odds of 15/4 which looks worth considering.
13:30 - Swansea City v Leeds United
Swansea City and Leeds United square off at the Liberty Stadium for a mouth-watering EFL Championship matchup on Sunday. The Swans moved to within one point of the play-offs after the midweek results. As for Leeds, they are closing in on the Premier League after their emphatic 5-0 drubbing of Stoke on Thursday. Will United move a step closer to promotion, or can Swansea make home advantage count?
Back-to-back wins have put Swansea right back in the play-off picture. The Welsh outfit are now just a point behind rivals Cardiff City in the race for sixth. Leeds have won three of their last four away league games, scoring eight goals in the process. This could be a thrilling encounter in South Wales on Sunday. There is good value in the Leeds win and both teams to score at a price of 11/4.
14:15 - Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Dean Smith’s Aston Villa and Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace square off at Villa Park in Premier League action on Sunday. The Villans could really do with maximum points with just a handful of games left to save their Premier League lives. However, the Eagles are an unpredictable outfit these days, and Roy’s boys will be hoping to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat.
After Sunday’s fixture, there will be just three matches left for Aston Villa. Smith’s side have struggled on their Premier League return, spending most of their campaign in and around the bottom three. Palace have lost four in a row, but they gave Chelsea a good game at Selhurst Park in midweek. The Eagles will fancy their chances at Villa Park. Our money is going on the Palace victory at odds of 12/5 as Villa slump towards life in the Championship.
16:30 - Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal do battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday. The pair have both had disappointing seasons by their standards, but both teams will be desperate to win this one. The Gunners are a single point ahead of Spurs in eighth, with the Lilywhites are just a place behind in ninth. Who will take the north London bragging rights until they meet again?
Jose Mourinho has had a tough time at Tottenham since taking over from the popular Mauricio Pochettino, but his side have won their last two at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Arsenal are on a fine run, taking 10 points from the last 12 on offer. Despite neither side having the season they would have hoped for, this is still a huge derby game. We can see the Gunners nicking it at the home of their rivals. Arsenal are available at decent odds of 15/4 to win by one one.
19:00 - Bournemouth v Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City will be looking for maximum points when they make the trip to the Vitality Stadium to take on Eddie Howe’s struggling Bournemouth on Sunday night. The Cherries are in the bottom three of the Premier League with four matches to go, while the Foxes are clinging on to fourth place. This is a massive game for both sides.
Bournemouth have been a breath of fresh air since arriving in the Premier League, but their stay in the top flight could be coming to an end. Their 0-0 draw at home against Spurs in midweek will have given them some hope, but they need wins rather than draws from here on in. The Cherries face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium next after Sunday’s game with Leicester. The Foxes are still in a good position to take a UEFA Champions League place, but Rodgers will want all three points from this one. Back the away side to win with a -1 goal handicap at odds of 7/4.
20:00 - Manchester United v Southampton
After four consecutive Premier League wins, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United will be looking to make it 15 points from a possible 15 with victory over Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton at Old Trafford on Monday night. The Red Devils have been in red-hot form of late, easing past Aston Villa at Villa Park on Thursday night and they are now in fifth place in the table, just a point behind fourth-placed Leicester City.
The Saints are also in fine fettle, taking seven points from their last three games. Southampton have won six of their previous nine away league matches. However, in-form United, who are hunting down a UEFA Champions League spot, should be too strong for the Saints at Old Trafford. Ole’s boys have kept clean sheets in 14 of their last 15 league and cup wins. Take a punt on the home team to win to nil on Monday at odds of 21/20.
UPDATE: Football Resumptions, Postponements & Cancellations
Football leagues in England, Spain and Italy all resume in June though elsewhere in Europe there had been a return to action. The German Bundesliga was the first of the major leagues to return followed by Portugal, Austria, Denmark and Poland amongst others.
ENGLISH LEAGUES
With nine rounds of fixtures left to play, the Premier League had to step aside in March but will now resume on Wednesday the 17th June. The initial return date was April 4th, but the postponement was extended. Similar applies to the Championship, with a return set for Saturday the 20th June.
Clubs in League One, League Two and the National League voted to end their seasons early. Automatic promotion and relegation was decided on a points per game basis with Leagues One and Two holding the traditional four team promotion playoffs for the remaining spot. League Two playoffs begin on the 18th June, League One on the 3rd July.
OTHER LEAGUES
As mentioned above, Germany was the first nation to return to action, with the Bundesliga and Bundesliga II resuming on the 16th May, albeit behind closed doors.
Italy have allowed matches to be played from the 12th June. Spain’s La Liga returned on June 11th set. The SPFL, French Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie will not complete their seasons.
The Champions and Europa Leagues remain suspended “until further notice”, but UEFA chiefs are continuing to plan a return for the tournaments once the domestic situation becomes clearer for all involved.
There were the odd exceptions to these suspension, with some matches in Australia, Nigeria, Belarus and one or two other nations still going ahead. Some of those will be played without spectators so all in all it really was very slim pickings for football fans over the last weeks and months.
EURO 2020 DELAYED TO 2021
In addition to all that, UEFA Euro 2020 has been postponed until 2021 in the hope that this will allow the European leagues to finish their domestic seasons over the now-free summer. The semi-finals of the play-offs (to decide the final four teams at the Euros), which were due to take place in March, have also been postponed, with those now pencilled in for June and the four finals to follow at some stage after that.
OTHER INTERNATIONAL MATCHES & CUPS
The 2020 Copa America has also been delayed for 12 months and various international friendly games that were scheduled to take place have been cancelled. That includes the likes of England v Italy (March 27) and England v Romania, which wasn’t due to be played until the 7th June.
Football Bets
Our tips and predictions mainly focus on a few core bets. Chances are you’re already familiar with these, but here’s a quick run down just in case:
- Win/Draw/Win – The simplest bet you can make… who will win the match?
- HT/FT – The odds for the WDW markets are often quite low, especially when one team is heavily favoured. The halft-time/full-time market offers an opportunity to boost the odds by selecitng the result for both half time and the final whistle.
- Handicap Betting – Another way to increase the odds on the match result is to add a handicap. For example, Arsenal -2 means that they effectively start the match at -2, meaning they need two goals more than the other team to draw and three more to win.
- Both Teams to Score – Originating in the Goals Galore market from Betfred, both teams to score has become incredibly popular. They frequently show up in accumulators and with odds usually below evens it’s easy to see why. Other variations you may see in our tips are both teams not to score (BTTS No – where one or both teams won’t score) and BTTS + Win, where the winner of the match is picked alongside the BTTS bet.
- Over/Under – Another bet that’s along the same lines as BTTS are over/under bets. Except here you’re predicting whether the totaly number of goals will be above or below a target figure. The most comon example is 2.5 goals, although you can place these bets on a wide range of numbers. You can even bet on over 0.5 goals if you think it’s going to be anything other than a 0-0 draw.
- Correct Score – To really boost the odds, head to the correct score market. It’s a hard bet to predict but it sometimes has value.
- Goalscorer – You wont see these bets too frequently in our tips, but they do crop up from time to time if the value offered is good. Here we’re picking who will score, either first, last or at any point in the match. For matches with a heavy favourite and a strong striker you may even see something along the lines of “Ronaldo to score two or more goals”.