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
20:00 - Shakhtar Donetsk v Basel
Luis Castro’s Shakhtar Donetsk go head-to-head with Marcel Koller’s Basel at the Arena AufSchalke in the quarter finals of the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League. Tuesday’s European clash in Gelsenkirchen, Germany will be a one-off game for a place in the last four. These two teams look well matched on paper, but the Ukrainian champions are the favourites to go through.
Last Wednesday, Shakhtar thumped Wolfsburg 3-0 at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev to make sure of their spot in the last eight, winning 5-1 on aggregate. Basel also impressed in their Round of 16 tie, beating Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt home and away to win 4-0 over two legs. This is one of the less glamourous ties, but these two should provide plenty of entertainment. Put a few quid on Shakhtar to win and over 3.5 goals at very big odds of 5/1.
20:00 - Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sevilla
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers held on against Olympiacos at Molineux last Thursday to book their place in the last eight of this season’s unforgettable UEFA Europa League competition. On Tuesday night, Wolves take on Europa League specialists Sevilla in a one-off quarter final at the MSV-Arena in Duisburg, Germany.
After a 1-1 draw in Greece, an early Raul Jimenez penalty was enough to give Wolves a 1-0 home win over Olympiacos last Thursday. Sevilla beat Roma 2-0 at the MSV-Arena, with first half goals from Sergio Reguilon and Youssef En-Nesyri doing the damage in Duisburg. Wanderers have had a fine domestic season and a memorable European journey up until now but getting the better of Sevilla in a one-off tie could be a step too far. There looks good value in the Sevilla win and both teams to score at chunky odds of 4/1.
18:00 - St Mirren v Celtic
Please be aware that this match has been postponed.
Jim Goodwin’s St Mirren welcome Scottish Premiership champions Celtic to St Mirren Park in league action on Wednesday evening. After dropping points in East Ayrshire last Sunday, Neil Lennon’s men will be desperate to strike back with maximum points in Paisley in midweek. The Saints were beaten by Celtic’s rivals Rangers last time out and will also be looking to force a victory.
The Bhoys started their 2020-21 Premiership campaign with an easy 5-1 home win over Hamilton Academical. However, things were far from easy last Sunday, as Alex Dyer’s dogged Kilmarnock side held the Celts to a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park. Having beaten Livingston on the opening weekend, St Mirren lost 3-0 at Rangers last time out. Lennon’s Bhoys should return to winning ways in midweek. There is good value in Celtic to be winning at half time and full time at odds of 8/11.
19:45 - Rangers v St Johnstone
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers will be hoping to maintain their 100% winning start to their 2020-21 Scottish Premiership season when they entertain Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone at Ibrox on Wednesday. The home side are the overwhelming favourites to put another three points on the board, but can the Saints cause an upset in Glasgow?
Rangers have started their league season with two wins and two clean sheets. A Ryan Kent goal gave the Gers a 1-0 victory at Aberdeen on the opening weekend. Last time out, an own goal and an Alfredo Morelos brace was enough for a routine 3-0 home victory over St Mirren. St Johnstone have played just once so far, drawing 1-1 with Dundee United. This should be a comfortable evening for Rangers so we’ll be having a punt on the hosts to win both halves at odds of 6/4.
20:00 - Atalanta v Paris Saint-Germain
Italian side Atalanta and French giants Paris Saint-Germain meet in the first UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night. This one-off game will take place at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. Gian Piero Gasperini’s Black and Blues had a sensational season in Serie A, beating Lazio to third place. However, Paris, the French champions, are the strong favourites to go through to the last four after landing their latest French title some time ago after it was cut short. They’d amassed enough points to be declared the winners with room to spare though (based on average points earned per game played) and they’ll be raring to go for this one.
PSG booked their spot in the quarter-finals by seeing off German side Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16. After a 2-1 loss in Germany, goals from Neymar and Juan Bernat gave the Parisians a 2-0 home victory. As for Atalanta, they thumped Valencia over two thrilling legs, winning 4-1 and 4-3. This should be a cracker in Lisbon, and we can see PSG just about edging it. Back Paris to win and both teams to score at decent odds of 12/5.
20:00 - RB Leipzig v Atletico Madrid
Julian Nagelsmann’s RB Leipzig and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid lock horns in an intriguing UEFA Champions League quarter-final at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday night. Both teams will fancy their chances of getting the win and progressing through to the last four of this season’s memorable, if somewhat disjointed, Champions League campaign. However, Atleti are the favourites to progress to the semis.
Leipzig, who finished third in the Bundesliga, cruised past Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round. Their 1-0 win in London in front of 60,000 supporters seems like a lifetime ago, and their impressive 3-0 home victory gave them a 4-0 triumph over Spurs on aggregate. Madrid also beat Premier League opposition, seeing off Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 4-2 on aggregate. This could go either way, but we fancy Los Rojiblancos to nick it. Back Simeone’s Atleti to win by one goal at odds of 11/4.
20:00 - Barcelona v Bayern Munich
Barcelona and Bayern Munich go head-to-head in a true heavyweight UEFA Champions League tie on Friday night. This one-off quarter final will take place at the Estadio da Luz in Portugal. Hans-Dieter Flick’s Bavarians have won every league and cup game since February and have not lost in any competition since a 2-1 league defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach in December. Bayern are the bookies’ favourites in this one and well fancied to lift the trophy for the first time since 2013.
It has been a tough season for Barca, who were beaten to the title in La Liga by fierce rivals Real Madrid. However, the five-time Champions League winners are always a dangerous side and if Lionel Messi is at his best they can beat anyone. Bayern will be buzzing after another exceptional season in Germany, and we can see FC Hollywood nicking this one in the Portuguese capital. Put some money on Munich to win 2-1 at big odds of 8/1.
20:00 - Manchester City v Lyon
Manchester City’s quest to win their first UEFA Champions League continues at the weekend. On Saturday night at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon, Pep Guardiola’s men take on Rudi Garcia’s Lyon in the quarter-finals. Man City are the strong favourites to get the win and go through, but the French outfit shocked Juventus in the previous round despite being a little rusty due to French football’s early finish. Who will prevail in Portugal’s capital?
The Citizens have been solid in the Champions League so far. In the Round of 16, City beat Spanish champions Real Madrid 4-2 on aggregate, winning 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu and 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium and totally deserving both results. Lyon beat Juve on away goals in the previous round, but this will surely be a step too far for the Ligue 1 side. You can get Man City to win both halves at the generous price of 6/4.
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”.