This Tuesday is a mouthwatering day of matches. We have match day 2 of the Champions League group stage which in itself is excitement enough looking at the match ups, but we also have a full card of Championship games to peruse.
Here are my goals based selections for a Tuesday night that is sure to contain plenty of thrills and spills.
Arsenal v Napoli 7.45pm
Bet – Napoli over 1.5 team goals – 13/8
An absolutely enthralling clash here between two of the best performing teams in Europe currently. Napoli have been a revelation under new boss Rafa Benitez, and the signings they’ve made have been of the highest quality. At times they look like they’re not quite the finished article defensively, but attack wise they will cause most teams problems.
Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Castellon have been getting amongst the goals, as has playmaker Marek Hamsik, and the team as a whole look a great bet to score over 1.5 goals in their visit to London.
Arsenal are proving critics wrong so far, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to prevent a buzzing Napoli side from netting a couple of goals.
The stats that matter:
- Napoli have scored 2 or more goals in 6 of their 7 games played in all competitions this
- Arsenal have conceded in 6 of their 10 games played in all competitions this season
- Napoli have scored in all 4 of their Champions League away games since 2011
Blackburn v Watford 7.45pm
Bet – Over 2.5 goals – 4/5
This match really looks set up to be a corker. Rovers have proved they are an attacking force this season courtesy in the main of Jordan Rhodes (9 goals in 8 games), and Watford are just a goal machine waiting to happen.
Blackburn thumped Bournemouth 3-1 at the weekend, and were 3-0 up at the break. Watford were stifled by Wigan at Vicarage Road, but managed to win 1-0. This game will be much more attack minded and I fully expect 3 or more goals to be scored.
The stats that matter:
- 4 of the last 6 meetings between Blackburn and Watford have produced 3 goals or more
- Blackburn have scored 9 goals in their 4 home league games this season
- Watford have scored 9 away goals in their 4 road games this season
Porto v Atletico Madrid 7.45pm
Bet – under 2.5 goals – 3/4 Ladbrokes
A very close looking encounter in the Champions League here. Porto are yet to hit top gear domestically this season, although they have won all 3 home league games without conceding. They’ve actually only dropped 2 points so far this season but performances haven’t been particularly impressive.
Atletico are looking very menacing indeed and will be full of confidence after beating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their last game. However, it takes a very good team indeed to get anything from the Dragao, and I’ve got a distinct feeling that the defences are going to come out on top here.
The stats that matter:
- Porto have kept 4 clean sheets in their last 5 home Champions League games
- An average of 2.14 goals have been scored in Porto’s last 7 home CL games
- An average of 2.14 goals have been scored in Atletico’s last 7 away CL games
