European Football Tip | 31st January 2015

LYON did the business for Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) last weekend and now he’s off to La Liga for his next European NAP.

Celta Vigo v Cordoba | Saturday 21.00

Those of you that follow me on Twitter probably won’t be too surprised that I’ve selected Celta Vigo’s game with Cordoba for my European NAP but before I get into the nitty gritty, here’s a quick summary of the state of play for both teams…

European champions Real Madrid survived a scare at Cordoba last weekend. Los Blancos were given a real run for their money but came away with a 2-1 win despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s sending off. It was just another example of how far this Cordoba side have come.

Following an unlikely promotion, Los Califas had to wait until December to taste their first top-tier win of the season. Going into that game away to Athletic Bilbao, Cordoba had D7-L6 of their first 13 matches and whilst wins were elusive, they remained a tough nut to crack. Performances were good, goals were hard to come by but you felt they were close to finding their feet.

Miroslav Đukić replaced Albert Ferrer as boss in late October and his appointment has sparked belief and confidence in the camp. His nine games in charge have resulted in a W3-D3-L3 record with the three losses coming against Villarreal, Barcelona and as mentioned, Real Madrid. Not bad, eh?

So this weekend they travel to Celta Vigo and the visitors are rated huge 15/2 outsiders. That looks unfair, to me. So I’m happy to get behind Cordoba +1 in the Asian Handicap at 11/10 with BetVictor. Backing this selection means, we’ll have a winner on our hands should Đukić’s charges avoid defeat and even get our cash back should Los Califas lose by a one-goal margin.

Celta haven’t recorded a victory since their astonishing win at Barcelona on the 1st November. Eduardo Berizzo’s men have picked up just two points from a possible 30, scoring just two goals.

Yes, Vigo are rated highly in the shots and shots-on-target tables which so often have a big bearing on ratings and bookmakers odds but at 1/2 they’re a shocking price and I’d urge you to take it seriously opposing Berizzo’s Sky Blues on Saturday night.