NEW WLB contributor James O'Rourke (@JamesOR1) has scanned Saturday's European football scene and unearthed five great value selections to share from the continent.
FC Midtjylland v Hobro | Saturday 29th September 2018, 15:00
FC Midtjylland secured the Danish Superliga title in dramatic circumstances from Brondby last season, and they’ve continued that momentum into this campaign.
Whilst they don’t top the table, they sit three points behind league leaders FC Copenhagen, who they defeated 3-1 at home a few weeks ago.
It is just one defeat for Jess Thorup’s men and anything less than a routine win over Hobro on Saturday would be a shock. FCM have won every competitive head-to-head home meeting, the scores being 5-1, 3-0, 2-0 and 3-0.
Hobro have drew three of their last five away, none against teams expected to challenge the higher echelons of the division.
Midtjylland have scored 3+ in four of their five at home, whilst bottom of the table Hobro have conceded a league-worst 24 times already.
A -1 handicap on FC Midtylland pays a generous 4/5 with Sportingbet.
AC Wolfsberger v Salzburg | Saturday 29th September 2018, 16:00
After eight games, the two highest-scoring sides collide in the Austrian Bundesliga this weekend.
Salzburg have won the Austrian top-flight for five seasons running and already have a 100% record this time around.
The visitors have averaged 2.5 goals per-game so far, but this weekend represents one of their sterner tests so far.
The Lavanttal-Arena hasn’t always been an easy place to go for Marco Rose’s side, winning just two of their previous nine visits.
The 13/14 on Both Teams To Score from 188BET looks too good to ignore.
Heerenveen v ADO Den Haag | Saturday 29th September 2018, 17:30
You’ll be very unlucky to attend a 0-0 draw at an Eredivisie venue this season!
Six games in, VVV Venlo have the lowest average goals per game ratio, and that is still a healthy 2.00. The average in Heerenveen matches last season was 3.00, but the managerial change in appointing Jan Olde Riekerink doesn’t appear to have halted the flow of goals scored and conceded.
Six games in, Heerenveen can already call upon scores like 3-5 (twice), 3-3 and 2-3. They also lost 8-2 to Hoffenheim in pre-season.
ADO Den Haag lost 7-0 at home to PSV two weeks ago, but they’ve already shipped seven and scored six in the three on their travels.
Both played out a 0-0 draw in 2014, but the form guide suggests its goal, goals, goals on Saturday.
Some interest on the Over 3.5 Goals market (11/8 BetVictor) has to be considered.
Club Brugge v Cercle Brugge | Saturday 29th September 2018, 19:30
Club Brugge travel to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League, and they’ll certainly want to enter that with the good feeling of getting one over their local rival on Saturday night.
The pair meet for the first time since February 2015 at the Jan Breydel Stadium, the ground which they share. The ‘home team’ won 4-0 away in Gent in their previous league match to maintain their 100% start to the campaign.
Cercle, on the other hand, sit in mid-table, and are currently winless in four; three ending in defeat. They’ve actually drew three of their four on their travels so far, scoring only once.
They’ll need to score to have a chance of a positive outcome, as Club Brugge have only failed to score once at home in the league since 2014.
A -1 handicap on a Club Brugge win pays a healthy 9/10 with Sportingbet.
Sporting Lisbon v Maritimo | Saturday 29th September 2018, 21:00
This was always going to be a challenging season for Sporting, especially on the back of their well-documented issues.
The Jorge Jesus era is very much a thing of the past. Jose Peseiro is now the man at the helm, and they haven’t been speculator in the opening rounds.
Three wins from five may not seem so bad, but two of those victories were by slender margins at home to weaker opposition in Setubal and Feirense.
After defeat in Braga on Monday, they’ll look to resume winning ways at the first attempt. It will very much be a case of ‘get the job done’ at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
A Sporting win and Under 3.5 Goals at 23/20 with Coral is a good way to approach this, with an outright Sporting win only 1/3.
Best Bets
FC Midtylland v Hobro – FC Midtylland -1 handicap (4/5 Sportingbet)
AC Wolfsberger v Salzburg – Both Teams to Score (188Bet 13/14)
Heerenveen v ADO Den Haag – Over 3.5 Goals (11/8 BetVictor)
Club Brugge v Cercle Brugge – Club Brugge -1 handicap (9/10 Sportingbet)
Sporting Lisbon v Maritimo – Sporting Lisbon to win and Under 3.5 Goals (23/20 Coral)
