Betting.Betfair.com
·9 January 2025
Betting.Betfair.com
·9 January 2025
Atalanta's form before the turn of the year was sensational. La Dea managed to win 15 of their 19 fixtures in all competitions between October and December during a scintillating run of performances.
In Serie A, La Dea pocketed 34 of the 36 points on offer during the same period to position themselves as genuine title challengers near the table's summit.
Gian Piero Gasperini's free-scoring side have accumulated more in expected goals (33.50) than any other club in Serie A since August, while clean sheets were secured in 4 of their last 6 away games in the division.
Udinese meanwhile, have lost 3 and drawn 1 of their last four matches at the Bluenergy Stadium, while Le Zebrette haven't beaten Atalanta since 2017 - a lengthy sequence of 14 encounters between the teams without success.
Udinese have also performed poorly against Serie A's bigger names this season and have already lost games against Inter Milan, Roma, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli, and Saturday's opponents Atalanta earlier in the campaign. Expect more disappointment for the hosts in this one.
Bo Henriksen's Mainz were one of the Bundesliga's form teams in the lead-up to the German domestic campaign's winter break and a run of 5 wins in 6 games allowed Die Nullfünfer to end the season's first half in a lofty 5th place.
A home fixture against bottom club Bochum on Saturday looks like a kind way to restart for Mainz and presented with an excellent opportunity to pick up where they left off, we're backing the highfliers to deliver at an attractive price of 1.55.
Bochum have failed to win 14 of their 15 Bundesliga matches since August and already 8 points adrift of safety, they look ill-equipped to launch a worthwhile survival bid between now and May.
The relegation favourites rank second-last for goals conceded (35) and last for expected goals against (32.1) in the division and they are easy to oppose again here.
Mainz beat big hitters Borussia Dortmund (3-1), Bayern Munich (2-1) and Eintracht Frankfurt (3-1) ahead of the mid-season break, and they should be in command again here.
Nottingham Forest take a break from their pursuit of a top-four finish in the Premier League when they tackle a home tie with Luton in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup on Saturday, and the Tricky Trees should have too much class for the Hatters.
Luton have struggled to adapt to life back in the Championship since their recent relegation and find themselves positioned just 5 places off bottom ahead of the campaign's second half.
Town have looked particularly vulnerable on the road, where they have lost a dismal 10 assignments on the bounce while conceding 2.70 goals per away game along the way, so don't expect them to ruffle any feathers at The City Ground.
A confident Forest saw off Midlands rivals Wolves (3-0) on Monday evening and they can chase down their 7th successive win when they host a lacklustre Luton.
Nuno Espirito Santo is likely to make changes to his usual starting XI for Saturday's cup tie, though Forest have plenty of quality in reserve, and with fringe players eager to impress, they should be able to ease past the hapless Hatters.
Besiktas have hit a few bumps in the Turkish Super Lig of late, though they restored some confidence with a 1-0 cup win at Sivasspor in midweek and they can record a follow-up victory over a similarly poor Bodrum FK side on Saturday.
Indeed, Bodrum are 4 points behind Sivasspor in the lower reaches of the Super Lig standings and have already lost 10 times in just 17 league fixtures this season, while only fellow relegation candidates Hatayspor have collected fewer points on their travels.
With just 13 goals in the column, newly-promoted Bodrum are the Super Lig's lowest-scoring outfit so far and it's difficult to see how the toothless visitors can avoid a fifth-straight away defeat in Turkey's top tier when they visit Besiktas.
A cup fixture at Kırklarelispor on Wednesday, which involved a 1400km round-trip from west to east and back again for Bodrum, was a far from ideal way to prepare for their clash with a superior Besiktas team and fatigue could also be a factor on Saturday as a result.
Besiktas can return to the top four with the right result in the capital and they are keenly priced to get the job done at Bodrum's expense.
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