The festive period drew to a close last night as the world heralded in a new and (hopefully) better year, but the frenetic football calendar shows no signs of settling down and our experts have been hard at work.
The New Year’s Day football schedule may be a poor effort, but Saturday’s action more than makes up for it. We have a Premier League, EFL, Bundesliga and La Liga action to look forward too, with the return of Serie A following on Sunday. And remember, you can find detailed analysis for all of these games on our football predictions page.
Of course, with such a wide array of fixtures it can be difficult deciding where to put your money, but that’s what our range of experts are here for!
We’re blessed with some fantastic football tipsters here on FST, which is plain to see from our host of huge winners in 2020. However, we’re not the only tipsters on the internet, so we’ve teamed up with a trio if high-profile football experts to bring you our top bets for Saturday’s action.
Our Boxing Day instalment saw FST’s very own Aaron Rogan and Simon Winter continue their excellent form, while Mark Langdon, Scott Minto and James Milton all landed winners as well. James, Simon and myself are currently tied for the best record with three winners from four, and the team as a whole have backed 15 winners from 24 bets.
Saturday’s best bets
Aaron Rogan
Serie A writer and journalist at Free Super Tips.
Burton Albion vs Oxford United – Both teams to score at 7/10
Burton Albion have conceded in all 21 of their League One games this term. However, the hosts have managed to score in 86% of their matches despite sitting bottom of the table. Burton come into this one having seen both teams score in their last nine on the spin. In their 27 games across all competitions, BTTS has landed 23 times.
Meanwhile, Oxford kept two clean sheet in 17 League One trips in 2020 and they come here with three of their last four trips seeing both teams score. The visitors have scored nine times in their last three league games so expect goals when they meet a Burton side who have seen BTTS land in 90% of their home games in League One this term.
Alex Wrigley
Sports Editor at Free Super Tips.
Werder Bremen vs Union Berlin – Both teams to score at 7/10
Union Berlin’s tenacity going forward is making them very difficult to beat this season. The visitors have lost just two Bundesliga matches all season and have scored in all 13 of their league fixtures.
While their attacking spirit is commendable, as with many teams in the Bundesliga they do tend to struggle at the back. They have kept just two clean sheets and both came on home soil, while Werder Bremen have only failed to score once this season and that came away to RB Leipzig. The hosts have a similar issue though, resulting in eight of their last ten league games seeing goals at both ends.
Dan Childs
English Football League expert and regular columnist at Racing Post.
Norwich vs Barnsley – Norwich to win at 3/4
Norwich have wasted no time in shaking off their relegation hangover and can take another step towards an immediate return to the Premier League by beating playoff chasing Barnsley at Carrow Road.
Daniel Farke’s men are three points clear with 44 points from 22 games and have excelled despite the inconvenience of several injury problems.
However, the absentee list got shorter in December with key duo Kenny McLean and Todd Cantwell returning to action. Daniel Farke is getting closer to his first choice side and they can see off the eighth-placed Tykes, who have picked up all of their four away wins against teams in the bottom seven.
Mark Langdon
Head of Sports Content at Racing Post and regular appearances in The Guardian, FourFourTwo and more.
Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Monchengladbach – Borussia Monchengladbach to win
Arminia Bielefeld have picked up in recent weeks but their wins over struggling pair Mainz and Schalke said much about their opponents.
Nine of their ten points this season have come against their fellow bottom-four outfits with nine defeats in ten against sides 13th and above in the current standings.
Monchengladbach are better than their eighth-place suggests – they are through to the Champions League last 16 as an example of that – and can shrug off the suspension of Marcus Thuram to claim maximum points.
Gladbach have scored in their last 12 Bundesliga battles and their leaky defence is unlikely to be overly troubled by powder-puff Arminia.
Scott Minto
Former Premier League left back and current host of the Different League podcast.
Luton vs QPR – Luton to win at 5/4
Returning Hatters boss Nathan Jones had a nightmare at Stoke but he could barely be doing any better back at Luton where Town are particularly strong at Kenilworth Road with wins over Norwich, Bristol City, Preston, Derby and Wycombe.
Luton bounced back to form by beating Bristol City in midweek whereas QPR are winless in nine despite an excellent point at Carrow Road. One clean sheet in 12 suggests Rangers are flaky at the back and Luton look a nice price.
16/1 Experts’ Best Bets Accumulator
More FST News:
FST’s The Bet Builders with Statman Dave
Premier League cards and corners tips for Saturday
Football in the New Year: What could happen in 2021?
The post Experts’ Best Bets: FST teams up with Mark Langdon, Dan Childs and Scott Minto to build 16/1 Experts Acca! appeared first on Free Football Tips.