So, Wigan is playing away in Belgium tomorrow—this could be a massive game for them to clinch that group spot. I know their main focus is getting back to the big leagues, but hey, this is their first time ever playing in European competition, and who knows if they’ll ever get this chance again? They’re definitely going to give it 100% since they actually have a shot at moving on to the spring rounds. That said, they’re gonna be pretty wiped from travel, and let's be real—Ipswich isn't exactly some pushover either!
Sunday 7:00 PM
Vitória vs. Benfica—taking Benfica @ 1.50
Benfica is already trailing by 5 points, so they seriously cannot afford another slip-up here. They’ll be coming in two days fresher than Vitória, too. Plus, they’ve got a bit of a grudge to settle after that Cup final loss! Honestly, they’re two classes above the rest and are finally finding their rhythm. On the flip side, Vitória had an absolute nightmare during their last home game, losing 4-1 to Setúbal.
Tuesday, 2045 Galatasaray vs Real Madrid over 2.5 goals yes @ 2.00
When it comes to matches like this—where Real Madrid basically needs the win but also doesn't really *need* it—they tend to play super aggressive moving forward but look totally relaxed defensively. Honestly, they hit the over 2.5 mark in 5 out of 6 games during their last Champions League group stage, aside from that 1:1 draw away against Manchester City. Everyone is just dying to score against Real, even if they end up losing 0:3, and Galat showed back in the spring that they can actually pull off three goals too!
Galat hasn't exactly had a great start in their domestic league lately, but they’re going to be incredibly motivated here—though, let's be real, a loss seems pretty much inevitable. I’m expecting Real to secure those 3 points relatively quickly and then maybe just... sleep through one of Galat's attacks?
Props to the skill involved, seriously—but let’s be real, we’re talking about one of the absolute worst "sports" out there. It’s just a constant cycle of inevitable joint and tendon injuries, right? And what do you get for it? Zero material satisfaction compared to being a pro athlete, where at least you can retire comfortably knowing your bank account is actually looking good!
It’s basically a showdown between the basement dwellers—who are basically one loss away from relegation—and Gremio, who are absolutely charging toward the title after picking up more points than anyone else over the last seven weeks!
A 0:0 draw for Nautico in the final round wouldn't be a huge shocker, right? I mean, look at Corinthians—they were missing eight starters and couldn't even break through with their rookies.
Facing a powerhouse like Gremio? Yeah, pulling off an upset here is going to be a massive uphill battle.
And don't forget—this is Nautico's fourth game in just seven days (while Gremio actually has a bit of rest), so that fatigue factor is definitely going to weigh them down.
First off, I have no idea why the odds are this high—to me, "both teams to score" looks like a total lock!
Everything about this matchup screams wide-open game.
We can't afford to wait around—if we want any hope of clinching first place, a win is basically mandatory. Mexico is on an upward trend, but they’re gonna do everything in their power to mess with us. They're pretty undisciplined, too; they don't know how to sit back and protect a clean sheet—they just get cocky and start charging from the opening whistle.
Mihajlović and Stimać are honestly pretty rough coaches, and when national teams fall apart, it's usually the defense that pays the price. We could easily get caught out twice by a team like Liechtenstein—but our offense? It's stacked. With all these stars on the pitch, something big should happen!
Sao Paulo vs Crickmore - both teams to score @ 1.85>
Man, Sao Paulo is finally back in the groove! After that rough patch we talked about, I’m expecting them to kick off a decent winning streak. They're facing an opponent they should be able to handle, but... there's a catch. This is their third game in just 100 hours—talk about a brutal schedule! Their legs are probably feeling pretty heavy right now, so don't be surprised if they concede a goal. Especially after those nail-biting finishes against Nautica and Batafoga where they barely escaped with a win. On the other side, Crickmore hasn't been scoring much lately—just one goal in their last two. Honestly? I think both sides could find the back of the net tonight!
Bayern is basically in rebuild mode right now—they’re still struggling under Guardiola, too! They’ve been grinding through games against Nuremberg and just managed a draw with Freiburg. Plus, Dortmund absolutely smoked them recently... and for tonight's matchup, they’re going to be missing Badstuber, Schweinsteiger, and Thiago Alcantara. Tough luck, huh?
On the other hand, Chelsea FC has come out of the gate this season looking incredibly solid and confident. With Mourinho in charge, everything seems to have clicked into place so fast!
Beyond that, there's just massive history and rivalry between these two sides in every way possible. It’s gonna be a gritty, intense battle, which makes me think even a draw would be a real toss-up!
So, after 23 rounds, yesterday's league leaders, Hiroshima, have hit a massive wall—they haven't tasted a win in their last three matches, and honestly, those were against teams struggling at the bottom of the table! On the flip side, Tokyo is just stuck in the middle of the pack, totally safe from relegation but looking pretty uninspired lately—almost like they've lost all interest in qualifying for any Asian competitions?
This feels like the perfect moment for Hiroshima to finally snap this losing streak by taking down a Tokyo side that doesn't seem to have much riding on this, which could help them catch up to the leaders, Yokohama!
And hey, maybe we'll see one more tradition broken here—get this: in the last four league meetings between these two, the away team has walked away with the win every single time!
Honestly, if you ask me, they're all pretty much in the same boat—all age groups are 🤷
And let's be real—people like davež can be such a headache! They can be seriously obnoxious, whether we're talking about kids, teenagers, or even adults middle-aged and up
The first leg in Bucharest ended in a 1-1 draw—which, if you assume the return leg won't just be some boring 0-0 snooze fest (given how wide-open Steaua's playstyle is, that seems almost impossible!), means Legia basically has to win to advance, even if they have to grind it out through extra time . Honestly, Legia played pretty terribly last round, barely scraping by with those away results (1-1, 0-0). Before the first leg, they weren't even favorites against Steaua, and the odds were actually flipped! But hey, they managed to pull off a decent result, so here we are . Steaua has been looking absolutely dominant lately—they crushed their domestic league with a massive 16-point lead! It’s been ages since they've looked this good. Remember back in the spring when they were actually on track to advance against Chelsea until the 61st minute of the second leg? I don't see Legia pulling off anything close to that . And man, these guys know how to flip the script in tough situations. Like back in '94, they took a home loss against Dinamo Chicago (1-2) and turned it into an away win (3-2) to move on... seriously, has it really been 19 years already?! 😢
Plus, let's be real—Steaua is the much more prestigious club here with way more international experience under their belt than Legia. No brainer, right?
New York City were actually one of the lucky ones who didn't have to play mid-week—they're coming off a gritty 0-0 away draw against Flamengo in Last Week's News. Sure, their last actual win was way back in round 2, but honestly? They've looked much better lately and could've totally snatched a win against Flamengo if things had gone their way!
Rio de Janeiro also played on the road last weekend, where they managed a 1-0 win over Nautico Recife. Then, during the mid-week Copa, they hosted Goias and ended up with that same 1-0 scoreline. Plus, you've gotta love seeing Diego Cavalieri finding his rhythm again—he even pulled off a massive penalty save earlier this week!
But here's the catch—Rio de Janeiro hasn't exactly been playing beautiful soccer, and even though they won, that match against Nautico was pretty rough to watch. That's why I'm feeling like New York City is finally due for a win, though I'm not expecting a goal fest—NYC's offense has been struggling big time, and let's face it, Cavalieri is probably going to be a brick wall for them most of the night.
Team News
Since nobody is sitting out due to suspension, New York City coach Paulo Autuori had the whole week to get the squad dialed in for their first full training session together!
Honestly, FC Utrecht is looking absolutely terrible right now—so that infamous collapse against those underdogs wasn't just a fluke! I mean, they just got absolutely demolished by FC Twente 6-0 last round. Their defense is basically a sieve at this point, and it’s going to take a massive amount of work to fix things. On the flip side, Alkmaar cruised through their UEFA League qualification and they're heading into Thursday totally relaxed. They're really gunning for a high finish, especially since even the top title favorites, Ajax, already stumbled in a Score 3-2 thriller
My pick for today is the legendary Sao Paulo—man, what a ride they're having! After those first two wins in the league, they haven't managed a single victory in their last 12 matches. Sure, they had some lineup issues early on, but things are finally looking up, so they can't really use those excuses anymore, right? I mean, just think about how insane this slump is... it's like if Podolski and Ramsey both went down with injuries at Arsenal, and then suddenly the team hits a massive losing streak right before facing West Ham in the Premier League!
Fluminense isn't exactly having a walk in the park either, so they look like the perfect opponent for Sao Paulo to finally snap this streak and grab a win.
It’s pretty much the classic playbook, right? After a total disaster in the Europa League, teams usually look for any excuse to blow off some steam at their next home game—especially when they're facing someone sitting way down in the lower half of the standings.
Plus, you've got a brand new coach coming in to provide a little shock therapy and hopefully wake everyone up!
Honestly, Slaven has been absolutely terrible this year—bottom of the league, consistently bad play... I mean, how can they even surprise us at this point?
Celtic vs Inverness both teams to score YES @ 1.75
Looking at the stats first—neither side has seen both teams score in their last four matches! So, I’m calling it: the streak ends here. Plus, Celtic might play a bit more relaxed since they've got that massive midweek showdown coming up on Wednesday—basically the game of the season! They might even rotate the squad a bit, you know?
On top of that, Inverness is sitting pretty at the top of the table with three wins straight. They're in killer form, which means even if Celtic is distracted by Wednesday, they should find plenty of gaps to exploit!
Partizan vs Thun—I’m calling it now, Thun scores at 1.50 odds
Seriously though, Partizan got absolutely smoked by Novi Pazar last week—three goals conceded! Can you believe that? Plus, they’re missing both Volkov and Gulan in the defense today, which is huge. On the flip side, Thun is basically a goal machine, consistently dropping two goals per match in a league that's honestly looking better than the Mexican or Swiss leagues right now
I missed the first match, but man, I am absolutely floored by everything I'm reading from those who actually watched it last night
Here’s my take: Karagandy is a squad with pretty modest quality that just happened to get lucky—meanwhile, Celtic wasn't aggressive enough
And honestly, looking at their roster... I mean, what can you really expect from a guy playing for some random club at 29 years old when he's supposed to be the star player for a team trying to make it into the Champions League?
Celtic can, must, and definitely will attack in their own backyard from the opening whistle! Just one goal in the first half is all they need to flip the script and head away in a much better spot. A 3-0 win is totally realistic, especially when you consider that luck eventually has to swing back toward the Shakhtar side anyway
If you ask me, based on how they played, Shakhtar should have been out already. Between that missed penalty and that hilarious mistake by the keeper—not to mention that mess against Skenderbeu—they almost blew a 3-0 lead in Albania too
Remember when Celtic was in that nightmare 0-5 hole against Petržalka back in 2004? They still managed to claw their way back to a 4-0 win. This time around, both the opponent and the scoreline feel way more manageable
In the HL, the odds have already dropped to 1.65—can you believe they were sitting at 2.00 just this morning?! Man, Stromsgodset had that win practically in their hands tonight before a total heartbreak of an own goal in the 92nd minute... seriously? They played Rosenborg to a 2-2 draw last week too, so I’m really hoping they don't get stuck in a nasty streak of draws. On the other side, Molde has a massive game coming up on Thursday that could honestly save their entire season—they're currently just stuck in the middle of the pack, and honestly, points aren't even their main priority right now compared to that cup run.
Man, Sao Paulo has basically been smashing every single negative record in their history this season—longest drought without scoring, longest winless streak, worst standing after so many rounds... you name it, they've done it!
And get this: at the start of the season, everyone had them pegged as the absolute favorites to take home the title.
Look, I get it, they’ve dealt with a mountain of problems—injuries, bad luck, all that stuff—but honestly? There are zero excuses left at this point. They’ve finally rested up from the tour, their biggest stars are back in the lineup, and I really think it’s high time they grabbed a win. I mean, look at their last 17 matches—they’ve only managed one single victory, and that was when they were total underdogs playing Benfica in Lisbon!