Andy Brassell's Weekend Football Tips Including Aston Villa Vs Newcastle
European football expert Andy Brassell is back to share his three best selections for this weekend's action across Europe's top leagues.
As always, Andy will provide a fourth selection exclusively for Gambling.com account holders, using the latest odds from Grosvenor.
Andy has been a writer and broadcaster on European football for 20 years, featuring on TalkSPORT, On The Continent, The Guardian, Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
Bayer Leverkusen Vs St Pauli, Saturday 5pm
On paper everything looks good for Bayer Leverkusen.
Despite a summer of upheaval on the bench and on the field they are in the race to make the top four, into the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal and are looking good to reach the last 16 in the Champions League.
League Comparison:
Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
6th | Bayer | 21 | 28 | -5 |
17th | St | 21 | 17 | -15 |
Yet the atmosphere is nervy, with coach Kasper Hjulmand unhappy at his team’s inconsistency, and the pressure to make the Champions League for next season amid all the change is very clearly weighing on everyone.
St Pauli remain among the relegation favourites on betting apps despite their surprise win over Stuttgart last week, but they are fighting for their lives, and with their current lack of fluency, Leverkusen may well struggle to break them.
Andy's Panel Selection 1: Bayer Leverkusen Vs St Pauli: Under 2.5 Total Goals - 23/25 With Grosvenor
Andy Brassell's Weekend Tips:
- Selection 1: Bayer Leverkusen Vs St Pauli: Under 2.5 Total Goals - 23/25 With Grosvenor
- Selection 2: Aston Villa Vs Newcastle: Aston Villa To Win - 59/50 With Grosvenor
- Selection 3: Napoli Vs Roma: Over 2.5 Total Goals - 31/20 With Grosvenor
Aston Villa Vs Newcastle, Saturday 5:45pm
These two modern pretenders to the elite echelon of the Premier League looked as if they were in the same boat in the opening months of the season.
They were constricted by PSR regulations, coping with a few notable departures and destined to suffer a below-par season.
Fast forward to the eve of spring and that is only true for one of them.
GAME NOTES:
Newcastle have not beaten Aston
Villa in their last 3 meetings
Villa have been extraordinary in recent months, even moving to the cusp of the title race, while Newcastle are infuriatingly inconsistent and by no means a lock to make it back into European competition next season, perhaps underlining the fatigue that comes with competing in the Champions League.
The FA Cup would be very welcome for either of these two clubs, but Newcastle’s iffy away form makes a win at Villa Park hard to imagine.
Andy's Panel Selection 2: Aston Villa Vs Newcastle: Aston Villa To Win - 59/50 With Grosvenor
Napoli Vs Roma, Sunday 7.45pm
This is a match of huge importance - not so much in the title race, with Inter streaking away in recent weeks, but in the battle to finish in the top four.
Put simply, one giant is going to miss out unless Italy wins an extra Champions League spot, which is far from certain in a fierce competition for coefficient points.
League Comparison:
Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
3rd | Napoli | 24 | 49 | +13 |
5th | Roma | 24 | 46 | +15 |
Napoli’s injury crisis has waylaid them in the title race and they really need to assure the bare minimum, while Roma need the money and momentum to keep building under Gian Piero Gasperini.
"A little while back, this would have had the look of a low-scoring game, with the visitors holding the best defensive record in Serie A and Antonio Conte being typically circumspect."
However, Napoli’s personnel issues and the arrival of Donyell Malen in the capital offer the prospect of something more open.
Andy's Panel Selection 3: Napoli Vs Roma: Over 2.5 Total Goals - 31/20 With Grosvenor
Andy's weekend treble pays out at around 19/2 with Grosvenor.
Got a European treble of your own? Share it with us in the comments below!
