Andy Brassell's Weekend Football Tips Including Nottingham Forest Vs Liverpool
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.
Juventus Vs Como, Saturday 2pm
It’s been quite a week for Juventus, who began it with a heroic performance in the Derby d’Italia (even if, heartbreakingly, it did fail to yield any points).
They then fell through the floor in Istanbul, with Galatasaray’s second half flurry pushing the Turin giants to the brink of a second successive Champions League exit before the last 16.
It will be interesting to see how Luciano Spalletti plays this one. Juve are fifth and the race for the top four is tight enough that they can’t afford to drop points.
Juventus Vs Como League Comparison:
Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
5th | Juventus | 25 | 46 | +20 |
6th | Como | 25 | 42 | +20 |
However, his players must be exhausted from their week’s efforts - which included almost two halves played with 10 men - and rotations is inevitable.
Como, who are underdogs for this game on betting apps, had their own big effort in the week as they went and drew away at Milan, showing Cesc Fabregas’ side are a genuine contenders for one of those Champions League places themselves.
Andy's Panel Selection 1: Juventus Vs Como: Como To Win - 13/5 With Grosvenor
Andy Brassell's Weekend Tips:
- Selection 1: Juventus Vs Como: Como To Win - 13/5 With Grosvenor
- Selection 2: Atletico Madrid Vs Espanyol: Espanyol/Draw Double Chance - 13/8 With Grosvenor
- Selection 3: Nottingham Forest Vs Liverpool: Under 2.5 Total Goals - 11/5 With Grosvenor
Atletico Madrid Vs Espanyol, Saturday, 8pm
Not long ago this would have been a battle for a position in the top four of La Liga, with Espanyol the great overachievers of the season’s first half.
Enter the application of natural gravity, with the city of Barcelona’s second team sliding and on a run of seven winless games, though they were just a few minutes away from beating Celta last week.
Atletico Madrid Vs Espanyol League Comparison:
Position | Team | Played | Points | GD |
4th | Atletico | 24 | 45 | +17 |
6th | Espanyol | 24 | 35 | -5 |
Atleti have had their own spell of poor results in recent weeks, excepting the Copa del Rey thrashings of Real Betis and Barcelona, cooking their chances of a title challenge.
With a tough and crucial return leg against Club Brugge to come next Tuesday, it would not be surprising to see Diego Simeone makes multiple changes, despite his second string having put in a fairly undistinguished effort in defeat at Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
Andy's Panel Selection 2: Atletico Madrid Vs Espanyol: Espanyol/Draw Double Chance - 13/8 With Grosvenor
Nottingham Forest Vs Liverpool, Sunday 2pm
What a reintroduction to English football this is for Vitor Pereira; not that he’s been away long.
After being fired by Wolves in November, the Portuguese coach has had a return to his former club Fenerbahce - a tough old away trip if ever there was one - and now the visit of the champions for his first two matches as Forest’s fourth manager of the season.
Forest Managers This Season Before Pereira:
Manager | PL Games | Won | Win %age |
Nuno Espirito Santo | 3 | 1 | 33.3% |
Ange Postecoglou | 5 | 1 | 20% |
Sean Dyche | 18 | 6 | 33.3% |
The priority could not be clearer, with results paramount especially in the context of West Ham’s recent revival.
What Pereira has done best throughout his career is to organise a team defensively and we are likely to see a Forest side much closer in approach to the days of his compatriot Nuno, aiming to keep it tight.
Andy's Panel Selection 3: Nottingham Forest Vs Liverpool: Under 2.5 Total Goals - 11/5 With Grosvenor
Andy's weekend treble pays out at around 29/1 with Grosvenor.
Got a European treble of your own? Share it with us in the comments below!
