After a midweek full of action in the European competitions, all teams are back in action for their domestic leagues fixtures and our sportsbook is offering great odds on our weekend longshot parlay.
Brighton vs Manchester City
How many of us would have predicted that Brighton would be in the big four in the English Premier League after eight rounds? Amazingly, the Seagulls are enjoying a superb start but at the same time they have the worst attack in the EPL top 11 with just eight goals scored, but it’s their rock-solid defense that keeps them up there.
In the previous three rounds, they scored just once. Their great run of form coincided with the good form of Neal Maupay, who scored half of his team’s goals but failed to find the back of the net in the last two games. This is what happens when you rely too much on one player
On the other side, the Citizens are sitting just two points above Brighton, but they scored 16 goals in domestic league games. After two winless games (2-0 to PSG in the Champions League and 2-2 against Liverpool in EPL) they returned to winning ways by beating Burnley and Club Brugge while scoring seven goals in the process. They are huge favorites to win this away game being priced at -240 on the moneyline with the best soccer odds in the industry.
This is the first time this season Brighton is playing against a top-four team. City is by far the better team and we expect them to cover the -1½-goal spread and probably keep a clean sheet on Saturday.
Parlay Pick: Manchester City -1½ (+125)
Manchester United vs Liverpool
Liverpool is just unbelievable. Mo Salah is by far the most in-form striker in the European top-five league. He might be at the same level with Robert Lewandowski but Salah is not exactly a No. 9 like Lewandowski. Salah has seven goals and four assists in eight Premier League games and five goals in three Champions League fixtures. Liverpool scored two-plus goals in their previous nine games across all competitions and at least three in eight of them.
On the other side, Manchester United lacks consistency, losing four games in its last eight games. Yes, they enter this game full of confidence after coming from two goals down to beat Atalanta in the Champions League, but their previous form was just dreadful. That’s why they are underdogs despite playing on home soil being priced at +200 with the latest soccer odds. They last time they beat Liverpool in the EPL was back in 2018.
On top of that, they have one day less to recover after their Champions League game and that will count a lot. We expect Liverpool to extend their superb scoring form and beat United on the road.
Parlay Pick: Liverpool (+125)
Barcelona vs Real Madrid: El Clasico
This is the second El Clasico without Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in the last 14 years. The first one happened in 2018, when Messi was out with a fractured arm and Ronaldo was already out.
Barcelona is struggling both internally and on the pitch. Their financial issues are notorious, and they translated also on the pitch with poor performances this season. Barcelona is aiming to win back-to-back league matches for the first time this term when it plays host to Los Blancos on Sunday. It’s true they only lost just one in eight games, but that defeat came against one of the title contenders, Atletico Madrid.
In the Champions League, they looked bad. No shots on target in their opening two fixtures — a 3-0 loss to both Bayern Munich and Benfica followed by a nervy 1-0 home win over Dynamo Kyiv. Not the Barcelona we know.
On the other side, Carlo Ancelotti’s second spell as Real manager began with an eight-match unbeaten run but what followed was just unreal. They lost 2-1 at home in the Champions League to Sheriff Tiraspol, which was priced between +2500 and +3000. They immediately bounced back, destroying Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 on the road.
We don’t expect Real Madrid to lose this clash. Not only on paper, but on the pitch they are the better team. They have the same core of players, they have Karim Benzema in great form and we believe they will return home with the three points.
Parlay Pick: Real Madrid PK (-120)
FC Koln vs. Leverkusen
The Bundesliga is one of our most profitable domestic leagues and Leverkusen is one of the most entertaining teams in Europe. After a superb start to their season, sitting joint first after seven rounds, they were destroyed by Bayern Munich and dropped to third place. It’s not a big surprise Bayern beat them as the Bavarian giants are out of this world.
Leverkusen is ready to bounce back this weekend as they travel to play FC Koln on Sunday. They trashed Koln in their previous three head-to-heads, keeping two clean sheets and scoring at least three goals in each match. They are priced at plus money on the moneyline with our sportsbook offering great odds for this clash.
They have an amazing attacking firepower with Patrik Schick, Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz and, despite having European commitments playing Betis on the road in Europa League, they should have enough to add three more points to their season tally and beat Koln.
