Posts By: Brian Gilliland

Galatasaray – Barcelona, Picks and Tips The second leg brought an unexpected result, given the two sides’ recent form. After a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou, the return leg Galatasaray vs Barcelona is a must win for the visitors to secure their place in the Europa League quarter-finals. Xavi Hernandez’s side have not lost… Read more »

Leverkusen – Atalanta, Picks and Tips The Atalanta-Leverkusen first leg was a real rollercoaster, with big score reversals. It was 0-1 through Aranguiz, then Atalanta scored 3 times through Malinovsky and Luis Muriel (2). Diaby set up the final score, 3-2, which keeps Bayer in contention for qualification. Leverkusen – Atalanta is played on Thursday… Read more »

FC Copenhaga – PSV, Picks and Tips Copenhagen is coming off an important league win against rivals Midtjylland. The Danes are incisive offensively, and this was confirmed by the fact that at half-time of the first leg against PSV – the lead was 1-3 in their favour. Against similarly offensive teams, Copenhagen can sometimes face… Read more »

West Ham – Sevilla, Picks and Tips West Ham do very well in home games, but struggle away from home. “The Hammers have dropped points in their last few Premier League away games, but have won games at the London Stadium, where they are unbeaten this year. West Ham – Sevilla could be the match… Read more »

Basel – Marseille, Picks and Tips Basel have lost only once in their matches this season, although they are no longer the same team that recorded European victories over teams like Manchester United and won the title on the trot in Switzerland. In the last round, in the return leg against Marseille, FC Basel received… Read more »

Mainz – Dortmund, Picks and Tips Mainz has been one of the teams that have shown good play this season in the Bundesliga. Bo Svensson’s coached side dropped to 9th place now with 34 points accumulated, but Mainz stood out with a very disciplined defence. At least in the first part of the season, when… Read more »

Arsenal – Liverpool, Picks and Tips Arsenal continue to impress under Mikel Arteta. “The Gunners are favourites to finish in fourth place and qualify for the Champions League group stage. The Londoners can take a huge step towards that goal following the Arsenal-Liverpool duel. The most recent game Arsenal played was against Leicester. The team… Read more »

Lille – Chelsea, Picks and Tips After the result of the first leg, the French have had two wins in a row in Ligue 1. First, Les Dogues beat Lyon 1-0 away. They followed that up with a 4-0 win over Clermont. But at the weekend, Gourvennec’s side were unable to score against relegation-threatened St… Read more »

Juventus – Villarreal, Picks and Tips Juventus is in an obvious rise in form. The Torinese have won four in a row, most recently away to Sampdoria last weekend. At half-time the score was 2-0, an own goal by the hosts and Morata’s strike from the spot. Chance was on the side of the visitors… Read more »

Blackburn Rovers – Derby, Picks and Tips Blackburn Rovers are coming off a draw in the previous round. The match against Millwall in the Championship ended 0-0. The team coached by T. Mowbray made an appearance in the last match with a 3-4-1-2 formation. Although Blackburn Rovers, had a mediocre performance, John Buckley managed to… Read more »

West Brom – Fulham, Picks and Tips West Brom have 50 points after 36 games and are just mid-table in 14th. Still, the distance to the play-off places is not great. Sheffield United, in sixth place, have just seven points more than West Brom. However, their play does not give West Brom, who have only… Read more »

Ajax – Benfica, Picks and Tips Immediately after the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout round, which ended 2-2 in Lisbon, Ajax suffered an unexpected defeat in the Eredivisie. Erik ten Hag’s side fell to lowly G.A. Eagles, 1-2. Then followed a 2-0 Dutch Cup win over Alkmaar and further league wins by… Read more »