Champions League Tips

Parma eased their relegation concerns with a win at Bologna last time out and they can follow it up by beating a Verona side who are in deep trouble. The visitors have just 15 points on the board, leaving them six adrift of safety, and have managed just one road win all season. Verona have scored just one goal across their last four games and that lack of cutting edge could prove costly again at Parma, back the hosts to claim the spoils.

Goals at both ends could be on the cards in this huge game in the title battle. Both teams have scored in three of Rangers’ last five games and they have scored themselves in 17 of their last 18 across all comps, while Hearts have scored in 12 of their last 13.

Ceuta look backable underdogs ahead of their trip to Huesca. The visitors sit in mid-table and have won three of their last six, while they also won the reverse fixture 2-1. Huesca have picked up just four points from their last six games and have lost two of their last four at home in the league.

Real Betis are flying high in La Liga and they can boost their Champions League qualification hopes with a comfortable win at Mallorca. The Green & Whites have a good recent record against the Islanders who are languishing down in 16th spot with just six wins this term. Betis won 1-0 at Atletico Madrid last time and they back up that impressive showing with a more routine win in the Balearics.

Torino have struggled badly at home, losing five of their last seven Serie A matches at Stadio Filadelfia and winning just one of their last six overall. With no side conceding more than Torino’s 42 league goals this season and Bologna losing only one of the last eight meetings between the teams, the visitors look the stronger option.

Lorient have been strong at home, winning five, drawing four and losing just once in Ligue 1, while going unbeaten in eight of their last ten on their own patch. Angers have struggled for goals on the road, scoring just six times in ten away matches, which tilts this clash in the hosts’ favour.

FEBRUARY –  The Texans’ suffocating defence has been the key to their eight-game winning run and with the AFC looking the less competitive conference this season after the demise of the Kansas City Chiefs, they have the talent to go a long way. Quarterback CJ Stroud is fully fit again and can look for an elite wide receiver in Nico Collins while former first-round picks Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. are just two of their many defensive stars.

JULY – Elena Rybakina looks a bet in her bid to repeat her 2022 triumph at the All England Club. The Kazakhstani has had a tough couple of years, due in the main to off-court issues, but she finished last year on a high with victory at the WTA Finals. She’s a superb grass-court player who is as good as Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek when she’s on her game.

JULY – Alex Noren enjoyed a resurgence in his career in 2025, winning twice on the DP World Tour, and 2026 could finally be the year he ends his long wait for a maiden Major. The Swede has an affinity for links golf, evidenced by his victory at the 2016 Scottish Open and his two top-10 Open finishes, he could go all the way and land the Claret Jug in 2026.

DECEMBER – Mercedes may have botched the ground-effect era, but the Silver Arrows have a strong record of responding well to rule changes, and the sweeping regulation shift coming in 2026 should bring the title back into play. Their power unit has already come under, and been cleared, of scrutiny, suggesting it is likely to be among the strongest engines on the grid, and they have the driver lineup to win the consistent points necessary to land the constructor crown.

Grimsby have claimed one Premier League scalp this term following their penalty-shootout success over Manchester United in the EFL Cup, and the in-form Mariners could take a bite out of Wolves in this FA Cup clash. Wanderers are tailed off in the Premier League and this cup tie could be a welcome distraction from their relegation troubles. However, the Blundell Park crowd will be baying for blood and this could be a lively encounter with both sides getting on the scoresheet.

Birmingham are unbeaten in eight games and haven’t lost a home match since October, while Leeds have only won twice away from home this season, with those victories coming against Derby and Wolves.

Oxford United are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Championship but they look to losing the battle amid a poor run of form and they could get short shrift from Sunderland on Sunday. The Black Cats are nestled nicely in 11th spot in the Premier League and they can attack the FA Cup with vigour and that could spell trouble for their hapless hosts this weekend. United have failed to score in five of their last seven outings. 

Stoke and Fulham have hit a poor run of form but the Premier League side have little left to play for this term so can give the FA Cup their full attention. Stoke, despite being 14th in the Championship, are just four points off the playoff spots, so may have an eye on improving their league form. The goals have dried up for the Potters recently and they may find their top-flight rivals too hard to break down.

Arsenal are huge favourites against a Wigan side that were battered 6-1 at Peterborough last weekend. The Latics have drawn one and lost five of their last six matches and have lost to nil four times since the turn of the year, while Arsenal have won to nil in three of their last four games.

Grimsby have claimed one Premier League scalp this term following their penalty-shootout success over Manchester United in the EFL Cup, and the in-form Mariners could take a bite out of Wolves in this FA Cup clash. Wanderers are tailed off in the Premier League and this cup tie could be a welcome distraction from their relegation troubles. However, the Blundell Park crowd will be baying for blood and this could be a lively encounter with both sides getting on the scoresheet.

Kilmarnock games rarely lack drama and they come into this off a chaotic 4-3 win. They’ve seen goals at both ends in five of their last seven and 15 of 26 league matches overall. Celtic have scored at least twice in four of their last five and average over two goals per game against bottom-half sides. The visitors may be able to come away with a victory, but Killie can at least contribute.

Eibar are down in 14th place in La Liga 2 but their home form hasn’t been the problem. They have the second best home record in the division and have scored 20 goals in 13 games at this venue, so they should be able to get on the scoresheet against the league leaders. Racing Santander have seen goals at both ends in eight of their last 12 games and have scored themselves in 24 of their 25 league games so goals at both ends looks likely at the Municipal de Ipurua.

Rayo are scrapping for survival and they have a decent strike rate against neighbours Atletico, with both teams scoring in three of the last four meetings. Rayo scored in defeat to Real Madrid last time out and both teams have scored in five of their last seven games, while Atleti have had a quick turnaround after their huge win over Barcelona in the cup and could rotate a little for this La Liga assignments. The visitors have enough quality to score and win, but an Atleti clean sheet appears less likely.

Parma eased their relegation concerns with a win at Bologna last time out and they can follow it up by beating a Verona side who are in deep trouble. The visitors have just 15 points on the board, leaving them six adrift of safety, and have managed just one road win all season. Verona have scored just one goal across their last four games and that lack of cutting edge could prove costly again at Parma, back the hosts to claim the spoils.

Oxford United are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Championship but they look to losing the battle amid a poor run of form and they could get short shrift from Sunderland on Sunday. The Black Cats are nestled nicely in 11th spot in the Premier League and they can attack the FA Cup with vigour and that could spell trouble for their hapless hosts this weekend.

Cremonese are winless in ten Serie A matches and have failed to win nine of their last ten at home, losing six of their last eight overall. They have also struggled in front of goal, failing to score in eight of their last ten league games. Genoa have lost two of their last seven and come into the game after strong displays in defeat to two top five teams, that level of performance should be in enough to pick up a win over their struggling hosts.

Stoke and Fulham have hit a poor run of form but the Premier League side have little left to play for this term so can give the FA Cup their full attention. Stoke, despite being 14th in the Championship, are just four points off the playoff spots, so may have an eye on improving their league form. The goals have dried up for the Potters recently and they may find their top-flight rivals too hard to break down.

Parma eased their relegation concerns with a win at Bologna last time out and they can follow it up by beating a Verona side who are in deep trouble. The visitors have just 15 points on the board, leaving them six adrift of safety, and have managed just one road win all season. Verona have scored just one goal across their last four games and that lack of cutting edge could prove costly again at Parma, back the hosts to claim the spoils.

Jack: Lyon have won their last 12 matches in all competitions and can overcome a Nice side that has emerged from their pre-Christmas crisis. Lyon have also kept clean sheets in their last three in all competitions.

Jamie: Four straight defeats will have done nothing for Rayo’s deteriorating confidence and this match arrives a whole two weeks after their last, so expect rustiness to show as Atleti cruise to victory in this Madrid derby.

Ian: The battle for the Scottish Premiership title would be a four-way affair had Motherwell not been held to 11 league draws this term, but they should have few problems seeing off Aberdeen. The Dons have scored just one goal in their last six on the road.

Aaron: Estoril have scored at least twice in all six of their visits to sides below them, scoring 19 goals across those matches. AVS have conceded 23 times in their 11 home matches, so back the visitors to score a couple of goals.

Alex: NEC Nijmenegen’s phenomenal season hit a stumbling block as they lost to Utrecht in midweek, but they head into the weekend round of fixtures third in the Eredivisie and can get back to winning ways against a Sparta Rotterdam side that have lost two of their last four home matches.

The Jambos won 2-1 when these two last met at Tynecastle just before Christmas but the Gers have improved steadily since then and could narrow the gap to the Edinburgh side who start the weekend seven points clear at the top. The Light Blues have lost just once in 13 outings since that December defeat and they can edge a lively encounter in Glasgow. Hearts have won both previous meetings with Rangers this season, however, and should be able to get on the scoresheet in defeat.

RB Leipzig have hit something of a sticky patch but they should get back on track against tame Wolfsburg. The Red Bulls have lost their last two Bundesliga home matches but their visitors this Sunday are in even worse shape having won just one of their last seven outings. Five of those were losses, including each of the last three, and with neither side trusted to keep a clean sheet, backing a home win in which both teams score looks a sound selection.

Peterborough thrashed Wigan last weekend and Arsenal beat Leeds 4-0 recently. There is a big gulf between the Premier League leaders and the League One strugglers and that could be reflected in a big win for the hosts. The Gunners put four past Portsmouth in the last round and can score heavily against the Latics.

Castellon won 3-1 in the reverse fixture in December and should be good for at least two goals on Sunday. Castellon have scored two or more goals in six of their last seven home games, winning all of those, while Depor have found clean sheets hard to come by with just one in their last eight games.

Estoril have scored at least twice in all six of their visits to sides below them, scoring 19 goals across those matches. AVS have conceded 23 times in their 11 home matches, so back the visitors to score a couple of goals.

Former Manchester United man Antony has six goals and four assists in 18 La Liga games this season, including the winner against Atletico Madrid last time out. Antony has two goals in his last four games across all comps and looks a contender for an anytime effort at Mallorca.

Pavel Sulc has 10 goals in 19 Ligue 1 games this season, including two in his last three. With Endrick suspended, other members of the Lyon side will have to step up in attack and Sulc stands out as a candidate to help his side outgun Nice.

With Luis Suarez suspended, Sporting need to look elsewhere for their goals and Pedro Goncalves stands out as a potential scorer. Goncalves has one goal in four starts since returning from injury and has 10 in total in 16 league games this season. He had a quiet game at Porto last time out but should be more effective when Famalicao visit Lisbon.

Three draws at the start of the year have seen Italian champions Napoli fall of the pace in the Serie A title race but they can keep up the pressure on the top two with a narrow victory over Roma. Meetings between these two have been close recently but Napoli will be wary of the threat posed by the visitors who could join them on 49 points with a victory at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Antonio Conte will look to keep things tight and the home side could nick a victory on Sunday.

Lyon are one of the form sides in Europe and their Ligue 1 charge can continue with a comfortable home win over Nice. Les Gones have won each of their last 12 matches in all competitions, while even more impressively they have won 14 of their last 15 matches in all. Nice have won just one of their last four matches.

Real Betis are flying high in La Liga and they can boost their Champions League qualification hopes with a comfortable win at Mallorca. The Green & Whites have a good recent record against the Islanders who are languishing down in 16th spot with just six wins this term. Betis won 1-0 at Atletico Madrid last time and they back up that impressive showing with a more routine win in the Balearics.

Castellon won 3-1 in the reverse fixture in December and should be good for at least two goals on Sunday. Castellon have scored two or more goals in six of their last seven home games, winning all of those, while Depor have found clean sheets hard to come by with just one in their last eight games.

Three draws at the start of the year have seen Italian champions Napoli fall of the pace in the Serie A title race but they can keep up the pressure on the top two with a narrow victory over Roma. Meetings between these two have been close recently but Napoli will be wary of the threat posed by the visitors who could join them on 49 points with a victory at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Antonio Conte will look to keep things tight and the home side could nick a victory on Sunday. Eight of the last ten meetings have featured no more than two goals while six of the last ten have seen one or both teams fail to score, so backing a 1-0 home win could pay off.

Lyon are one of the form sides in Europe and their Ligue 1 charge can continue with a comfortable home win over Nice. Les Gones have won each of their last 12 matches in all competitions, while even more impressively they have won 14 of their last 15 matches in all. Nice have won just one of their last four matches, while Lyon have scored two or more goals in nine of their last 11 fixtures on home soil and they can extend that sequence this week with a 2-0 triumph.

Liverpool look like the best value pick, with the Reds putting their struggles behind them with an eight-game unbeaten run. The Reds have the fourth-best Expected Goals record across the first six Champions League gameweeks, while they’ve recorded back-to-back 1-0 wins over Real Madrid and Inter Milan in Europe. Arne Slot’s side have a kind double-header in January, leaving them primed for a top-eight finish. With the Premier League coasting towards a fifth Champions League berth, the Reds should be in a good position to focus on European success in the spring.

Spain have some incredibly talented individuals, Lamine Yamal being the prime example, but are strong in all areas and don’t have any particular weaknesses. They won Euro 2024 with relative ease and they should be too good for their continental rivals at the World Cup. They also look a level above South American heavyweights Argentina and Brazil, suggesting they will be the team to beat at the World Cup this summer.