Born in the south east of Ireland, Simon put his life-long love of football to good use when he started a successful independent blog in 2010. That opened up an alternative route to a career in journalism, and having had work published across a number of sites and publications, Simon joined the staff at Spotlight Sports Group in 2018.
There is a full complement of midweek club football fixtures to enjoy right across the continent over the next few days, and as always, FST have their finger firmly on the pulse.
We’ve pored over the numbers and individual form statistics to pick out a range of anytime goalscorer selections from this week’s matches that we think are worthy of consideration.
Check them out below:
Tuesday 29th
Carabao Cup Anytime Goalscorer Treble
Gabriel Jesus (MAN CITY vs Southampton)
Still reeling from their 9-0 evisceration at the hands of Leicester City, Southampton could have done without facing a free-scoring Manchester City side in their next assignment.
Unlike some of his big-club counterparts, Pep Guardiola generally doesn’t make wholesale changes to his team for Carabao Cup matches, and unfortunately for the Saints, that means they will likely face a very strong City team on Tuesday.
Brazilian attacker Gabriel Jesus is one of the few peripheral figures who will expect to start at the Etihad however, and the 22-year old has already notched an impressive five goals in just six starts this term.
Jesus rarely fails to make an impression when called upon, and we’re backing the versatile forward to register against a Southampton outfit whose confidence is at rock bottom.
Ayoze Perez (Burton Albion vs LEICESTER CITY)
Spanish attacker Ayoze Perez was one of Southampton’s chief tormentors in Leicester’s remarkable 9-0 win at St. Mary’s on Friday, finishing the contest with a sensational hattrick on the south-coast.
The Foxes’ summer signing will be walking on air this week having broken his duck for his new club in such breath-taking style, and Perez will be desperate to maintain his goal-scoring momentum when Leicester travel to take on Burton Albion this week.
League One strugglers Burton caused a major Carabao Cup shock when they knocked Premier League side Bournemouth out in the previous round, though we expect Perez to fire a much stronger Leicester City side to victory at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday.
Tariq Fosu (OXFORD UNITED vs Sunderland)
Flying winger Tariq Fosu will be aiming to score against Sunderland for the second time this season, having hit the net against the Black Cats on his League One debut for Oxford United at the Stadium of Light in August.
Fosu moved to Oxford from Charlton Athletic in the summer, and the 23-year old has performed to remarkably high standards since.
The prolific wide man has already scored eight times for his new employers in just 12 starts, and fresh from four goals in his last five appearances, we think Fosu can make another match-defining impact when Oxford United meet Sunderland on Tuesday.
Looking for more Carabao Cup betting tips? Read our detailed match previews to see our expert’s Carabao Cup predictions.
Wednesday 30th
Carabao Cup Anytime Goalscorer Treble
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (LIVERPOOL vs Arsenal)
Pacey attacking midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been feeling his way back into Liverpool’s first team following a lengthy injury lay-off, and having watched on from the subs’ bench at the weekend in the Reds’ comeback win over Spurs, the 26-year old will expect to start against his old club Arsenal in the Carabao Cup this week.
Oxlade-Chamberlain reminded everyone of his qualities with a two-goal salvo on his first Champions League start of the season for the Reds in the club’s comfortable 4-1 win over Genk last week, and the former Gunner will be keen to get a similar impact for Liverpool when he comes up against his old employers Arsenal on Wednesday.
Wesley (ASTON VILLA vs Wolves)
Aston Villa face midlands rivals Wolves in a fascinating looking Carabao Cup clash on Wednesday, though the host’s team selections in the competition so far suggest that they are taking the tournament more seriously than their local antagonists.
With numerous other responsibilities to juggle, Wanderers are almost certain to ring the changes for their game at Villa Park, and that should open the door for the Villains to take advantage.
Brazilian centre-forward Wesley has already scored four times for Villa following his switch to England from Belgian side Club Brugge in the summer, and the hulking 22-year old will be out to make himself an instant cult-hero this week by bagging against Villa’s neighbours.
Tammy Abraham (CHELSEA vs Man Utd)
Revenge will be high on the agenda for Chelsea this week when they welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge for an all Premier League Carabao Cup tussle on Wednesday.
The Blues were battered 4-0 by United on the opening weekend of the new season back in early August, though Frank Lampard’s young team recovered quickly and impressively from that hammering and come into this week’s game as the stronger looking of the two.
Tammy Abraham rattled the post with the scores tied at 0-0 in Manchester on August 11th, and the 22-year old, who has plundered nine goals since, will back himself to go one better against what promises to be a rejigged United XI this week.
European Leagues Treble
Arkadiusz Milik (NAPOLI vs Atalanta)
Napoli meet Atalanta in what looks a potentially goal-laden Serie A skirmish on Wednesday, and in-form Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik will expect to be the man on the spot when opportunities present themselves at the San Paolo Stadium.
Milik rattled the net four times in his last four games for club and country, and the 25-year old managed to register and impressive three times in his last two matches in Serie A.
Having already scored once against Atalanta in just two career appearances against them, we’re tipping Milik to display his ruthless goalscoring touch against La Dea again this week.
Karim Benzema (REAL MADRID vs Leganes)
Long-serving and highly-decorated French forward Karim Benzema continues to shine for Real Madrid, despite Los Blancos patchy form this season.
The 31-year old has already found the net six times in eight La Liga matches since the summer – a total that puts him out on his own as the club’s top scorer in that competition.
It’s worth noting however, that four of Benzema’s six league goals were scored in La Liga fixtures at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and at present it looks like Real’s number nine does all his best work in front of the club’s home supporters.
Real have a decidedly winnable looking game at the venue against Leganes this week, and we think Benzema can add another goal to his Bernabéu haul for the campaign.
Wissam Ben-Yedder (MONACO vs Marseille)
Sparks are expected to fly when Monaco take on Marseille in a glamorous looking French Couple de La Ligue fixture in the principality this week.
Striker Wissam Ben-Yedder has been in terrific goal-getting form for his new club since his summer arrival from Sevilla, and the 29-year old can be Monaco’s match-winner again on Wednesday.
Ben-Yedder takes a record of eight goals in his last six games into this week’s glitzy encounter, and the French international bagged two of those in Monaco’s Ligue 1 meeting with Marseille last month.
The expert finisher has already proven that he can breach the OM defences, and we’re tipping him to repeat the trick against them on Wednesday.
You can find all of our analysts’ comprehensive predictions and betting tips for all of Wednesday’s action on our match previews page.
