EFL Cup and the La Liga is our main source of entertainment for the week! Check out our thoughts for the upcoming week!
Tuesday: Newcastle vs Southampton [EFL Cup Semi-finals]
Newcastle United put one foot into the EFL Cup Final last time out with a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the first-leg clash. The Magpies marked their 4th consecutive game without a loss on Tuesday, as well as 4th consecutive clean sheet across all competitions. They continued to impress their fanbase in the first leg and are likely to get the best of Southampton yet again on Tuesday night.
Southampton bounced back quite well after trailing in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals and went on to beat Blackpool 2-1 in the FA Cup Round of 32. However, it is expected for a Premier League team to get past a Championship side, which the Saints failed to do. In addition to that, we should consider that they are bottom of the Premier League table too. It’s likely to be an all-out game from both sides as they both give it all in the 2nd leg, but we suspect Newcastle to win & over (2.5) goals in the game.
Wednesday: Manchester United vs Nottingham
Man United are playing in almost unstoppable form thus far. After a narrow defeat against Arsenal, the Red Devils went on to secure a 3-0 win over Nottingham in the 1st leg. As if that was not convincing enough, they then went on to breeze past Reading in the 4th Round of FA Cup with a comfortable 3-1 victory. The Red Devils have been playing with exceptional confidence and it is hard to see them dropping this lead.
Nottingham have played no games since their 1st leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals. Although they’ve had a good rest in comparison to the Manchester United squad, Forest showed very little in the first leg to convince us that the can give United a challenge. Considering that the Red Devils flew past Nottingham, we anticipate Manchester United to win and over (2.5) goals in the game.
Thursday: Real Madrid vs Valencia
Real Madrid goes into this fixture sitting 2nd on the La Liga table, 5 points away from Barcelona. They will be looking to deliver a better performance coming off a goalless draw against Real Sociedad. The Madridstas have still been playing in a strong form – with 4 consecutive games without a loss. It seems like Madrid enjoy playing against Valencia as they`ve won 3 of their last 5 games in all competition, but it might not be as easy of an evening as they expect as the visitors have already held them to 1-1 draw this season in the Super Cup.
Many wonder what happened to Valencia as they currently sit 14th on the LaLiga table, with just 1 point and goal difference keeping them out of the drop-zone. They have recorded just 2 wins in their last 8 competitive fixtures in all competitions & just 2 clean sheets in those 8. With a leaky backline it is not unlikely for Real Madrid to rack a couple goals on this night and we expect Real Madrid to win.
We hope you have a great week!