This week's Football Betting Briefing - Midweek Premiership, Spanish Cup and the Bundesliga returns

European Leagues / James Eastham / 25 January 2009 / Leave a Comment

James Eastham updates us on what football fans can look forward to this week including a full set of midweek Premiership ties, Bayern Munich's attempt to win another German Cup and Barcelona's attempt to close in on a domestic double.

Tuesday 27th January

The midweek Premier League programme kicks off with four cracking fixtures, including Portsmouth v Aston Villa at Fratton Park. Pompey manager Tony Adams is under increased pressure following his side's 2-0 home FA Cup exit at the hands of Swansea City on Saturday, and the visitors' away record offers little cause for optimism among home fans: Villa have won eight of their last 10 fixtures on the road.

Bottom plays top at The Hawthorns as West Brom host Man Utd. The champions' previous trip to face promoted opponents this season was closer than many expected - they only beat Stoke 1-0. Seven of United's last nine victories in the league have come by a single goal so the best bet on offer may be the [7.4] about yet another 1-0 United win. The night's other games are Sunderland v Fulham and Tottenham v Stoke.

German football reawakens from its winter snooze with the third round of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) - and the plum tie is Stuttgart v Bayern Munich. Stiffness may plague the Bayern joints but Jurgen Klinsmann's players will lack nothing in motivation, if previous seasons are any guide - the Bavarians have lifted the trophy in three of the past four years. 1860 Munich travel to Stuttgart, Carl Zeiss Jena host Schalke and Freiburg play Mainz.

Wednesday 28th January

Serie A, where the title race is becoming closer and closer, has a full complement of fixtures. Juventus travel to Udinese and Inter - who lost their table-topping position to Juve for 24 hours over the weekend - play away to Catania. That will be a tough trip, since Catania have lost just two of 10 home matches this season. AC Milan, fresh from a 4-1 weekend win at Bologna, where David Beckham scored his first goal for the Rossoneri, remain in the title race. Carlo Ancelotti's side host Genoa at the San Siro, where they've recorded nine straight Serie A victories.

The Premier League action continues as Liverpool travel to Wigan following two tough Merseyside derbies. Wigan have an appalling record against Big Four clubs - 25 defeats in 28 meetings since promotion in 2005 - but the Latics managed a 1-1 draw at Anfield last season. Chelsea fans will expect a comfortable home victory against Middlesbrough, who've lost six of their last nine Premier League games.

Everton have an excellent chance to close in on the top four when they host Arsenal at Goodison Park. Last season's meeting was a disaster for the Toffees - Arsenal scored four second-half goals to turn a 1-0 half-time deficit into a 4-1 win - but Everton's excellent form means there's little chance of a similar outcome this time. Elsewhere, Sam Allardyce faces one of his former clubs when Bolton Wanderers travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers, while a resurgent West Ham host Hull.

The delayed Lyon v Marseille Coupe de France last 32 tie takes place at Stade de Gerland after Lyon overcame amateur outfit Concarneau 6-0 in their postponed last 64 tie last Saturday. This will be a special occasion for Hatem Ben Arfa, who left Lyon for Marseille in a record 13m euros move last summer. After a sticky spell, cup holders Lyon have now won three of their last four games in all competitions.

Sevilla v Valencia is the pick of the Copa del Rey quarter-final second legs. Unai Emery's visitors are 3-2 up from the first leg. Gijon v Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis v Mallorca complete the night's action.

Thursday 29th January

The fourth and final Copa del Rey quarter-final second-leg is at Nou Camp, where Barcelona meet city rivals Espanyol. Last week's game, a goalless draw, was the first time in 29 fixtures Barca had failed to find the net. Barca returned to scoring ways at the weekend, however, with a 4-1 win over Numancia in the Primera Division on Saturday night. Josep Guardiola's side are [1.22] to go through.

Friday 30th January

The Bundesliga is back on the agenda after a seven-week break with a potentially terrific clash between Hamburg and Bayern Munich. Martin Jol's hosts, fourth, are unbeaten in eight home league games (W7-D1-L0) and Bayern have won four and drawn two of their last six away. The winners - if there is one - will go top, at least until Saturday evening.