The Daily Acca: West Brom to take the goals up north

Paul Robinson
24 August 2018

Darren Moore has really excelled since being promoted to number one

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There are some good fixtures around this evening ahead of a fantastic weekend of football, and Paul Robinson has picked out three bets that combine to pay around the 13/1 mark. Here are his selections:

- Back Over 2.5 Goals in Middlesbrough v WBA @ 11/10
- Back BTTS in Lyon v Strasbourg @ 9/10
- Back Leganes @ 5/2

The Acca pays approximately 13/1

Plenty of goals at the Riverside with West Brom in town

Bet 1: Back Over 2.5 Goals in Middlesbrough v WBA @ 11/10 - KO 19:45 BST

Positive starts for both Middlesbrough and WBA have confirmed their status as likely promotion contenders this season and when their success so far has been aided by the number of goals they have scored.

The hosts have netted eight in four - an average of two per game - and they scored three in their dramatic 3-3 EFL Cup match against Notts County (which they went on to win on penalties).

In the Championship, two of their four outings have seen this selection land, and while they have kept three clean sheets in a row, I think they will struggle to contain this West Brom attack.

Darren Moore's men put their opening day 2-1 defeat at home to Bolton behind them by earning a decent point at Forest and then going on to win their next three games - two in the league and one in the cup.

The undoubted highlight must be the 7-1 thrashing of QPR last Saturday, but they will also be delighted with the 4-3 victory at Carrow Road. Jay Rodriguez is arguably too good for this level of football and he scored a brace in both of those wins.

Click here for Mark O'Haire's preview of this game.

Strasbourg to put up a fight at Lyon

Bet 2: Back BTTS in Lyon v Strasbourg @ 9/10 - KO 19:45 BST

Lyon finished third in Ligue One last season, just two points behind Monaco in second, while Strasbourg ended the campaign in 15th - one point clear of the relegation zone. That being said, it was their first season back in the top flight, so they will be happy with that.

Thierry Laurey will also be happy with the start that his team have made to this season as they are sixth in the table having won one and drawn the other of their two league outings. They beat Bordeaux at Bordeaux a fortnight ago, and followed it up with a 1-1 draw at home to Saint-Etienne most recently.

Lyon on the other hand have had a mixed start by their own high standards as after being Amiens 2-0, they then went and lost 1-0 at Reims last Friday. Bruno Génésio's side were pretty good at home last term - they finished the season with six straight wins - but given the confidence the visitors will have, I fancy them to at least get on the scoresheet this evening. That view is only strengthened by the fact that Strasbourg have found the net in five of their last six away Ligue One fixtures.

Don't count out Leganes at home

Bet 3: Back Leganes @ 5/2 - KO 21:15 BST

We conclude in Spain for a La Liga match where I genuinely believe that Leganes are overpriced at 5/2 to beat Real Sociedad.

The selection lost their season-opener on Monday, but they were away at Athletic Club and it did take an injury time goal to beat them. They were undefeated in pre-season, and despite only finishing 17th last year, they still won nine of their 19 matches in front of their own fans - losing just six.

Real Sociedad are a relatively big name in Spanish football, but they only finished 12th last season and they were beaten in 11 of their 19 away outings. They did beat Villarreal in their own backyard last Saturday, but I'm not going to read too much into that yet, and their results over the summer don't make great reading.