The Daily Acca: No beach in sight for Sam and Rafa

Paul Robinson
23 April 2018

Will Big Sam still be at Everton next season?

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Paul Robinson begins the week with a 7/1 Daily Acca that features the Monday Night Football fixture from Goodison Park. Here are his selections:

- Back Under 2.5 Goals in Genoa v Verona @ 4/5
- Back BTTS in Everton v Newcastle @ 19/20
- Back BTTS in Athletic Club v Levante @ 1/1

The Acca pays approximately 6/1

More of the same from two of Italy's poorest attacks

Bet 1: Back Under 2.5 Goals in Genoa v Verona @ 4/5 - KO 19:45 BST

The hosts only narrowly avoided relegation from Serie A last season but they have no such worries this term as they are in mid-table, having taken 38 points from their 33 outings to date.

Keeping it tight at the back has been the key to their success as they have conceded just 33 goals - a record only bettered by Italian heavyweights, Juventus, Inter, Napoli and Roma. Unfortunately they haven't been as effective at the other end though as with only 26 goals to their name, they been outscored by 17 of the other 19 teams in the division.

One of the two clubs who haven't bettered their total are today's opponents, Verona. The newly promoted side have also only netted 26 times this year, but as they have a far worse defensive record, it's no surprise that they are second from bottom with only an outside chance of survival.

The problem for the visitors here is that their results away from home have been terrible. They have lost their last five in a row - all to nil - but in our favour is that fact that three of them went under 2.5, and Genoa don't have the firepower to rack up a huge scoreline.

Don't rule out entertainment at Goodison

Bet 2: Back BTTS in Everton v Newcastle @ 19/20 - KO 20:00 BST

It's ninth versus 10th at Goodison Park with both sides' relegation fears well behind them. They don't have much to play for on paper, but Sam Allardyce will want to finish as high as possible to quieten his critics, and Rafa Benitez will also be looking to impress - especially if the Arsenal board are watching.

That's why I have a strong feeling that this won't be a boring 0-0 end of season draw. Each set of players may as well go for it and Everton home matches under the lights tend to have a special atmosphere.

The stats are in our favour anyway as eight of Newcastle's last 11 away from St James' have seen this selection land and the same can be said for four of the Toffees' last half dozen in front of their own fans.

Spanish game to be devoid of clean sheets

Bet 3: Back BTTS in Athletic Club v Levante @ 1/1 - KO 20:00 BST

There's no hiding from the fact that Athletic Club have had a disappointing season that sees them in the bottom half of La Liga. They aren't in a relegation battle, but this is a team who have been regular competitors in the Europa League - including in this campaign.

Levante are in 17th but they do at least have a six point gap to Deportivo behind them - and a game in hand. The chances of them going down are pretty slim, and that's largely thanks to their recent improvement where they have won four of their last six.

As far as the goals go, both teams have scored in four of Bilbao's last five on this ground and although only four of the visitor's last eight on their travels have followed suit, they are in their best form of the year.

2017/18 P/L (1pt each bet)

Wagered: 206pts
Returned: 178.73pts
P/L: -27.27pts

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