Relegation Threatened Teams Play Coin Flip Matches on Friday
Published October 25, 2019 by Florin P
All across Europe, football clubs threatened by the specter of relegation play difficult matches against highly motivated opponents.
A Champions League and Europa League week is about to end, but football action continues across the continent. The top European football clubs play on Saturday and Sunday, but there is no shortage of intense matches on Friday. The teams involved are chasing a place in the first half of the standings, while putting some distance between them and the relegation area.
Splitting Points is Not an Option when Verona meets Sassuolo
In the Serie A, Verona and Sassuolo are two of the teams threatened by the specter of relegation. They are both struggling in the lower half of the standings, just a few points above the relegation line. A direct match is always going to be important and the two teams involved will be chasing outright victory. Splitting points will only alleviate the pressure for the moment, but in the long run, they would still end up starved for wins. Sassuolo are yet to win a match on the road, but they play against a team that has a hard time picking up points regardless of venue. bet365 Sports offers identical odds of 17/10 on each spin to prevail, while pricing a draw at 2/1.
Nantes Try to Defend Second Place against Surging Monaco
Monaco have greatly consolidated their roster but the results are still slightly disappointing and the team is hungry for victories. They will have a hard time picking up all three points on the road this Friday, as they travel to Nantes. The hosts sit in second place and when they have home pitch advantage, they are great at defending narrow leads. This match can easily go either way, hence the odds of 17/10 offered by 888 Sport on either team to secure victory. Splitting points is far from being an ideal situation, but it is an outcome that both teams could accept under these circumstances.
Mainz and Koln Fight for another Year in the Bundesliga
The German first division is more competitive than ever and the race to avoid relegation promises to be particularly difficult for Mainz and Koln. These two teams are barely afloat and unless they find a way to steady the ship quickly, they are likely to play in the second league next season. Mainz have home pitch advantage, which explains why bookmakers regard them as narrow favorites at odds of 3/2. Koln are indeed poor travelers, but in the last two matches they have prevailed and scored a combined nine goals while keeping clean sheets. That’s why the odds of 2/1 on their victory are also worth considering.
No Draw for Alaves or Villarreal in Six Matches
Alaves and Villarreal are chasing a Europa League berth at the end of the season, but they are both currently outside the eligible spots. This should motivate them to go for all three points in this match, even if this means to take more chances. In the last six rounds no draw was recorded in any of their games, but Alaves would gladly settle for one point at Estadio de la Ceramica. Winner Sports prices a home win at 3/5 while offering massive odds of 5/1 on the visitors to cause an upset on the road.
