Scottish, Italian and English Derbies Rock European Football on Sunday
Published September 1, 2019 by Florin P
The English and Scottish Premier League derbies bring Rangers, Celtic, Arsenal and Tottenham into the spotlight, while AS Roma takes on Lazio in the Serie A derby.
Sunday looks like an excellent day for football fans, but the most exciting matches of the day start early. In England, Scotland and Italy, some of the most heated derbies are scheduled in the afternoon and the outcome of these games will heavily impact the race for the championship. Celtic is the only reigning champion of the six teams involved, but the other five are highly motivated and in excellent form.
Rangers Challenge Celtic in the SPL
Celtic has dominated the Scottish Premier League with an iron fist for nearly a decade. With Rangers back in the spotlight and in good form, their archrivals have returned, but they still have the upper hand. Both teams have won all three games played so far, but this one is far more important and could influence the race for the trophy. Celtic play on the road, but even so they are only narrow underdogs, with odds of 17/10 at 888 Sport. Even though the match is played in the nation’s capital, home pitch advantage is important and mostly because of this do Rangers get odds of 3/2 and slight favorite status.
Tottenham and Arsenal Play the Derby of London
Tottenham have stunned Manchester City on the road, only to fail miserably in front of their fans, against Newcastle. Now they try to return to their winning ways and win the local derby against Arsenal, even though they play on the road. They don’t have players injured ahead of this match, so the best starting formation can be prepared for a clash with the Gunners. There is an obvious balance between the two teams, but Arsenal won half of the games played at home against Tottenham. The odds reflect this slight advantage, as the hosts are priced at 3/2, while the visitors get odds of 17/10.
AS Roma and Lazio turn the Eternal City into a Volcano
No other Italian football match and few European derbies come even remotely close to the intensity of the AS Roma vs Lazio contest. Rome surely comes to life on Sunday afternoon and 5 PM UK time, when the capital city is rocked by a game of extraordinary importance. These two teams compete for a Champions League berth and in theory, for the trophy, not to mention the huge rivalry between them. A high number of yellow cards is expected, but when it comes to the outright win, Lazio is slight favorite. They play the role of hosts at Olympico, hence the odds of 6/5, while the visiting AS Roma are priced at 11/5. Many matches between these teams have ended undecided, so punters should also consider the odds of 5/2 offered by Winner Sports on a draw.
