The Specter of Relegation Looms Large over Friday Football Matches
Published March 19, 2021 by Florin P
Fulham, Arminia Bielefeld and St Etienne chase vital points on Friday in their quest to stave off the danger of relegation.
Another week rich in Champions League and Europa League action is about to end. For the teams playing on Friday, the stakes are also high, but they fight for entirely different objectives. Fulham, Arminia Bielefeld and St Etienne are in dire need of points in their quest to avoid relegation. Their mission is complicated by the fact that they play against tough opponents with high expectations.
Monaco try to Return to their Winning Ways with St Etienne
Monaco was riding an incredible winning streak before losing on the road to Strasbourg. Last weekend they had to settle for a scoreless draw against leading Lille, but they won’t be happy with splitting points on Friday. That’s because they play against St. Etienne at 8 PM UK time, a team struggling to avoid relegation. Home pitch advantage won’t mean a great deal in this match, hence the odds of 33/10 offered by bet365 Sports on the hosts and 4/5 on Monaco to win.
Arminia Bielefeld Need a Miracle against Leipzig
Arminia Bielefeld was regarded as the most likely team to relegate at the end of the season, when the new year started. A couple of impressive results, such as the high-scoring draw against the reigning champions and the recent victory over Leverkusen boosted their chances. They are still in dire straits and will try to pick up all three points against Leipzig, an outcome priced at 9/10. The visitors were eliminated from the Champions League and are hard-pressed to return to their winning ways, with victory valued at 3/10.
Betis Aim to Start New Winning Streak on Friday
Betis lost the local derby against Sevilla, in what was a rather predictable and not so exciting fixture. They won’t have to leave town for this match as they have home pitch advantage against Levante. The overall strong display at home explains the odds of 9/10 offered by 888 Sport on them to prevail. Levante is a tough nut to crack, with victories against Valencia and Atletico Madrid. Punters willing to bet on another win on the road will be paid at 16/5 by the same bookmaker.
Fulham Needs Home Win to Avoid the Relegation Zone
Fulham and Leeds had the same objective at the beginning of the season, to avoid relegation from the Premier League. They are now separated by 10 points and Leeds could afford to settle for a draw in the match played on the road. They are unlikely to push for a win priced at 9/5, after failing to score in four of the last five matches. Fulham are in dire straits and will need to take more chances, so punters who bet on their victory will be paid at odds of 3/2 if they pick up all three points.
Disclaimer:
The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Thursday, March 16 at 3 P.M. UK time.
