football | Wednesday, August 16, 2023 2:17 PM (Revised at: Thursday, August 17, 2023 10:28 AM)

The Expert’s Acca: Eight Punts From Italy To The Arctic Circle

Sam Ingram

Expert Acca Tips and Predictions This Weekend:

We’re heading to the Arctic Circle equipped with expert acca tips and predictions – which is definitely a first – as well as jaunts along a more trodden Premier League path, a trip to Italy, and one to Brazil.

We had four losses from eight last week in the opening weekend of football, a notoriously tough weekend to navigate. The plan for the upcoming weekend is to whittle that right down and improve on the Expert Acca’s strike rate.

In This Article

Jack Wright’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Matthew O’Regan’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Jimmy The Punt’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Nathan Joyes’ Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Scott Thornton’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Daniele Fisichella’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Tom Winch’s Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Steve Wyss’ Best Free Tip and Prediction For This Weekend
Responsible Gambling

QPR vs Ipswich: Tractors to jump through hoops and keep 100% record

England, Championship, Saturday, 15:00

You may have heard this one before. Oppose QPR, get Ipswich onside – I thought so! But some movies are worth watching again, right?

The R’s busted a few coupons last weekend as they pulled off a shock 2-1 victory in Cardiff. Although, dig a little into the stats, that result does begin to look a little fortuitous.

Sinclair Armstrong netted his first-ever goal for Rangers to give them the lead just before the break somewhat against the run of play. Kenneth Paal doubled the visitors’ lead moments after Aaron Ramsey had crashed a shot back off the crossbar. The hosts were denied a share of the spoils by the same piece of woodwork in the closing stages.

The Bluebirds had 62% off the ball, twice as many attempts at goal with 14, more shots on target and won the xG count 2.16-1.29. Let us also remember that opening day battering at Watford, where Gareth Ainsworth saw his side concede in the opening minute and gave his half-time team talk from a position of 4-0 down.

No such trials and tribulations for Ipswich Town. Three wins from three games played in all competitions, drawing plaudits aplenty in the process.

What is without a doubt is that the Tractor Boys have carried their promotion form from League One into the Championship. As a result, it is they who are the early season table toppers.

Since a defeat at Oxford in January, Kieran Mckenna’s men have gone 21 league games unbeaten. They have won 16 of those fixtures scoring a whopping 56 goals and conceding just eight.

Saturday saw a 2-0 victory over a Stoke side that had won their opening two fixtures scoring six goals in the process. Their manager Alex Neil admitted after the game that his side was beaten by the better team on the day.

Given recent form, this looks like a great opportunity for Ipswich to maintain their 100% start to the season. However, an added positive which makes this my bet of the week is that QPR have a midweek cup fixture to play while the Blues put their feet up.

Gareth Ainsworth is likely to rotate, but it is an added distraction he does not need. The rested and fully focused league leaders will have too much for this R’s side that looks set for a season of struggle.

Expert: Jack Wright
Selection: Ipswich to win
Best Odds: 2.05
Bookmaker: Coral
Stake: 10/10 (TRACKED BET)

Chesterfield vs Oldham: Goals expected as title rivals clash

England, National League , Saturday 19th, 15:00

Both Chesterfield and Oldham will be looking to show their title credentials as they meet at the SMH stadium.

Paul Cook’s Chesterfield side have had a perfect start to the season, beating Dorking 4-3, AFC Fylde 4-2, and Oxford City 2-1. Goals have come easy for the Spireites, with Will Grigg, Ryan Colclough, and Liam Mandeville always among the offers.

Oldham have had a poor start to the season, losing 4-0 at Southend and 2-1 at FC Halifax. A 5-1 win against Aldershot was sandwiched in beyond a 5-1 home victory against Oldham.

David Unsworth and his staff will be devastated by the poor start to the season and will be keen to rectify this at title favourite Chesterfield.

Expert: Matthew O’Regan
Selection: Over 2.5 Goals
Best Odds: 1.80
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 8/10 (TRACKED BET)

Liverpool v Bournemouth: The redder the cherry

England, Premier League, Saturday, 15:00

Bournemouth shared the spoils with West Ham on opening day. Much has been made of the arrival of Andoni Iraola to the south coast, but it wasn’t exactly an ideal opposition to showcase his new-look side.

West Ham’s direct style bypassed the Cherries press in the first half, and Jarrod Bowen put his side ahead with an impressive finish.

The south coast side dominated the ball but were outshot, and there was only o.2 of an xG between them.

Having said that, Bournemouth still had the third most high turnover in the top flight on opening day weekend, behind Man City and Chelsea.

A taster of things to come under Iraola.

He guided Rayo Vallecano up from the Segunda Division on a shoestring budget during his time in Basque Country, then went on to secure scalps against Real Madrid and Barcelona in the top flight.

There is certainly enough to go on for their trip to Liverpool.

The Reds were scintillating in the opening exchanges at Stamford Bridge and will pose any side in the world problems offensively if they persist with playing six attacking midfielders.

Jurgen Klopp’s side had the second-highest possession average last season, though, and if they plan on dominating the ball this weekend without a CDM, it will be a very interesting game, and I look forward to watching the Cherries pounce in transition.

Expert: Jimmy The Punt
Selection: Bournemouth Asian Handicap (+2) (TRACKED)
Best Odds: 1.86
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 10/10 (TRACKED BET)

São Paulo vs Botafogo: League leaders to notch up another valuable point

Brazil, Serie A, Saturday 19th August, 20:00 UK

Once again, Botafogo is being underestimated in the market. The runaway Serie A league leaders sit 14 points clear after just 19 matches and are on course for a remarkable campaign.

A hard-fought 0-0 away to Cruzeiro was only dampened by their talisman, Tiquinho Soares, limping off, expected to be out for five-six weeks. He’ll be a huge miss after scoring 13 out of their 35 goals.

Yet both the players and the recruitment team reacted quickly. On the pitch, Botafogo came back from a goal down against Internacional to win 3-1. It was arguably their best performance of the season.

Off it, Botafogo has brought in striker Diego Costa on a short-term deal. With the window closed, options were limited. However, less than two years ago, Costa was performing well for Atletico Mineiro – and knows the league inside out.

Although Sao Paulo has the fourth-best home form in the league, Botafogo has the best away record. Having conceded just eight goals from nine matches on the road, they have proven to be the complete unit this year.

With goalkeeper Lucas Perri and centre-back Adryelson primed and ready to move to Lyon at the end of the season, they’ve shown their worth to the team. Both will be desperate to lift the title in December.

Botafogo won the reverse tie 2-1 and are unbeaten in their last 16 matches in all competitions.

Expert: Nathan Joyes
Selection: Botafogo +0.5 Asian Handicap
Best Odds: 1.85
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 7/10 (TRACKED BET)

Tottenham vs Manchester United: North London is expecting goals

England, Premier League, Saturday, 17:30

Ange Postecoglou’s first competitive match as Tottenham was pretty much as expected. Spurs controlled possession and played some expansive football. All signs point towards their matches being goal-friendly this season. Kane may have departed the club, but Tottenham still have plenty of options in attack, and they showed they were keen to commit bodies forward last weekend.

Manchester United were lacklustre in their opening match as they narrowly beat Wolves. Ten Hag’s choice to field Mount and Bruno ahead of Casemiro left gaping holes in United’s midfield. A similar approach here could spell danger against better opposition.

There have been three goals or more in five of the last six meetings between these slides. Over this period, there has been an average of 4.17 goals per game. The Red Devils struggled on the road last campaign. They conceded 1.74 goals per away game, as those matches averaged 2.89 per game.

The xG for Tottennham’s opener was 3.49 as the game finished 2-2. Despite Manchester United winning 1-0, their game saw an xG of 4.56.

Expert: Scott Thornton
Selection: Over 2.5 Goals In the Match & Both Teams To Score
Best Odds: 1.83
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 7/10 (TRACKED BET)

Lyon vs Montpellier: Goals to reign supreme at Olympique Lyonnais

France, Ligue 1, Saturday, 16:00

I’m heading to Ligue 1 France this weekend as Lyon hosts Montpellier on Saturday afternoon. Both sides featured in entertaining opening-day fixtures, and I’m keen to get behind the goals again.

Laurent Blanc’s side suffered defeat last weekend against Strasbourg; it took over an hour until Bellegarde opened the scoring, Lebo Mothiba doubled the lead before Tagliafico pulled one back late on in a 2-1 defeat.

The visitors earned a share of the points in their opener against league newcomers Le Harve. Last season’s Ligue 2 champions took an early lead inside five minutes before a quick-fire double from new signing Akor Adams turned the game on its head. Samuel Grandsir equalised at the death as the game finished 2-2.

This fixture last season featured nine goals; Lyon won 5-4 on the day as Lacazette and Elye Wahi both bagged four each. The previous season saw seven goals scored in this fixture; let’s hope for another similar to that.

Only PSG scored more goals away from home than Montpellier last season, whilst only the four relegated clubs conceded more. Michel De Zakarian’s side saw an impressive average of 3.63 goals per away day.

Both sides are stronger offensively than they are in defence. This may become a shootout at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. Akor Adams, Elye Wahi, Teji Savanier and Arnaud Nordin all pose a goalscoring threat for the visitors. Lyon are firm favourites but will be given a very good run for their money.

Expert: Tom Winch
Selection: Over 3.0 Asian Goal Line
Best Odds: 1.98
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 8/10 (TRACKED BET)

Frosinone vs Napoli: A winning start for the champions

Italy, Serie A, 19th August 2023, 5.30pm (UK time)

Newly promoted Frosinone could not have been handed a tougher debut in their third Serie A campaign. Napoli will make the short trip up north with the Scudetto on their chest and with justified self-belief: as things stand, no other team in Serie A has a stronger starting eleven than the Partenopei.

After a triumphant season when they won 28 games, equally split between home and away, and ended up having the best attack and defence, it’s difficult to comprehend why many bookmakers are placing them well behind Inter as outright winners.

Yes, they sold Kim Min-jae, brought in a couple of promising young players (like Gabri Veiga, Natan and Jens Cajuste) and changed manager, but their structure and style of play won’t be too dissimilar from last year.

Perhaps their squad is not as deep as it should be to compete both domestically and in the Champions League. Still, Napoli, with last year’s top goalscorer (Victor Oshimen, 26 goals) and top assist man (Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, 10), really represents great value against a Frosinone side who have changed many players from last season. The Ciociari still look incomplete and are a very young side; I feel they’ll get beaten soundly on Saturday.

Expert: Daniele Fisichella
Selection: Napoli -1.25 Asian Handicap
Best Odds: 1.85
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 10/10 (TRACKED BET)

Tromso vs Sandefjord: Fiery goalmouth action inside Arctic Circle

Norway, Eliteserien, Sunday 20th Aug, 16:00 (UK)

Tromso have been one of the big surprise packages in the Eliteserien this season. Nobody expected them to be anything better than a midtable outfit, but they have every chance of being involved in the title race if they can keep up their remarkable form.

Tromso, who happen to be the most northerly professional football club in the world, have won 8 of their last ten league matches and are short 1.50 favourites to beat Sandefjord. This is not obviously a match they can afford to drop points in, but there’s no reason to expect that when they’ve won both of their last two home fixtures 3-1.

Sandefjord are one of the poorest teams in the Norwegian top flight. They have done well to find some better recent form, but one thing they cannot hide away is the appalling nature of their defence which has conceded 29 goals in its last ten games.

They are incredibly porous at the back, and their only chance of getting anything out of games is to score a few goals themselves; they possess a decent counter-attacking and set-piece threat, so they might be able to cause Tromso some problems. This match just screams goals, so over 2.75 looks well worth backing. Tromso might cover this on their own, but Sandefjord can also contribute.

Expert: Steve Wyss
Selection: Over 2.75 Asian Goals
Best Odds: 1.87
Bookmaker: bet365
Stake: 8/10 (TRACKED BET)

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