Mark O'Haire best bets

Mark O'Haire's football tips, best bets and nap for January 18-19



Football betting tips: Weekend best bets

Saturday 15:00

2.5pts Wimbledon to win vs Tranmere and under 4.5 goals at 4/5 (Sky Bet)

Sunday

2.5pts Goztepe to win vs Antalyaspor and over 1.5 goals (10:30) at 10/11 (Betway)

3pts Sassuolo to win vs Sudtirol and over 1.5 goals (14:00) at 17/20 (William Hill)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair

Wimbledon vs Tranmere

WIMBLEDON are right in the League Two promotion race sitting three points off second with games in-hand over their rivals. The Dons are fourth on Expected Points (xP) and have built their promising campaign upon a rock-solid defence, whilst also proving particularly effective on home soil, especially when facing bottom-half fodder, such as Tranmere.

Johnnie Jackson’s group have bagged top honours in seven of 12 Plough Lane dates, recording six clean sheets. Wimbledon have returned W10-D3-L0 against bottom-half dwellers, silencing seven of their opponents – drill a little deeper and the Dons have won all four meetings with the bottom-four to nil, whilst scoring twice or more in each outing.

Bottom-four is where Tranmere reside. Rovers have been turned over in eight of 12 away days, scoring just eight goals overall and conceding 2.17 per-game, whilst also losing the Expected Goals (xG) battle 11 times. The Wirral strugglers have lost seven of 11 against top-half teams and it’s nine League Two defeats in 15 across all venues dating back to October.

We can package WIMBLEDON TO WIN alongside UNDER 4.5 GOALS at 10/11 (1.91) – just five of the duo's combined 46 league matches have featured five strikes or more this season.


Goztepe vs Antalyaspor

GOZTEPE look good for their early Sunday showdown in the Turkish Super Lig. The Izmir outfit have been formidable opposition at their Gursel Aksel Stadium base, winning eight of nine league outings here (W8-D1-L0) and scoring twice or more in all nine encounters. The only home fixture they failed to win came against second-placed Fenerbahce (2-2) way back in August.

Sitting inside the top-four, Goz thrashed Kasimpasa 5-0 here last weekend and now average a stupendous 2.78 goals per-game as hosts, whilst conceding just four times in eight when excluding the Fener fixture. GOZTEPE TO WIN therefore holds plenty of appeal as 10/11 (1.91) shots to win alongside OVER 1.5 GOALS when they welcome Antalyaspor this weekend.

Antalyaspor have lost their last three league dates, 5-0, 4-1 and 2-0 and their away record already reads six defeats from six trips to the top-half (shipping 20 goals). Including home matches, the visitors have picked up a solitary point from 10 tussles against the top-half, conceding multiple goals in nine of those 10 games. They’re easily opposed here.


Sassuolo vs Sudtirol

After taking time to adjust to life in Italy’s second-tier, SASSUOLO have stamped their authority all over Serie B. The Neroverdi managed to keep hold of the likes of Domenico Berardi despite relegation and are now enjoying an almost flawless run of form, topping the table following a fabulous W14-D2-L1 spell since the start of September.

Sassuolo's Domenico Berardi

At the Mapei Stadium, the league leaders have taken 22 points from a possible 24 of late, plundering 22 goals in that eight-game sample. Sassuolo have also posted a magnificent W15-D0-L0 when facing sides in eighth and below, scoring 39 goals at an average of 2.60 per-game, making Sassuolo TO WIN and OVER 1.5 GOALS stand-out at 17/20 (1.85) on Sunday.

Struggling Sudtirol head to Emilia-Romagna with the visitors third-bottom and having lost more Serie B games than any other side this season (12 of 21). The Biancorossi have been beaten in 12 of their last 19 (failing to even score on eight occasions) and have managed only three clean sheets all season. They’ve lost nine of 11 against top-half teams.


Odds correct at 1145 GMT (16/01/25)

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