Real Madrid

LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Eredivisie football betting tips from Sky Bet

Football

Fri August 18, 2017 · 7y ago

Get the opinions and selections of the Sky Bet traders for the new seasons in Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Holland.

This feature was published on 09/08/17

The new seasons in Spain's LaLiga and Holland's Eredivisie get started this weekend.

The campaign has already opened in the France's Ligue 1, while Italy’s Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga get up and running at the end of next week.

Sky Bet have all five divisions priced up for the 2017/18 season and we've got the views of traders Jack Abbott and Ryan Wolstenholme on the upcoming action.

LaLiga

Barcelona and Real Madrid can’t be split as joint-favourites in the LaLiga outright market. Is it Barca, Real or even a different team for you to finish on top this season?

Jack Abbott: Real Madrid at 10/11 for me. Having won LaLiga and the Champions League in Zinedine Zidane’s first season in charge, I see them as stronger than Barcelona. In addition, Barca losing Neymar can only be a negative for the Catalans.

Ryan Wolstenholme: I’m siding with Real Madrid to win the title again. Real looked unstoppable in the Champions League final against a very well organised and defensively strong Juventus team. They have managed to bring in £85m+ for two back-up players in Danilo and Alvaro Morata and if they spend that money on a replacement for James Rodriguez, then I think they will continue to be unstoppable.

The world’s best attacking talent will battle it out to finish as top goalscorer in LaLiga. Who is your pick?

JA: At 15/8, I can’t see past Cristiano Ronaldo for top goalscorer. As mentioned, I feel Real Madrid are much stronger than Barcelona this season and Lionel Messi - Ronaldo’s main competition in this market - no longer has Neymar alongside him to supply the chances.

RW: In the absence of Neymar, Luis Suarez can benefit and reclaim the LaLiga top scorer crown from team-mate Lionel Messi. If Messi has to take a more creative role without Neymar in the team, this will ultimately lead to more chances for Suarez and he looks the better bet.

Serie A

Can odds-on title favourites Juventus finally be stopped in Serie A?

JA: Yes, AC Milan have strengthened immensely this summer, bringing in the likes of Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen) and Andre Silva (FC Porto). They are currently 11/2 to win Serie A and are likely to shorten further should they bring in another forward.

RW: Although AC Milan seem to have strengthened their squad significantly with a £170million summer spending spree, Juventus are simply too strong for the division. Juve have recruited two top performers from the league last year in Federico Bernardeschi and Mattia De Sciglio and I fully expect them to comfortably win the title.

Juventus celebrate

Which team do you fancy to surprise in Italy?

JA: Atalanta could be a surprise package for a top-four finish at 20/1. Having finished fourth in the league last season they have strengthened further.

RW: Roma have finished in the top three for the last four seasons. Although they have lost Mohamed Salah and Antonio Rudiger to the Premier League, they have recruited some good young talent in the likes of Rick Karsdorp and Cengiz Under who had great seasons last term. I think Roma will be dangerous and could quite easily qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Although not really a surprise, they are 4/9 to finish in the top-four of Serie A which I feel is a very safe bet.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich at 1/6 for the title appear unstoppable in Germany’s Bundesliga. Where exactly is the value in that league?

JA: RB Leipzig came close last season but just ran out of steam towards the latter stages. They have managed to keep hold of the bulk of their squad including the highly-rated Naby Keita. In addition, they have bolstered in terms of numbers, which could prove its worth in the second half of the season with signings such as Bruma, who looked very talented for Portugal Under-21s in the summer. At 20/1, they certainly look worth an outside bet.

RW: Although they were only friendlies, Bayern Munich’s comfortable defeats to the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and Liverpool makes the 1/6 price seem quite short. RB Leipzig had a great season in the Bundesliga and surprised everyone by finishing second, however, they finished with one win from five and I think they will find it very difficult to repeat their efforts. Similar to Leicester last season, I can see Leipzig failing in the league whilst keeping their attention on the Champions League. This paves the way for Dortmund under new boss Peter Bosz to challenge Bayern for the title at 13/2.

Ligue 1

Monaco are defending the Ligue 1 title but PSG are odds-on favourites to win back their crown. Who are you backing for glory in France’s top-flight?

JA: I just can’t see past PSG winning the league at 1/6. Having signed Neymar and Dani Alves, they have improved and Monaco, their main challengers for the title, have weakened.

Neymar

RW: I can’t see beyond PSG winning back the French Ligue 1 title - the signings of Dani Alves and Neymar should also make them serious contenders for the Champions League, too. I can see Marseille competing for second place with Monaco. Rudi Garcia’s team were unbeaten in the last 11 games of Ligue 1 last term and they have recruited strongly over the summer. They are evens to finish in the top-three.

Eredivisie

Give us a tip to provide an interest in Holland’s Eredivisie…

JA: I think Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is a very good signing for Ajax. He has scored goals his entire career and can take Ajax to the Eredivisie title at 5/4.

RW: The Eredivisie is set to be closely fought out between the leading trio of Feyenoord, Ajax and PSV once again. Despite finishing third last season, PSV lost only two games and conceded the joint fewest in the division. Goals were obviously the problem and manager Phillip Cocu appears to have addressed that with the £7m signing of Mexico International Hirving Lozano.

Ajax and Feyenoord on the other hand have been unable to keep hold of their stars. As well as losing manager Peter Bosz to Dortmund, they will be without the services of Davy Klaassen and Bertrand Traore who between them notched up 23 Eredivisie goals. Likewise, Feyenoord have been raided for their young defensive paring of Terence Kongolo and Rick Karsdorp, who have joined Monaco and Roma respectively for a combined £24million. As such, PSV could be hard to stop.

Finally give us a standout selection from anywhere across Europe…

JA: Neymar to score 35+ League goals (PSG RequestABet 2017/18) at 14/1. With Edinson Cavani achieving this feat last season, surely Neymar, who moved to PSG in order to win the Ballon d’Or, can do likewise at what looks a good price.

RW: Real Madrid coasted through LaLiga and the Champions League last season. Zinedine Zidane will be looking to win his third Champions League title in as many years and I cannot see the likes of Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern being able to stop them. Go with Real to win both trophies again at 10/1.