SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Inter v Juventus Sunday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport Europe For the first time in a while, the Derby D'Italia looks like it means something for both clubs involved. With Inter aiming for the title, and Juventus looking to recover from their poor start, this weekend could be fascinating. Inter's smoke and mirrors start was rudely exposed by Fiorentina and Sampdoria, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Juve doing a job on Roberto Mancini 's team. Inter's early season results flattered to deceive, and Juve are steadily improving. They have won four of their last six games, seem to have captured that elusive rhythm, and even though you can argue about the Champions League and focus drifting elsewhere, I'm still a fan of backing a very good team to beat an average one, if the price is right. That's the case here, with the market struggling to separate them, and Juve are trading at 2.88 to win at San Siro . They have done well against Inter in r...

Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano Saturday 19:30 (Live on Sky Sports 2) Barcelona 1.17 , Rayo 20.00 , The Draw 9.60 Home and away, Barcelona have won 8/8 Liga clashes with Rayo since 2011. The champions have struggled on the road this term, but remain formidable at the Camp Nou - even without the injured Lionel Messi . Barcelona have been ahead at half-time in all eight of those games. They can repeat the win-win double result against a Rayo side that has shipped either five or six goals on all four of its visits to the Big Two in the last couple of seasons. Recommended Bet Back Barcelona/Barcelona @ 1.50 Valencia v Malaga Saturday 21:00 (Live on Sky Sports 2 Red Button) Valencia 1.67 , Malaga 6.00 , The Draw 4.10 Valencia's first three outings at the Mestalla have produced just three goals in total. Malaga's first three road trips of the season have been even more stultefying, delivering only two goals between them. The home side are odds-on favourites, despite t...

Gladbach's revival to gather pace Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach Saturday October 17, 17:30 Live on BT Sport Europe When popular coach Lucien Favre resigned after losing the first five games of the Bundesliga campaign, Borussia Monchengladbach fans could be forgiven for despairing, but it appears the wily old campaigner was right to step aside. His replacement Andre Schubert has won all three of the league games he has overseen, and the Foals suddenly find themselves just five points off the top four. Brazilian forward Raffael is the ultimate confidence player, and he has provided five assists and a goal since Schubert picked up the reins. While the defence still needs work, the attack has sparkled, with nine goals scored in the last three league matches. After an encouraging start to the season, Eintracht Frankfurt are wobbling under returning coach Armin Veh. They have taken just two points from their last four league games, scoring just once ...

Birmingham 2.34 v QPR 3.65 ; The Draw 3.30 If you're looking for a Championship game containing goals on Saturday then look no further than St Andrew's where fourth-placed Birmingham host a QPR side that score and concede goals for fun. You don't have to go too far back in the memory to recall that Brum were the worst home side in English football recently, recording something like just one league win in front of their on fans in a period of about 11 months. Gary Rowett 's men are a better side now on home soil, but they're still not invincible. In fact Birmingham have lost their last two at home - the good news there being that they'll be desperate to get back on track in front of their own fans while Saturday's visitors QPR will be confident of taking the three points. Chris Ramsey 's men have been the Championship's great entertainers so far this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding 20 in just 10 matches. You don't have to be a ...

St Etienne v Gazelec Ajaccio (5th v 20th) Sat, 19:00 BST The difference in quality between St Etienne and Gazelec Ajaccio is such that the odds give you a great opportunity to back St Etienne this weekend. The hosts are 1.53 to win - and while that price may not be so appealing, it means St Etienne are around evens -1.0 Asian handicap , which is a great selection. If les Verts win by one goal you'll get your stakes back and if they win by two goals or more you'll make a profit. St Etienne looked jaded before the international break but will be refreshed here as a lot of their players weren't on international duty. In all areas of the pitch they're a lot stronger than Gazelec Ajaccio, who stand barely any chance of surviving in the top flight this season. Playing in Ligue 1 for the first time in their history, the Corsicans are still seeking their first win , have scored just one goal in five away games (W0-D1-L4) and have only one or two players that lo...

Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has scored Watford's last five Premier League goals. Ighalo is 3.60 to score. Petr Cech has the best save percentage in the PL this season (82%, minimum 5 saves). Arsenal are 2.50 to keep a clean sheet. Watford have the lowest shot conversion rate (8.6%) and shooting accuracy (34.3%) figures in the Premier League this season. Under 2.5 goals is 2.20 . Alexis Sanchez has scored five times in his last two league appearances. Sanchez is 2.30 to score. Heurelho Gomes has made 14 punches this season; five more than any other PL keeper. Watford are 6.80 to keep a clean sheet. Theo Walcott has 12 goals and three assists in his last 14 Premier League starts. Walcott is [2.25] to score. Watford have never won a Premier League game in the month of October (D4 L5). The draw is 4.30 . The Gunners have won their last five meetings with the Hornets in all competitions, including all four previous Premier League clashes. Arsenal are 1.64 to win. ...

Tottenham v Liverpool Saturday 12:45 Live on BT Sport 1 Match Odds: Tottenham 2.50 , Liverpool 3.10 , The Draw 3.60 . Jurgen Klopp 's appointment as Liverpool manager makes this one of the most exciting fixtures of the Premier League season so far - after impressing in his press conferences, it's now time for Klopp to let his coaching do the talking. Klopp's has had only a week with his new charges, many of whom were away on an international break anyway, but the German will hope his intensity and dynamism has already rubbed off on his players. Liverpool's precise playing style under Klopp remains to be seen. His Borussia Dortmund side played a high-energy brand of football, usually in a 4-2-3-1 system, although the much-discussed pressing element generally came a little later his in his reign. More than anything, his best Dortmund sides excelled at transitions, constructing lightning-quick counter-attacks . That might be the best approach here, aga...

Everton v Man Utd Saturday, 15:00 Bastian Schweinsteiger has found adjusting to the tempo of the Premier League more difficult than many had presumed, most notably by pressing disjointedly and exposing his team-mates in Manchester United's last two games. A trip to Goodison Park, where Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku storm through the centre of the pitch, is a worrying prospect for Louis van Gaal. Arsenal's 3-0 victory a fortnight ago was in part due to the sluggishness and disorganisation of United's midfield. Michael Carrick and Schweinsteiger were too slow for such a high tempo match, and failed to synchronise effectively; at times the two players could be found stood in a line, at others leaving 30 yards between each other. A very similar situation occurred against Wolfsburg four days earlier, but United's 2-1 victory hid the problem from the media's glare. Roberto Martinez is a fastidious tactician who tweaks his strategy to exploit oppo...

Greece 2.58 v Hungary 3.30 ; The Draw 3.15 Sunday, 17:00 Live on Sky Sports Red Button In qualifying groups for Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014, Greece played 42 times and won 31 times yet, heading into the final fixture of their dire Euro 2016 effort, they are certain to finish bottom of Group F below the Faroe Islands, and are still winless after nine games. Worse still, they have lost all four of their home encounters without scoring a single goal, rendering it bewildering that they are considered favourites to defeat Hungary, who have far more at stake as they seek to overtake Romania in the second automatic qualifying place. Bernd Storck's side are unbeaten on their travels , holding the two teams above them and seeing off Finland and the Faroe Islands without conceding. They haven't fired a blank abroad throughout, so should be able to give Greece's campaign a suitably shambolic send-off. Recommended Bet: Back Hungary to win @ ...

Bet 1 : Croatia (HOME) @ 1.33 (1/3) They may only be in third place in Group H but with Norway still having to travel to Italy in their final fixture, I would make Croatia the favourites to qualify in second place behind the Italians. A win this evening is a must however, and while Bulgaria aren't the worst team in the world, they have lost half of their eight qualifiers, including a 1-0 home defeat against the Croats. I'm genuinely surprised that the hosts aren't even shorter in the betting given their fine record on home soil. They have won five of their last half dozen in their own country and the sole blemish was a 1-1 draw with Italy. The Bulgarians have been no great shakes on the road and with nothing to play for, I can't see them posing too much threat here. Bet 2 : Netherlands (AWAY) @ 1.25 (1/4) It's been a miserable year for the Netherlands and they are on the verge of missing out on Euro 2016. They trail Turkey by two points in ...

Finland v Northern Ireland Sunday October 11, 17:00 BST Live on Sky Sports 1 Finland Hungary's win over the Faroes and Finland's failure to defeat Romania means that the Fins can no longer qualify for Euro 2016 . They will have been disappointed not to take it to the final game especially as they were leading against the Romanians going into injury time. This is a dead rubber for them now and the players may struggle to pick themselves up from such heartbreak. Obviously they have their future to think of as they need to continue to impress incoming manager, Hans Backe, who takes over in January, but I don't envisage a highly motivated performance. Northern Ireland In a surprise turn of events, Northern Ireland managed to score three times in the absence of Kyle Lafferty . The 3-1 win over Greece secured their place in France 2016 and Michael O'Neill and his players have every right to smile. A bit like Finland, it will be hard for them to get up for ...

Gibraltar v Scotland Sunday, 19:45 Live On Sky Sports 2 Gibraltar The whipping boys of Group D were thrashed again on Thursday night, losing 4-0 away at Georgia . That brought the total of goals conceded by Jeff Wood's side up to 50 in just nine games. Gibraltar are of course still in their infancy stage on the international scene, having played only matches since being given full UEFA membership in 2013. Since then they have only won one match and scored just five goals. Wood is trying to develop a squad comprised mainly of local talent, with the odd eligible player from England such as the Bristol Rovers winger Jake Gosling , who is Gibraltar's all-time record scorer with two goals. Scotland Things were looking good for Scotland when they were 2-1 up against Poland , only for the Republic of Ireland to take a shock lead against Germany. Throw in a late equaliser by Robert Lewandowski and the Scots were looking at another unsuccessful qualifying campaign. ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina v Wales Saturday 10th October, 19:45 (BST) Live on Sky Sports 2 Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia have recovered well from a start that yielded just two points from their opening four Euro 2016 qualification matches to at least put themselves in contention for a play-off spot. Mehmed Baždarević's men now have 11 points on the board and are just two behind third-place Israel. Recent qualification wins against Andorra home and away and against Israel in Zenica means that The Dragons have now lost only one - away to Belgium - of their last five fixtures. Edin Dzeko has seven goals in qualification so far - only Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski have scored more - six of which have come in the last four games. Team News: There are major concerns about the availability of Dzeko who stayed on in Rome this week to work with his fitness coach, although Baždarević insists he will play. Senad Lulic has been passed fit to play following some concerns but Muh...

Republic of Ireland v Germany Thursday, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports 1 Match Odds - hard to look beyond the visitors With Germany ( 1.52 ) back on form after last year's World Cup winning hangover lingered into the autumn, it would be difficult to make a case for a full strength Irish outfit ( 7.80 ) causing them problems in the Aviva Stadium on Thursday. The fact that Martin O'Neill 's side are set to enter battle without a number of key players makes it even more unlikely, even if a full house and the raised stakes should prompt a lively night in Dublin. Preparations have not gone well for O'Neill. His leading light, Everton right-back Seamus Coleman , seems certain to miss out with a hamstring problem that has ruled him out of club duty since September 12. First choice central midfielder Glenn Whelan is banned and possible replacements Stephen Quinn and Harry Arter are unavailable. Aiden McGeady has not lined out for Everton since August and O'Neill...