Predictions 11-15-01.2023

Manchester City vs Everton | EFL Cup

11/01/2023 20:00

Prediction: 1-2

When Southampton plays host to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, the Saints want to pull off a major upset. It was good for the home team that they won 2-1 over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Saturday, but you can guarantee that they’d rather have three points in the league. After suffering six straight losses, Southampton is currently in last place in the Premier League. Since October, they have only been victorious in cup contests, but it appears that they will not be able to prevail in this endeavor. The success that Southampton has had in cup competitions will hopefully instill some confidence in the team and lead to an improvement in their play in the Premier League. This season of the Carabao Cup, Southampton has been successful thus far, claiming victories over three teams competing at lower levels. After falling behind in the first two minutes of the game, they were able to fight back and win away at Cambridge United, as well as at home against Sheffield Wednesday (in a penalty shootout) and Lincoln City. The Saints have only been victorious in one of their last eight league and cup matches when playing at home for the full 90 minutes. They suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City earlier in the season.

Over the course of the last five years, Manchester City has taken home the Carabao Cup on four separate occasions. They are currently in second place in the Premier League and come into this match having dropped only one of their previous 12 matches across all competitions while winning four of their most recent five matches. Even though City will almost certainly play with a depleted lineup, the fact that they have such a quality team means that it won’t make a huge impact. Even if Erling Haaland started on the bench for them against Chelsea in the FA Cup match on Sunday, they would still have a good chance of winning comfortably. Throughout this season’s cup events, City has been consistently dealt difficult draws. They were victorious in the previous round of the Carabao Cup, beating Liverpool 3-2 at home. Prior to that, they had a 2-0 victory over Chelsea. Since 2016, City has not dropped a Carabao Cup away game in the first ninety minutes of play. It looks like we’ll pick up another victory on the road here.

• Only one of Southampton’s last eight games played at home has ended in a victory for the Saints.
• With the exception of matches decided by penalty shootouts, City has not been eliminated from the Carabao Cup on the road since 2016.
• Over 90 minutes the last nine games that Manchester City have played in the Carabao Cup, they have won.
• Southampton has defeated three teams from lower leagues to reach this quarterfinal.

Real Madrid vs Valencia | Supercopa

11/12/2023 20:00

Prediction: 3-1

The Spanish Super Cup starts in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, January 11. The formula includes two semi-finals in a “dry” match: the first is between Real Madrid and Valencia, and the second will see Barcelona and Betis Seville on the field the following day. The two winners will play for the trophy in the final on Sunday, January 15. Los Blancos come to the match with a great desire for redemption after the defeat against Villarreal and the consequent overtaking of Barcelona at the top of the La Liga standings. A difficult period for Gattuso; his Valencia team started 2023 poorly, and they are only eleventh in the league, eight points out of qualifying for European competitions.

Real Madrid comes to meet Valencia after defeating Villarreal 2-1 on the last day of the championship. The merengues were returning from three victories in a row, two in the league with Cadiz and Valladolid and one in the Spanish Cup with Cacereno, but they interrupted the streak. Valencia has had a difficult post-World Cup restart, having lost twice in La Liga to Villarreal 2-1 and Cadiz 1-0, and having won only two of their last nine official matches: one with Betis in the league and one with Little La Nucia in the Cup.

• Real Madrid have won three of their last four games.
• Over 1.5 goals have been scored in ten of Real Madrid’s last eleven games.
• Valencia have lost three of their last five competitive matches.
• Real Madrid has won all three of their previous meetings by scores of 4-1, 2-1, and 2-0. 

Real Betis vs Barcelona | Supercopa

12/01/2023 19:00

Prediction: 1-2

On Thursday, January 12th, in Saudi Arabia, Betis Seville and Barcelona challenge each other in the second semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup; the first will be played the previous day between Real Madrid and Valencia. Whoever wins passes the round and will reach the final; whoever loses will say goodbye to the competition. The Blaugrana arrive at the match in full swing after becoming the solitary leaders of La Liga. Betis has started 2023 in the best possible way, but this is not enough for bookmakers who see Xavi’s team clearly favored.

After a difficult 2022 final, Betis Sevilla started the New Year without defeat, with a 0-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao, a 2-1 success over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, and a 4-1 win against Ibiza in the Spanish Cup. The Andalusians continue to fight for a place in the Champions League in La Liga, but Barcelona did even better thanks to the 1-0 draw against Atletico Madrid last weekend, who flew alone to the top of the Spanish league standings. Xavi hasn’t lost a game since October 26 and has collected 6 wins and a draw in the last seven games.

• The first and third best defenses in La Liga face off with 6 (Barcelona) and 13 (Betis) passive goals, respectively.
• Problems in attack for Betis, who have only scored in one of their last three matches in the league.
• Barcelona is back from four Under 2.5s in the last five La Liga matches.
• The Blaugrana have conceded just two goals in their last six league games, with four clean sheets.

Real Madrid vs Barcelona | Supercopa

15/01/2023 19:00

Prediction: 1-1

We will have the pleasure of having a Classico in this final of the Spanish Supercup. The kick-off of the match will be at 7 p.m. on January 15 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Indeed, this Super Cup was again relocated to Saudi Arabia this year. Real will put their title back into play for this 2023 edition against their great rival. In the first leg this season, on behalf of the 9th day of La Liga at home at the Santiago Bernabéu, it was Madrid who won (3-1). Last season, in the semi-finals of this same competition played here, Real Madrid won (2-3) in extra time, a psychological advantage in favor of Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Real Madrid triumphed in a penalty shootout against Valencia on Wednesday. It was the French Ballon d’Or Karim Benzema who had given the advantage to Madrid on a converted penalty shortly before halftime (the 37th), but on returning from the locker room, Gennaro Gattuso’s men managed to equalize from the start (the 46th) to thwart the White House’s plans. Then, neither side was able to gain the upper hand in extra time. This qualification allows Real to erase the defeat suffered against Villareal in the league last weekend (2-1), which places them 3 points below their Barcelona rivals in La Liga.

Barcelona faced the same challenges in qualifying against Betis Sevilla in the semi-finals on Thursday, but it was a productive and uplifting match.Indeed, on their only shot on target in the first half, thanks to Robert Lewandowski, it was the Catalans who led the score, but in a more messy second half, the former Lyon forward, Nabil Fekir, equalized (77th). In a fairly contested extension, Fati restored the advantage to Barça before Betis came back to score again 8 minutes later. Two Sevillian shooters failed in their attempts, sending Barcelona to join their nemesis in the final of the competition. It’s worth noting that the Blaugrana are playing their eighth game in a row without losing a single point.

• In direct confrontations, the two clubs remain unbeaten 6 consecutive matches with more than 2.5 goals scored.
• Real Madrid has seen over 2.5 goals scored three times in their last 5 games.
• Barcelona have seen the “over 2.5 goals” prediction validated in 3 of their last 5 matches.
• Barcelona has scored more than 2.5 goals in four of their last five away games (including neutral ground).