Five Tips for Friday Night’s Football Action - 1/10/21

On Friday night, Stoke City host West Bromwich Albion at the Brittania Stadium in what is a battle of first versus fourth in the Championship.

The Baggies come into this match as one of two sides to remain unbeaten in the division, alongside second place Bournemouth, having won six and drawn four, as well as scoring 20 and conceding eight across 10 league matches. Valerian Ismael’s side are also on a two-game win streak, having narrowly beaten Queens Park Rangers and hammered Cardiff City 4-0 on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Karlan Grant, Curtis Nelson (own goal), Alex Mowatt and Matt Phillips.

Stoke are just four points behind West Brom in what has been a positive start to the season for Michael O’Neill’s side. The Potters have managed five wins, three draws and two losses this season in the league and have won just one of their last four matches following their 1-1 draw with Preston North End last time out. Their other results include a 1-1 home draw with Barnsley, as well as 2-1 away loss to Derby County and a 2-0 home win against Hull City on 25th September, where Mario Vrancic and Nick Powell found the back of the net.

Athletic Bilbao take on La Liga strugglers Deportivo Alaves at San Mames on Friday, in a game that the hosts will be expected to emerge victorious from.

Marcelino’s side are currently 10th in La Liga on 10 points from seven matches which in context is only two points behind Barcelona and four behind Atletico Madrid, but, the Basque club haven’t won in their last three matches, following 1-1 and 0-0 draws with Valencia and Atletico, as well as losing 2-1 to high-flying Rayo Vallecano. Their only two victories of the league season so far came via 1-0 and 2-0 scorelines versus both Celta Vigo and RCD Mallorca, with Dani Vivian and Inaki Williams scoring in the latter match.

Alaves won last time out following five straight losses in La Liga, following a goal from defender Victor Laguardia in a 1-0 win over Atletico, despite having just one shot on target and 28% possession. Javier Calleja’s side have conceded 11 goals and scored just twice, whilst Bilbao have found the back of the net on six occasions, letting in just four.

In the German Bundesliga, FC Koln host newly-promoted Greuther Furth on Friday night with Steffen Baumgart’s side looking to put themselves into the European qualification places before the rest of the weekend’s action.

Koln are currently in seventh place, with two wins, three draws and one loss after six matches, seeing them earn nine points. They have scored 10 goals so far in the league this season and have earned their two victories by 2-1 and 3-1 scorelines against VFL Bochum and Hertha Berlin, with Anthony Modeste and a Florian Kainz double sealing a win against the latter mentioned opponents.

Meanwhile, life hasn’t started well in the Bundesliga for Greuther, who currently sit at the bottom of the table with just one point, have drawn one and lost five, whilst conceding 16 times and scoring just four, hence why there is a good chance of Koln winning with a -1 goal handicap.

In Serie A, Cagliari take on Venezia at the Sardegna Arena in what could be a battle between two potential relegation battlers, as they are 19th and 18th in the standings.

Cagliari have drawn two and lost four of their opening six matches, scoring seven and conceding 15, with their two points coming via two 2-2 draws against Lazio and Spezia, whilst they have been beaten by Napoli and Empoli 2-0, as well as 4-1 and 3-2 by AC Milan and Genoa.

Newly-promoted Venezia have four points from six, having beaten Empoli 2-1 earlier this month, via strikes from Thomas Henry and David Okereke. Their other point came in a 1-1 draw with Torino last time out and they have been beaten by AC Milan 2-0, Spezia 2-1, Brescia 4-0, as well as 3-0 by Udinese.

A player to look out for in this match is Cagliari’s Brazilian striker Joao Pedro, as the 29-year-old is the third top scorer in Serie A at present, with four goals and two assists in six appearances, only being outgunned by Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile, seeing the former Estoril man priced at 10/3 to score first against Venezia.

The final game on this list of tips comes from Ligue 1 where Lens host Reims.

Lens have started their league campaign in terrific form, having earned 15 points from eight matches, which has them in second place in the standings, with only PSG scoring more points. Franck Haise’s side have won three out of their last four matches against Marseille, Lille and Bordeaux by scorelines of 3-2, 1-0 and 3-2, which ultimately sees them with 14 goals to their name in their opening eight matches, having also conceded 10.

Reims are currently 11th in the table on 10 points, two wins, four draws and two losses as their record from their opening eight league fixtures this season. Reims have scored 10 and conceded nine across these games, and scored in their last defeat on 22nd September in a 2-1 away loss at Lille, with Alexis Flips 74th-minute penalty turning out to be a mere consolation having fallen behind to strikes from Jonathan David and Benjamin Andre.