It's great to have all of Europe's major leagues up and running again and I'm hoping for more of the same after three of my four recommended bets landed yesterday. Three angles of attack across the continent on Sunday:
Montpellier vs Angers (14:o0)
Montpellier will be looking to maintain their momentum when they welcome Angers to the Stade de la Mosson on Sunday afternoon.
Michel Der Zakarian's men picked up an eye-catching 3-1 win over Nice last weekend before brilliantly dismantling Lyon in midweek.
Consequently, Montpelier have now won 11 of their last 14 Ligue 1 tussles on home turf and that will see plenty of punters attracted to the 21/20 (Betfred) on offer for a home win on Sunday.
Indeed, those odds make appeal, however, I'm going to opt for an alternative angle given that Angers have also won two of their three opening French top-flight fixtures.
The combination that I like the look of is Montpellier double chance, Montpellier to score, over three Montpellier corners and Angers to collect at least one card – a combination that will give a nice looking Even-Money shot when making use of Bet 365's Bet Builder feature.
Taking the above-mentioned approach would have paid out in both of Montpellier's opening two home matches of the season and I'm happy to side with a repeat on Sunday.
Montpellier have notched two or more goals in their last three matches at home, however, they will be coming up against a well-schooled Angers side who have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six matches, with each of their last nine Ligue 1 fixtures featuring less than three goals.
With that in mind, goals could be in short supply but I fancy Montpellier to make the net bulge at least once and to continue their fine form at the Stade de la Mosson.
What's more, Zakarian tends to set up with wing-backs who play a key role in his sides' preferred system by providing width, which in turn should see the home side hit four or more corners in this contest.
I'm also happy to back Angers to collect at least one card in this clash given how freely cards have been flowing in France – the last round of fixtures saw a whopping 66 cards flashed.
RB Leipzig vs Mainz (14:30)
RB Leipzig will be looking to hit the ground running when they meet Mainz at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Leipzig, under the stewardship of the young and innovative Julian Naglesmann, lit up the Bundesliga last season and Die Roten Bullen also impressed when charging towards the last-four of the Champions League.
Indeed, Leipzig will start the new season without Timo Werner, however, they showcased their attacking prowess without their talisman when conquering one Europe's most defensively resilient sides in the shape of Atletico Madrid, and I fancy the hosts to put Mainz to the sword on Sunday.
Die Nullfunfer narrowly avoided being dragged into the Bundesliga basement zone last term and another season of struggle could lie ahead for Achim Beierlozer's side this time around.
Mainz were mauled 8-0 at this venue last season before losing 5-0 at home in the reverse fixture and I suspect Leipzig could once again make light work of the Rhineland outfit this weekend.
There is little value in backing a Leipzig success at a general 1/3, however, the combination of two or more Leipzig goals and Mainz to collect 20+ booking points in this bout will give us a backable 4/5 shot with Sky Bet.
Leipzig averaged 2.24 goals per-game on home turf last term and even without Werner they should have enough firepower to strike at least twice on Sunday.
What's more, Mainz shipped an average of 2.1 goals last season and it's also worth noting that the last eight tussles between these two teams have produced three or more goals.
I'm also happy to back the visitors to collect 20 or more booking points in this contest given that this fixture has averaged almost five cards per-game across the last seven meetings.
Furthermore, Mainz picked up at least two cards in eight of their nine post-break fixtures last season and Beierlozer's team could well revert to the dark arts when trying to tame what is a superior Leipzig side on Sunday.
Norrkoping vs Malmo (16:30)
Norkoping will be aiming to close the gap at the top of Swedish Allsvenskan on Sunday afternoon when they play host to league leaders Malmo.
Jon Dahl Tomasson's table-toppers have failed to win any of their last three fixtures, while fourth-placed Norkopping picked up their first win in four with a much-needed three points away at Kalmar last Monday.
With that in mind, I'm going to steer clear of the more traditional markets, however, there is an alternative angle that has caught my eye with the view to backing corners in this contest.
Both these teams rank first and second in the average corners taken table in Sweden, with Norrkoping hitting 6.25 on average, while Malmo sit at 6.15 corners per game on average.
When digging slightly deeper it can be seen that nine of Malmo's last 10 Swedish top-flight assignments have featured over nine corners and seven of Norkoping's last ten outings have seen 10 or more corners racked up.
Therefore, given that 16 of the last 20 Swedish Allsvenskan matches involving these two teams have seen 10 or more corners taken I was pleasantly surprised to see a repeat here priced up at 10/11 with Bet 365.
Recommended Bets
- Montpellier Double Chance, Montpellier Over 0 Goals, Montpellier Over 3 Corners and Angers Over 0 Cards (1/1, Bet 365)
- RB Leipzig 2+ Goals & Mainz 20+ Booking Points (4/5, Sky Bet)
- Norrkoping vs Malmo Over 9 Match Corners (10/11, Bet 365)
Freelance Sports Writer and Betting Analyst with over five years experience. I’ve written football and darts betting content for some of the biggest betting websites and newspapers in the UK. With a strong passion for the fascinating world of Scottish football, I also regularly feature in Nutmeg, the much-loved Scottish football magazine. Falkirk season ticket holder and avid watcher of football and darts, whether it be UK-based or further afield. Feel free to follow me on X @SlipsTips
9 corners in the Malmo game, agonizingly close