One of our favorite bets in soccer is Both Teams To Score (BTTS), a handy, all-purpose wager you can trot out when you find two teams with decent-to-prolific attacks and a proclivity to, shall we say, not defend well. It’s a nice bet to add to a same-game parlay, if you find a team you like and want to go out on the parlay limb, especially if your choice team comes at a heavy odds premium.
This week, we find three games where you could put down that bet with confidence. All six of our choices can score goals and all six can hurt you defensively.
While we opted for a bet aside from BTTS in two cases, it remains a viable option in each of this week’s games.
Fired Coach, Fired-up Offense
Here’s Exhibit A of why it sometimes pays to jettison your coach mid-season. Since Nuno Espirito Santo took over for the fired Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest, a funny thing happened to the Foresters. They started scoring goals. In Forest’s four games under Santo (three Premier League games and one FA Cup), the Foresters put home nine goals. That includes a 3-1 beating of Newcastle on Boxing Day and a 2-1 victory over Manchester United four days later.
Contrast that to the 17 they scored in the 17 previous games under Cooper. So Forest unleashed is a good thing, right?
Well, sort of. The Foresters have surrendered 35 goals, a total surpassed only by the three teams in the relegation zone. Those teams are 18th-place Luton Town (38), 19th-place Burnley (42) and bottom-dweller Sheffield United (49).
Now, enter a Brentford team that likes to attack—but doesn’t always do that offense thing well. The Bees lost their last five Premier League games, getting outscored 7-2 in their last two: losses to Crystal Palace (3-1) and Wolves (4-1). They haven’t scored more than a goal in any game since beating Luton 3-1 December 2.
With two teams enduring defensive malfunctions, you can guess where we’re going here. The Both Teams To Score odds are -160, so the books expect offense. We’re going to take that one step further at better odds.
Best Bet: Brentford/Nottingham Forest Over-2.5 goals (-115 at BetMGM)
Watch: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports or fuboTV
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Slumping Roma Ripe for Sacking?
Looking at the Serie A standings shows you an underachieving AS Roma team languishing in ninth place. It is a team that has won only four of 10 games since December. They have eight points less in the table than this time a year ago. You’d almost think it was a team trying to get its manager fired. That’s what happened to the well-traveled Jose Mourinho this week. He was dismissed after Roma suffered its seventh league defeat last Sunday against AC Milan.
With the high-strung Mourinho and his second-highest paycheck among Serie A managers out of the picture, Roma gets an 18th-place Verona team that punches above its weight. Verona has lost only three of its last 12 at home and has scored in six of its last eight games, including games against first-place Inter Milan and Lazio. At home, Verona has scored in nine of 12 games.
Let’s put that together with a Roma team that has allowed 24 goals in 20 games, including the last five where both teams scored. The Giallorossi have won only one of their last 13 away games. Six times, these two have played to a 3-1 decision. Put it all together and one of our favorite soccer bets is calling.
Best Bet: Both Teams To Score (+130 at Caesars)
Watch: Saturday, Noon ET, Paramount+ or fuboTV
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Expect Barcelona to Rebound
On the surface, this looks a lot closer than you’d think. Real Betis is three places behind the perennial La Liga powers. The goals-allowed are nearly identical: 22 in 19 games for Barcelona, 20 in 20 for Real Betis. But look deeper and there’s a real gap that bears exploiting.
We’ll start with the 10-point gap between the two (41 for Barca, 31 for Real Betis). Barca enjoys a 14-goal advantage, despite playing one fewer game. And Real Betis has captured only one of the last eight head-to-head meetings.
Take this further and the gap between these two increases. Real Betis has won only three of its last nine games against La Liga competition. This includes a 1-0 victory over 19th-place Granada last week that snapped a six-game winless streak against all competition.
Compare that to Barca, which comes in riding a five-win-in-six-game streak and eight wins in its last nine away league matches. Robert Lewandowski, one of the most prolific scorers in Europe, comes in with only eight goals in 17 matches, but the Polish forward has found the back of the net in his last three. He called out his teammates after their 4-1 Supercopa de España loss to Real Madrid, apologizing to the fans after scoring Barca’s lone goal.
We’ll call Barca out to rectify that oversight here.
Best Bet: Barcelona (-125 at BetRivers)
Watch: Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+ or fuboTV
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