"Leverkusen have been progressing steadily under Kasper Hjulmand this season and are in the race to finish in the European spots. This is quite the climb down from the conversations that Xabi Alonso had Leverkusen in a few seasons ago, but the home side still have the quality required to pick up results against the likes of St Pauli.

Leverkusen come into this game having won four of their last five matches across all competitions, only dropping points in the form of a 1-1 draw against Mochengladbach on the road. One of these games was against St Pauli in the DFB Pokal, which Leverkusen won 3-0 - offering a promising precedent for this encounter. Leverkusen were pretty comfortable in that cup win as well, only conceding one shot on target to St Pauli.

St Pauli have struggled on the road this term with just one win from their 11 away matches, losing eight of these games. Only Heidenheim (4) have picked up fewer points on the road this season in the Bundesliga than St Pauli (5). As well as losing the recent cup tie between the sides, St Pauli also lost the most recent league clash between the teams with Leverkusen running out 2-1 winners on that occasion."

"MK Dons come into this game in brilliant form having won four of their last five matches across all competitions, a run that has seen them close the gap to the automatic promotion spots to just three points. 

They welcome a Newport side that have struggled for consistency all season, winning just five of their 30 matches in League Two which is a record that has left them in a perilous position at the bottom of the division.

Newport have lost 10 of their 15 away matches in League Two this season, and have notably only scored 15 goals across these matches while conceding double that tally. Only Crawley (9) and Shrewsbury (6) have picked up fewer points on the road than Newport (11) in League Two this season.  

MK Dons boast a solid home record which can aid them in getting over the line here. They’ve only lost three of their 15 home matches, winning eight of these games. Their defensive record is particularly impressive with only 15 goals conceded across these games, making it difficult to make an argument for Newport causing them too many problems here."

"The Eerste Divisie is a brilliant league for goals and this encounter should be no different with Venlo chasing down a spot in the playoffs. Vitesse managed to take all three points when the sides last met, running out 2-1 winners, with the prior meeting also seeing BTTS as Venlo ran out 4-1 winners over Vitesse.

Vitesse have seen 38 goals across their 13 home matches in the Eerste Divisie this season (2.92 per game) and have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches across all competitions. 

They don’t have as much to fight for as Venlo do, but Vitesse have improved since the season started and have been posting form which is equivalent to those going for the playoffs since the turn of the year - Vitesse have only lost two of their last nine matches across all competitions. 

Venlo have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches across all competitions, and look to be struggling with the pressure of pushing for the playoffs with just one of these games ending in Venlo taking all three points. That win was also the site of their only clean sheet in this period, which was cheaply earned as they allowed their opponents to have seven shots on target."

"Marseille have recently parted ways with Roberto De Zerbi following their 5-0 defeat to PSG, which was a result that reflected Marseille’s campaign overall this term with the club also crashing out of the Champions League a few weeks prior. Marseille have seen 3+ goals in each of their last five matches across all competitions, conceding 2+ goals in three of these fixtures.

I’d expect the home side to react to their 5-0 defeat against PSG last time out, and they take on a Strasbourg side who have continued to be an entertaining watch despite swapping Liam Rosenior for Gary O’Neil earlier this year. The most recent meeting between these sides produced exactly three goals as Marseille ran out 2-1 winners over Strasbourg in a clash with a total xG of 3.38. 

Strasbourg should sense an opportunity here given the vulnerability around Marseille at the moment, though they have to respond to a setback themselves with the away side here falling to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Le Havre last time out. Strasbourg’s away matches have been pretty goal heavy this term with 37 across their 11 assignments on the road (3.36 per game)."