It has been a positive start at Real Valladolid for the team’s new coach Paulo Pezzolano, who oversaw a 3-3 draw at home to Real Mallorca in his debut before leading his side to a 2-1 away win at Villarreal last weekend. He has brought a new energy to the club, perhaps too much in some cases as his red card from last weekend’s fixture means he can’t be in the dugout for the visit of Girona this Saturday.

Still, the players seem to be grasping Pezzolano’s philosophy, as he wants them to get forward more than they had been doing under his predecessor Pacheta. It has been clear to see that his players, especially the midfielders, are dribbling forward more and that they have more support in the final third as they do so. This shift to a more attacking approach has obviously been reflected in the fact that they’ve scored five, while conceding four at the other end, across his first two games.

Now, they face another team that really loves to get players forward in attack, even at the expense of their defence, which is Girona. The Catalans are the team with the highest average total goals in their LaLiga fixtures this season, as there have been 2.97 total goals on average per Girona match.

Real Valladolid’s equivalent is 2.52, still the eighth-highest in the division. But, the average since Pezzolano’s arrival is 4.5 total goals per game. Even if that isn’t sustainable, it does seem that the new attacking mindset is here to stay and that this clash with Girona has all the ingredients necessary for there to be at least three total goals.

Following defeat in the Basque derby at San Mamés last weekend, Real Sociedad know that they must bounce back with a strong performance at the Reale Arena. More than anything, that’s because another defeat here could see them lose their top four spot with Real Betis hot on their heels, and they will play the Andalusians in midweek.

Rayo Vallecano come to San Sebastián fresh from a 2-1 win over Osasuna last Friday, which put an end to a run of eight consecutive matches without a win. However, Andoni Iraola’s side only just ground out the win over the team from Pamplona, and that will be much harder to do against Imanol Alguacil’s team.

In part, that will be down to Rayo’s own absences. Alejandro Catena and Álvaro García will both be serving suspensions but rank among the top five players in the Rayo squad for minutes played this season. Losing both for the same fixture is a significant blow which will force Iraola to shuffle his deck.

Real Sociedad have not been beaten by Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga since January 2015 and will want to extend that record through their strong defending. Only Barcelona have had fewer expected goals against in their last five matches, and La Real’s ability to hit Rayo on the counter could prove deadly.

By the time Borussia Dortmund host Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga Topspiel on Saturday evening, Die Schwarzgelben could find themselves five points behind leaders Bayern Munich should they beat Mainz in the afternoon kick-off. If BVB are to challenge for the Meisterschale with just six games remaining, they must overcome an Eintracht Frankfurt side that has scored in their last four games.

After being 2-0 up against 10-man Stuttgart last week, only to secure a point despite Gio Reyna scoring what he thought was a 3-2 winner in the 95th minute, Borussia Dortmund’s Edin Terzic has called on his players to show a response against Eintracht on Saturday. Heading into Saturday’s game there are question marks over the fitness of Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck, which could see Emre Can partner Mats Hummels in defence again, whilst Anthony Modeste is unlikely to feature.

Don’t expect Terzic to deviate from his 4-2-3-1 with Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi starting behind Sebastien Haller. Against Eintracht’s back three, the explosive pace and neat dribbling that Malen and Adeyemi possess will be enough to cause problems as they look to transition quickly.

Five of Borussia Dortmund’s last six games across all competitions has seen Over 2.5 Goals and again this weekend’s game represents good value. Dortmund struggle to keep a clean sheet with at least one goal conceded in each of their last eight games in all competitions. Dortmund vs Frankfurt is typically a fixture that also involves goals, with five of the last six meetings all finishing with Over 2.5 Goals.

Like Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht too struggle to keep a clean sheet. They’ve kept just one in their last 10 games across all competitions. With Evan Ndicka also missing, Malen and Adeyemi should be able to capitalise with Eintracht’s defensive line boasting little pace without the Frenchman.

In attack, Eintracht will always have a chance of scoring when Randal Kolo Muani, Daichi Kamada and Mario Gotze are all playing. Jesper Lindstrom has also returned to training and could feature in some capacity against Dortmund on Saturday. Oliver Glasner has options in attack and with both teams have problems defensively, expect to see action at both ends. Over 2.5 Goals offers excellent value here.

Saturday evening’s clash between Lens and Monaco at Stade Bollaert promises to be a cracker, with Champions League football on the line as the Ligue 1 season approaches its climax. Although Lens are typically a tight team at home, look for this game to be a more open and exciting affair, with Monaco specialists at performing on the road.

Lens come into this match off the back of a 3-1 loss at PSG that barely did their performance justice. Barring a 10-minute spell in the first half of that match, they were excellent, with a red card for Salis Abdul Samed changing the course of the match. Unfortunately for Lens, he is a key defensive player in their midfield and will be sorely missed for this game. That will open up attacking possibilities for Monaco.

Lens, though, are strong offensively at home. They have 31 goals in 15 matches in front of what will be a loud and colourful home crowd, while they also boast one of the form strikers in the league in the form of Lois Openda.

Monaco, meanwhile, have bags of attacking talent themselves, having scored at least two goals in each of their last four Ligue 1 matches. These have come against defences far softer than Lens’ but with the arrange of attacking options that they possess, it would still be very surprising if this were to be the first time they were shut out on the road this season.

Backing both teams to score looks a strong bet.

Ever since Phillip Cocu earned his first win in charge of Vitesse, his team have only lost seven from 20 Eredivisie matches. Vitesse are a club undergoing heavy transition — always difficult when there lots of young loanees which return to parent clubs, and this time some first team players are coming to their end of their contracts too. Cocu has at least established some stability until the end of the season, and I have no doubt that he will continue this into next season with his own group of players he will acquire in the summer.

I think the Arnhem club will increase their points total again on Saturday a win which should allow them some breathing room in their relegation battle.

On the flip side, Excelsior  are fighting with Emmen to stay away from sixteenth place — the final relegation play-off position. Only two of the last fourteen Eredivisie teams who have finished in the play-offs survived relegation to the Eerste Divisie. Luckily for Excelsior, I think Emmen have the trickier run-in, but I just don’t see how the Rotterdam side suddenly start scoring goals when they have failed to score at all in nine of their last fifteen Eredivisie matches.

Vitesse are hardly full of goals either. Instead, they go for the gritty approach, with several box-to-box midfielders providing the finishing touch to their chances. They have no striker banging in the goals, so I think a narrow, low-scoring home win will occur here.

Fluminense have started 2023 in a wonderful fashion and with each passing week, they’re looking stronger and stronger.

They’re currently on a five-game win streak in all competitions and will be hoping to carry on their terrific form this weekend. In this period, the Rio de Janeiro club have netted 14 goals, whilst only conceding twice, showing they are not just capable of scoring goals, but they’re also quite solid defensively.

After lifting the Campeonato Carioca with a 4-3 aggregate victory over Flamengo, Flu enjoyed a 3-0 victory over Paysandu in the Copa do Brasil before their first 2023 Brasileirão clash with America Mineiro.

After a goalless first-half, goals from German Cano, John Kennedy and Lele saw Fernando Diniz’s boys enjoy a comfortable 3-0 win away from home against an America side who have been punching above their weight for the past two seasons, it was a real statement of intent from Flu, who will be hoping to challenge for the title this season.

Marcelo went off with a calf issue in midweek, but he has been trained and is expected to be fit for the game here. Martinelli and Jorge are both injured and will miss out.

Their opponents, Athletico Paranaense are not doing too bad themselves after a three-game streak without a win, which saw them suffer a loss to second-tier side CRB in the Copa do Brasil. Since the loss, they have enjoyed two victories, first they saw off Goias 2-0 in their opening league match, before another impressive win in the Copa Libertadores over Atletico Mineiro, once again at home.

Athletico have five players who will be missing for this duel in: Alex Santana, Marcelo Cirino, Kaique Rocha and Kawan.

Flu are on a great run at the moment and will be keen on continuing that in this outing, Athletico may be in good form, but their last two away matches have seen them fail to score, making a home victory a strong possibility.

Palmaflor are following in the very Bolivian tradition of being unbeatable at home and shocking away ever since season, having moved from the city of Cochabamba down to the Tropics, while Always Ready despite being one of the biggest spenders in the league have been inconsistent so far and have only two wins to their name in the last five games.

In the head-to-head Always Ready are far superior, winning four of the five games between the sides since 2021. The goal average is also high between the sides, at 3.6. Last time they played was in August 2022 with Always Ready coming away from Cochabamba with a convincing 4-2.

While Always Ready are on paper the strongest of the two, they have failed to get going this season, while I feel Palmaflor definitely make home advantage count and seem to be finding some consistency.

Saturday’s action will see Famalicão host Marítimo and Boavista host Rio Ave, whilst the second-best team in the league will pay a visit to the second-worst team to close out the day.

For the first time all season, it finally seems that Porto have a genuine chance of challenging Benfica for the league title, with Roger Schmidt’s side falling to two straight defeats in the league to Porto and Chaves. Porto have moved four points behind Benfica, who have yet to face Sporting and Braga, and they will be looking to take care of business as they face off against Paços de Ferreira.

Since opening March with a 3-1 win at Chaves, Porto have beaten Estoril Praia 3-2, drawn 0-0 vs. Inter to exit the Champions League, drawn 0-0 at Braga and beaten Portimonense 1-0, Benfica 2-1 and Santa Clara 2-1, with Mateus Uribe breaking the deadlock from the penalty spot before the interval and Danny Namaso Loader adding another and Kyosuke Tagawa pulling one back in extra time.

Paços, meanwhile, would close out February with a 3-1 defeat to Boavista before losing 2-1 at Casa Pia, beating Santa Clara 1-0 and drawing to Arouca and Vitória before falling to back-to-back 3-1 defeats to Famalicão and Marítimo. They sit two points above Santa Clara, five points behind Marítimo in the relegation playoff spot and eight away from automatic safety, and barring a major turnaround in form, they’re going to be playing second division football for the first time in five years next season.

Paços are going to have a difficult time getting a point against a Porto side that has won five in a row against the Beavers, with four of their last five wins featuring over 2.5 goals. Sérgio Conceição’s side are hitting form at the right time and will be looking to pick up a second straight win against a relegation struggler before facing off against Famalicão in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semifinals.

They have been unable to pose a serious challenge against any of Portugal’s top sides, and I don’t think that’s going to change against the Dragons, whose attacking options of Mehdi Taremi, Otávio and Wenderson Galeno should be enough to overpower a Paços side that has conceded 49 goals in 28 matches. Expect another high-scoring victory for Porto in a similar fashion to their recent 4-0 win at home against Paços in October.

Cali bundled a much-needed 2-1 win across the line last week, to steal some space on their relegation rivals. But do not be fooled, this is no turning point in the crisis-hit club’s season. Helped hugely by the ridiculous off-the-ball sending-off in the first half of rival defender Juan Camilo Angulo, Cali still made tough work of beating relegation favourites, Union Magdalena.

The result may release the pressure slightly, especially on septuagenarian manager Jorge Luis Pinto who has looked a broken man for the best part of the year, but Cali are still playing some of the most turgid football in the division.

That comes on top of all the off-the-field drama that threatens the very existence of the club, a situation that has plunged many player’s futures into jeopardy after players yet again failed to receive their wages this month. This is a side that is still fraught with problems both on and off the pitch and there’s little sign of last week’s win changing anything.

Opponents Alianza Petrolera are also deep in relegation trouble, but are on a fine run of form. Normally their strength is at home, in the baking heat of Colombia’s oil-producing region.

But after back-to-back home wins over Santa Fe and Jaguares, Alianza then took to the road against another relegation rivals, Once Caldas, in the cold Andean mountaintops last week, and made it a hattrick of victories. Alianza manager Hubert Bodhert has blended defensive experience with a more youthful attacking edge and unlike Cali, they have a squad that’s working together.

Their current third position shows that they should claw their way to safety in the three-year average standings used to decide promotion and relegation. Back them at the attractive price of 2.25 here against a Cali side who have lost their last five away, or take Alianza at draw no bet.

Cuiaba had the toughest of starts to the Brasileirão campaign as they travelled to the champions, Palmeiras, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat. The result was something in which Cuiaba won’t be pleased with of course, but there we’re several aspects of their game in which they can be satisfied with, as they defended well, and stayed in the game for as long as possible, whereas other teams could have suffered a heavy defeat, especially after Fillipe Augusto’s red card.

Cuiaba could only manage an XG of 0.72 and know they must be more creative in this battle, if they want anything from the game. Prior to the defeat, Cuiaba, had won three matches on the bounce in the Campeonato Maragrossense, however, they were clear favorites in this battle and anytime they’ve faced a challenge in 2023, they have come unstuck.

Dourado will be without Filipe Augusto who was dismissed after picking up two yellow cards last time out.

Red-Bull Bragantino have been on a great run in their last three matches; winning all games, scoring eleven goals in the process. Their first league match, saw them take on Bahia at home. Despite Bragantino dominating the first half, it was Bahia who took the lead just before the break, through Everaldo.

The Red-Bull club showed patience to come back in the second half thanks to goals from Bruninho and Eduardo Sasha as they started their season with three points. Then in midweek, in the Copa Sudamericana, Bragantino took on Oriente Petrolero at home, where they routed to an impressive 5-0 victory at home, which will give them a huge confidence boost come into the clash here.

Bragantino have three player’s missing for the clash here, Leo Ortiz, Vitinho and Raul, who all have injuries, with Kevin Lomonaco missing after being involved in a match-fixing scandal.

Bragantino come into this game in good form and haven’t lost to Cuiaba in their last two meetings, they will be confidence of avoiding defeat here, in what could be a close affair.

Two losers from matchweek one battle it out at the Estádio do Morumbi, where both Sao Paulo and America Mineiro will be keen on to pick up their first points of the campaign.

Sao Paulo have had a rough time of it in recent weeks. Their 0-0 draw with Ituano in the Copa do Brasil first leg, was a true snooze fest, before they suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Botafogo away from home in their first Brasileirão match of the season. Sao Paulo dominated the ball and had more chances at goal but couldn’t make it count.

In midweek, Tricolor played host to Venezuelan outfit Puerto Cabello in the Copa Sudamericana and couldn’t seem to find a way through, until two quick goals from’ Marcos Paulo and Michel Araujo in the games dying embers, saw the Brazilians enjoy a 2-0 win. However, despite the victory, Rogério Ceni was sacked by Sao Paulo and is looking likely to be replaced by Dorival Junior. Junior helped Flamengo lift the 2022 Copa Libertadores last season and be in the dugout if regularized in time.

Sao Paulo will be without Nahuel Ferraresi, Igor Vinicuis, Giuliano Galoppo, David and Talles Costa who all have injuries.
After matchweek one, America Mineiro sit rock bottom of the league after a 3-0 battering at home to Fluminense, which was followed up by a 2-1 defeat to Defensa Y Justicia in Argentina in the Copa Sudamericana. America will be eager to put the week behind them and bounce back in what promises to be another tough game for Vagner Mancini side.

Despite Sao Paulo’s recent dodgy form, America Mineiro have been struggling even further, which will play into the home sides hands. A new manager, the backing of the fans and the fact they’re unbeaten against America in their last four matches, should help Sao Paulo pick up their first win of the season.