Kevin Hatchard's European Football Tips: Back a tight showdown at San Siro | OneFootball

European Football Tips

Kev has picks from Italy, Germany and Spain this weekend

It's another fascinating weekend of continental action and Kevin Hatchard has a trio of selections from Serie A, the Bundesliga and La Liga...

Milan v Roma - Don't expect many goals in crunch clash

Sunday 02 November, 19:45

Whether his football is attractive or not, Max Allegri is a winner. He is the only coach in the history of Europe's top five leagues to win the domestic double four years in a row, and across his time with Milan and Juventus he has won the Scudetto six times.

With no European entanglements, Allegri's Milan have made a strong start to the campaign, and are currently three points behind the joint leaders Napoli and Roma. They have conceded a paltry seven goals in nine league outings, but they have only scored seven too. Back-to-back draws with Pisa and Atalanta - games in which the Rossoneri took an early lead - have seen them lose ground.

Roma have won seven of their nine league matches, and new coach Gian Piero Gasperini is targeting the Serie A title that eluded him during his golden spell with Atalanta. Unusually for a Gasperini side, Roma have been miserly at the back, conceding just four goals and putting up the second-best Expected Goals Against figure in the division. Only Milan's is better in the league this term.

On that basis, I'm attracted to backing No in the Both Teams To Score market here at 1.96. A BTTS No bet had paid out in seven of Roma's nine league games.

RB Leipzig v Stuttgart - Hosts too short in battle of in-form sides

Saturday 01 November, 14:30

While no-one is seriously expecting Bayern Munich (who have won every competitive game they have played) to fail to win the Bundesliga title, RB Leipzig and Stuttgart are in the mix to be the best of the rest. Die Roten Bullen have won almost every game they have played since a 6-0 drubbing by Bayern on the opening night of the season, while Stuttgart have won their last five in the league.

Leipzig have lost a lot of talent recently, with Xavi, Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda all moving on in the summer. New coach Ole Werner has found the right style and system for the players he has, and new signings like Yan Diomande, Johan Bakayoko and Romulo have all hit the ground running. Last weekend's startling 6-0 win at Augsburg saw RBL go 3-0 up in the first 22 minutes, and it featured six different scorers.

Stuttgart have just managed back-to-back wins over Mainz in league and cup, and although their Europa League form has been poor, domestically they are flying. Bilal El Khannous has been a big hit since joining from Leicester City, and the departure of Nick Woltemade to Newcastle is being mitigated in the aggregate, with nine different players scoring for the club in the league this season.

I'm expecting an exciting and closely contested game, and it strikes me that Leipzig are too short to take the win at 2.06. Stuttgart have won the clubs' last four meetings in all competitions, and they beat them three times last season alone.

I'll back Stuttgart Double Chance here at 1.94.

Real Madrid v Valencia - England star Bellingham can strike

Saturday 01 November, 20:00Live on Premier Sports

Real Madrid's El Clasico win over Barcelona last weekend was a big statement. The 2-1 success put Xabi Alonso's side five points clear of their old foes at the top of the table, but it also ended a run of poor results against the Catalans. Madrid didn't scrape victory - they were worthy winners.

Jude Bellingham missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury, and there were always going to be questions about how he would fit in the new coach's system. However, the England star dominated El Clasico - he spun Pedri in midfield before brilliantly teeing up Kylian Mbappé for the opener, and then tapped the winning goal home at the far post.

With Bellingham full of confidence (something he's rarely short of anyway), I'm happy to back him to score at 9/5 on the Sportsbook. Valencia were dragged clear of relegation danger last term by impressive coach Carlos Corberan, and they were hoping to kick on this term, but they are in the dropzone once again.

Los Che have lost three of their last four league matches, and earlier this season they lost 6-0 at Barcelona. I can't see them slowing Real Madrid down here, and I'll back Bellingham to find the net, something he's done 40 times in 108 Real Madrid matches.

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