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Europe’s top leagues are starting to take shape as we approach the 10-game mark. The best teams are where we expect them to be (unless you’re a Manchester United fan), and the best players are as reliable as we’ve come to expect. 

 

While there are a ton of great games this weekend, nothing comes close to the El Classico – Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Despite the departure of footballing greats like Ronaldo, Messi, Luis Suarez, Benzema, Neymar and Gareth Bale, this is still club football’s top ticket.  

 

Ahead of this one, the biggest question is “will Jude Bellingham continue his unstoppable form, or will Xavi’s tactical nous see Barca through?”  

 

BetKing, Nigeria’s foremost online sports betting platform is on hand to give you professional betting tips, backed by the best odds to help you make the best selections to win big. 

 

Let us dive straight into the biggest games this weekend, including the mighty Clasico. 

 
 

**Barcelona vs Real Madrid**

 

The Clasico is arguably the biggest fixture in European league football. Real Madrid visit Barcelona’s make-shift home stadium, where they are unbeaten so far, the Estadio Olympic Lluis Companys.  

Saturday’s battle between the league champions and the table-toppers is sure to be a feisty affair. 

 

Last weekend, Xavi’s men earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao thanks to a goal scored by 17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu, another from a long line of flourishing La Masia talent that includes Lamine Yamal and the effervescent Gavi. 

 

Barca are a different team this season, with new additions, Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix and Ilkay Gündogan all arriving to add more creativity and dynamism. An unbeaten start to the season has followed, with some bumps along the way, but they sit on 24 points, just one behind table-toppers Real Madrid. 

 

Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be in a confident mood going into the Classico. They are top of the table with 8 wins, 1 draw, and one loss so far, a morale-sapping 3-1 reverse to Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.  

 

Los Blancos boast the best defensive record in LaLiga, conceding seven goals in 10 games, but they have not been scoring goals by the bucket load. They have 21 goals this season, less than Barcelona, Girona and Atletico and have relied, or in this case, over-relied on Jude Bellingham (8 goals) and the occasional input from Joselu (5 goals) to get them over the line. 

 

Barcelona have won 4 of the last 6 Clasicos but they lost 4-0 at the Camp Nou in April on their way to the LaLiga title. With both teams not particularly high-scoring (Barcelona have won their last two games by a 1-0 scoreline) we expect a low-scoring affair this time around. 

 

Take advantage of our well-analyzed soccer betting tips and back today’s bet of the day, which is a narrow Barca win and Bellingham to score. 

● Barcelona to win 

● Jude Bellingham to score anytime 

**Chelsea vs Brentford**

 

Chelsea welcome Brentford to Stamford Bridge for the Saturday lunchtime kickoff.  

 

Mauricio Pochettino will be livid about the way Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead against Arsenal last weekend in a game they absolutely should have won. 

 

After taking a well-deserved lead against the Gunners, Chelsea contrived to give away two goals in the last 13 minutes, settling for a frustrating point in the end.  Despite the result, there is no doubt that Chelsea have improved considerably in recent weeks and are now a formidable opponent for anyone in the Premier League.  

 

Brentford returned to winning ways last weekend at home against a poor Burnley side. Thomas Frank’s men were due a win too, after losing four out of their last five games in the league and Carabao Cup.  

 

They haven’t played particularly badly too, they have been just short of the requisite quality in the final third.  

 

Surprisingly Brentford have done pretty well in this particular fixture. They’re unbeaten in the last 3 against the Blues, including an impressive win at Stamford Bridge last season. 

 

[Chelsea are yet to lose a Premier League game on xG this season](https://twitter.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1708950157331439988?s=20), which means they would be higher up the table with competent finishers. Still, at home and on current form, our best bet prediction is for the Blues to pull out a narrow win at Stamford Bridge. 

 

EVERY single Chelsea game has seen at least 4 bookings, so take advantage of high odds by betting on the cards market. 

● Bet on Chelsea to win and under 4.5 

● Bet on 2nd half over 2.5 bookings 

● Bet on Raheem Sterling to score anytime

**Manchester United vs Manchester City** 

 

Manchester United welcome city rivals Man City to Old Trafford for the 191st Manchester derby. Both sides have won their last two games but are not exactly in flying form, although Pep Guardiola’s men have far better form. 

 

The two Manchester teams will be coming into this game on the back of midweek victories in the Champions League. The Red Devils were distinctly average but still managed to get the job done against FC Copenhagen thanks to a Harry Maguire goal and a late penalty save from Andre Onana. The passing of United legend Sir Bobby Charlton made it an emotional night and it was probably fitting that Erik ten Hag’s men found a way to win. 

 

City also struggled for large periods against Young Boys but proved too strong for the home team in the end, running out 3-1 winners, thanks to a double from Erling Haaland.  

 

In the Premier League, United have climbed to eighth place in the table after consecutive wins but they are far from convincing. City have looked a bit shaky in defeats to Wolves and Arsenal but might just be getting back to form, with key players returning from injury. 

 

Pep Guardiola has had the better of Manchester United in the last 5 meetings, leading his team to 4 wins, with the only defeat coming in January at Old Trafford.  

 

While United have improved results in recent games, City look just too strong all over the pitch and they should have enough here to get another derby win. Our bet of the day is a Manchester City win and Erling Haaland to score anytime. 

● Manchester City to win and over 2.5 

● Erling Haaland to score anytime 

**Arsenal vs Sheffield United** 

 

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season as they welcome relegation-threatened Sheffield United to Emirates Stadium this weekend. 

 

Sheffield are in all kinds of trouble and will need to play the best football of their lives to get even a point at the Emirates.  

 

Paul Heckingbottom’s men have failed to win a single game in the league this season, losing 8 of their 9 games so far. The defeats do not tell just how bad the Blades have been. They have the worst defence in the Premier League, and after the 8-0 hammering against Newcastle United, a trip to the Emirates must be scary for Sheffield fans.  

 

For Arsenal, an unbeaten start to the Premier League has not come without its struggles. The Gunners were lucky to escape from Stamford Bridge with a draw after going down by two goals in a feisty affair last weekend. In the end, a combination of Chelsea’s goalkeeping mistakes and Declan Rice’s brilliance gave the Gunners a way back. 

 

Despite not being at their best against Chelsea, or indeed Manchester City the week before, Arteta’s men will be way too powerful for the Blades. We are anticipating a big win here. 

 

The Gunners have spread their goals across the team, but Bukayo Saka remains their leading scorer with four goals, our bet of the day is a big Arsenal win and Saka to score anytime. 

● Arsenal to win and over 3.5 goals 

● Bukayo Saka to score anytime 

**Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest** 

 

Liverpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield, looking to extend their superb home record. That record stands at 12 months without a league defeat and it is hard to see how Jurgen Klopp’s men can lose this one.  

 

Their last home defeat was October 2022, the 2-1 defeat to Leeds thanks to a late winner from Crysencio Summerville.  

 

Klopp’s men have had a good start to the season, and after a fine win over Everton last weekend, momentum is clearly in their favour.  

 

The Reds have played nine league games, won six, drawn two and lost just once, against Tottenham. They have scored 20 goals in the league, conceding just 9. More importantly, they have won every single game at Anfield (4 games, 11 goals). 

 

Since Forest's return to the Premier League last season, Steve Cooper’s men have played the Reds twice, famously winning 1-0 at home (with ex-Red Taiwo Awoniyi scoring the winner) last October. 

 

Forest can be a difficult team to break down, only conceding more than 2 goals just once this season, in a 3-2 defeat to Man United at Old Trafford. They have drawn 4 of their last 5 games but will have to be at their absolute best to halt Liverpool’s moving train. 

 

As far as goals, Mohamed Salah continues to perform at a ridiculously high level and his brace against Everton last weekend took him to 7 league goals for the season. We expect him to score anytime against Forest. 

● Bet on Liverpool to score over 2.5 goals 

● Bet on Mohamed Salah to score anytime 

**Napoli vs AC Milan** 

 

Napoli head into their clash against Milan with momentum building after winning two games on the bounce. Rudi Garcia’s team followed up their 3-1 win over Verona last weekend with a 1-0 win over Union Berlin in the Champions League. 

Despite Victor Osimhen’s injury, the defending Champions have looked strong and will bank on Giacomo Raspadori to find the goals they need in Osimhen’s absence. 

 

Napoli are yet to secure three successive wins yet this season, and if that’s to change they will need to improve on home soil after losing twice in six days at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona earlier this month, conceding three times in each (3-1 to Fiorentina and 3-2 to Real Madrid). 

 

Milan are looking to bounce back after relinquishing their place at the top of the Serie A table.  Stefano Pioli’s men are in shaky form after following up the defeat to Juventus with a 3-0 trouncing to PSG in the Champions League in midweek. 

 

 Pioli admitted to some “concern” about their recent results, so Milan will be grateful to be hitting the road after winning each of their last five away matches.  

 

Milan have the upper hand in this fixture, winning three of the last 5 and we are backing the Rossoneri to bounce back with a win. 

● Milan to win or draw and over 2.5 goals 

● Over 8.5 corners

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Another El Clasico is here! Read on to enjoy our El Clasico preview as well as betting tips from the Manchester Derby & other weekend games.

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