The Early Bird: Weekend football predictions & free betting accumulator tips from James Milton
The Early Bird best bets
Brighton to beat Manchester United
Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday
2pts 12-5 bet365, Coral
Over 2.5 goals in Bolton vs Cardiff
Sky Sports+, 12.30pm Saturday
3pts 3-4 Hills
Christoph Baumgartner to score at any time vs Augsburg
2.30pm Saturday
1pt 3-1 Coral, Ladbrokes
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Best Premier League bet
Manchester United vs Brighton
Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday
Manchester United claimed their first win over Liverpool at Anfield since 2016 thanks to Harry Maguire’s header last weekend and they face another bogey fixture on Saturday.
Visitors Brighton have won six of their last seven Premier League meetings with United and they look a tasty price to make it four victories on the spin at Old Trafford.
United were far from perfect in their dramatic 2-1 win at Liverpool. The Reds, who had lost their previous three matches, hit the post twice through Cody Gakpo and the Dutchman also missed a free header late on.
Mohamed Salah spurned another great chance and Brighton’s last six results include victories over Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle.
The Seagulls can be a frustrating team to back at short odds – they conceded a late equaliser at home to Fulham on the opening weekend and scraped a 1-1 draw at bottom club Wolves this month.
But Fabian Hurzeler’s men relish the role of underdogs and United’s new-found confidence could play into the visitors’ hands.
The Red Devils’ only shot on target in January’s 3-1 home defeat to Brighton was a Bruno Fernandes penalty and United’s brief resurgence could come to an end this weekend.
Best EFL bet
Bolton vs Cardiff
Sky Sports+, 12.30pm Saturday
Bolton are rated as solid favourites for their home clash with League One leaders Cardiff but over 2.5 goals looks the best bet in a fascinating fixture.
A run of five 1-1 draws in six matches hampered Bolton’s early-season progress. Since the start of September, though, they have beaten AFC Wimbledon 3-0, Wigan 4-1, Peterborough 2-1 and Huddersfield 2-1.
Brighton loanee Amario Cozier-Duberry is tormenting opposing full-backs while Mason Burstow and Marcus Forss are excellent finishers at this level.
Cardiff, whose Wales international centre-back Dylan Lawlor is a fitness doubt, have done most of their best attacking work at home.
They beat Leyton Orient 4-3 and Reading 2-1 in their last two outings and look set for a high-scoring trip to their promotion rivals.
Best European bet
Augsburg vs RB Leipzig
2.30pm Saturday
Augsburg’s Bundesliga fixture against RB Leipzig is expected to be entertaining and Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner is worth backing to get on the scoresheet.
Baumgartner was an unused substitute in Austria’s 10-0 World Cup qualifying rout of San Marino, missing out on the chance to add to his impressive tally of 19 international goals.
However, he took out his frustration last weekend, scoring both goals in Leipzig’s 2-1 win over Hamburg, and struck in the seventh minute of their last away fixture at Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder averages 2.7 shots per 90 minutes in the German top flight this season and should get chances against a leaky home defence.
Bankers, longshots and acca tips
The Early Bird banker
Inter
Napoli suffered a chastening 6-2 Champions League defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday and Serie A visitors Inter have won their last four away games to nil.
Weekend longshot
Como to win 1-0 vs Parma
Cesc Fabregas’s Como have conceded only five goals in seven Serie A matches this term and they can grind out a win at Parma, who have failed to score in four of their last five.
The Early Bird Acca
Chelsea 21-50
Bournemouth 7-10
Hoffenheim 4-7
Inter 11-8
£1 accumulator returns £9.02 with bet365
Both Teams To Score Treble
Brentford 4-7
Reading 7-10
Augsburg 4-9
£1 accumulator returns £3.84 with bet365
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