European Football Weekend Betting Preview

Bundesliga PreviewBayern Munich took a big stride towards the Bundesliga title last week with their win away to Hannover. The Brucie Bonus for them was the fact that Schalke lost at home and Stuttgart lost away. Suddenly in the twinkle of an eye, Bayern are in the box seat. They have a relatively easy home game against lowly Bochum this weekend whereas Schalke have a very difficult journey to Hertha Berlin. The whole complexion of the Bundesliga could change radically after this weekend.Stan James make Bayern 1/4 shots to beat Bochum, and it looks like a banker. But one note of caution is the fact that Bochum are currently in a dog fight at the bottom. They won't be coming to make up the numbers. Even so they are 9/1 to win?..which is about right.. Schalke are still reeling from being beaten last week by a late winner from Hamburg. They threw away a lead and they will now need to show commitment to the cause to turnover a Berlin side cock a hoop about beating Bremen away last weekend. Hertha Berlin (11/10) can seize their chance to get into an automatic Champions League slot but it will be interesting as to how Schalke (11/5) react. It's a big game for them?.at 11/5 they could be value.Stuttgart (4/9) will fancy their chances at home to Wolfsburg and they could overtake Schalke in second place if results go their way. They need to play better than they did last week after being turned over by lowly Rostock. Werder Bremen (7/4) also lost last week at home to Berlin and they have a difficult trip to Leverkusen (13/10) who are particularly strong at home.At the bottom Freiburg (5/1) are 12 points adrift of safety and they have lost their paddles as well. Armenia Bielefeld (1/2) could finally send them to the Bundesliga II next year. Hansa Rostock (5/1) had a great win last week but they have an up hill task against Hamburg (8/15) away. The one consolation is that Hamburg have lost 6 at home this year. It's a big ask, but they might just provide a shock this weekend.One club with the panic buttom on are Monchengladbach. Dick Advocaat their manager resigned in the week and with five matches left they are only one point clear of safety. They are away to Nurnberg (11/10) and can be backed at 9/4. This match is being covered live by Setanta on Sunday at 16.30pm. Stan James will be In-running throughout. Mainz (4/5) who are a point ahead of them have a chance at home to Hannover (3/1) and if they were to win Monchengladbach could be in deep trouble. La Liga Preview With the gap now just six points between Barca and Real Madrid the La Liga title is still up for grabs. Real Madrid (8/15) are at home to fourth placed Villareal (9/2) which will not be a walkover, but you can see that the Galacticos' tails are up and they can sense a close run in. Barcelona (4/6) are away to Malaga (7/2) and the price is quite short. They could come unstuck on the Costa Del Sol and Malaga at 7/2 are very good value after a good away win last week.The race for the Champions League Qualifying spots (3rd and 4th) is hotting up with nine clubs all within six points of each other. The two Seville teams are well placed and Real Betis (4/6) could launch themselves into third spot with a win over Sociedad (7/2). Sevilla (7/4) have a tricky away trip to Athletic Bilbao (5/4). At the bottom of the table things do not look good for the three clubs in the relegation zone. Numancia, Albacete and Mallorca are now at least nine points adrift of safety. To compound this Numancia (5/4) are at home to Mallorca (7/4) this weekend. This game really could go either way. A draw will not suit either side and it is very hard to call. Albacete meanwhile (13/2) have a nightmare trip to Valencia (1/3) and it's hard not to conclude that this will be a home win. Getafe and Levante got beaten by the big guns last week and now they meet in Getafe. The Madrid based side are strong at home and they will be looking for three points against a Levante side who are struggling below them. Getafe at Evens look a good bet in this one. It's the last throw of the dice for Deportivo (8/15) in their quest for a Qualifying spot. They are going to have to put a great run of results together to get it but they should start the ball rolling at home to lowly Racing Santander.But all eyes will be on the top two and the pressure is now back on Barca to get results. Any slip up and an upbeat Real Madrid could just muscle them out of it. The Real Madrid game is live on SSP3 on Saturday at 21.00pm. At Stan James we'll be betting in running right up until the 85th minute. Log on by clicking below for all this weekend's La Liga oddsSerie AThe race for the Serie A title is brewing up nicely. AC Milan slipped up at Siena last week and handed a little bit of the initiative to Juventus. They made up for it in midweek when they beat Chievo, but they still find themselves three points behind. However Milan are still 4/6 favourites for the title at Stan James. Juventus are at 11/10. AC look a banker bet to win at home to lowly Parma, although you might want to temper this with the fact that Parma need to win to avoid the looming drop zone. Unsurprisingly Milan are 2/7 and the game is live on Canal+ on Saturday at 19.30pm. Stan James will be betting in running throughout.Juventus have to go to the capital to play Lazio who really have nothing to play for in mid table. It's one of these tricky games which Juve will not relish, but if they are to see themselves as contenders they will have to despatch. At 5/6 they do look a decent bet. The game can be seen live in the UK on British Eurosport at 19.30pm on Sunday. They need to keep that 3 point cushion. Inter are still cock a hoop about beating Juventus away in their last game and should have no problem in taking mid table Messina to the cleaners despite being away.The 11/10 on offer looks particularly juicy. Only Sampdoria and Udinese can realistically knock them off third spot, and both have difficult matches on the weekend. Sampdoria (5/6) have an easier game, at home to Roma (10/3). Frustrating in the extreme Roma are struggling but they are always capable of surprising everyone when they least expect it. The problem is that their season is over and they might not have the fight in them. Udinese (7/4), in fifth, travel to the team of the moment Siena (13/8). They have had back to back wins including a home win over Milan and an away win at Roma and they will not fear Udinese on their own patch. They can see safety in the distance but they must keep picking up points. The draw at 7/4 looks the obvious choice.It's looking very interesting at the bottom. Atalanta are only six points away from safety as a battle is building up between the bottom six as to which three go down. Atalanta (6/4) have a tough home game against sixth placed Palermo (7/4). Brescia (11/10) have a home game against mid table side Reggina (5/2) and they'll be buoyed by a very good draw last time at Palermo. But Fiorentina (9/4), now in the relegation zone, have a very tough game at Bologna (11/10) and their away record is pretty abysmal, winning just once on the road. So this weekend should see wins for the top two to keep us on the edge of our seats and the relegation battle is warming up nicely as well. It would be a disaster for Fiorentina if they were to go down, but there will be many twists and turns yet.It is Italy after all.