Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – February 6th

We’re moving forward in the 2017-2018 seasons in the English Premier League and Spain’s La Liga, as the EPL is around the two-thirds mark and La Liga is just past the midpoint, and given the fact that these leagues base their titles on the finish at the regular season rather than moving into a series of playoff rounds, the competition is getting tight at the top of the table — and, for those teams who are at risk of relegation, trying to stay in the top division has become the top priority. Let’s take a look at some of your best soccer betting picks on the pitch for the coming week.

Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – February 6th

This is how the #PL table looks after 26 matches… pic.twitter.com/Hc1C83KBGl

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 5, 2018

Saturday, February 10

Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur (7:30am ET)

Arsenal took Everton to the woodshed last week, showing a rejuvenated offense – and they’ll need it in this north London derby against Tottenham, who picked up a huge point at Liverpool a week ago. This game takes place at Wembley Stadium, where Tottenham are playing their home games currently. The two teams sit in fifth and sixth place in the table, making this a big matchup for the battle to finish in the top four at the end of the season. Arsenal has to worry about goalkeeper Petr Cech, who had to come off with a calf injury in that big win over Everton. Nacho Monreal had to come off early as an illness reasserted himself and left him unable to continue. However, he is expected to play against Tottenham — while Cech remains questionable. For Tottenham, Toby Alderweireld remains questionable, but that defender has been in training and is expected to appear on Saturday. In the all-time series, Arsenal have won 81 of the 194 meetings, with the Spurs winning 62 and 51 draws taking place. This will be a fight between Arsenal’s attacking style and Tottenham’s rock-solid defense. Soccer Betting Prediction: Arsenal 2, Tottenham 2

Real Sociedad at Real Madrid (2:45pm ET)

Real Sociedad is sitting at 14th place in La Liga, 14 points behind Real Madrid, but Sociedad showed some offensive firepower last week as they took down 18th-place Deportivo by a 5-0 score. Willian Jose opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, and the game went to halftime just 1-0. However, the gates opened after halftime, with Asier Illarramendi tallying in the 62nd minute, Sergio Canales finding the net in the 75th minute and Aritz Elustondo scoring in the 82nd. Illarramendi finished off the scoring in the 89th minute as Deportivo’s defense simply stopped. Sociedad outshot Deportivo 19-4 and held possession for 63% of the game. Real Madrid had a disappointing result last week, ending up in a 2-2 draw against Levante. Real started with a goal from Sergio Ramos in the 11th minute, but Levante drew level with a tally from Emmanuel Boateng in the 42nd minute. Isco seemed to ice the win for Madrid in the 81st minute, but Giampolo Pazzini dazzled in the 89th minute to bring the game level, where it would finish. Real Madrid had 23 shots to a dozen for Levante, and they also held possession for an eye-popping 72% of the game. However, that failure to finish is one reason why Barcelona is atop the table and Real Madrid is not. Will Real Madrid use this week to get some frustrations out on a table bottom-dweller? Soccer Betting Prediction: Real Madrid 4, Real Sociedad 2

Sunday, February 11

Manchester United at Newcastle United (9:15am ET)

Manchester United enter this game with confidence after a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford last week. Marcus Rashford came on as a substitute for Juan Mata in the 71st minute but had to leave soon after with a leg injury. He has scored 12 goals and added five assists in his 36 games, so his contribution will be essential, especially since the team still has Eric Bailly, Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the shelf. Fellaini had recuperated from a severe knee injury only to see it return when Man U lost to Tottenham at Wembley. Newcastle United come in shaky after taking a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace a week ago. Newcastle played a terrific first half, earning the lead with a goal from Mo Diame on a finish of a corner kick. However, Crystal Palace were able to turn the pressure around after the intermission and earn the draw. It took some stiff defense from Ciaran Clark (who committed the penalty that gave Crystal Palace the equalizer) to keep matters level. Can Newcastle keep up with the offense of Man U, even at home? Soccer Betting Prediction: Manchester United 3, Crystal Palace 1