The midweek football continues to come thick and fast on Thursday and our focus will be on the Premier League and La Liga.
Premier League title challengers Liverpool are expected to cruise to victory as they take on rock-bottom Sheffield United, especially with winger Mohamed Salah back fit and firing.
Chelsea and Manchester United will meet at Stamford Bridge in what could be a fiery encounter, while there’s also a contest in La Liga on the cards as Granada do battle with Valencia.
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Bet of the day
Granada v Valencia – Under 2.5 goals @ 8/13
A low-scoring game is expected on Thursday night at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes as Granada face Valencia.
The Nazaries are in the bottom three with just a few months left of the campaign and they are desperately close to dropping into the Segunda Division.
Jose Ramon Sandoval’s side have lost four in a row in the Spanish top flight, while they are also winless in 10 matches in the league.
Valencia are 11 places and 27 points better off than their hosts, but they too are in bad form. Los Ches have only won one of their last six, while away from home they have lost three on the spin without scoring.
With both teams in poor form, Thursday’s tie could be a low-scoring affair.
Special of the day
Liverpool v Sheffield United – Mohamed Salah to score two or more goals @ 9/5
Liverpool should have no problem maintaining their Premier League title challenge when they welcome Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United to Anfield.
The Blades have conceded a whopping 77 goals already this season and they have only played 29 matches.
Wilder’s side have conceded five or more goals in matches seven times already this season, so Thursday’s game has the potential to get out of hand.
Jurgen Klopp has a fully-fit Salah at his disposal and the former Chelsea man was full of life last weekend, registering 12 shots against Brighton, the most he has ever had in a Premier League match.
He should be able to add to his 16 goals for the season on what could be another disastrous night at the office for Sheffield United.
Long shot of the day
Chelsea v Manchester United – BetBuilder – Draw, BTTS and Over 4.5 cards @ 6/1
Time is running out for Chelsea if they want to secure European football for next season, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side do have several games in hand over their rivals as they prepare to face Manchester United.
The Blues are eight points behind the Red Devils, but they are unbeaten in five in the Premier League.
Sadly, keeping clean sheets has been an issue, with three of their last four finishing in a score draw. The Red Devils have failed to win their previous two games on the road, but they have scored in six consecutive away games.
A score draw looks like the value play, while we may also see several cards dished out by referee Jarred Gillett. The Australian has brandished 77 yellow cards in 16 Premier League games and he has given an average of 20.94 fouls per match.
Games between these two sides are often passionate affairs, and with Gillett in charge, we may see numerous players cautioned.
*all odds correct at time of writing and subject to change
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