Football Accumulator Tips: Thursday's 15/2 Treble backs cards at Newcastle

Newcastle vs Brighton – Over 3.5 Cards

Our first match of the Thursday treble sees an intriguing clash in the race for Top Four between Newcastle and Brighton.

Stakes will be high for both teams; Newcastle need just two wins to confirm Champions League football for the first time since 2002/03 and Brighton need a win to keep their faint hopes of qualification for the same competition alive. Should they fail to do so, the Europa League will be the best European competition available to them, which is still an impressive feat for them.

With both teams looking to win this one, we could see a fiery encounter between two sides hopeful of a win. Robert Jones is the man in the middle for this one, and he has dished out 98 yellow cards from his 24 Premier League matches refereed this season, an average of 4.08 cards per game.

In both games involving Newcastle this season, he has dished out over 3.5 cards, in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Fulham in January and in their 1-0 win over Chelsea in November. Newcastle’s draw with Leeds last weekend saw six yellow cards and a red card dished out.

The same is also true in the last Brighton match he has refereed, dishing out two cards to both Brighton and Chelsea in their 2-1 win over the Blues at Stamford Bridge in April. Brighton have also seen over 3.5 cards given in their last three games, including four given to the Seagulls in their 1-0 win over Manchester United. When they welcomed Newcastle to the Amex Stadium back in August, five cards were brandished, so there is every chance over 3.5 cards are given in this one.

We don’t usually go for cards, but with both sides playing very good football at the moment, we might see a tense game, with the potential for time-wasting near the end of the match. Over 3.5 Cards is the selection in this one.

Bayer Leverkusen vs Roma – Roma-Draw Double Chance (in 90 minutes)

The second game sees Jose Mourinho’s Roma side travel to Germany to face Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen outfit.

The first leg saw a narrow 1-0 win go the way of the hosts, who are bidding for their second successive European final, after winning the Europa Conference League last season. The first leg win was their only win in their last six games, following a goalless draw to Bologna on the weekend, which saw them fail to take advantage of Lazio and AC Milan also dropping points.

Funnily enough, that same scoreline would take them through to the final, and Mourinho is a specialist at European semi finals over his many years in the managerial hot seat. 

As for Alonso, he is not even through his first year in top level management, but having reached the Champions League final three times and with three international trophies to his name, he is no stranger to the business end of these kind of competitions.

Leverkusen will be looking to win their first trophy in Europe since their UEFA Cup win in 1988. Winning it again is not out of the question, and would be their only chance to reach the Champions League this season, with qualification via the Bundesliga out of reach.

Bayer would need to win on the night to even think about qualification, and Roma would have the job done with a draw. Mourinho would settle for this with a backs to the wall performance, and we think that is on the cards in the second leg, so Roma or draw is our pick for this one.

AZ Alkmaar vs West Ham – West Ham win (in 90 minutes)

The final game from our Thursday treble sees the Europa Conference League semi-final second leg between AZ Alkmaar and West Ham.

West Ham have a one goal advantage from the first leg and after resting key players at the weekend, they should look fresh to win the game in the Netherlands and go one better than their Europa League run which was ended by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals. It would be West Ham’s first major final since their FA Cup defeat in 2006 to Liverpool.

As for AZ Alkmaar, the defeat at The London Stadium was just their first in their last six games. AZ did turnaround a 2-0 first leg defeat in the quarter-finals against Anderlecht before going on to win on penalties and the same could be their way of progressing again. They would have to win on the night to stand any chance of progressing, and West Ham know anything but defeat would help them qualify.

However, we think the quality in West Ham’s side and their experience in defeat last year will spur them on to qualify for the final in style by winning in 90 minutes.