Saturday Afternoon Acca

Aston Villa v West Brom has the makings of a cracking play-off tie, and I’m backing Dean Smith’s men to win the first-leg at home.

Under Darren Moore, West Brom were fantastic on the road, but they have now lost four of their last six away from home, which doesn’t stand them in good stead for their short trip to Villa Park.

Villa were beaten at home against champions Norwich on the final day, but I wouldn’t look too much into that; the five straight wins prior is a better indication of their quality.

At evens, Villa to win the home leg of this play-off semi-final is great value.

Atalanta are having a superb season in Serie A—sitting three points clear of Milan in fourth place—and victory over Genoa, who aren’t safe from relegation, will be a huge step towards securing Champions League football next season for the first time in their history.

Serie A’s top scorers are currently on a four-match winning run, and will surely be far too strong for a Genoa outfit with three points from their last seven league matches.

Augsburg are a funny side.

During their last seven home games, they’ve beaten Borussia Dortmund, thrashed Stuttgart and Mainz, and were hammed themselves by Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen.

I expect them to beat Hertha Berlin, who have lost four of their last five away games, scoring just once in the process.

Augsburg are streaky, but winning four of their last seven at home is enough to tempt me at 29/20.

And the true value comes in the evening kick-off, where I’m backing Nimes to beat Monaco at 5/2.

A little like Augsburg, Nimes are capable of the spectacular and horrific, but with a strong top-half finish looking a good possibility, they’ve generally impressed.

Bernard Blaquart’s side have won five and drawn two of their last seven at home, while Monaco are winless in six, and are in serious danger of relegation.

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