Match Thoughts! (Patreon)

NK Lokomotiva Zagreb v Varazdin. Lokomotiva over 1.5 TT. +100. 11am ET. Croatia HNL

- Lokomotiva are on fire right now! Having scored 2+ in all their January fixtures most noticeably they bodied giants of the league Dinamo Zagreb 3-0.  Duje Cop found a hat trick in that match, he also scored against Gorica and is on PK duty, love for another big Lokomotiva win here! 

Samsunspor v Galatasaray. BTTS -130. 12pm ET. Turkey Super Lig

- I lied. I'm betting Turkey again. The big dogs aka Gala and Fener are struggling to maintain form right now. They're still winning, but are conceding to teams like Istanbulspor and Gazientep. IF you like BTTS + No Draw or BTTS + Gala ML I like that too! 

Heidenheim v Dortmund. Dortmund ML + Over 1.5 goals. -105. Bundesliga 2:30pm ET (Favorite Bet)

- Tricky because we're seeing a lot of injury warnings for Dortmund. Be careful here! I'm still on it but Heidenheim is tough at home and if injuries mount of for Dortmund it could be tricky! I still think they win, and like Fulkrug of course to do more damage here, but this should be a fun one! 

RC Strasbourg Alsace v PSG. BTTS. -125. 3pm ET. Ligue 1

- PSG at home I don't like to bet on, but PSG on the road I want in on that BTTS action. PSG concedes on the road and Racing have scored in 9 straight.  Mbappe will probably score (-250 LOL), but I love racing to give em hell at home .

Bayern Munich v Gladbach. BTTS -125. 9:30am ET. Bundesliga

- Man I hate betting on my club, but just a heads up, Gladbach is what is known as a "Bogey Team" for Bayern Munich. We always struggle on them, and Munich have only won like 1 of the last 7 matches. They are better, they should win, but BTTS here is something I will always take in this matchup, especially with Munich having Leverkusen to worry about in the upcoming weeks.

Mainz v Bremen. Bremen DC. -135. 9:30am ET. German Bundesliga

- I genuinely don't understand this line. Mainz have 1 win all season and Bremen have been really solid at not dropping three points. I'll probably end up taking DNB and maybe a Bremen ML sprinkle here too

ASTON VILLA at SHEFFIELD UNITED  12:30 p.m. ET (Article Plays)
Picks

• Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals -110 (1 unit)
• Aston Villa Over 1.5 Team Total First Half +290 (0.5 units)

- We entered Matchweek 23 with two clubs simply spiraling in the English Premier League. Burnley have picked up a measly 12 points from 23 matches, but Sheffield United are doing even worse and sit dead last on the table. Sheffield have accumulated only 10 points in their 22 fixtures, and they have only managed two points on the road. So, like many teams in the Prem, this is a side that generally does better at home. With only two victories and 16 losses overall, however, they'll need to really show up if they want to beat an Aston Villa side looking for an immediate bounce-back after a poor home outing against Newcastle.

We've talked about this a plethora of times when teams are in a position like Sheffield's. Every single match is a must-win game for them. They can't sit back and play for draws. This is a team that is so deep in the relegation zone that it has to attack now. That can be good, but it can also be brutal when they play a team with a good counter-attack, like Aston Villa. Sitting with the worst defensive record in the Premier League and having to try to push against a club like Aston Villa could spell a really bad time for the hosts -- even if they can score a goal, and I think they will.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, looked great until the past month or so. They've managed only a single victory in their past five matches, and even with Ollie Watkins kicking some serious butt, this team is desperate to return to form. A matchup against a bottom-of-the-table team is just what the doctor ordered, and Villa will be looking to get some needed confidence back in this matchup.

Griona v Real Sociedad. BTTS -125. 3pm ET. LaLiga (Favorite Bet)

Girona v Real Sociedad. Girona over 1.5 TT. +110. 3pm ET. LaLiga

- Girona. That's it. That's the writeup LOL 

Vitesse v Go Ahead Eagles. Go Ahead Eagles DNB. -125. 6:15am ET Dutch Eredivisie

- Another weird line. Go Ahead just beat Vitesse in the reverse fixture 5-1, and Vitesse are just getting rocked in every game. This is another game you can do a weird ladder if you want to take the ML too, but right now due to the contrast in form, I'm backing Eagles here! 

Torino v Salernitana. Salernitana over .5 TT +100. 6:30am ET. Serie A

- This is a tough one. Torino have only conceded 6 at home, but I'm backing Salernitana to do what I always back them to do, just score a goal. That's all I need here, and expect Sal to do what they've been doing all season, just attack like their lives depend on it

Lyon v Marseille. Marseille DNB -130. 2:45pm ET. Ligue 1.

- I feel like there's a lot of soft lines and this feels like one too. Lyon have been in the dumpster this season, they've had little flashes of success, but coming off ugly losses to Rennes and Le Harve, I just can't back anything but at the very least a Marseille draw here, so taking the safety net! 

Artomitos Athinon v PAOK. PAOK over 2.5 TT. +160. 1:30pm ET. Greece Super League

- End the weekend with a nice +160 with a Greece club we've cashed on a few times this season. 55 goals in 20 games, only 2 points ahead of Athens so they can't slow down, 37 goals in their last 10 matches, they aren't slowing down and Artomitos at home isn't special enough in my mind to slow them down this season!