European League Cup Competitions

 The Cup Competitions in Europe continue to progress towards a finale, with England, France and Spain headlining the classic events, the participating clubs are keen on earning silverware at the end of the journey.

At this point in the proceeding's we are more likely to see the inclusion of regular starters, rather than "B" side players getting the majority of the minutes, the upcoming matches are a great opportunity to view top notch football, while earning a profit from your investments.

Spain - Copa del Rey - Quarter-Finals

12104 Alaves - 12105 Valencia

 Mendizorrotza Stadium, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

1-24-2018 - 1:00 pm ET

The opening match in Spain's cup play is set to offer up a entertaining spectacle, Basque side Alaves welcome Mediterranean club Valencia to the Mendizorrotza for the second leg of a already pulsating round of competition, after taking a 2-1 lead at Mestalla now Valencia look to hold off a surely motivated Alaves squad on Wednesday evening.

Alaves enter the match up looking to keep their tournament run alive, after making it to the Finals last season against eventual champions Barcelona, the tiny club are fully prepared to offer up a supreme effort in front of their loyal home fans.

"Babazorros El Glorioso"defeated Getafe and Formentera to be apart of the Quarter Finals in this seasons version of the Copa del Rey, now having grabbed a valuable away goal in the first leg last week, the hosts find themselves in a great position to progress.

Alaves main objective is keeping their visitors off the board while grabbing a couple of their own goals, making for a motivated run to the next round of matches.

"Abelardo" Fernández has been appointed as the third Manager in a less than memorable Domestic campaign up to this point, making Cup play a vital part in his overall success with the club as he fights a relegation battle in La Liga, "Abelardo" has set his sights on progressing to the next round in Spain's long standing alternate competition.

The Spanish manager will setup in a 4-4-2 formation, his side are sure to be on the losing end of the possession battle against "Los Che", so he will have to depend on his players aggressive style of play to generate quality chances in this fixture.

Alaves are known for using long balls over the top of the defense, while preferring to attack down the left and middle of the pitch, long shots are a huge part of their attack, expect a flurry of shots to come from outside the box from the Basque representatives.

El Haddadi Munir has played a influential role in Alaves progression this season, the Spanish Forward has been responsible for netting 3 Goals during the illustrious competition, the pacey attacking presence is sure to run at the Valencia backline, while punishing his opponents with a deadly accurate aerial assault, look for Munir to be in and around all scoring chances created on Wednesday.

Alaves have been successful in adding to their score line while in front of their adoring fans, scoring an average of 2.5 Goals per match in their last 2 Copa del Rey games.

The Alaves defense has been up to the task, keeping 2 clean sheets while failing to concede a Goal on their own pitch during Copa del Rey play.

Valencia make the trip North in a prime position to progress to the next round of competition, holding a slim 1 goal advantage ahead of their Quarter Finals appearance, a trip to the Basque country will not be a easy task in the Clubs hopes of progressing out of this stage in the tournament.

"Los Che" are experiencing a successful campaign Domestically, now the Bats look to back their run of excellent form in the Copa del Rey, having eliminated Las Palmas and Real Zaragoza during their path to the Cup Finals, the Spanish giants must not take their competition lightly in the return leg at the Mendizorrotza.

"Marcelino" García Toral leads his side into this challenging fixture, after pulling all the right strings during a successful La Liga season, the Spaniard is content of grabbing hardware in his first year with the legendary club.

Valencia will find themselves in a awkward position in the Basque country, the attacking side really only have shown one way to play football this season, going straight ahead rather than playing in a defensive shell.

Most clubs with a lead in this spot would prefer to preserve their advantage, but "Los Che" have to much attacking talent to just sit back and absorb pressure, we should still expect to see their dangerous counter attacking pressure applied, while using their explosive Wing play to their advantage.

Valencia will hold the bulk of the possession, they must look to avoid turnovers and a lack of concentration with the ball at their feet, the hosts will look to play of any mistakes made by the their attacking guests.

Simone Zaza and Luciano Vietto should look to get a full shift in this match up, the pairing were left out of the starting line up over the weekend in their 2-1 defeat to lowly Las Palmas.

The skillful pairing are fully capable of striking fear into the Alaves defense, aligned out of 4-4-2 formation both possess above average finishing abilities having scored 3 combined Goals scored during Copa del Rey play, expect both to play off of one another using their hold up play and on point passing touches to get a maximum result during their travels.

Valencia have found the back of the net in both of their away fixtures, scoring an average of 1.5 Goals in their last 2 Copa del Rey road games.

The Valencia defense has been difficult to break down in Cup play, conceding an average of 0.5 Goals per match in their last 2 Copa del Rey games.

Prediction:

This fixture is known for Goals, both clubs have each scored in the last 4 meetings in all competitions, while seeing Over 2.5 Goals exceeded during that same span of play.

Wednesdays match should see Alaves content on grabbing multiple home Goals, using their aggression to their advantage while they look to play of the emotion of their home crowd, expect a barrage of long shots as Valencia struggle with defending long range attempts on goal.

Valencia must look to use their Wing play too expose the home sides defense, "Los Che" must not make to many mistakes with mass amount of possession being in their favor, while getting off as many shots on goal with the hosts having their own issues defending long shots and close range opportunities.

Expect Both sides to get on the board in this Copa del Rey event, while seeing the Total surpassing 2.5 Goals for a 5th time in a row in this fascinating rivalry.

Plays:

Over 1  -125 / 1.8 - Total 1st Half Goal

 Over 1.5  +100 - 2.0 - Total 2nd Half Goals

Over 2.5  -125 / 1.8 - Total Full Game Goals

Alaves - Team Total Over  1  -130 / 1.77 - Goal

Valencia - Team Total Over  1.25  -125 / 1.8 - Goals

Both Teams To Score and Over 2.5 Goals  +100 / 2.0

 *Bonus Plays*

12107 Real Madrid - 12108 Leganes

1-24-2018 - 3:30 pm ET

Over  1.25  -125 / 1.8 - Total 1st Half Goals

 Over  1.75  -110 / 1.91 - Total 2nd Half Goals

 Over  3.25  -110 / 1.91 - Total Full Game Goals

 Both Teams To Score and Over 2.5 Goals  +120 / 2.2

*

 12110 Barcelona - 12111 Espanyol

 1-25-2018 - 3:30 pm ET

 Barcelona To Win To Nil  -130 / 1.77

 Barcelona To Win Both Halves  -120 / 1.83

Barcelona - 1  -140 / 1.71 - 1st Half Spread

Over 1.5  -115 / 1.87 - Total 1st Half Goals

Over  2  -120 / 1.83 - Total 2nd Half Goals

 Over  3.75  -115 / 1.87 - Total Full Game Goals

  Barcelona To Win and Over 3.5 Goals  -125 / 1.8

 Barcelona - Team Total Over 3  -120 / 1.83 - Goals

England - Carabao Cup Semi-Finals

11004 Chelsea - 11005 Arsenal

Emirates Stadium, London, England

 1-24-2018 - 3:00 pm ET

The semi-finals of the Carabao Cup offers up a classic London Derby, the Blues of Chelsea travel to North London for a clash with the Gunners of Arsenal, after a exhilarating day one of competition the tone has been set for the remaining match in pursuit of English silverware.

Arsenal start the day in a powerful position, the Gunners held Chelsea to a 0-0 Draw in the first leg of this contest, after absorbing much of the pressure provided by a strong Blues line up, the north London side will now look to use their home field advantage to advance to the finals against a powerful Manchester City side.

The Gunners have endured a inconsistent season domestically, Arsenal find themselves with withering opportunities to win silverware this campaign, after dispensing of Doncaster Rovers, Norwich City and West Ham the home side see this as one of their best chances to add to their trophy case in this trying season.

Arsene Wenger has high hopes entering Wednesdays affair, the French man has all intentions of fielding his strongest line up possible, Wenger has spent much of the season rotating from a 3-4-2-1 - 4-3-2-1 formation, Arsenal busted out with 4 goals over the weekend against a surging Crystal Palace club, look for the veteran manager to ride that momentum as he offers a different plan of attack against the mighty Blue's opposed from their first meeting a fortnight ago.

Expect Wenger to count on the services of Mesut Özil and Alexandre Lacazette to provide a spark for the Gunners going forward, the duo have accounted for 15 Goals and 9 Assists totaled in all competitions, each are skilled with the ball at their feet using quality hold up play, pinpoint passing and above average finishing abilities, they offer up a world class tandem for the Chelsea defense to contend with.

Arsenal have placed the ball in the back of the net in each of fixtures played at the Emirates, scoring an average of 1 Goal per match in their first 3 Carabao Cup games.

The Arsenal defense has shown their opponents a great resistance while in front of their own fans, conceding an average of 0.33 Goals per match in their first 3 Carabao Cup games.

Chelsea make the short trip north as they look to grab a valuable away result, the Blues failed to take advantage of a undermanned Arsenal side at Stamford Bridge, the west Londoners now take their show on the road looking for a place in the finale with the Citizens.

The Blues had found themselves in a lull as of late, but much like Arsenal they found their offensive rhythm over the weekend, posting a 4 spot on the south coast against newly promoted Brighton.

Antonio Conte will enter this match facing his own set of scrutiny's, after winning the EPL title in the 2016-2017 season, the passionate Italian has found himself at odds with the Chelsea board and more frequently his players, even with the possibility of more silverware, the writing seems to be on the wall regarding Conte's future with the club.

Conte has been consistent with his preference of a 3 man backline, playing out of a 3-4-2-1 - 3-5-2 - 3-4-3 formation the Italian has been creative in his tactical alignments, the Blues are a lethal counter attacking squad who enjoy punishing their opponents mistakes with a fast striking offense.

Willian, Pedro and Eden Hazard should garner much of the attention at the top of Chelsea frontline, the attacking trio are in line to take to the pitch in this Semi-Final rematch, with Spanish Forward Alvaro Morata sidelined with apparent back injury, Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi could also find himself in a rare starting role, Chelsea are capable of fielding their own powerful lineup at the Emirates.

Chelsea will leave Stamford bridge for the first time during League Cup play, while scoring an average of 2 Goals per match in their last 4 Carbao Cup games.

The Chelsea defense should get a boost with GK - Thibaut Courtois set to return from injury, while the backend has conceded and average of 0.75 Goals per match in their last 4 Carbao Cup games.

Prediction:

These two clubs are set to meet for a third time within a 3 week span, we should expect a more entertaining and up tempo result from the torrid match provided at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of Cup play.

Arsenal have seen large score lines while at the Emirates, their has been at least 3 goals or more scored in 2/3 of their homes matches this season.

Chelsea have also been apart of multi goal affairs while on their travels, the Blues have also seen 3 plus goals scored in 2/3 of their away matches in all competitions.

Expect a full out attack as both clubs will push forward to score the all important goal in this fixture, after a 2-2 scoreline on Match Day 22, we are setup for the same type of outcome in what is sure to be a eventful Carabao Cup event.

Plays:

Draw  +230 / 3.3 - Full Game 

Over  1 -125 / 1.8 - Total 1st Half Goal

 Over  1.5  -110 / 1.91 - Total 2nd Half Goals

Over  2.5  -125 / 1.8 - Total Full Game Goals

Arsenal - Team Total Over 1.25  -115 / 1.87 - Goals

Chelsea - Team Total Over 1.25  -115 / 1.87 - Goals

 Both Teams To Score and Over 2.5 Goals  +100 / 2.0

Best Of Luck To All