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Zadar's results aren't good lately, but the situation at Split is not as good to make them favorites in any of their meetings at this time. Split are well-known for their bad performances on the road, and they came to meet Zadar on a bad run and without half the squad. I really don't understand what people in charge at the club were thinking when they decided to let go some of the most experienced starters. Glumac, Vojnović, Dujmović, and Belle might not be top-quality players, but they are capable of making a difference in the Croatian league. Youngsters like Majstorovic and Jukic might have the talent, but they need a lot more games to make Split a favorite in any of the games. Split will be without their left back here and I don't think Roga or Kvesic will be able to put up a brilliant performance in such bad conditions that this soaking wet turf will provide. Zadar are not doing well, but they have the well-experienced squad that should be able to get at least a point today or maybe even win. I don't trust Split - their previous performances were not good, even though they had a better line-up for those games. What Matic will have at his disposal today is not good enough to fight for Europe. I think Split would have been very close to danger zone had they played with this squad from the start of the season. Details

I don't understand why Bayer are so favored here today. Hannover's got a good team, they're traditionally unpleasant at home (Bayer didn't win here in the last six seasons), and they have three consecutive wins with no conceded goal in the championship. That all lead them to the fourth place, true - with a negative goal difference, but that's because of the two defeats against Bayern and M'gladbach (0-7 total). They conceded four goals in nine rounds. Bayer have been playing decently lately, but that's it. The numbers don't lie - they only had one win in the Bundesleague in the last six rounds. They only celebrated on one out of five away games, and that was in the first round. I definitely wouldn't give them over 35-40% of chance to win in the away game. Considering the odds offered for the option of Hannover not losing, this has to be played. Details

UAE probably deserved 6 points in the first two games, but in the end got only two. Their efficiency in the Oman game was poor, while Kuwait managed to make a comeback after being 2-0 down in the second game. They need to win today, or, if Oman don't win their game, they would do with a draw. UAE are better than Iraq, with slightly more experienced and older players, most of whom play in only three clubs, which means they don't need any time to get working together. Unlike Iraq, they have Omar Abdularahman and forward Matar, who's been having injury troubles before which stopped him from sending more than half an hour on the pitch.

Iraq had poor performances in the first two games, especially the second one. They need to win this and also need Oman to not beat Kuwait, but have nothing to be optimistic ahead of this game. Some of their top players are out with injuries, the atmosphere on the team is not good. Coach Shakir is definitely going to get sacked and doesn't even bother to show up for press conferences anymore. These two teams met in Gulf Cup final last year, with UAE winning after overtime. But, they should have settled the game much earlier. Their team is similar to this one, while Iraq don't have Mahmoud, who score the equliazer in the match.

On the one hand, we have a better, more experienced and organized team that might need only a point, and on the other one, ailing and inexperienced Iraq that need to win. Iraq will need to attack, which I don't think will end well. Asian handicap as an insurance in case UAE need only a point (depends on the outcome of the other match). UAE were undefeated to Paraguay, Australia, and Norway this year. Since the beginning of 2012, they played 35 games and lost four (none of them official). Details

The Argentinean coach Martino has not confirmed the line up for the meeting with Croatia yet, but the line up is quite irrelevant for this tip. If Messi, Di Maria and Tevez don't make it in, Aguero, Higuan and Pastore will. Or Lamela, Gatian...who ever, it's not important. Argentina's finest against Croatian B team, whose coach said he hopes goal keeper Kalinic will have a good day. Croatia's defense doesn't seem good, they've never played a single game together and won't have much support from their midfield that lacks defense oriented players. Everything will come down to Argentina's motivation, which I think will be quite high following the defeat to Brazil. The fact 6 substitutions are at coaches' disposal today will only benefit Argentina because of all the options they can choose from. Kovac, on the other hand, has Rog, Jajalo and similar top Croatian league players. Feel free to ignore this tip if you manage to find a reason for Argentina not to win by two or more goals. I can't. Details

Although this match is not a do-or-die for Bayern, neither were the ones before it, and the Bavarian team still steamrolled their opponent. They dominate possession and are a constant threat to the opposing goal. After all, these are their shots on goal in their last few games: Dortmund (home) - 18 shots on goal, allowed 4; M'gladbach (away) - 15/6 Roma (a) - 11/5 Bremen (h) - 9/0 Hannover (h) - 15/3 CSKA (a) - 8/4 Koln (a) - 14/3 Paderborn (h) - 15/4 HSV (a) - 11/3 City (h) - 9/2 Stuttgart (h) - 9/6. These figures clearly show that they sometimes manage to get over the 12.5 shots on frame margin alone sometimes. They had accidental unders, since Bremen, for instance, did not cross the center line once in the entire match, while they fired 34 shots against CSKA, but only 12 were into the frame. They had 30 against City, but 11 were into the frame. Roma on the other hand are not a sterile team on offense. They may not be charging from teh word go, but playing a bunker defense would be suicide today. They may not concede seven, but that would hardly get them any points. Their figures are a bit more modest, but I'm basing this bet on Bayern anyway. I'm certain the Bavarians will launch at least 20 shots on Roma's goal, of which about 10 should be within the frame. If the Italian team add another 3 or 4, this bet should not be in question. Details

Istra have the reputation of being a defense-oriented team, but they always play interesting and attractive games with Lokomotiva. Their last 5 head-to-head games were overs, which is important since the same coached have been in charge at the teams the whole time. The reason for their games to always end with a lot of goals scored is probably the fact they're a good match-up when it comes to offense. Lokomotiva have a young defense that struggles to cope with Radonjic (scored 4 goals this and last season), and Jo is now back on the visiting team to create even more trouble for Lokomotiva. On the other hand, Lokomotiva's players have excellent technical skills that enable them to create attempts against virtually any team, even those with a defense-oriented approach. Lokomotiva scored two or more goals in ten games so far (13 rounds played). They didn't score only against Dinamo (!?), against Zagreb early in the season, and against Zadar (numerous unlikely misses). Neither Lokomotiva nor Istra have any reason to be careful today, with Istra's stats as the only reason to reconsider this bet. But, out of their 10 unders, 7 ended at 2 goals. Besides, Istra are much better offense-wise now, lead by Radonic and Jo, than they were early season, lead by Ivancic, Spehar and Huseinbasic. Details

If they want to reach victory today, Rijeka have to play an aggressive game. I don't see a game in which they will play around and stop the Spaniards with ease without too many fouls. On the other hand, I don't think Sevilla players will let them dance around too much. If we look at Rijeka's European matches, the number of yellow cards is as follows: Standard - 8, Sheriff - 3 (a match with no significance considering the great score advantage Rijeka had), Sheriff - 6 (first match). Against Vikingur they've stopped at two and three, but that can hardly be any kind of reference considering the huge difference in the quality and the score. Against Ferencvaros there were five of them, and 11 in the following match. Sevilla is actually even "better": their scores of yellow cards in official matches are as follows: 7, 8, 8, 4, 8, 6 + a red one, and 4. Sevilla were often the ones who had the greater number. There are a couple of extremely harsh and aggressive players who don't hesitate to commit a foul, and often they are forced to it considering the offensive profile of Sevilla's team and a lot of space they leave behind their backs. The referee is Dane Hansens who this season had the following number of cards: 4, 4, 3, 5, 6, and 6. The bet is largely available with the 4.5 margin in home betting houses. In this case I recommend one "unit" less. Details

The stats for Bayer's shots on goal in the matches they've played so far are these, with the shots within the frame in parenthesis: Freiburg away - 16 (7), one player less after 28 minutes Augsburg at home - 17 (9) Wolfsburg away - 12 (3) one player less after 7 minutes Monaco away - 13 (2) Werder at home - 26 (10) Hertha at home - 21 (13) Kopenhagen at home - 17 (9) Dortmund away - 11 (6) Kopenhagen away - 20 (9). To put it in simpler terms, they average more than 10 shots within the frame at home, and the high figures off the frame suggest they keep trying. The figures for Benfica? Estoril away - 15 (9) Moreirense at home - 15 (9) Zenit at home - 17 (5) one player less after 18 minutes Setubal away - 15 (10) Sporting at home - 18 (8) Boavista away - 10 (6) Fereira at home- 11 (4) Rio Ave - 34 (14) with extra time. We've got two teams with great offenses for whom a tied match is of little importance, and will certainly avoid a no score match. The home team have Calhanoglu, who will shoot on the goal from any set piece under 40 meters. The away team don't shy from shooting from any situation either. This is a match with one of the lowest odds on overs, and at the same time with lowest margin on shots within the frame. I think that the bet benefits from the fact one can expect both sides to contribute. Team overs are also a good bet, but as I don't believe one team will go under the set margin, an overall over seems best to me. Details

Dugopolje are not known for their efficiency, not having scored in their last two matches. However, GOŠK from Dubrovnik are not exactly an offensive force either, or they wouldn't be trawling the bottom of the third league. Even so, GOŠK still managed to score four goals against this Primorac team in just over half an hour, and the match ended 7-0. The away team will not be any stronger today either, once again sending two vans with juniors and those players not on strike. They put together 13 in Dubrovnik, it remains to be seen how many make it today, as those on strike will certainly not be playing nor will coach Butorac, due to some virus. They asked the home team for a delay, which they politely declined, explaining that they have organized a celebration for the townsfolk on the occasion of the city's founding. In such an atmosphere, I expect Dugopolje to really load up the net of the weak arriving team. If GOŠK managed to score 7, Dugopolje can get at least 3 in the net... Details

Werder had certain defensive problems but nevertheless, they only lost one game in four rounds. Schalke haven`t beaten anyone so far and they way they are playing, I doubt they will win today. Injuries have eliminated 6-7 of their important players, 2 crucial midfielders are out with red card suspensions and the fatigue will also take its toll. This will be their fourth game in 10 days, and just three days ago they had to defend in the last 20 minutes with 2 man down and this has got to take its toll. In ideal circumstances, Schalke are a better team than Werder and these would be realistic odds for their win in that case. But Schalke are in a crisis without Boatekng, Farfan, Howedes, Draxler, Goretzka, Kolašinec, Santana...Even though Keller said they would go for the win, I think they would gladly accept a draw today. That`s why I will go for a handicap which will yield profit in case Werder get their 4th draw in five rounds. Details

Everton's defense doesn't look too good. The fact that they didn't concede against WBA doesn't nullify 10 goals in last 3 official games and the fact that they were defensively week in friendlies. In addition, they are much more efficient at home than away, as reflected in 12 overs (2.5 goals) in 19 home games last season. Their offense shouldn't be a problem, they have Eto'o and Lukaku. On the other hand, I don't see Wolfsburg settling for a 0-0 draw. I've watched all 3 of their league games so far and they went over against Bayern with 3 goals, although it could have been 6 or 7. They played a 2-2 game against Frankfust and stayed under against Hoffenheim mostly due to numerous missed chances on both ends. A point might be enough for the Germans but they can't rely on that. After all, their over-under ration last season was 25-9. The coaches are the same, the defenses haven't improved and the attacks have been reinforced. Details

I appreciate Bayern and everything Pep Guardiola managed to achieve there, but this doesn't make much sense in my opinion. City are the English champion, and I'd struggle to find a team that are a complete favorite against them. An out of form Bayer with Ribbery, Schweinsteiger and Rafinha missing and with Robben in question cannot decisively beat City. On the contrary, I believe the English can surprise today, as they have the quality. The strength of Bayern was in their wingers and the heart of the midfield. Robben, Ribery, Kroos, Schweinsteiger, even Lahm, who did great work last year as defensive midfielder. Lahm is going back to right side as Rafinha is missing, Xabi Alonso just started put all the dots together in the team, Goetze and Lewandowski have yet to get used to the leading roles in Bayern. Far from it that the Bavarian team are bad, but they're not facing some underdog team: Kompnay, Toure, David Silva, Nasri, Džeko. Details

HSV barely managed to stay in the league last year, but this team is worth a lot more. They showed they're in a decent form by getting a point against Koln in the first round, and I expect them to confirm that today. Paderborn are weaker than Koln, and are a complete outsider when it comes to staying in the league. HSV don't have injury problems, which is a big plus. Lassogga, van der Vaart, Ilicevic and company should be too strong for the guests who came to the new season with no real reinforcements. They got burnt in minor games in Hamburg last year, I'm sure they'll go all the way from the first minute today. Details

Maribor deserve to be the favorite here since their team are better. But, this game is kind of in their way ahead of the historic meeting in Glasgow. They have the chance to reach the Champions League group stage, and I seriously doubt they will do their best today. Even if they do, we have to take into consideration the fact Zavrc won four and lost only one game this season. They won all three away games, having scored in 4 out of 5 matches. They won 2 out 4 head-to-head games with Maribor last year, they can count on all of their players. The home team have good offense that can score against any team. And Maribor rarely don't score home. Details

Last year in the second league Koln had 12 overs and 22 unders, winning firs place. If they went after a promotion with defense, you can imagine how they'll defend from relegation. The coach is the same, so is practically the team, and I don't expect major changes in their game. Preparatory matches brought nothing new, though they did score four in the cup, but I doubt that can be a benchmark, as HSV are a much stronger opponent. Hamburger were synonymous with overs last year, but mostly due to poor defense. They've worked a lot on that during the preseason, as coach Slomka stated it needs to improve, several times. It may not be enough to resist the strongest teams, but if Koln manages to penetrate them, they're in real problems. Their offense is a special story too. Last year they struggled a lot, and Hakan Calhanoglu carried them for the better part of the season with his long range goals or assists from set pieces. He is now gone, so they only have Lasogga and Van der Vaart, who is far from his best now. The right winger Iličević is not much of a scorer, while the left lists Jansen, who is actually a back. Midfielders Behrami and Arslan did not score much as seniors either. Any game can see more than 2,5 goals, but I see the odds for that as under 50 percent in this one, Details

The analysts anticipate another championship title for Bayer, and a battle for any of 2nd through 5th spot for Wolfsburg. Since Bayern can't count on half of the team here, and most of their players haven't done a good preparation period, I think the book makers are making Bayern too big a favorite here. This opponent might be one of the toughest they'll meet this season, and I don't think they can beat them today (with this team and current form). Not even a win by one goal will be an easy task. Hojbjerg, Bernat, and Shaqiri are still to convince me that they can replace Kroos, Robben, and Ribery, while Lewandowski has to prove he's as good a scorer as Mandzukic was. On the other hand, Wolfsburg seem better than they were last year. That calls for the stakes one unit short of what the bet deserves, since Wofsburg never did well against Bayern. Details

The Russian coach can claim his team are getting better by the game, but I'm not convinced. You can't win in water polo if you are not capable of defending yourself. And they're not. It's a team that conceded more than 10 goals in the 14 out of the last 16 games. Once 10 and once 9 against the 'mighty' Netherlands. They lost all the games in handicap here, except the one against Georgia, and that one might have been the same if the opponents were not constantly short-handed in the last minutes, since they had no more players left after the 21 ejection. Germany aren't doing their best either, but the only really bad performance was the defeat to France. They should have won that game, if only they had a bit of luck and if the referees weren't helping France. Germany are capable of playing good defense, and they will score. I don't think Russia will play a defense-oriented game today. To opt for an over at 10,5 goals for Germany wouldn't be bad either. Details

The Hungarians will settle for any kind of win tonight and I don't think they'll use too much energy to crush Germany. They don't have to and I think they'll just handle this game with ease. After a poor start, Germany did alright against Serbia and Spain. The last -3 may be a bit misleading as they were only a goal behind with only 2 minutes to go. Hungary have covered this handicap in only 11 out of last 47 games, only 4 times against European teams. However, we shouldn't count in UK who are huge outsiders there. Two times 9-3 (Greece and Germany last year) and 14-8 against Spain at the Olympic. The Germans have failed to cover this spread in only 3 out of 27 games. Apart from this game against Hungary, the only teams to beat them by a convincing margin are Serbia and Montenegro. No one in the last 19 games. Ahead of this EC, these two teams played a friendly and Hungary won by 10-8. Details

Croatia are a few steps better than France and I'm fairly certain they'll show that. If just a win were enough for them, I wouldn't even make this bet as beating someone by 6-7 goals is just a matter of motivation, but Croatia will certainly be motivated as their draw against Spain might mean that goal difference could decide the team to go into the quarterfinals. This is Croatia's last chance to do this. France conceded 12 against Hungary, who were asleep in the first two periods, and the conceded 16 against Serbia, while the weak Russian team scored 15 in a friendly match. Details

When someone travels to San Marino with caution you know something is wrong. In fact, everything is wrong with Budućnost. They ended their last season as the fourth-placed team, which was a huge success considering their young team. Coach Perišić hoped to get some reinforcements but got no one. In fact, he lost half of his team (5 experienced players) that didn't extend their contract. The club didn't allow them to travel to San Marino and so they send their youth players. The home team know that and are aware of their chance to get a good result in Europe. That doesn't mean they will win or go through, but Budućnost cannot be the favorites in this state of things. A win for the Montenegrins by three goals seems pretty incredible. They would be happy to score a goal and win by any margin, and I think they would even accept a draw. Details