Weekend Predictions: Barcelona to Lose (But Probably Not Really)

More big games this weekend, with a top four battle in the Prem, a top vs bottom local derby in La Liga (notice how I didn’t say Spain or Catalonia? That’s diplomacy) and the Vječiti Derbi in Croatia.

Read on for my reliably untrustworthy predictions. And this week I’m challenging everyone to try their own…

Aston Villa vs Chelsea, Sat Feb 21st, 12:45pm

Fourth place Chelsea don’t want to be relegated out of the top four, but third placed Villa aren’t about to give up their golden ticket to the Champions League without a fight.

Villa have been winning lately without playing all that well. No one knows what Chelsea will look like under Guud Hiddink (he’s half-promised to give the kids a run-out) but my guess is that they’ll look a lot better than they did under Scolari. My gut says Guus starts his Chelsea career with a win.

Odds: Villa 21-10, draw 9-4, Chelsea 13-10
4-4 draw (a la Christmas 2007) is 500-1
Agbonlahor to score first 7-1
Drogab to score first 13-2
More odds at PaddyPower

Prediction: I see 1-0 to Chelsea via a suddenly happy again Didier Drogba.

Bonus Prediction: Russian national team fans hoping for a 7-0 Aston Villa win.

Barcelona vs Espanyol, Sat Feb 21st, 8:00pm
Top plays bottom in the Catalan derby, with about a million points separating the two teams. So it should be a foregone conclusion. But with Iniesta injured, local pride at stake, Barca failing to win last week, and the Champions League coming next week (will Messi start?) Espanyol have a chance to upset their neighbours here.

Odds: Barcelona 2-9, Draw 5-1, Espanyol 11-1
2-1 win for Espanyol is 30-1
Leo Messi 7-2 to score first
Espanyol’s Luis García 11-1 to score first
More odds at PaddyPower

Prediction: A shock 2-1 win for Espanyol

Bonus Prediction: I’m probably wrong.

Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb, Sunday, Feb 22nd, 8:15pm

It’s the Vječiti Derbi, or the Eternal Derby for those who need to brush up on their Croatian language skills. The rivalry here is fierce. Want proof? In 2004, a friendly was apparently abandoned after fans threw knives and bottles on to the field. And that was a friendly.

This game is for reals. Zagreb are first with 39 points, Split second with 38 points. Brace for impact people.

Odds: Hajduk Split 6-5, Draw 21-10, Dinamo Zagreb 2-1
More odds at PaddyPower (but not much more)

Prediction: Because they haven’t lost in almost forever, and because they’re at home, I’m going 2-0 to Split.

Bonus Prediction: Busy day for Croatian police.

Over at Bet Offside, Offshore Oscar is backing Stoke to beat Portsmouth and Palermo to draw with Juventus.

Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten to see how I did last week. Here are my predictions from last week (in italics) with actual results afterwards (in bold).

Inter vs Milan 1-1, 2-1. Only wrong by one goal. But still wrong.
Celtic vs Rangers 0-1, 0-0. Ditto.
Watford vs Chelsea 0-2, 1-2. Correct winner, wrong scoreline.

OK, so clearly I’m not good at this. But are you any better?

Be brave out there and let me know what you’d predict for the three games I picked above:

Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Barcelona vs Espanyol
Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb

And then next week we’ll revisit not just my predictions, but yours too.

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Category: World Football