Wales face a daunting task when taking on Spain and it is hard to see the hosts getting anything out of Thursday night’s international friendly in Cardiff. Luis Enrique has made a flying start to his reign as La Roja boss, beating England and Croatia in the Nations League.
Ipswich may be at the wrong end of the Championship table, but they are rated a value bet to beat Middlesbrough, judged on our Trueform chart. The Tractor Boys have only lost one of their last four matches and are unbeaten in five league games at Portman Road this term.
Stoke have struggled to adapt to life in the Championship but are fancied to prove a cut above Rotherham, judged on our Trueform ratings. These teams were in the Premier League and League One respectively last season, so the hope is that the Potters are still a class apart at this stage.
Bristol City are regularly tracking above Wigan on our Trueform chart and even impressed in Tuesday night’s 4-2 Championship loss at West Brom. However, the likeable Latics are unbeaten in four home matches this term, picking up 10 points out of a possible 12 at DW Stadium.
QPR have recovered well from a poor start to the Championship campaign and are fancied to maintain the momentum by beating Millwall. Steve McClaren’s side have picked up seven points from their last three games and achieved a high Trueform rating for Saturday’s triumph at Bolton.
Real Madrid begin their quest for a fourth straight Champions League triumph by taking on last season’s beaten semi-finalists Roma at the Bernabeu. The Whites will this time have to do it without key figures Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane to rely on for inspiration but can still shine.
Stoke were slow to adapt to life in the Championship but are now enjoying more good days than bad and are fancied to see off Swansea. The Welsh outfit have produced several poor Trueform ratings of late due to struggling up front and lost twice to the Potters in the Premier League last term.
Blackburn and Aston Villa are very closely matched on our Trueform ratings over the last four rounds of Championship fixtures. Both teams are in mid-table with nine points and looking to bounce back from suffering heavy defeats prior to the international break.
Martin O’Neill will take a depleted Republic of Ireland squad to Poland for Tuesday’s international friendly and we fear more misery for the men in green. Robert Lewandowski is poised to celebrate his 100th international cap for the hosts, who will be keen to make the occasion even more memorable with a win.
Michael O’Neill called Northern Ireland’s Nations League defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina “a sore one” and Israel may feel the backlash at Windsor Park. The hosts are 66 places above their opponents in the FIFA rankings and are traditionally strong when playing in front of their own fans.
Leeds and Middlesbrough are joint-top of the Championship table after five rounds of fixtures but United have been more impressive so far. New manager Marcelo Bielsa has brought high-tempo tactics to Elland Road and that can give them the edge over the more pragmatic game-plan of Tony Pulis.
Burnley face an uphill battle to qualify for the Europa League group stage as they go into the second leg of their tie with Olympiacos 3-1 down. The Clarets have also been struggling in the Premier League, being beaten by the same scoreline against Watford and losing 4-2 at Fulham either side of the trip to Greece.
Celtic still have work to do when hosting Suduva in Thursday’s Europa League play-off but should be more focused for the second leg. The Hoops had to settle for a 1-1 draw in Lithuania but will be looking to assert some authority on the return fixture at Parkhead.
Rangers will take a 1-0 lead to Russia for the second leg of their Europa League qualifier with Ufa and are fancied to battle through to the group stage. Connor Goldson’s close-range strike put the Glasgow giants in the driving seat and they will now look to finish the job off.