Saturday Soccer: Many Heavy Favorites Playing at Home
Saturday has an especially high number of matches pitting home teams near the top of the table in their leagues against ones sitting in or near the relegation zone, in peril of dropping down a division.
Those teams are near the foot of the table for good reason.
In the English EFL Championship, there are two such games Saturday. Third place Sheffield United has a chance to jump up into the automatic promotion spots with a win over 22nd place (out of 24 teams) Rotherham United. Sheffield United is 11-3-3 at home, with 31 goals scored and a +18 goal differential, while Rotherham has not won once on the road in 17 tries (seven draws, 10 losses) with a -17 goal differential.
West Bromwich Albion sits one place behind Sheffield United, and will host last place Ipswich Town. WBA has a +13 goal differential at home, while Ipswich has won once (with three draws and 13 losses) and has a -25 goal differential on the road. Both matches look like home wins by multiple goals.
In Spain, league leader Barcelona has much the same matchup, against 18th place Rayo Vallecano. Barca has scored 39 goals at home in 13 matches, while Rayo has tallied just eight in its 12 road games.
Atletico Madrid has the best home record in La Liga with just one loss in 13 matches, and it has allowed the visiting teams to score just seven goals. In comes Leganes, one of the three worst road teams in the league, with just two wins in 13 and a -11 goal differential.
Manchester City is 14-1 at home, and has scored 50 goals (+39 GD). The Citizens will host Watford, which is 5-5-5 with a zero goal differential.
It is a day for the home favorites.
SCHEDULE
(Home team always listed first)
England Premier League
Manchester City (-650) vs. Watford (+1600), draw (+650), 12:30 p.m. (NBC and Fubo.tv)
EFL Championship
Sheffield United (-250) vs. Rotherham (+700), draw (+350), 10 a.m.
West Bromwich Albion (-275) vs. Ipswich Town (+800), draw (+375), 10 a.m.
Spain La Liga
Atletico Madrid (-225) vs. Leganes (+750), draw (+290) 10:15 a.m. (beIN Sports and Fubo.tv)
Barcelona (-800) vs. Rayo Vallecano (+2000), draw (+750), 12:30 p.m. (beIN Sports and Fubo.tv)
Germany Bundesliga
Bayern Munich (-400) vs. Wolfsburg (+1100), draw (+475), 9:30 a.m. (FS1 and Fubo.tv)
Pick: Atletico Madrid -1 (+145)
Pick: Barcelona -2 (-110)
Pick: Bayern Munich Asian Handicap -1.5, -2 (-111)
Pick: Manchester City -2 (+115)
Pick: Sheffield United -1 (+115)
Pick: West Bromwich Albion -1 (+105)
Pick: Six-team money line parlay: Atletico Madrid (-225), Barcelona (-800), Bayern Munich (-400), Manchester City (-650), Sheffield United (-250), and West Bromwich Albion (-275), pays +346