5 Tips for Saturday's Action - 14/5/22

Liverpool and Chelsea are just the second pair of teams to play both the FA Cup and the League Cup final in the same season, after Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal in 1992-93. And the last three games between the two sides have been draws, including the 0-0 draw in the League Cup Final earlier this year, which was eventually decided by Kepa’s comical penalty antics.

Though statistics don't really align with this pick, as 61% of Liverpool's games this season have gone over 2.5, and 53% of Chelsea’s games have also gone over 2.5, we think that this will be a cagey affair, just like the League Cup Final was.

Mansfield have scored two or more goals in six of their last seven games, and were the sixth highest-scoring team in League Two this season, with 67 goals.

Mansfield's home form has been somewhat remarkable since the middle of the season, and they have scored two or more goals in 13 of their last 15 league home games, and have lost at home just once since October the 2nd, drawing two and winning 13 in that time. They face a strong Northampton side, who boast the best defensive record in the League, as they have conceded just 38 times in 46 games.

Though it's a risky bet, as both teams are drastically different in style, in their last league meeting, Mansfield came out 1-0 winners, and we’re expecting something similar again this weekend, in this huge play-off clash.

As the season draws to a close in Italy, it is not looking good for Venezia even though they won last time out against Bologna, that win ended a run of 10 straight defeats in Serie A.

The Venetians have the second-worst defence in the league, and they face Roma who have the third-best home record in the League.

Though Jose Mourinho’s side haven't won in their last four league games, we’re expecting Roma to come in comfortable winners in this one. Roma have only lost three home games all season, and those were against Juve, Inter and AC Milan. 50% of Roma's home games have seen over 2.5 goals, and though they may be focused on their upcoming Conference League Final, we’re backing Roma to score at least 3 at home to Venezia this saturday.

Nantes have had a tremendous season, which culminated in them winning Le Coupe de France last weekend against Nice.

All seven of Nantes' last league games have seen both teams score, and five of these games have also included over 2.5 goals.

Six out of Lyon's last 7 fixtures have also seen the score show over 2.5 goals and eight out of their last ten league games have also seen both teams on the score sheet. Therefore statistics would suggest that this game should be a goal-fest, and neither side has that much to play for so it should be an entertaining watch.

Though Forest finished five points ahead of Sheffield United, there isn't much between these sides coming into the play-offs, making predictions hard. However, Forest have both scored and conceded in 48% of their league games and will likely try and attack at Bramall Lane.

The atmosphere at the game will certainly fire up both teams and it should be a tight affair, but an interesting fixture. The last league match between the sides was a 1-1 draw in Sheffield at the beginning of March and we're hoping for a similar result this time around.