5 Tips for Wednesday Night’s Football Action - 22/9/21

In Ligue 1 Metz host Paris Saint-Germain at Stade Saint-Symphorien on matchday six of the league season.

Metz are currently at the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings with just three points from six matches, of which all of their three points have been via draws against Lille, via a 3-3 scoreline, whilst the basement side have also drawn 2-2 with Clermont Foot and 1-1 with Reims at home.

Meanwhile, PSG are top of the table following their narrow 2-1 victory against Lyon on Sunday night thanks to goals by Neymar and Mauro Icardi. The Parisians have won all of their six league matches, scoring 18 times, whilst Metz have leaked 13 goals, potentially giving Kylian Mbappe the opportunity to score his fifth goal of the season, having managed four and assisted three in six Ligue 1 appearances this campaign.

The 22-year-old fired in 27 goals in 31 league appearances in the 2020/21 season, winning the Golden Boot in France's top-flight for the third time in a row, and is priced at 7/2 to score first against Metz.

On Wednesday night, Sevilla take on Valencia at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.

The hosts currently sit in sixth place in La Liga having earned eight points from four matches, following two victories against Rayo Vallecano 3-0 and getafe 1-0 where former Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela scored a 93rd minute winner in the latter. Their other two results have been 1-1 and 0-0 draws against Elche and Real Sociedad.

Valencia are actually ahead of Sevilla in the league standings as they are currently third, although they have played one game more, winning three matches having defeated Getafe 1-0, Deportivo Alaves 3-0 and most recently Osasuna 4-1 on 12th September where Maxi Gomez, Goncalo Guedes and Omar Alderete all got on the scoresheet whilst Aridane scored an own goal.

Last time out, Valencia lost 2-1 to Real Madrid as they conceded 86th and 88th minute goals to Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema. Sevilla have a solid defensive record having let in just one goal in four matches, and will be looking to capitalise on any defensive frailties which Valencia show as Julen Lopetegui’s side look to build on last season’s impressive fourth place finish.

On Wednesday night, Manchester United face West Ham United in the Carabao Cup in what will be their second meeting in just four days, following the Red Devils dramatic league win at the London Stadium, where they fell behind to a deflected strike from Said Benrahma before equalising through Cristiano Ronaldo and then took an 89th-minute lead through Jesse Lingard. The Hammers were then awarded a spot-kick with virtually the last kick of the game, which David De Gea saved from Mark Noble, resulting in United taking all three points.

The Player in focus on this tip is Anthony Martial who is priced at 13/8 to score anytime and is expected to start against the irons, having not featured at the weekend in his side’s win which put them level on points with Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the Premier League.

Martial struggled for form last season, scoring four goals in the league, but, his record against West Ham is good, scoring six and assisting five in 11 outings, meaning that he is good value at 13/8 to score anytime.

Millwall go head to head with Leicester City at The Den on Wednesday night, with the Foxes looking to erase their recent loss against Brighton from their memory.

The Lions are currently 18th in the Championship with eight points from eight matches and have won one and drawn three of their last four matches. Gary Rowett’s sides victory came via a 2-1 scoreline at home to Blackpool in late August via goals from Jed Wallace and Jake Cooper. Since their victory, Millwall have drawn 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City, as well as 0-0 with Swansea City.

Leicester will feel hard done by from last weekend’s loss to Brighton and will likely field a strength squad against Millwall to bounce back. Brendan Rodgers’ side were on the wrong end of a controversial penalty decision for Brighton’s opener, before having two goals disallowed for offside. The Foxes have won just two league games so far this season and they have both been in the score range of 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1, as they beat Wolves 1-0 on the opening day, as well as Norwich City 2-1 on game week three via a late Marc Albrighton strike.

Arsenal host AFC Wimbledon at the Emirates Stadium in the third round of the Carabao Cup with Mikel Arteta’s men aiming for their third win in a row.

The Gunners have managed two wins in a row in the Premier League since their humiliating 5-0 defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad, as they scraped two 1-0 victories over Norwich City and Burnley, thanks to a fortuitous Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang goal, as well as a superbly struck Martin Odegaard free-kick.
Arteta’s side advanced through to the third round of the cup following a 6-0 hammering of West Brom at the Hawthorns where Aubameyang scored a hattrick, whilst Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette all got on the scoresheet.

Wimbledon are currently seventh in the League One standings with 12 points from their opening eight matches and have won two of their last three matches, defeating Oxford United 3-1 and Morecambe 4-3 thanks to goals from Anthony Hartigan, Ethan Chislett, Will Nightingale and Ayoub Assal, before narrowly losing 1-0 at home to Plymouth Argyle last weekend.

Something that must be noted about Wimbledon, is their torrid defensive record in League One despite being seventh, as they have conceded 13 in eight matches, hence why Arsenal are priced at 21/10 to win with a -3 goal handicap.