The Big Wednesday Multiple: Inter Milan to bounce back

8May 2013

Betfair

It's that time of the week where Paul Robinson selects a home win, an away win, a match to go over 2.5 goals and a match to go under 2.5 goals. Here are his selections:

Bet 1: Inter (HOME) @ 2.9 (19/10)

Inter Milan may be in terrible form but they still have quality and look like a huge price to beat a Lazio side who have scored just one goal in their last six Serie A away matches.

The pressure mounted on Andrea Stramaccioni at the weekend as Inter fell to a fifth defeat in six at the hands of Napoli. After looking like candidates to make the Champions League places, his side are now struggling to even make the Europa League.

Victory this evening is essential and the supporters will at least take heart from the fact that they won their last match at the San Siro - a 1-0 win at the expense of Parma.

Lazio are in a similar situation to their opponents as they are also on the decline after looking destined for brighter things earlier in the campaign. Vladimir Petković's men are down in seventh place, just two points above Inter, although they do at least have the Coppa Italia Final to look forward to.

After going half a dozen without victory in all competitions recently, The Eagles burst back into life on Sunday as they thrashed Bologna 6-0 at home. Miroslav Klose was the hero as he netted five times, but this will be a completely different test and as mentioned above, Lazio have scored just one goal in 540 minutes of league football away from Stadio Olimpico.

Bet 2: Fiorentina (AWAY) @ 1.75 (3/4)

Staying in Italy for our away leg of the multiple and Fiorentina are another club on a recovery mission after suffering a heart-breaking loss to Roma at the weekend. They travel to the struggling Siena this evening and they should have enough quality to take all three points.

Vincenzo Montella's outfit are having a fine season and had won three in a row before Saturday. They dominated most of the match against Roma but couldn't quite score and conceded a late sucker-punch winner in injury time.

Champions League qualification is still possible if Milan slip up though and Viola will be hugely motivated to make it four victories from five away from home.

Siena are five points adrift of safety with just three games to go and given that they face Fiorentina, Napoli and Milan, it is highly doubtful that they will accumulate enough points to survive even if their rivals fail to perform.

They've lost their last three in a row, haven't won at home in four - failing to register a goal in the process - and were stuffed 4-1 in Florence back in December.

Bet 3: Chelsea v Tottenham (Over 2.5 goals) @ 1.72 (8/11) - Sky Sports One at 19:45

Over to England now for a huge clash between Chelsea and Spurs in the Premier League. A home win will secure Champions League qualification for Chelsea but if they slip up, the race for the top four is wide open.

The Blues have come into an exceptional run of form just at the right time, which is a huge achievement given their fixture congestion. The much maligned Rafa Benitez has guided them through to the final of the Europa League and they have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 domestically.

Looking at their goal statistics for their matches at Stamford Bridge, you might lean towards backing under 2.5, however I'm confident the goals will flow between these two.

Given Arsenal's run-in of Wigan and Newcastle, I think Spurs simply have to go for the victory and not play it safe and try and nick a point. Andre Villas-Boas' men have netted nine times in their last four away from White Hart Lane and in Gareth Bale they have a man who can score against any team in the world.

They've had problems at the back as well - eight conceded in four on the road - and the clean sheet on Saturday was their first since the beginning of February.

Bet 4: Cagliari v Parma (Under 2.5 goals) @ 1.65 (13/20)

We finish back in Italy as Cagliari take on Parma. They are both in mid-table with little to play for and Parma's matches have the third lowest total of goals per game.

Cagliari will be happy with their position of 11th after flirting with relegation last term. It has given them something to build on for next year and the players will no doubt already be 'on the beach' mentally as that seems to happen at most clubs in this position.

Ivo Pulga's men have picked up just one point from a possible nine and they have fired blanks in their last two. Their last pair at Stadio Is Arenas have gone under 2.5 goals and they have only conceded more than once at home on one occasion in 2013.

Parma have a decent defensive record this season but they just haven't score enough goals to challenge for the European places. With a mere 41 in the 'For' column, they have scored less than all the teams above them and a couple of the ones below them.

Away from home, The Crusaders have fired five blanks in six and their top scorer, Amauri, has just 10 goals to his name - with nobody else getting close to double figures.

Recommended Multiple

Back Inter @ 2.9 (19/10); Back Fiorentina @ 1.75 (3/4); Back Over 2.5 Goals in Chelsea v Tottenham @ 1.72 (8/11); Back Under 2.5 Goals in Cagliari v Parma @ 1.65 (13/20); The Multiple pays approximately 14.46 (14/1)

Multiple prices are based on our Sportsbook product, so any winnings are exempt from commission.