Weekend tips: Big Dunc returns, Madrid impress and Inter face Venezia | OneFootball

Another week, another round of tantalising fixtures.

New Beginnings

Everton start life without Rafa Benitez on Saturday night as the Merseyside club host Aston Villa at Goodison Park.

The Spaniard was sacked after just six months in the job – an appointment which looked doomed from the very start thanks to his links with neighbours Liverpool.

Over the 19 Premier League games in which Benitez oversaw, the Blues only picked up 15 points – losing 10 matches, including a thrashing from Watford and a woeful performance in the Merseyside derby.

Last weekend’s defeat to Norwich was the final straw, Duncan Ferguson takes charge once again as interim boss leaving Everton’s board to search for their next permanent manager.

Steven Gerrard and Philippe Coutinho will get a frosty reception as Aston Villa take to the Goodison pitch, but the immediate effect both have had at the club should leave the Everton fans a little nervous.

The Brazilian came off the bench to wonderful effect on his debut. An assist and goal rescued a point against Manchester United and under Gerrard, the Midlands club have looked an all-around better unit.

Everton to win and both teams to score sits at 5.50, flip that to Villa and you’ll get the exact same odds.

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Twice in a Week

Real Madrid are back to winning ways after their surprise defeat to Getafe in 2022’s opening fixture. Since that 1-0 loss, Los Blancos have found their form again, easing past Valencia 4-1 in a matchup where they were gifted time and space to strike.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have only lost twice in La Liga all season, and the visit of Elche to the Santiago Bernabéu on Monday has all the hallmarks of a routine victory, but their concentration needs to remain focused on the run-in to what now looks to be another Spanish championship.

Fran Escriba’s men find themselves five points above the relegation zone and come into this fixture off the back of two well-earned victories in the league.

Espanyol and Villarreal felt the force of the Franjiverdes as they looked to climb away from the bottom three in La Liga.

Friday’s Copa Del Rey meeting was the warmup and the hosts remain hot favourites for this match. Real are 2.20 to win both halves, and a score cast of 3-0 sees a return of 6.50.

A Big Chance

Inter host Venezia on Sunday morning in a game that gives Simone Inzaghi’s side a chance to get the stitches ready for Italy’s ‘small shield’.

Neighbours AC Milan were beaten in a controversial fixture at home to Spezia midweek, that 2-1 loss now gives Inter the opportunity to open a six-point gap at the top of Serie A.

A 0-0 draw to Atalanta last time out wasn’t to be as bad as the Inter faithful feared, it was the first time in eight games that the Nerazzurri had dropped a point, title-winning form for sure.

A victory here against Venezia would be the perfect springboard into the Milan derby which could all but assure the Scudetto come May.

The visitors haven’t won a game in the league since a narrow victory over Bologna back in November, and their immediate opponents after that were Inter.

A 2-0 loss followed, and the flood gates opened, shipping 10 goals in three games. Paolo Zanetti faces a real challenge to get his side ready for a clash against the potential champions.

Inter to win by a margin of two goals sits at 4.00, if you fancy them to make a statement then winning by a margin of four or more goals sees a return of 3.25 and underlines just how strongly fancied the hosts are.