Football Accumulator Tips: Argentina ready for battle in Saturday’s 7/1 shot

We fell two games short in Tuesday's five-fold as St Johnstone and Newell's Old Boys both failed to get the job done against Alloa Athletic and Independiente Rivadavia respectively, but I return this Saturday with my football accumulator tips, hoping to complete a full sweep this time round.

Saturday's five selections feature a couple of games from Brazil as well as one each in the Czech Republic, France, and the USA, to form a 6.97/1 five-fold.

Los Angeles FC (H) to beat Club Tijuana @ 4/7

Kicking off the action is a Leagues Cup tie between MLS side Los Angeles FC and Mexican club Tijuana, with the game taking place at the former's BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

The two teams have not met before but have been grouped together with Vancouver Whitecaps in Group 7 of this year's Leagues Cup, an annual competition between clubs from MLS and Liga MX.

Tijuana came bottom of Group 12 last year after losing both games against Queretaro and the Philadelphia Union, and they started 2024 off poorly by finishing 16th in the Clausura division, ahead only of Atlas and Puebla.

They have made a positive start to the ongoing Apertura campaign, collecting seven points from their first four matches, though six of them were achieved by winning their first two, meaning they are winless in their last two contests.

LAFC were allowed to skip last year's Leagues Cup group stage after winning the 2022 MLS Cup. They beat Mexican opposition in their first match, thrashing Juarez 7-1 in the round of 32 before beating Real Salt Lake 4-0 in the last 16.

The Black and Gold Falcons came a cropper in the quarter-finals as they were edged out 3-2 by Monterrey, however, and will now be targeting an improved showing this year.

They've certainly started off the 2024 MLS season in fine fashion, picking up 47 points from 24 games to sit second in the Western Conference, behind only city rivals Los Angeles Galaxy who are two points better off but have played two more games.

LAFC have won 13 of their last 16 matches across all competitions and with star striker Denis Bounga rediscovering his goalscoring touch with a brace against Seattle Sounders last week, the Americans should have too much for the Mexicans on Saturday.

AC Sparta Praha (A) to beat FK Teplice @ 4/11

Over in the Czech Republic, Teplice are looking to get off the mark for the season when they host Sparta Prague at the AGC Arena Na Stinadlech (16:00).

Teplice began the 2024/25 Czech Republic First League campaign with a 1-0 defeat at Hradec Kralove last Sunday, and face a tough test against reigning champions Sparta this weekend.

Sparta kicked off their season with a 2-1 victory over Pardubice last Friday before heading over to Dublin on Tuesday to beat Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie.

The reverse fixture takes place in Prague on Tuesday, but Lars Friis' side must first navigate the challenge posed to them by Teplice, who held them to a 1-1 draw at the same venue last August.

Sparta took the lead in that game but were reduced to 10 men before half-time, and the home side's pressure finally told in the second half as Mohamed Yasser struck an 85th-minute equaliser.

Remarkably, Sparta were then shown a red card inside the first four minutes of their 2-1 win against the same opposition last December, with Yasser scoring against for Teplice, though it was them that threw away the lead to allow the eventual champions to take all three points.

Sparta will be hoping to get through a match against Teplice without seeing red, and if that happens, they should run out winners, despite the distraction of a Champions League qualifier in midweek.

Football Odds

Argentina Olympic (N) to beat Iran Olympic @ 4/11

It was a disastrous start to the 2024 Summer Olympics for the Argentina Olympic Men's side on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat in their opening group game with Morocco.

Argentina were favourites heading into the game at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne but were 2-0 down inside 51 minutes after a brace from Morocco's Soufiane Rahimi.

La Albiceleste rallied to get a goal back through substitute Guiliano Simeone but his strike proved in vain, despite Javier Mascherano's side seemingly equalising in the 16th minute of second-half added time.

In what will surely go down as one of the most controversial moments in Olympic Men's football history, the players were taken off the pitch after Cristian Medina had put the ball in the Moroccan net, with many believing the referee had ended the game.

In fact, the official had taken the players off the pitch for their own safety, and the match was restarted hours later, with the final few minutes played without event after a VAR decision ruled Medina's effort out.

Cue fury amongst Argentina players and officials alike, with Lionel Messi even having his say online, and the South Americans are now up against it in their bid to reach the knockout stage of the competition.

Saturday's game could go one of two ways, but I believe Argentina will use the events to instill an 'us vs them' mentality and overcome their next opponent, Iran, at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais (14:00).

Iran came from behind to beat Ukraine 2-1 on Wednesday but are likely to find things tougher against a nation able to field the talents of Julian Alvarez, Thiago Almada and Nicolas Otamendi, to name a few.

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EC Juventude (H) to beat Criciuma EC @ 11/10

In Brazil, two matches take place simultaneously in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A on Saturday. One is at Estadio Alfredo Jaconi in Caxias do Sul, where Juventude host Criciuma (23:00).

The two clubs both earned promotion from Serie B last year, with runners-up Juventude finishing one point ahead of their next opponents. The two games between them were tight, with Juventude winning 1-0 at Estadio Alfredo Jaconi before holding Criciuma to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Heriberto Hulse.

Both sides have made solid starts to life in the top tier; at the time of writing, Juventude are 12th in the 20-team division having picked up 21 points from 17 matches, with Criciuma three points and two places further back.

However, Juventude's home record gives them a big advantage heading into Saturday's contest. The Verdao are unbeaten in nine Serie A home games, winning their first seven before draws with Atletico Mineiro (1-1) and Sao Paulo (0-0), and the first of those stalemates was actually at a different venue.

Criciuma, meanwhile, have only picked up seven points from eight away outings and have lost their last four on the road, all by a 2-1 scoreline.

Juventude look well-placed to get back on the winning trail in Caxias do Sul this weekend.

Palmeiras (H) to beat EC Vitoria @ 3/10

At Allianz Parque in Sao Paulo (23:00), Palmeiras host Vitoria, with 21 points currently separating the sides in Serie A.

Reigning and back-to-back champions Palmeiras are amongst the leading pack again this year after collecting 36 points from their first 19 games, and they now go in search of an eighth-straight victory at home.

Newly-promoted Vitoria, meanwhile, are 17th and in the relegation zone after taking 15 points from their first 19 fixtures. They've now lost their last four matches and have won just once away in the league all season.

The signs aren't positive for them heading into the weekend, with a fifth successive loss likely.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 50% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

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