Football Accumulator Tips: Cross-European Weekend 3/1 Treble

There was no luck for Jamie Pacheco in his 3-3-3 Column luck last time but he's pretty confident about this weekend's selections!  

Let's get on this treble that takes us to Montpellier, Milan and Arouca this weekend as we look to get back on track with our Cross-European Football Accumulator Tips column for this week...

Welcome to the 3-3-3 betting column. Why is it called that? Glad you asked.  It's not a formation to play when you've had a man sent off but rather: 

3 - The number of different selections making up the acca. 

3 - The number of different (non-English) European Leagues the selections are taken from every week. 

3 - The minimum odds (3/1) or 4.0 if you prefer, that the acca will come to it every week. 

And it really is as simple as that. The selections can be from any betting markets, as long as they meet the criteria set out above.  And to round things off, every week I'll leave you with a cool (or at least I think so) bit of trivia involving one of the teams featured in the acca. Simples... 

Current P and L: -1.52pts  

No joy at all last week, far from it. We were out of the game at the first time of asking with Barcelona surrendering a two-goal lead at Vigo on Saturday night and it didn't get much better after that, so we're putting in an extra special effort to get back on track this week.  

Milan v Empoli      

Saturday, November 30, 17:00  

Selection: Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1

Some football fans want to see loads of goalmouth action, goals and end-to -end stuff when they go and watch their team play.  

If as an Empoli fan that's what you enjoy, you're going to be disappointed if their season to date is anything to go by. 

Their first three home matches of the season all ended 0-0 (!) which is some achievement and at Empoli, they're 5/6 for under 2.5 goals matches for the campaign and are also 4/6 for under 2.5 goals away from home, proof that they can keep things tight (boring?) away from home as well, when in the mood.  

Milan are 3/6 for under 2.5 goals matches at home this season but crucially, all three of their last three games had less than the goals in them so this could be a low scorer.  

If you like to watch paint dry, that's fair enough and who are we to judge, but if you want the football equivalent of that, this may be the match for you. Let's hope so.   

Montpellier v Lille  

Sunday, December 1, 14:00  

Selection: Over 42.5 bookings points @ 5/6    

If you can't play good football, score goals, keep clean sheets and get over the line under pressure, you may as well have a go and see what happens. Given this is a side that's rock bottom in the table, having a go is pretty much all they've got left after securing just seven points from 12 matches this season and conceding 32 goals across them, a sure sign that all is not well at Montpellier.  

The have a go part of that, at least as far as Montpellier is concerned, is to have a go at opposition players' ankles, knees and shins; or at least that's the conclusion you'd reach by having a quick look at their disciplinary record.   

In three of their six home matches so far this season, they've picked up three bookings of their own and in two of them they went above that, getting four against Strasbourg in the opening match of the campaign and five against Brest at the start of November.  

Opponents have been happy to fight fire with fire because except for that Brest game, they picked up at least two bookings of their own when making the trip to Montpellier.  

All of which means Montpellier are 5/6 at home and 4/6 away in terms of their games, having over 42.5 bookings points. Lille aren't quite as much up for a scrap as the Montpellier boys are but they're no angels either, given they picked up five bookings of their own in two of their last three away days.  

For the record, we're completely anti-violence here at Betfred but then again, we're not against: the odd late tackle, a bit of dissent, a little time-wasting or the necessary tactical foul to ensure that a quick break doesn't lead to a goal.  Let's hope we get plenty of all of those because we need five bookings, or a red card and two bookings to make sure we get our bookings points here.  

Arouca v Benfica  

Sunday, December 1, 18:00  

Selection: Over 1.5 away team goals @ 1/3   

And we'll round things off with what 'should' be a sure-fire wager, or at least it should be given Benfica's recent record, 

In their last six domestic matches, Benfica scored the following number of goals: 5, 4, 5, 4, 3 and 2 so they're clearly a team who likes to get on with it.  

They also scored three in their midweek trip to Monaco in midweek, who with all due respect to the mighty Arouca, are a level above them, so you'd think the men in red should get at least two here.

*You can create your own Acca or follow James' selections over on our Football Accumulator Coupon page on betfred.com

James' Fun Fact  

So, who's Montpellier's all-time top goalscorer? A goal-hungry striker who never ventured much away from the box? An attacking midfielder who loved to get involved? No. Laurent Blanc, a central defender by trade who played for the likes of Inter Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United, in addition to picking up 97 caps for France, scored 76 goals for them in his time there, a club record.