Football Accumulator Tips: 49/1 sixfold for Saturday’s action

Several leagues in Europe are starting to head towards their conclusion this weekend, and in Germany, Saturday marks the final round of games of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season.

Two matches from the Bundesliga make it into my football accumulator tips for Saturday, May 18, while action from Serie A, the Turkish Super Lig, the Swiss Super League, and the Women's Super League, also combine for a 49.01/1 accumulator.

Besiktas vs Hatayspor - Both teams to score @ 8/11

The penultimate round of fixtures in the Turkish Super Lig takes place this weekend, and there's plenty on the line for both Besiktas and Hatayspor when they face off at the Tupras Stadium on Saturday (KO, 17:00).

It's been a pretty miserable season for Beskitas, who have had five separate head coaches in charge, and it is Serdar Topraktepe who is currently in his second interim spell of the campaign.

The Black Eagles have a Turkish Cup final to play against Trabzonspor next Thursday, but they are fifth in the league and are currently on course to miss out on European football next season.

Besiktas are three points behind Istanbul Basaksehir with two rounds of games to go, so they really need to win this weekend in order to stand a realistic chance of qualifying for the 2024/25 Europa Conference League.

Hatayspor, meanwhile, are 18th, and will be one of the four clubs relegated if they cannot pick up points from their final two games. They are currently a point behind 16th-placed Gaziantep, who occupy the final survival slot.

That sets up an entertaining encounter in Istanbul on Saturday, where I think both teams are capable of scoring.

BTTS has landed in 56% (20/36) of Hatayspor's Super Lig games this season, including their last four. Moreover, BTTS - Yes has won in three of their last four away outings, with only champions-elect Galatasaray shutting them out on their own turf in that run.

Both teams to score has only landed in 47% (17/36) of Besiktas' league matches but has done so in three of their last four, and three of their last four at home in the competition.

December's reverse fixture saw this selection land as Besiktas won 2-1 in Merlin.

Grasshoppers vs Basel - Grasshoppers to win @ 5/4

A huge game in the Swiss Super League awaits at the Letzigrund Stadion on Saturday (KO, 17:00), as relegation-threatened Grasshoppers look to boost their survival hopes with a win over Basel.

Whatever happens in Zurich could prove to be in vain as 10th-placed Lausanne, who are four points ahead of Grasshoppers, face rock-bottom Lausanne Ouchy, with the matches being played simultaneously.

However, Grasshoppers must retain the belief that Lausanne Ouchy can get a result at home to their rivals, and thus give them the chance to reduce the deficit on Lausanne.

As it stands, Grasshoppers will finish 11th and face a relegation play-off against either Sion or Thun of the Challenge League.

Their chances of a victory on Saturday are boosted by the fact that their opponents, Basel, have very little but pride to play for, and can only jump one place to seventh at best.

The traditional Swiss powerhouses did beat Lausanne Ouchy 2-0 on Tuesday, but that was at home against an already-relegated side. Prior to that, they had drawn their last three games, and won just one of their last five away from Basel, losing to Young Boys 1-5 and Lugano 0-2 in that time.

These sides have met three times already this season, and Grasshoppers have come out on top in all three, with two wins (3-1 in August and 2-1 in February) at the Letzigrund Stadion sandwiched either side of a 1-0 victory at St. Jakob -Park in December.

Aston Villa Women vs Manchester City Women - Manchester City Women -3 handicap @ 9/5

Chelsea Women's 1-0 win over their Tottenham Hotspur counterparts on Wednesday moved Emma Hayes' side back top of the Women's Super League with just one round of games left to play.

Saturday's season finale sees the Blues go away to FA Cup winners Manchester United, who are undefeated in their last seven at home, winning six of them. One of those victories was in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, so Hayes and her charges will have their work cut out just to get three points at Old Trafford.

A win might not be enough for them to lift the title, as Manchester City are level on points with them, and just two behind on goal difference.

Chelsea have scored more goals, however, which means that, should the Blues win by a one-goal margin at Old Trafford, Man City would have to win by four against Aston Villa (KO, 15:00) to inch above them.

Therefore, City have to be going for goals from the start at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall on Saturday. Sure, things may change later in the day, but they cannot head into their fixture thinking that Chelsea will get anything other than a win.

That's why I'm suggesting a -3 handicap on City against Villa, which requires the visitors to win by a margin of four or more.

The last four meetings between the pair have been tight affairs, with a 4-3 victory for Villa in September 2022 and, most recently, a 2-1 win for City sandwiched either side of a couple of 1-1 draws in regulation - one of which was in an FA Cup semi-final, where Villa advanced after extra time.

However, seventh-placed Villa cannot improve their position any further, nor can they be overtaken in the table, so their motivation to win is much lower than City's.

Of course, professional pride comes into account, but 28 points separate these sides heading into Saturday, and Villa suffered a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea exactly a month ago - albeit that was away from home and with 10 players on the pitch for the majority of the game.

Villa suffered a couple of heavy defeats in March as well, losing 4-1 in the league at home to Liverpool before a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal in the League Cup.

City have scored at least four times in four of their last six games, including 4-0 and 5-0 wins over Bristol City and West Ham respectively. Those two sides are the worst in the division, but they also scored four away to Liverpool, who are three places and 14 points better off than Villa.

1899 Hoffenheim vs Bayern Munich - 1899 Hoffenheim or draw @ 10/11

The final day of the Bundesliga campaign is usually a cause for celebration for Bayern, who are used to end-of-season parades after blitzing the competition in Germany.

However, this year has been very different for the Bavarian giants, who have played second-fiddle to Bayer Leverkusen for so long. Now, all that's left for them to achieve is a second-place finish, which will be secured ahead of Stuttgart simply if they avoid defeat, while Die Roten must beat Borussia Monchengladbach to give themselves any chance of being runners-up.

Thomas Tuchel's side won't have it easy at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim on Saturday (KO, 14:30), however, as their hosts must win to ensure qualification for next season's Europa Conference League play-offs ahead of Freiburg, who are a point behind them heading into the weekend. Seventh would also see them advance to the Europa League's group phase, if Bayer Leverkusen make it a domestic double in the DFB Cup final against Kaiserslautern.

I think Hoffenheim can at least avoid defeat this weekend, for a few reasons. Firstly, they are in good form at home, winning three and losing just one of their last five at the PreZero Arena. Contrast that to Bayern's away form where even excluding their Champions League draw at Arsenal and defeat Real Madrid, they have won just two of their last seven, both against sides - Darmstadt and Union Berlin - in the Bundesliga's bottom three.

History isn't too kind on them in Sinsheim either, as they have only won one of their last three away to Hoffenheim.

Another major reason to back against Bayern is that they are missing a raft of key players, most notably Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.

They didn't miss the quartet too much last week as they beat Wolfsburg 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, but their opponents have a lot to play for this time around.

1. FC Union Berlin vs SC Freiburg - Both teams to score @ 4/6

Talking of games of huge significance in the Bundesliga, how about Saturday's match (KO, 14:30) at the Stadio An der Alten Forsterei, where Union Berlin host Freiburg. I've already touched on the importance of it for Freiburg, who are desperate to qualify for European competition again after exiting at the round of 16 stage to West Ham United in this year's Europa League.

But there is even more on the line for Union Berlin, who must win to give themselves a chance of catching either Mainz or Bochum to avoid a relegation play-off with Bundesliga 2 outfit Dusseldorf. They also require a point to make sure that they are not overtaken by FC Koln, who are currently on course to be automatically relegated alongside Darmstadt.

Therefore, we should see an open game between these two sides, with a repeat of January's goalless draw in Freiburg rather unlikely.

There were five goals in Union Berlin's last game, a 3-2 defeat at FC Koln last weekend, and seven in their 4-3 defeat to Bochum six days prior. Three of their last four have seen both teams score, while their last two at home - including a 5-1 defeat to Bayern on April 20 - have also seen BTTS - Yes land.

Freiburg will hope to spoil the party as they look to send off their departing head coach Christian Streich in style. Like Union Berlin, three of their last four games have seen both teams score, and they will be desperate to ensure they finish above ninth-placed Heidenheim, and potentially seventh-placed Hoffenheim.

Torino vs AC Milan - Torino or draw @ 4/9

If you're looking to catch a few goals on Saturday night, perhaps it would be better to swerve Torino's match against AC Milan at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino (KO, 19:45).

Four of the last five games played at the venue have ended in goalless draws, while the other - a 1-0 win for Torino against Monza - produced just a single strike. In fact, there have been just 24 goals scored at the stadium all season - no other ground has seen fewer than 35.

But while backing against goals is rather tempting, I prefer to go double chance on Torino, who have lost just two league games at home all season.

The 10th-placed hosts still have plenty to play for with two rounds of games remaining, as they can still leapfrog Napoli and Fiorentina into eighth place and secure European football for themselves next season.

AC Milan, meanwhile, are second, seven points clear of Bologna in third, but a mammoth 18 points behind champions Inter Milan. The Rossoneri swept Cagliari aside 5-1 last week, but that was their first victory since April 6, as a six-game winless run saw them knocked out of the Europa League and hand the Serie A title to their city rivals.

Stefan Pioli's side have failed to win their last three away matches, and they will find it extremely difficult to stop that streak from being extended on Saturday against a notoriously stubborn outfit.

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