West Ham v Fulham
Premier League 7.45 pm
Sky Sports

Fulham must really have that sinking feeling down in the relegation zone of the Premier League. With back to back league defeats behind them and starting the weekend nine points from safety, things don’t look good for the Cottagers.  It may take a bold punt to back Fulham as a best bet of the day. They are still looking for their first away win of the season as well. It has been just two points from thirteen league games collected on their travels. What difference would three points on the road in this one mean to them? They have to defy 3/1 underdog status at leading bookmakers to do it.

West Ham have failed to take a clean sheet in their last four league outings. The Irons are up in mid-table but they have been struggling for wins. They are just W1 D3 L2 in their last six league games now. But the Hammers can dial in on their home form which has seen them win three of their last six (D2 L1). So that’s not so bad from them. The Hammers have scored in each of their last three home games as well. It’s not as if it has taken much to breach the Fulham defence recently. West Ham are odds-on at 5/6 to pick up their sixth home win of the season.

Werder Bremen – Stuttgart
Bundesliga – 7.30 pm
BT Sport

The pressure is mounting on Stuttgart now. They start Friday night action in the Bundesliga third from bottom. The bottom two get automatically relegated from the German top flight. Third from bottom goes into a playoff against the third-placed team from the second tier. Stuttgart have managed to pick up just the one point from the last 21 available to them in the league. Their defence has really been at sixes and sevens having conceded at least two goals in each of their last seven played. On their travels in the top flight, they have lost nine of eleven (W1 D1).

So the leading bookmakers clearly are expecting Werder Bremen to win at 8/15 favourites. They are up in mid-table and they have lost only two of eleven games this season against sides currently in the bottom half of the table, winning five of those. Bremen have put together some decent form recently too. They are on a five-match undefeated streak of form in the top flight and are unbeaten in three on the road. With Bremen having scored in every single league game this season, the visiting Stuttgart may have a hard time banking survival points at the Weser-Stadion.

Strasbourg v Lille
Ligue 1 7.45 pm
BT Sport

While there is a fair argument that PSG’s dominance in France is ruining interest in Ligue 1, there is a decent spattering of quality besides them in the division. Lille are a good example of that. They have now taken full control their own destiny in the top two. They aren’t likely to close the twelve point gap to leaders PSG, but they are defending a four-point lead over Lyon in second place. A top two finish rewards with a place in next season’s Champions League and Lille are heading there. They have won five of their last six games (D1) and they are on a five-match winning streak on their travels.

So does that mean that they are going to arrive in Strasbourg as clear favourites? No, the leading bookmakers have things fairly tight in the outright winner market with Lille at 9/5 and Strasbourg at 31/20. Strasbourg are a top ten side and have only suffered one defeat in their last five at home. They also held out for a great point away at Lille earlier this season in a 0-0 result. It is perhaps the resilience of the home side more than anything that is going to keep this game tight.

Gloucester v Saracens
Premiership Rugby 7.00 pm
BT Sport

There is always a great atmosphere at Kingsholm and the home crowd should be fired up for this huge clash. Last Friday Gloucester were out in action in the Premiership and they caused an upset in beating then-league leaders Exeter. Now they get a shot at home against Saracens who took over at the top last weekend. Will the Cherry & Whites be able to overpower the might of Saracens too? Well, interestingly the top bookmakers have Gloucester as 4/6 favourites which may stand out for punters as one of the best bets of the day. Gloucester have won their last two league games on home soil against Saracens.

This is a difficult time for Saracens as well as they have a lot of players off doing their thing in the Six Nations. So they are not at full strength at all. That is where a big opportunity could be presenting itself for Gloucester. Saracens took a big home win over Gloucester earlier this season and yet even with selection issues they are still in form. Sarries are on a five-match winning streak in all competitions at the moment. Yes, even with the Six Nations going on. But they are 13/10 underdogs for the trip to Kingsholm where they take on a Gloucester side who actually did Saracens a favour last weekend in beating Exeter. This will be a huge test of character for both.

The weekend has arrived so take a look at some of Big Bobby’s thoughts about what is coming up