Lyon v St Etienne
Ligue 1
BT Sport 3 – 7.45 pm
Lyon have quietly strung together another good season in Ligue 1. They get an early jump on the weekend with a Friday night kick off in the French top flight as they welcome St Etienne to the Parc OL. This should be some clash as well as Lyon’s opponents are right there, one place and one point behind them. Lyon’s incentive, is that a win could see them put a nice bit of distance between themselves and whoever is in fifth place at the end of the weekend. The home win can be backed around the 6/10 odds mark at leading bookmakers. Les Gones are carrying W4 D2 L1 form at home this season and the other fascinating aspect of this game is that it will be their first home test against any of the other current top five.
St Etienne are running on a four-match unbeaten streak of form at the moment in the French top flight, winning their last two. They would keep things wide open in the top five if they collected a win in this one. Even a point would turn out to be a decent return as they have gone D1 L2 in their three away games against the current top three this season. Les Verts may turn up and try and keep things tight and frustrate points out of Les Gones. St Etienne are winless in their last four visits to Lyon, but their current form suggests that they could make a decent fist of this latest trip to the Parc OL in what should be an intriguing clash.
Worcester v Harlequins
Gallagher Premiership Rugby
BT Sport 1 – 7.45 pm
The Premiership swings back into action on Friday night with Worcester aiming to pull themselves away from the bottom of the table a bit. The Warriors actually have the best points difference of all sides 6th or lower heading into the weekend. So it will be interesting to see if their offence can take a chunk out of the Quins. Worcester have actually scored two tries more than their Friday night opponents have managed this season. So even though the results haven’t worked out for them (W2 L5) they cause opponents plenty of problems. The home side are 8/11 general odds at top bookmakers to win this scrap.
Each of the last four meetings between the two clubs in the Premiership has produced a home win. But what makes this Friday night clash fascinating and why it’s a big focus of our Best Bets of the Day is that Worcester are trailing Harlequins in the league. The Quins are up in the top five and no-one in this season’s campaign have managed to pick up more bonus losing points than they have done. So even when they have suffered their setbacks, they have still produced impressive form, firing off the tries and producing defensive strengths. The Quins are 5/4 underdogs they are certainly not a side who lay down and roll over easily.
Ipswich v West Brom
Championship
Sky Sports – 7.45 pm
The Tractor Boys are having a season to forget in the Championship as they are rooted to the foot of the table. They will be hoping for a bit of cheer at Portman Road on Friday night as they look to earn points to help claw themselves out of trouble. They are five points away from safety ahead of this kickoff and have some big work to do. While they are floundering having won once this season only, there has been a reason for a little more optimism after back to back draws. But they have remained winless at home with a D6 L2 record at Portman Road this term, netting only six goals.
The Baggies, who are the top scorers in the Championship by a country mile, have bigger ambitions at the other end of the table. A win on Friday will move them back up into second place. The recent international break came just at the wrong time as West Brom had recorded a thumping 4-1 win over fellow promotion-chasers Leeds on November 10th. Can Darren Moore’s men pick up where they left off and go and bag themselves three points? It’s a chance for them to kick up the pressure on those above them in the table. You will find West Brom around 10/11 odds at leading bookmakers to get the win on the board.
