SPORTPESA POST MEGAJACKPOT ANALYSIS – THE BREAKDOWN
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We are back at it again with our Sportpesa Mega Jackpot post-match analysis. Brace yourselves as last week’s sportpesa mega jackpot games had it all, from tumbling records to stunning goals. With this in mind, lets dive right into it, shall we?
West Ham v Southampton
Our 1st Pick: 2
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 3-0
Moyes’ side eased the tension around their home ground with two goals in the opening 17 minutes, first from Joao Mario and then Marko Arnautovic. The game was the Hammers’ first since fans invaded the pitch during their 3-0 home defeat by Burnley before the international break, but they produced a brilliant performance to overcome their highly publicized recent troubles and end a run of three consecutive heavy defeats on the trot.
Mario smashed in the opener from the edge of the penalty area after being picked out by Cheikhou Kouyate, who had carried the ball powerfully away on the counter-attack. Portuguese midfielder, Mario then set up Arnautovic for the second with a brilliant cross from the right that the Austrian bundled home at the second attempt. Arnautovic, the star of the show, added his second in first-half stoppage time, volleying home another fine cross, this time from the left flank by Arthur Masuaku to send the vibrant home crowd into ecstasy.
West Ham manager David Moyes said their fans’ support “inspired” his players as they thrashed relegation rivals Southampton at London Stadium to move clear of the relegation zone. Needless to say, the Saints will have to produce something the likes of which they haven’t managed all season if they are to avoid relegation.
Based on their recent home woes, we went for an away win as our 1st pick. However, bearing in mind that their fans have been quite unpredictable of late, we opted for a double chance as our 2nd pick just in case the home crowd decided to rally behind the team. They were in full voice and the team responded with a stellar performance thus making our 2nd pick the correct one.
West Brom v Burnley
Our 1st Pick: 2
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 1-2
Former/recently fired West Brom manager Alan Pardew said that some of his players “couldn’t deal” with their relegation battle after Burnley condemned them to a Premier League record eighth successive defeat.
Ashley Barnes’ spectacular volley and Chris Wood’s second-half goal kept Burnley’s European hopes alive, while a late Salomon Rondon strike could not prevent the hosts losing again. The Baggies remain seven points adrift at the bottom of the table and Pardew demanded more confidence from his players.
Burnley striker Wood could have scored twice after Barnes’ first-half opener and it’s important to note that Sean Dyche’s men were denied a strong penalty claim when Ahmed Hegazi tugged heavily on James Tarkowski’s shirt in the area. But New Zealand international Wood, who started his career in England at The Hawthorns, scored from close range after the break to settle their nerves. Rondon struck late on to give the Baggies brief hope but the Clarets held firm to push West Brom ever closer to the drop. The Hawthorns was already emptying in added time, although Albion kept pressing for an equalizer in the extra five minutes.
Burnley are now only two points behind seventh-placed Arsenal, who faced strugglers Stoke at the Emirates on Sunday lunchtime, a match in which they won 3-0 thanks to goals from their new Gabonese signing, Aubameyang who scored twice and Lacazette marking his return from injury with a goal as well, albeit from the penalty spot.
Going by the baggies abysmal form in the 2017/2018 English premier league season with a tally of 20 points from 32 matches and sitting squarely at the bottom of the EPL Table, we saw nothing short of an away win in all our picks and this proved to be the case.
Brighton v Leicester City
Our 1st Pick:2
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 0-2
This was as feisty an affair as they come. Leicester scored twice and had Wilfred Ndidi sent off in the last few minutes, all after Brighton striker Glenn Murray had missed a penalty in what can only be described as a topsy-turvy match.
“It’s frustrating and hard to take. It was certainly not a game that we deserved to lose,” said Hughton, the current manager of Brighton & Hove Albion.
The win keeps Leicester in eighth, while Brighton drop one place to 13th in the table. Foxes keeper, Kasper Schmeichel was in inspired form and saved Murray’s penalty in the 77th minute, with Vicente Iborra’s header putting Leicester into the lead shortly afterwards. Ndidi’s foul on Shane Duffy earned the midfielder his second yellow card, but Leicester hung on with Jamie Vardy adding Leicester’s second deep into injury time to secure a crucial win for the foxes in terms of keeping their European dream alive.
This will be one match that Glenn Murray will want to forget about very quickly. The Cumbrian striker’s 11 league goals made him Brighton’s leading scorer this season and it was a shock to everyone to see him miss the target completely when one-on-one with Schmeichel shortly before half-time. His missed spot kick lacked conviction and it proved to be the game’s turning point, with the visitors making the most of the opportunity to snatch all three points.
We based all our picks (home win or double chance) on the form of Leicester’s star striker, Jamie Vardy. The English talisman has now scored 3 goals in as many matches. He proved to be the difference as his goal laid the game to rest and consequently made our pick of an away win an accurate one.
Hull City v Aston Villa
Our 1st Pick: 2
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 0-0
This was a match pitting 2 in form teams in the English Championship and as expected, it was a lively encounter. With the hosts seeking to avoid relegation and the visitors aggressively seeking promotion to the top tier of English football, no quarter was given as both teams battled it out for 3 precious points.
Needless to say, Aston Villa lost precious ground in their search for automatic promotion as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Hull on Saturday evening.
Albert Adomah missed two chances to open up an early lead at the KCOM, firstly poking Robert Snodgrass’ teasing cross over from close range, before being dispossessed just yards from the goal line by Ola Aina. On the other hand, the tigers, battling for their lives at the bottom half of the table, defended well and were denied what looked like a clear penalty early in the second half when Jack Grealish appeared to have raised his hands to Seb Larsson’s pin-point accurate free-kick.
As the first of Adomah’s chances presented itself, there was little more Snodgrass could have done to deliver a better ball into the heart of the danger area from the right flank, but the Ghana international somehow fluffed his shot from just a few yards out. The tigers should have done better when both substitutes, Jon Toral and Max Clark fired strikes over the bar, but in the end, it was their defense that held firm to secure a valuable point in their survival quest and their talismanic defender, Michael Dawson duly received the man of the match award.
We had gone for an away win as our 1st pick simply based on the fact that Aston Villa are in pursuit of an automatic promotion spot to the English Premier League but it was the killer final ball that was lacking making our 2nd pick of either team to win it inaccurate.
Lokeren v St Truiden
Our 1st Pick: X
Our 2nd Pick: 1
Result: 1-0
This was a rather drub affair at the Daknamstadion stadium in Belgium. The only goal of the game came in and around the 38th minute courtesy of a penalty rightfully awarded and expertly converted by the home sides’ star player, Mijat Maric.
The visitors did try to mount a counter offensive as the 2nd half wore on but they lacked the killer final ball as well as the vital calm and composure needed in front of goal. The vociferous home crowd were in full volume from kickoff and this helped the home-side as they held on to secure victory.
Coming into this one, we had minimal information regarding either sides, style of play and thus relied solely on the head to head records pertaining to both teams. This led to our 1st prediction of draw as per the stats but now in retrospect, we could have and probably given the home side the benefit of home ground advantage as their fans played a vital role in their victory. We did however get our 2nd pick spot on with a home win.
Lierse v Mouscron
Our 1st Pick: X
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 0-3
Goals from Teddy Mezague (28′) Selim Amallah (52’) Taiwo Awoniyi (59′) helped Mouscron secure a vital win in the Belgian Jupiler League as they maintained they exceptional form albeit out on the road where their results hadn’t been commendable prior to this convincing win.
It was a rather one side encounter as the home team, low on confidence failed to test the visitor’s keeper. Mouscron currently sit 2nd in the table while Lierse are 6th and it was easy to tell the gulf in class between the two teams. The visitors were patient in the game play and picked the right moments to turn it up a notch. This forced Lierse into individual mistakes that ultimately cost them the game. The chants from the home crowd didn’t help much as the visitors were just too good on the day thoroughly deserved all the points.
We had a draw as our 1st picked based on previous head to head record between these two but placed an either to win bet as our 2nd pick and it proved to be the winning one.
Sporting Braga V Sporting Lisbon
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 1-0
They don’t come feistier than this in the Portuguese League and despite the low score line, it was truly a thrilling encounter with both teams going for the jugular right from the 1st whistle. The goal scoring chances for both sides came the buckets but we had to wait until the 87th minute for the first and only goal of the match. Raúl Silva (Sporting Braga) headed from the center of the box to the top left corner following a sumptuous delivery by Nikola Vukcevic with a headed pass following a set piece situation.
We had a home win as our 1st pick and a double chance as our 2nd mainly due to the fact that this feisty had produced one draw in over 28 matches spanning back to 2004. We were almost certain that one would end up victorious and it proved to be the case.
Ural Yekaterinburg v Rubin Kazan
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 1-1
This was yet another drub affair with chances coming far and in between. The visitors scored the opener late on in the 2nd half via Ivelin Popov, only for Ural to nick an equalizer with under 20 minutes to go. The hosts did make a late rally to try and seal a deserved home victory but they had a player, Eric Bicfalvi, who also happened to be their goal-scorer, sent off in the 88th minute and were just too timid in front of goal thus the draw could be deemed a fair result in the grand scheme of things.
We had gone for a home win as our 1st pick and a double chance as our second pick but the red card, coupled with the fact that the visitors did make the numerical advantage count in the dying minutes was something we just couldn’t foresee.
Greuther Furth v Union Berlin
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 2-1
Both teams came into this hotly contested encounter off the back of chastening defeats in their previous matches. However, Greuther Furth had only lost that one match in a run of 5 games and thus could be said to have been a team on the ascendancy.
This proved to be the case as the hosts drew first blood in and around the 21st minute via star-man Roberto Hilbert. They could have had a second late on in the 1st half but their profligacy in front of goal would prove costly. After some pep talk during the break, the visitors came out firing on all cylinders and duly got their equalizer in the 49th courtesy of a trademark Marvin Freidrich goal. Sadly though, all the visitors hard work was undone with just 15 minutes left to go as Grischa Promel scored an own goal that proved to be the match winner for the hosts.
We had a home win as our 1st pick and a double chance as our 2nd simply based on the fact that the home team had been on the ascendancy in terms of overall form and this proved to be the right prediction.
Arminia Bielefeld v Holstein Kiel
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: X
Result: 1-1
This was one of those matches that promised so much in terms of attacking football on paper but as they say, football matches are never won on paper, now are they? There really wasn’t anything to write home about as it was a really cagey affair with both sides hell-bent on not losing. The goals came thick and fast with the hosts taking the lead in the 21st minute via Brian Behrendt, only for Kingsley Schindler to pull the visitors level 4 minutes later.
As was predicted in our 2nd pick, the teams ended up sharing the spoils with a point each after a rather forgettable and drub affair.
Guingamp vs Bordeaux
Our 1st Pick: 2
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 2-1
Since their 3-2 success against Amiens on February 10, the Girondins had never known the smell of victory. One can blame it on their lacklustre and catastrophic series that sounded the death knell of their European ambitions.
So, against Guingamp, the Bordelais experienced a new failure in Brittany. After a rather insipid 1st period, Benoît Costil and his team lacked enough threatening ideas in the game to worry the hosts. Logically, it was the form of Antoine Kombouaré that led to the opener, thanks to a well placed free-kick by star player and French international, Clément Grenier.
At 2-0, it was game over for Bordeaux and their goal by Malcom proved to be a mere consolation as the hosts held on bravely till the final minute.
We had gone for an away win as our 1st choice based on the head to head record between the two. However, with the fact that Bordeaux’s European dream was fading, we opted for a double chance as our 2nd pick which proved to be the right one.
Werder Bremen v Eintracht Frankfurt
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 2-1
Frankfurt boss Niko Kovac may have been plotting a Champions League place for the first time in nearly 60 years, but Florian Kohfeldt’s Bremen were in form as well, having won five of their last seven. Frankfurt made the quicker start, but couldn’t find a breakthrough, and it was Bremen who went in front when Thomas Delaney had time and space to cross, and Zlatko Junuzovic arrived right on cue, albeit with the help of a little deflection. The ball went in after ricocheting off Makoto Hasebe, but no doubt the Austrian’s goal.
Max Kruse was instrumental in everything Bremen were doing in the final third, and another deflection from his clever effort forced Lukás Hrádecky into an excellent save. Jirí Pevlenka was busy at the other end, too, pushing away Kevin-Prince Boateng’s cross, and then reacting smartly to keep out the follow up shot.
Frankfurt came out firing in the second half and were soon level. An assist of the season contender from Kevin-Prince Boateng, and a very tidy strike from Luka Jovic brought the match to life in the 53rd minute. A quite brilliant assist from Ghanaian, though. A back heel with both pace and height, and it got the finish it deserved.
At inside three minutes, Frankfurt might have been ahead. Marco Fabián sent Jovic racing clear, but this time the Serbian couldn’t beat Pavlenka. That might have proved decisive, but out of nothing, Bremen won it 11 minutes from time.
A hopeful cross skimmed off David Abraham’s head, and the usually-reliable Hrádecky had one of those nightmare goalkeeping moments. Maybe he was just a fraction too far off his line, or misjudged the trajectory, but you’d simply never expect that kind of a schoolboy error. The scintillating match ended in favor of the hosts who are surely safe now in terms of relegation.
We had gone for a home win as our 1st choice and a double chance as 2nd based on the fact that both teams had something to fight for, the hosts needed safety from relegation while the visitors were looking to keep their European dreams alive. This made the possibility of a draw highly unlikely according to our research and we were proved right by the final whistle.
Chelsea v Tottenham
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 12
Result: 1-3
This to be arguably our match of the weekend. Any match that pits two clubs coming from a similar geographical location and more so, clubs from London, is almost certified to be a cracker. Couple this with the fact that Spurs hadn’t won at Stamford Bridge in 28 years, an you’d have the recipe for thrilling high-octane clash. We are happy to say that the match lived up to its hype as the two teams went for the jugular right from the start.
Chelsea must have thought that their proud and laudable record in this fixture was going to remain intact when Alvaro Morata gave them the lead, but it turned into a painful day for Antonio Conte’s men. Christian Eriksen’s stunning strike on the stroke of half-time changed the complexion of the game and built the foundations for an inspired Dele Alli to win it with two goals in the second half. Alli’s first was simply brilliant and his second confirmed the visitors’ first win here since February 1990 and made sure they moved eight points clear of their opponents.
Spurs had the majority of possession in the first half but struggled to find a way through Chelsea’s solid three-man defense with Heung-min Son isolated in a lone forward role as Harry Kane – miraculously back from his ankle injury – watched on from the bench.
Alvaro Morata, picked ahead of Giroud, headed Chelsea in front after Hugo Lloris failed to claim a routine cross, but Eriksen’s stunning long-range strike at the stroke of half-time drew Spurs level.
Alli then made his mark after the break with two goals in quick succession, first breaking the offside trap to finish Eric Dier’s long ball after 62 minutes before tapping home a scruffy move four minutes later to claim a truly historic win for Spurs.
The victory boosts Spurs’ hopes of beating Liverpool to a top-three finish, while the Blues must now close an eight-point gap on their London rivals if they are to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Purely based on historical records, we had gone for a home win as our 1st pick but knowing an upset could be on the cards, we had either to win as our 2nd pick and it proved to be the winning pick.
Caen v Montpellier
Our 1st Pick: X
Our 2nd Pick: 1
Result: 1-3
This will go down as our upset of the weekend as the visitors found their groove and ran riot on their way to a stumping victory that threw the record books out of the window. Montpellier have struggled on the road in the French Ligue 1 in the current season and had an abysmal record against Caen in previous encounters. However, Giovanni Sio proved to be the star of the show with 2 goals in the (21′, 53′) minute with Ellyes Skhiri scoring the games’ second in the 23′.
The home side did give their fans something to cheer about courtesy of a consolation goal by the in-form Ivan Santini in the 87′. The match was practically over after the 53’ with chances coming far and in between as the visitors maintained control and held on for a vital victory.
Based on previous head to head records as well as home and away forms regarding both teams, we opted for a X as our 1st pick and a home win as our 2nd but both proved incorrect.
Mainz vs Borussia M’gladbach
Our 1st Pick: 2
Our 2nd Pick: X
Result: 0-0
Despite the visitors being effective at creating goal-scoring opportunities through individual skill, the lack of a clear style of play set this one up to be a rather timid and forgettable match as Mainz held on for a crucial point in their quest for survival in the German Bundesliga.
The hosts, just like their opponents, were simply extremely poor at finishing and committed a high number of individual errors. There simply wasn’t much to right about in this particular one.
We based our 1st pick of an away win on the fact that the visitors have had a commendable season by their standards as they sit 9th on the table while the hosts were in the bottom 3 coming into this one. With the latter fact in mind, we went for a draw as our 2nd pick as there was a chance the hosts would hold out for a point that would prove vital in their race for survival and that turned out to be the case.
Eibar v Real Sociedad
Our 1st Pick: 1
Our 2nd Pick: 2
Result: 0-0
Eibar and Real Sociedad were separated by just six points in La Liga which coming into this match and on paper, it looked like we were set for a fascinating match. The home side had bagged 39 points from 29 matches and still have a sniff of finishing in the top half of the Spanish top flight. Considering Eibar are a small club, this must be considered a good season for them and a point against Sociedad should be lauded.
Real Sociedad however, were not quite punching their weight and despite coming into this match with 33 points from 29 games, all they could master was a timid display that deserved nothing more than a point. they look very unlikely to be relegated – as they have a 12-point buffer from third bottom Las Palmas.
We based our 1st pick of a home win on the fact that Eibar have been known to punch well above their weight with a couple of upsets against bigger teams well within their reach. However, just to go with the form books, we went for an away win as our 2nd pick but both proved to be inaccurate.
That’s it regarding our Sportpesa Mega Jackpot post-match analysis this week and we are happy to say we are definitely getting better with a high of 10/17 correct predictions. Watch out for our sportpesa mega jackpot predictions this week later on in the week.
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