Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

Free Soccer Picks for Saturday 2/3/2024 from Europe Leagues

by Joey House - 2/2/2024

Atletico Madrid soccer

One of the challenges that European Football clubs face is occasionally losing some players to various national football tournaments. The 2022 World Cup, held in Qatar, changed its normal schedule from June into July to November and December because of concerns about the high temperatures. European leagues, which run from the middle of August until May, all installed about a month and a half sabbatical to accommodate the large number of players that had national obligations.

The Africa Cup of Nations, the bi-annual football tournament to crown the best football team on the African continent, has running since the middle of January and is now down to the quarterfinal stage, with the Cup Finals set to be played on February 11. The African players are slowly returning to their respective teams, and the European league teams will once again be back to full strength. Thankfully, the UEFA European Championship is held for a month during the summer, well after the conclusion of the club leagues.

We had a rough week last week, missing every game. The Juventus game in particular had me heated, as their starting forward Arkadiusz Milik picked up a red card 18 minutes into the match and Juvy was forced to play a man down for the rest of the affair. Even with that, their main scoring weapon, Dusan Vlahovic, netted the first goal of the game to give us hope. However, winning with a man down is tough, and covering a one-and-a-half goal spread is virtually impossible. Alas, it didn't matter as Empoli scored the equalizer in the 70th minute and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

All games are listed for Eastern Standard Time and remember, in true European fashion, the home side is listed first.

Get sports picks for every league and nearly every matchup on Doc’s free picks page.

Bundesliga

Freiburg (+200) vs Stuttgart (+115) O/U 2.5

Saturday, February 3rd, 9:30 AM ESPN+

It would seem the obituary notices for Stuttgart following their recent two-match losing streak were a bit premature, as they rebounded with a resounding 5-2 win at home over RB Leipzig. Now they travel to Europa-Park Stadion to battle a Freiburg squad that has been a much more formidable opponent at home than on the road. We'll be looking at a total of over 2.5 goals for a price of -140. Freiburg has scored two or more goals in seven of their past 10 home matches while conceding at least a goal in five of those matches. One thing that the 3rd-place Stuttgart side does well is score, having netted 43 goals so far in their Bundesliga campaign and scoring two or more goals in 13 of their last 19 matches this season. The price for going over the 2.5 goals is -140. If you want to be aggressive, you can raise the total to over 3.5 goals and the price goes to +185. We'll stay on the conservative side until we build up a little profit.

PICK: OVER 2.5 goals (-140)

Bayer Leverkusen (-380) vs. Darmstadt (+750) O/U 3.5

Saturday, February 3rd, 9:30 AM ESPN+

We have a classic mismatch here as league-leading Leverkusen invades cellar-dwelling Darmstadt. Things are not looking good for the Darmstadt side, as they are tied for last place in the Bundesliga and losing the tie-breaker. Leverkusen is coming off an incredibly disappointing nil-nil draw to Borussia Monchengladbach, a match that saw Bayer fail to increase their ever-dwindling lead over second-place Bayern Munich. Darmstadt is the cure for whatever ails a Bundesliga squad this year, having registered only two victories over their 19 played matches. They have surrendered a league-worst 21 goals in ten matches. We will be backing Leverkusen -1.5 goals at the price of -135. Darmstadt is currently on a 12-match winless streak and has lost 13 of their past 20 contests. Leverkusen, meanwhile, still remains the only undefeated squad in the major European club leagues and has scored two or more goals in 15 of their 19 matches this season (78.9%). Bayern looks to get back on track with a resounding effort against the hapless Darmstadt squad.

LaLiga

Atletico Madrid (+320) vs Real Madrid (-140) O/U 2.5

Sunday, February 4th, 3:00 PM ESPN+

Sunday's match will be the 235th edition of "El Derbi Madrileño", or The Madrid Derby. While it won't be as meaningful as the 2014 Champions League final where both sides were attempting to earn the prestigious Champions League trophy, it still promises to be an exciting contest. These inter-city rivals met twice earlier in January, with the two squads splitting. We will be making a same-game parlay of the Both Teams To Score (BTTS) bet and over 2.5 goals for the solid price of -120. In the last 18 matches between these two, there have been eight shutouts. This particular wager would have cashed in five out of the last six matchups between the two. Real Madrid has only been held scoreless once this season and is currently on a 17-game goal-scoring streak. Atletico has failed to find the net just twice in all of their competitions. There have been three total matches between these two enemies and the proposed SGP hit in all three. Competition and hatred bring out the best in these two sides and while picking a winner is filled with uncertainty, expecting both teams to score and also score more than 2.5 goals is all but guaranteed.

Get expert sports picks on every game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent Soccer Betting and Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers