Three points Schal go to the hosts tonight

18Jan 2013

Jonno Turner picks two selections to kick start the weekend in style, turning his attentions to France and Germany.

We're off to France for our penultimate pick of the week, as in-form Monaco travel to Istres looking to extend the excellent form they have shown away from the Stade Louis II in recent weeks.

Claudio Ranieri's side currently sit in second place in Ligue 2, but are on level points with leaders Nantes - and that makes a win all the more important here.

Les Rouges et Blancs certainly have momentum at the moment, and just one loss from their last half a dozen on the road is exactly the kind of form that Ranieri will be desperate to maintain as he aims to deliver promotion - and top flight status - to the south coast once again.

And three consecutive unbeaten will give the visitors a huge boost of confidence as they travel along the coast this evening.

Hosts Istres go into this one sitting in eighth place in the table, and that is the result of some miserable form which has seen them secure just one win from their last six league outings - shipping eight goals in their last three.

Those defensive weaknesses will be alarming to home boss Jose Pasqualetti, and he will be desperate to arrest that slump as soon as possible in order to maintain an improvement on last campaign's league position of 10th.

Just one clean sheet from four at the Stade Parsemain suggests that Monaco will be presented with a chance or two tonight, and I think that could have a major bearing on the outcome of this clash.

History certainly favours the away side, who have won their last five meetings with Istres - and I fancy them to pick up the three points here as well.

Bet 1: Monaco (AWAY) @ 2.6

Ex-Barca boss Pep Guardiola has hit the headliens this week by accepted the Bayern Munich job - but he isn't the only one who has been casting his eye over the German Bundesliga.

Schalke host Hannover at the Veltins-Arena this evening, and boss Jens Keller will be desperate to correct a miserable run of form which has seen the Gelsenkirchen side without a win in half a dozen league outings.

But I think that the hosts form is rather misleading, and at second glance, their results on their own patch have been far from crisis-like.

Die Konigsblauen have actually lost just one of seven Bundesliga clashes in front of their own fans, and three clean sheets in that time gives me confidence that they are more than capable of shutting out their opponents this evening.

Schalke currently sit seventh in the table, but are still within touching distance of the top three - and a win here will ramp up the pressure on their counterparts.

Hannover travel to North Rhine Westphalia without a win in five on the road, and boss Mirko Slomka will be keen for his charges to engineer a turnaround of fortunes this evening.

But 16 goals shipped in five games away from the AWD-Arena suggests that their travel sickness is fairly serious, and that could give their hosts the upper hand in this clash.

Die Roten now sit 11th in the table, and will be feeling the rest of the pack breathing down their necks with over half of the campaign now played. With Schalke having avoided defeat in their last four encounters with Hannover, I'm backing the home win here.

Bet 2: Schalke (HOME) @ 1.73