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TACKLING THE £2,000,000 MILLIONAIRE

What a mixed bag we have for you in this week’s Millionaire Pick 6.

FA Cup, Serie A and La Liga fixtures to get your teeth into but remember to take advantage of our brand new FreePlay option first.

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St Andrew’s is where we start…

Birmingham vs. Bournemouth

Gary Rowett won’t want reminding of the last time Bournemouth visited this part of the Midlands.

On that occasion the Blues shipped 8 goals in one of their heaviest ever defeats. Eddie Howe’s side were exemplary on the day and have definitely got a sign over their opponents.

In their four most recent meetings, Bournemouth have emerged victorious in three. In the two other wins the south coast side have scored four meaning Rowett has the unenviable task of getting his staff up for a game where they’ve conceded 16 in the last three games alone.

Played earlier in the campaign, you’d give the hosts a fighting chance. Not now.

The Cherries have found some form and are genuinely deserving of their place in the top flight.

The FA Cup represents a chance for the shackles to come off, pressure lifted for a week, and that will show in Bournemouth’s play.

Expect short, sharp passing carousels right across the pitch whilst the hosts go for the more agricultural approach.

Three wins in their last four games is a definite improvement for Birmingham who’d won just once in their previous nine.

They’ll certainly try and make life as difficult as possible for the visitors but they’re playing them at the wrong time. Expect another hatful. AOA here.

Southampton vs. Crystal Palace

This game comes just a month after a hard-fought win for the Eagles against the same opposition.

On that occasion a fine individual performance by Yohan Cabaye was capped by the winning goal just before the break.
Alan Pardew set his stall out against his old side with a basic but mobile 4-4-2 on that occasion and it proved to be more than enough to see of Ronald Koeman’s attacking 3-4-2-1 formation.

The Saints have again flattered to deceive this season.

Despite having some of the best players in the Premier League in Saido Mane, Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pelle et al, Southampton have won just once in the last nine games, albeit a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of title hopefuls Arsenal.

Such an awful run comes on the back of six wins in eight games, with the other two drawn.

Two steps forward, one back for the Dutchman it seems. His team haven’t scored more than a goal a game for over two months.

A morale boosting win would be just the ticket and with Pardew keen on cementing his team’s EPL credentials despite the loss to Chelsea, this could be a good time to be playing Palace.

The south Londoners won a five-goal thriller at this venue the last time the teams met here, but have won on only one other occasion at St. Mary’s in the last 12 years – way back in August 2007.

I’ll take a tight single goal victory for the hosts. 1-0 or 2-1 for your coupon.

Roma vs. AC Milan

Quite the game in prospect at the Stadio Olimpico.

Although both Roma and Milan have had better seasons, when the two collide it’s almost always an Italian classic and this instalment should be no different.

5th plays 6th and a win for Milan would bring them to within a point of teir hosts and keep them in contention at the top of the table.

Lose here and results elsewhere go against them and the Bianconeri could slip as low as 9th and be at least seven points off of the top four.

The omens are good for Sinisa Mihajlovic and his side however, only twice in the last seven years have Roma won this fixture on their own patch.

They’re also undefeated in their last eight, losing just once in their last 13 games stretching back to mid-October.

By contrast, Roma have won just once in their last eight, losing three. They have managed to stop the opposition scoring in five of the last six however.

I’m expecting that run to end in this match, a tight 0-1 or 1-2 win for the visitors.

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Or you might want to be brave and risk it all on the final three games…

Oxford United vs. Swansea

Swansea looked to have begun to move forward since Garry Monk’s sacking. Although the loss at Manchester United was unfortunate, there was enough in the performance to suggest the Swans have turned a corner.

They won’t fancy this one though.

Cup upsets are fewer and farther between these days thanks to the cavernous gap that now exists between the Premier League and other divisions.

However, this League Two side are in superb form with just two losses in all competitions since mid-September.

At home and with nothing to lose, expect the hosts to attack from the first whistle.

If the visitors fall back into the habit of adopting the tactics that characterised Monk’s last few weeks in charge then this will be too close for comfort for the Welshmen.

Jonjo Shelvey could be the matchwinner but rumours of an imminent move to Newcastle could see him again left out of the starting line up.

If Wayne Routledge and Andre Ayew can get things moving up top that’ll spell danger for the home defence but I don’t really see either side having enough about them to take the win at the first time of asking.

1-1 or AOD are my selections.

Tottenham vs. Leicester

This game precedes a league meeting between the pair by just three days and arguably Claudio Ranieri’s men would forego a result here for three points in the league fixture.

A competitive 1-1 draw was the result the last time the teams met and since that match back in August, Spurs have lost just once in the league, their visitors twice.

Cup competitions have seen reverses which perhaps evidences a concentration of efforts on league placing rather than cup silverware this season.

The FA Cup does remain a competition that the north Londoners have a particular affinity with and the fans are likely to want their team to continue with the tradition.

Some solid performances recently suggest that they’re in the box seat for this one, especially as Leicester have lost their way a little over the last few games.

One of the top scoring teams this season, the Foxes have been scoreless on their last three outings.

I think that’ll be rectified here because the expansive way Spurs like to play affords their opponents plenty of opportunities in front of goal.

But this could be a distraction for the visitors and we may see how seriously Ranieri takes it with his team selection.

An end to end classic but one where Tottenham reign supreme. 3-2 or AOH.

Celta Vigo vs. Atletico Madrid

The hosts have begun to slip away in La Liga and trail their opponents by 10 points going into this game.

Two losses in their last two to teams below them in the table, no goals scored and now Nolito being courted by Barcelona.

The 4-1 win over the Catalans that put Celta top of the table seems a lifetime ago now.

Their only possible saving grace is this fixture is at home and Atleti themselves aren’t in the best form despite clawing their way to the summit.

The Rojiblancos are at least grinding out the wins even though they aren’t playing particularly well. The sign of Champions perhaps?

One thing’s for sure. Diego Simeone will have his side well up for this battle. And it will be a battle, you can be sure of that.

Celta are losing touch with Real Madrid in third place but a win here keeps the Galicians on Los Blancos’ coat-tails and in with a shout of Europe.

Another failure to perform could see them reeled in by the 2-3 teams immediately below them.

It’s obvious Nolito’s mind is elsewhere so it’s down to the likes of Iago Aspas and Michael Krohn-Dehli to do the business.

They’ll have to be on their game however because this is a fixture that certainly suits the visitors. That’s because Atleti have won four of the last five meetings at Balaidos.

I don’t see the run changing this season so my final selections this week are 0-2 and 0-3.

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