MARQUEE MATCHUPS

Valencia vs Real Madrid

First up this week we head over to La Liga where last year's Champions League winners, Real Madrid, are having an absolute nightmare of a season so far. With Madrid currently 19 points off league leaders and rivals Barcelona, they travel to third place Valencia, really needing all the points. While not a derby per say, with Champions League spots currently so tight, both teams head into this match really needing the points, which instantly adds importance to the match. Investing in this match is nice and simple, with an excess of gold players available for both sides simply ensure you consider other factors such as position, rating and rarity. 

AC Milan vs Lazio

Flying across to Italy for our second selection of the week where we find a struggling AC Milan playing hosts to fourth place Lazio. Just like La Liga, competition for Champions League spaces is really heating up and moving into the second half of the season Lazio plan on continuing their solid form while AC Milan will be desperately trying to undo some of the damage done before Christmas. Just like before, investments are nice and simple with an abundance of gold players available for both sides. 

Marseille vs AS Monaco

Over to France now where we find third place OM play hosts to fourth place AS Monaco in a heated battle at the top end of the table. With just a point separating these two sides, a win for either team will see them jump ahead and secure themselves that all important third place spot, qualifying them for the Champions League, well at least for a week! Investments here remain nice and simple, plenty of gold options and hence no need to panic. 

Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC

Our fourth pick this week sees us flying half way across the world, down to Australia where Melbourne Victory play hosts to Sydney FC. According to Wikipedia, this match has more significance than you may assume. Known as "The Big Blue" or also "The City Derby", the rivalry stems back to one forged between Melbourne and Sydney, however the information that both teams play in blue is where I believe the real issues lie! Investments here are ideally picked up nice and quickly, silvers for minimum are ideal however if this becomes impossible, never be afraid to turn your attention to the bronze players available.  

KAA Gent vs Club Brugge

For the next match we come back to Europe, and head towards Belgium where KAA Gent play hosts to Club Brugge in a match known as "The Battle of Flanders".  Club Brugge comfortably sit atop the table on 53 points, with Gent currently 19 points behind with 32. The table suggests the match can only go one way, however these sorts of matches can often offer a pleasant surprise to the neutral spectators. Investments here again are fairly simple as both sides have enough gold players to go around. 

Birmingham vs Sunderland

For our final pick this week we head over to England where we find bottom of the table Sunderland travelling to second from bottom Birmingham in an extremely important relegation battle match. Now usually we see games picked based off rivalries, derbies or simply top teams, but if the bottom two sides going head to head in a must win match isn't worthy of the marquee matchup's title, then I lose all hope. This match is definitely more of a gamble, and hence being smart with what your spending is critical. Gold cards, silver cards or even bronze for discard is fantastic, the higher you being spending, the more risk you knowingly undertake.