talkSPORT betting tips – Best football bets and expert advice for Friday 3 January

Friday is a quiet day on the domestic football front but there is still plenty of action on the continent, with Real Madrid hoping they can push themselves back to the top of La Liga with a victory over Valencia.

There are also Copa del Rey games in Spain, Porto and Sporting Lisbon are in action in Portugal’s Primeira Liga and Nice will go fourth in France’s Ligue 1 if they can win at home to Rennes.

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Bet of the day

Nice vs Rennes -  Nice to win 11/10

Nice will anticipate that they can make a push for a Champions League place this season and a run of one defeat from their last 11 games should give them plenty of confidence for Friday’s Ligue 1 home clash against Rennes.

They are unbeaten in seven home league games this term, beating Saint-Etienne 8-0 in September and winning their last two, against Strasbourg and Le Havre.

Rennes have won their last two home games against strugglers Saint-Etienne and Angers and claimed a Coupe de France success at fourth-tier Bordeaux, but they have taken just one point from their last eight on the road, so they look vulnerable.

Special of the day 

Acca - Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, Porto and Sporting Lisbon all to win 11/2

Two games in Spain’s Copa del Rey and a couple of Portuguese fixtures can be combined for an acca that will pay out at 11/2 if it is successful.

Real Mallorca are sixth in La Liga and have won five league away games this season, so they should get the better of fourth-tier Pontevedra.

Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano, who have won at Valencia and drawn at Villarreal and Real Betis in their last three La Liga away games can see off Segunda strugglers Racing Ferrol, who have conceded nine goals in their last two home matches.

Then, in Portugal, Porto have conceded just one goal in their last five league games, so they should have too much for Nacional, who have won two in 12 and new Sporting Lisbon manager Rui Borges can steer his team to victory against his old club Vitoria Guimaraes, who have won two of 11.

Long shot of the day 

Kylian Mbappe to score two or goals in Valencia vs Real Madrid - 11/4

Valencia have won just twice in La Liga all season, which does not bode well for a visit from Real Madrid, who are looking to go back to the top of La Liga and who have a striker in Kylian Mbappe in red-hot form.

Los Blancos have scored three goals in each of their last three away matches, at Girona, Atalanta and Rayo Vallecano, with Mbappe scoring  in five of his last seven appearances.

The former PSG hitman has had at least three shots on goal in nine of his last 11 appearances and 12 shots on target in his last five showings, which included just 35 minutes before he was injured at Atalanta, so he looks a big price to score more than once at the Mestalla.

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Odds correct at time of publish and subject to change*

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