Saturday's Bundesliga and Serie A predictions and free football tips

Best bets

Werder Bremen to beat Mainz 
2.30pm Saturday
1pt 5-2 general

Genoa draw no bet v Empoli 
2pm Saturday
2pts 4-5 Betfair, Hills, Paddy Power

Saturday European football predictions

Werder Bremen have spent most of the season in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table but they have enjoyed an upturn in form since returning from the winter break.

Bremen have taken seven points from their first three games on 2024, drawing with Bochum before edging out champions Bayern Munich 1-0 at the Allianz Arena and easing to a 3-1 win at home to Freiburg.

Those results have moved them up to ninth in the standings and they are worth backing to see off relegation-threatened Mainz on Saturday.

Mainz are enduring a miserable campaign, winning only one of their 18 league games and scoring just 14 goals. And even with home advantage they seem unlikely to cause too many problems for a resurgent Bremen outfit.

In Italy, Genoa are another side who have been steadily climbing the ranks and they could chalk up a third win in succession at Empoli.

Genoa are unbeaten in their last seven Serie A outings, a run that has featured matches against title adversaries Juventus and Inter.

They drew four of the first five matches of that unbeaten stretch but have displayed a more clinical edge to beat Salernitana and Lecce 2-1 in their last two outings.

Genoa should be confident of turning over hosts Empoli, who are staring down the barrel at relegation from Serie A after collecting only 17 points from 22 league fixtures this season.

The hosts have lost four of their last seven games and look there for the taking.

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