Several Nigerian players will be in action for their European teams this weekend, NetBet Nigeria lists out the few who will be taking the center stage in the elite leagues in the next couple of days.
Moses Simon – Lille vs. Nantes:
Without doubt, Simon has grown into becoming Nantes’ most fearsome attacker notably after his impressive performance last season in which he contributed 9 goals and 5 assists to The Canaries’ course. Last Sunday, he did overcome his initial struggles to open his season account in the 2-2 draw with league leaders Saint-Etienne.
Christian Gourcuff’s men will be visiting Lille OSC for a Ligue 1 gameweek five encounter this Friday night and they will be banking on their 27-year-old Nigerian winger to inspire them to victory.
Semi Ajayi – West Brom vs. Chelsea:
It’s been a horrid start to the season for Semi Ajayi and West Brom in the Premier League so far. After they received a austere welcome back to the league with a 3-0 home defeat to Leicester City in gameweek one, the 5-2 loss to Everton at the Goodison Park last weekend presaged a difficult campaign ahead.
Meanwhile, Ajayi, who was unarguably one of the The Baggies‘ best players in the second tier last season, is yet to cut it in the topflight. However, it will be quite unfair to pinpoint the center-back for criticism as the entire team hasn’t been playing so well.
The Albion host Chelsea at the Hawthorns on Saturday evening and Slaven Bilić will be banking on Ajayi and his colleagues at the backline to quiten Frank Lampard’s dangerous firepowers.
Victor Osimhen – Napoli vs. Genoa:
The 21-year-old was subbed on to good effect for his Napoli debut against Parma last time out but it’s expected Gennaro Gattuso will name in the starting XI of their imminent home encounter with Genoa.
One can safely conclude his introduction just after the hour mark last Sunday was what spurred the Azzurri to victory. They broke the deadlock in the eventual 2-0 win seconds after he came on, with the Nigerian striker’s presence and positioning somewhat key to both goals.
Osimhen will sure be hoping to grab his first goal if he’s trusted to lead the attack for Napoli on Sunday as he has a knack to scoring at home (check Lille home results last season). In fact, you should have your money on him scoring by using our football betting platform.
Samuel Chukwueze – Barcelona vs. Villarreal:
The 21-year-old has started in each of the opening games of the season for Yellow Submarine, and he’s really repaid Unai Emery’s trust. Last Saturday, he assisted Gerard Moreno to kick-start the 2-1 comeback win over Eibar.
It’s evident Chukwueze likes the big games. Sunday night encounter with Barcelona at the Nou Camp provides the dazzling winger a perfect stage to relaunch himself into the limelight.
Simy Nwankwo – Crotone vs. AC Milan:
Simy, who finished top scorer in the Serie B with 20 goals last season, could save Crotone from suffering a 4-1 defeat to Genoa last Sunday. Particularly, the striker wasn’t quite impressive as well.
The Pythagoreans will now hope their Nigerian marksman hits form when they host Milan in Sunday’s gameweek two encounter. It won’t be easy though as, going by recent form, the Rossoneri are the strongest Serie A team on paper. You can’t write off an upset from the newcomers though.
Which of these players do you see hoghing the limelight this weekend? Don’t forget you can back any of these players (or teams) by betting on football on NetBet.
