Home And Away: The only way is Russia

Russian value on Monday?
Jonno Turner explains how you can boost your Bank Holiday coffers with bets on Monday night matches in Russia and Germany...
There's a lion on the loose in Essex! I can't imagine how terrifying it must be to have to live in that place 365 days a year.
Police were looking for the beast last night - following reports that an ugly orange beast with long hair and long nails has been causing havoc in the local area. Apparently officers are now asking residents to be more specific as currently half the population of Essex fit the description.
We're off to Russia for our first tip of this Bank Holiday Monday - as in-form Kuban Krasnodar welcome Volga to the Kuban Stadium, looking to make it three wins from their opening three games in the Premier League.
Boss Yuri Krasnozhan will be delighted with the manner of those performances on their own patch, and those points have lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone and upto 12th place in the table.
Two clean sheets in their last trio of outings at home suggests that the Kazacki are well-drilled defensively, and Krasnozhan will be desperate for his side to improve upon their eighth placed finish in this division last campaign.
Visitors Volga travel to Southern Russia in the middle of a nightmare run - and just one goal in their last three games indicates that the Volgari may struggle to breach the strong home rearguard this evening.
Gadzhi Gadzhiyev has seen his side lose their last four league matches, and eight goals conceded in that time will have the Nizhny Novgorod faithful pulling their hair out as defensive weaknesses prove costly.
That poor form has left the away side sitting in 15th place, and they will be keen to arrest that slump as quickly as possible in order to move out of the danger zone.
But they have not beaten - or even scored against - their hosts in the last five encounters between these sides, and I can't see their luck changing today.
Bet 1: Kuban Krasnodar (HOME) @ 1.68/13
Over to Germany now - and FC Koln travel to Erzgebirge Aue looking to claim their first Bundesliga 2 victory of the new season.
The visitors looked strong in a 2-1 DFB Pokal win over Unterhaching at the weekend, and boss Holger Stanislawski will be desperate to transpose that form into their league campaign as the Billy Goats aim to secure their place back in the top tier at the first time of asking following their relegation last year.
And Stanislawski will know that his side need to stamp their authority on this league quickly if they are going to make any kind of impact at the right end of the table.
Hosts Erzgebirge Aue go into this encounter having won just one of their last four at the Erzgebirgsstadion, and boss Karsten Baumann will be desperate to correct some miserable form which has seen them take just three points from a possible 27 in the Bundesliga 2 of late.
A 15th placed finish last year saw the Veilchen narrowly avoid the drop, and all signs point to another struggle this campaign - which is why I'm backing Koln to claim their first victory of the season here.
Bet 2: FC Koln (AWAY) @ 2.447/5