In-play Football Tips: Take note of Barcelona's lull time

Luis Enrique's future remains uncertain despite improved form

Michael Lintorn offers in-play pointers for Sunday's televised ties at Lazio, West Ham and Deportivo...

Lazio v Napoli
Sunday, 11:30
Live on BT Sport 1

Match Odds: Lazio 2.77/4, Napoli 2.8815/8, The Draw 3.3512/5

After throwing away a 2-0 half-time lead for the second time in three Serie A matches against Roma last weekend, Lazio will wish that games finished after 45 minutes. If so, they would be level with their neighbours in second rather than ten points behind, and Napoli would be four points and two places worse off too.

The capital club have conceded the first second-half goal in eight of their past 13 showdowns in all competitions, and three of the latest four, despite leading at the interval in eight of those outings. Though Napoli haven't been as impressive as Lazio recently, they opened the second-half scoring in their previous three fixtures, so back them in the "Next Goal" market at half time.

West Ham v Hull
Sunday, 13:30
Live on Sky Sports 1

Match Odds: West Ham 1.794/5, Hull 5.69/2, The Draw 3.7511/4

As you might expect of a West Ham team who have contested four 1-1 draws in a row, momentum constantly shifts in their encounters. There have been examples of a side scoring twice in succession in only five of their past 13 games, with the others adopting a "Team A net; Team B reply" pattern.

The same has been true of West Ham and Hull's three collisions since the Tigers were promoted in 2013. Though those yielded eight strikes, neither club led any by a two-goal margin. At the Boleyn last season, it shifted from 1-0 to the hosts to 1-1 and then 2-1, while at the KC Stadium in autumn, Hull were twice ahead and pegged back.

The advice therefore is to back whichever side concede the deadlock-breaker to grab the next goal.

Deportivo v Barcelona
Sunday, 18:00
Live on Sky Sports 5

Match Odds: Deportivo 18.5n/a, Barcelona 1.222/9, The Draw 7.413/2

Barcelona's recent matches have been absolutely crammed with goals - 19 in five to be precise - and yet despite them flowing at a rate of one every 23.7 minutes, they have still managed to allocate a 20-minute period of peace, with not a single one occurring between minutes 60 and 79.

Instead, their games have settled into a template: early drama, something shortly after the break, brief respite and then a final flourish. It isn't exclusive to the past five fixtures either - Barcelona haven't fired in minutes 60-69 on the travels since September 21 and were breached in it just once.

Anyway, the way to profit from this trend is to place an unders bet on the 60th minute and Cash Out from your enhanced position 20 minutes later. Barcelona's last three games all had at least three strikes within the hour, so there is definitely money to be made by exploiting a sudden cool-off.