Galatasaray vs Trabzonspor
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Today’s free tip is in the Super Lig encounter between Galatasaray and Trabzonspor.
There are crazy odds on Trabzonspor here. Galatasaray are obviously the bigger name but they’ve been woeful all season long, which was enough for the Istanbul juggernauts to eventually axe legendary manager Fatih Terim. I think he can be blamed for a portion of it, but look at their squad! It’s simply not that good anymore.
Lately, they’ve been without Taylan and Berkan, for example – and yes, I know Feghouli has been on international duty with Algeria. However, because of those absentees, suddenly the likes of van Aanholt and Ozturk in midfield, which is suboptimal to say the very least. Diagne has been out, so Halil has been used up front – again, far from ideal. There’s no depth in this squad, and to be quite honest, there’s not a lot of quality in their starting eleven, at least not compared to Galatasaray sides of the past.
This may be a controversial comment, but based on what happened to Fenerbahce a couple of years ago, I really don’t think that Galatasaray can rule themselves out of a relegation battle – and they better hope that doesn’t transpire because they’re too mentally weak to win such. They’ve appointed Torrent as their new manager, which was incredibly bold. I did like the football that his Flamengo team eventually produced but it wasn’t enough to keep him in a job, and they had a lot of big egos in Rio de Janeiro too. Galatasaray, like most Super Lig clubs, are not patient; they expect a younger manager to get an experienced manager’s results, which is wildly unrealistic.
There’s not been a knee-jerk reaction to Torrent’s appointment either. They had their moments in Hatay but still lost 4-2. They were humiliated at home by Kasimpasa last time out, and can’t even use the excuse of it being a derby because Kasimpasa barely have any fans! They’re conceding stupid goals all of the tmie, as is frequently the case when Muslera is out – which he is. Truth be told though, Muslera has been responsible for a lot of the goals they’ve conceded this season too so it’s swings and roundabouts.
A huge overhaul is needed, in other words. There’s nobody in this squad that should be guaranteed a starting berth anymore, not for my money. They’re either not good enough or not dedicated enough, and absentees of late have highlighted such. There’s now no designated striker, too many creators out, no good goalkeeper, no defensive organiser, no structure, and little familiarity. To cap it all off, they look nervous. This is a team that is only going to encourage opponents to get at them, and that’s not what you want to do against table-toppers and soon-to-be-champions Trabzonspor!
The visitors are without some players too but their mid-season transfer activity was terrifying for their supposed title rivals, attracting Puchacz, Kouassi, and Visca to the club to further deepen their already extensive squad. I know they’re sweating blood and tears behind the scenes to try and get Hamsik fit for this game but honestly, with options like the above in their squad in general, I still think they can win in Istanbul, even without the Slovakian legend.
Whether they’re relying on target man Cornelius, powerhouse Nwakaeme, or battle Bakasetas for the goals, Trabzonspor always find a way – and that’s with Gervinho, Djaniny, and now Kouassi still to enter the fold. Malli’s not had the desired impact as a creator, so now Visca has joined instead, and not a moment too soon with Omur amongst those absent. That’s what I like about Trabzonspor – they find solutions to problems.
Even Trabzonspor’s defence looks solid, you know? Well, at least by Turkish standards! Avci is a bloody good manager too. Trabzonspor are laden with players that won’t lose many 50/50 battles, and won’t be intimidated by opposing teams. They’re good at everything, really, and that’s why they’ll win the title. Well, that and a complete absence of any competition. This is a really good Trabzonspor side though, and one that should absolutely not lose this match.
Therefore, I’m on Trabzonspor with draw no bet at generous odds of evens.
Verdict: Trabzonspor to win with draw no bet at evens.
Sunday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Australian A-League:
Central Coast Mariners vs Melbourne City
Brisbane Roar vs Adelaide United
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Standard de Liege vs Club Brugge
Union Saint-Gilloise vs Racing Genk
KV Mechelen vs RSC Anderlecht
Cercle Brugge vs Zulte-Waregem
English Premier League:
Arsenal vs Burnley
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
French Ligue 1:
Metz vs OGC Nice
Angers SCO vs Troyes
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Clermont Foot 38 vs Stade Rennais
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Lorient
Montpellier HSC vs AS Monaco
Paris Saint-Germain vs Stade de Reims
German Bundesliga:
RB Leipzig vs VfL Wolfsburg
Hertha Berlin vs Bayern Munich
German Bundesliga 2:
Hannover 96 vs Dynamo Dresden
Jahn Regensburg vs Holstein Kiel
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Sakhnin vs MS Ashdod
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Italian Serie A:
Cagliari vs ACF Fiorentina
SSC Napoli vs Salernitana
Spezia vs Sampdoria
Torino vs Sassuolo
Empoli vs AS Roma
AC Milan vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Vicenza vs Cittadella
Lecce vs Cremonese
Dutch Eredivisie:
NEC Nijmegen vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Heracles Almelo vs Go Ahead Eagles
PSV Eindhoven vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
Sparta Rotterdam vs FC Utrecht
RKC Waalwijk vs Fortuna Sittard
Portuguese Liga 1:
Maritimo Funchal vs Belenenses
Vitoria Guimaraes vs Estoril
Gil Vicente vs Portimonense
FC Porto vs Famalicao
Portuguese Liga 2:
Feirense vs Mafra
FC Porto II vs Casa Pia
Rio Ave vs Farense
SL Benfica II vs Penafiel
Estrela vs Trofense
Romanian Liga 1:
CS Mioveni vs Academica Clinceni
UTA Arad vs Gaz Metan Medias
FCSB vs CFR Cluj
Spanish Primera Liga:
Granada vs CA Osasuna
Real Madrid vs Elche
Real Sociedad vs Getafe
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Athletic Club
Deportivo Alaves vs Barcelona
Turkish Super Lig:
Kasimpasa vs Kayserispor
Hatayspor vs Rizespor
Giresunspor vs Alanyaspor
Altay vs Konyaspor
Antalyaspor vs Gaziantep
Galatasaray vs Trabzonspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!