Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Maccabi Petah Tikva
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
There are 7 bankers & 3 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see them all + team news!
Today’s free tip is in the Israeli Ligat Ha’al encounter between Ironi Kiryat Shmona and Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Despite them having entered something of a lull after a strong start to life under Drapic, Shmona still have my favour here. They’ve lacked that killer goal-scoring touch but that’s not exactly unfamiliar territory for them, you know? Drapic has tightened up their defence really well, and that in itself makes me trust them a lot more than I did earlier in the season.
I can’t deny having a slight concern about their motivation because, truth be told, they’re not going to get relegated. They’ve got a good enough squad, and a manager that is too good for them so he knows how to get the best out of it. His early work at Shmona has been enough to see them comfortably rise up the Ligat Ha’al, well away from the likes of Hapoel Nof HaGalil – and even tonight’s opposition, Maccabi Petah Tikva. I don’t think they’d dare stop playing for Drapic in terms of working hard but they may not have the edge in front of goal that they’d need if they’re to win this game.
Those concerns aside though, I have no reason to doubt the home team, especially with draw no bet as cover. They’re compact at the back, tenacious in midfield, and possess enough physically intimidating attackers to deter teams from committing too many men forward. Drapic’s teams are known for fast counters, and Shmona are not an exception, as they amply demonstrated in their 2-1 win against reigning champions Maccabi Haifa a short while back.
I also think that Drapic has began to get Kehat somewhere close to his best. There’s still another level or two to go, but with him playing like he has been, Shmona won’t be short of opportunities. I may not consider them to be a particularly ruthless team in front of goal but once they score, they do tend to hold it. They’re a nightmare to beat, Shmona – that’s their strong suit. That’s what Maccabi Petah Tikva have to try and do here though.
Unlike their hosts, the away team are in the throes of a relegation dogfight. Appointing Klinger as manager was risky, to say the least. He’s long been a very overrated manager in Israel, and is not someone that generally has the players on his side for too long. I don’t want to see Maccabi Petah Tikva relegated, and truth be told, I don’t think they will be. They’re always very good at producing young talents, and they’ve done their homework on the scouting front too, bringing in some very exciting attackers pre-season. There’s enough there to keep them up, in other words.
The problem I have with the visitors is that they don’t defend well enough. It’s advantageous to have the likes of Banda, Adeniyi, Doumbia, and target man Nicoleascu but this is not a team that controls matches well enough to keep teams away from their shoddy defence. Subsequently, they concede on a regular basis. Aside from when they raise their game for the bigger matches, they simply lack the focus to deal with most Ligat Ha’al teams. I can actually understand that almost ‘arrogance’, if you will, at least in the relegation section of the table because they should have a good enough attack to finish in the top three of it. Playing that way in the ordinary segment of the Ligat Ha’al is fraught with danger though, so they’re lucky to have moved into the relegation section now. No doubt Klinger will come out of it smelling of roses, as he always seems to!
Anyway, back to this game; I can’t see Maccabi Petah Tikva having enough tactical nous to win this game. A draw, possibly, but they’ll need their hosts to have a goal-shy game. For my money, Ironi Kiryat Shmona should be too smart for them though, and if they take their chances, then they should win.
Verdict: Ironi Kiryat Shmona to win with draw no bet at 4/5.
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:
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Adelaide United
Austrian Bundesliga:
Hartberg vs LASK
Sturm Graz vs Austria Klagenfurt
Wolfsberger AC vs Salzburg
Rapid Vienna vs Austria Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Club Brugge vs Racing Genk
Kortrijk vs Standard de Liege
AA Gent vs RSC Anderlecht
Sint-Truiden vs Germinal Beerschot
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa vs Pirin Blagoevgrad
Botev Plovdiv vs CSKA Sofia
Slavia Sofia vs Cherno More Varna
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica vs Dinamo Zagreb
Sibenik vs NK Osijek
Czechia Liga 1:
Teplice vs Hradec Kralove
Mlada Boleslav vs Sparta Prague
Sigma Olomouc vs Slovan Liberec
Slavia Prague vs Ceske Budejovice
Danish Superligaen:
AGF vs Viborg
FC Copenhagen vs FC Nordsjaelland
Aalborg BK vs Brondby
Vejle vs OB
SonderjyskE vs Randers
Silkeborg vs FC Midtjylland
English Premier League:
Leicester City vs Brenford
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Vaprus Parnu vs Tallinna Kalev
Tammeka vs Flora Paide
Faroese Betrideildin:
Skala vs 07 Vestur Sorvagur
EB/Streymur vs KI
Vikingur Gota vs AB
French Ligue 1:
AS Monaco vs Paris Saint-Germain
Angers SCO vs Stade Brestois
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Montpellier HSC
Lorient vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Stade Rennais vs Metz
Stade de Reims vs Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique de Marseille vs OGC Nice
German Bundesliga:
RB Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
VfL Wolfsburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Koln vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
German Bundesliga 2:
Holstein Kiel vs Ingolstadt
Nurnberg vs Dynamo Dresden
Jahn Regensburg vs Paderborn 07
Hungarian Liga 1:
Paksi SE vs Debreceni VSC
Ujpest vs Budapest Honved
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Maccabi Petah Tikva
Hapoel Haifa vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
Venezia vs Sampdoria
Empoli vs Hellas Verona
Juventus vs Salernitana
AS Roma vs SS Lazio
Bologna vs Atalanta Bergamo
Italian Serie B:
Vicenza vs Ascoli
Pisa vs Cittadella
Perugia vs Como
Pordenone vs Brescia
SPAL vs Cremonese
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Dziugas Telsiai vs FK Panevezys
Hegelmann Litauen vs FA Siauliai
Zalgiris Vilnius vs Riteriai
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Utrecht vs FC Groningen
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
PSV Eindhoven vs Fortuna Sittard
Vitesse Arnhem vs RKC Waalwijk
Willem II vs AZ
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira vs Moreirense
Gil Vicente vs Maritimo Funchal
SL Benfica vs Estoril
Portimonense vs Sporting Braga
Boavista vs FC Porto
Portuguese Liga 2:
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Academica de Coimbra
Casa Pia vs Feirense
SL Benfica II vs Leixoes Matosinhos
FC Porto II vs Estrela
Trofense vs Chaves
Romanian Liga 1:
Dinamo Bucharest vs Sepsi
Arges vs FCSB
Spanish Primera Liga:
RCD Espanyol vs Real Mallorca
Celta de Vigo vs Real Betis Balompie
Cadiz vs Villarreal
Sevilla vs Real Sociedad
Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Swedish Svenska Cupen:
Djurgarden vs Malmo FF
Swiss Super League:
Servette vs FC Sion
Grasshopper Zurich vs FC Basel
Lugano vs Lausanne Sport
Turkish Super Lig:
Antalyaspor vs Giresunspor
Sivasspor vs Altay
Gaziantep FK vs Galatasaray
Fenerbahce vs Konyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!