Botafogo vs Internacional
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 9 bankers & 7 value tips & 1 accumulator in the members’ section so feel free to sign up here to see everything + team news!
Today’s free tip is in the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Botafogo and Internacional.
Amazingly, Botafogo are still flying high at the top of Serie A. I have to point the finger at Palmeiras and Flamengo as to why the Rio de Janeiro outfit are finding it so easy to do so, but credit must be given where it’s due; Bruno Lage is doing a marvellous job there. I wouldn’t say that they’re massively over-achieving but they are over-achieving with this group. It’s hard to imagine another club getting as much out of Tche Tche, for example. He’s always had the ability, but seldom the consistency. At Botafogo, however, he’s running the show, and that makes it all the easier for veteran striker Tiquinho to score the goals.
Although having been in Paraguay earlier this week, Botafogo shouldn’t struggle to adjust in time for this game. There wasn’t an altitude issue to overcome, and they only lost Galvao to injury in a very rotated squad. They’ve tended not to prioritise the Copa Sudamericana in general but have still done enough to keep their ‘dream’ alive. Tiquinho was a notable absentee last match, having sustained an injury against Cruzeiro. If he misses out here then it’ll obviously make things more complicated for Botafogo, at least when it comes to putting the ball in the net.
Still, everybody else is fresh enough so I expect Eduardo and Tche Tche to facilitate a home win here, one way or another. This is very much a team under Lage; they don’t rely on one player more than the rest. That’s why Tiquinho’s potential absence doesn’t bother me as much as it could have. I still think that, as a unit, they’re very effective. They’re good at home, they’re unbeaten for quite some time now – I don’t have a reason to doubt Botafogo, in other words.
Internacional, on the other hand, are going to be tired here. They were dragged through a gruelling midweek Copa Libertadores contest by River Plate, which the Brazilians eventually managed to win on penalties. They’re naturally buoyed to have beaten one of the biggest clubs on the continent in South America’s most prestigious competition, but they named their strongest eleven for it. They’re not in a condition to play in two massive matches in such a short space of time. They’ve already been struggling to juggle their respective competitions of late, which is why they’ve lost their usual control of games.
Internacional are geared up to win games 1-0, basically. That’s their style, albeit in a more entertaining fashion than Corinthians. Therefore, if they’re conceding goals – which they have been doing regularly of late – then they’re in trouble. They’re playing in too many matches, to be frank, and it’s hurting them. This team does not have enough goals in it to cope with such games. Sometimes they might eek out a draw but it’s not something that suits them – at all.
To their credit, Internacional know what’s been going on – that’s why they signed Valencia, Rochet, and Henrique in July, all of which were very good signings, in my opinion. I can’t fault what they’re doing on the whole but they’re short of legs and efficiency right now. I really don’t see how they’re going to contain this dangerous Botafogo side, particularly away from home, especially as they’re likely to be forced into rotation.
For me, the home win at evens is appealing.
Verdict: Botafogo to win at evens.
Saturday’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.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Sturm Graz vs Austria Klagenfurt
Wolfsberger AC vs Austria Lustenau
LASK vs Blau-Weiss Linz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
RWDM vs KV Mechelen
Union Saint-Gilloise vs OH Leuven
Brazilian Serie A:
Botafogo vs Internacional
Bulgarian A PFG:
Hebar 1918 vs Botev Plovdiv
Slavia Sofia vs Cherno More Varna
Croatian Prva Liga:
Varazdin vs Rudes
Czechia Liga 1:
Banik Ostrava vs Hradec Kralove
Zlin vs Slovan Liberec
Baumit Jablonec vs Sparta Prague
English Premier League:
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
Bournemouth vs West Ham United
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Luton Town
Everton vs Fulham
Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle United vs Aston Villa
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Paide vs Tallinna Kalev
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Laagri
Faroese Betrideildin:
AB vs EB/Streymur
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
AC Oulu vs FC Lahti
Finnish Ykkonen:
KPV vs SJK-Akatemia
Ekenas IF vs KaPa
French Ligue 1:
Olympique de Marseille vs Stade de Reims
Paris Saint-Germain vs Lorient
German DFB Pokal:
Balingen vs VfB Stuttgart
Carl-Zeiss Jena vs Hertha Berlin
Atlas vs St. Pauli
Oberneuland vs Nurnberg
Schott vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Viktoria Koln vs Werder Bremen
Teutonia Ott. vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Gütersloh vs Holstein Kiel
Hallescher FC vs Greuther Furth
Elversberg vs Mainz 05
Arminia Bielefeld vs VfL Bochum
Hungarian Liga 1:
Ujpest vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Diosgyori VTK vs Paksi SE
Coppa Italia:
Empoli vs Cittadella
Bari vs Parma
Hellas Verona vs Ascoli
Cagliari vs Palermo
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Suduva Marijampole vs Banga Gargzdai
Dutch Eredivisie:
PSV Eindhoven vs FC Utrecht
SC Heerenveen vs RKC Waalwijk
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Heracles Almelo
PEC Zwolle vs Sparta Rotterdam
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Sandefjord vs Molde FK
Sarpsborg 08 vs Stromsgodset
Portuguese Liga 1:
Gil Vicente vs Portimonense
Farense vs Casa Pia
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Vizela
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Sociedad vs Girona
Las Palmas vs Real Mallorca
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid
Swedish Allsvenskan:
AIK Solna vs Brommapojkarna
Swiss Challenge League:
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs FC Zurich
FC Winterthur vs Grasshopper Zurich
Servette vs St. Gallen
Turkish Super Lig:
Kasimpasa vs Ankaragucu
Konyaspor vs Istanbulspor
Kayserispor vs Galatasaray
Pendikspor vs Hatayspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!