IFK Goteborg vs Djurgarden
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Today’s free tip is in the Swedish Allsvenskan encounter between IFK Goteborg and Djurgarden.
Odds like evens on someone winning away from home against IFK Goteborg feels like a trap. Of course, that’s largely paranoia on my part, having grown up with the home team being a massive force in the Allsvenskan. Although they unquestionably remain one of Sweden’s biggest football clubs, the brutal reality is that they’re no closer to being a team than they have been in many, many years, and that’s despite a considerable financial outlay in recent years.
IFK Goteborg – even since new boss Askou took over in June – still remain utterly lifeless. They’re not short of quality, but they are short of pace, intensity, and a modern football style. Fans of the club won’t thank me for saying this, but it’s the exact same problem that has confronted their bitter rivals, AIK Solna. Henning Berg appears to be a solution for the capital club at the moment but IFK Goteborg are yet to unearth their knight in shining armour – no disrespect to Askou.
Again, the home team are not short of individual quality but games in Sweden are not typically played in a manner that allows them to be at their best. Weirdly, with this kind of style, they’d be better suited to playing in Italy. It’s like they’ve prepared for the Allsvenskan campaign by signing good players on Football Manager without stopping to think whether it’s going to work or not. I don’t believe the managers they’ve had are particularly at fault here; they’ve inherited a squad that cannot play a style that will work at this level.
That’s why IFK Goteborg have signed the likes of Selmani, Santos, and Mucolli – they’re desperate for more impetus in the final third. It’s not been visible from any of them yet but it’s perhaps unreasonable to expect such, really – they’re the start of the transition, not the middle nor end bit. I know Mucolli from his time in Denmark with Vejle; he’s a good midfielder. Selmani is no goal-scorer but he’s the legs that Berg no longer has so the signings make sense. Whether it’ll be enough to keep the team up or not remains to be seen.
The above is the kind of team that Djurgarden should really enjoy playing against. Lagerlof and Bergstrand – for my money – are the best tacticians in Swedish football. Between them, there’s not a stadium they’ve not visited, and they’ve managed both big and small clubs. Djurgarden may not have the biggest budget or the best squad but they still compete for the title each year because of the duo at the helm. Djurgarden know how to outsmart opponents, which is something that continues to evade most Swedish teams.
With Luzern having ended their European campaign, the capital club can now focus on the Allsvenskan once more. Catching Elfsborg Boras may seem a stretch but given that they’ve just sold their best player, there’s cause for hope in Djurgarden’s camp. Besides, today’s visitors have an abundance of experienced heads in their squad, which forms a concrete spine that most Allsvenskan opposition fail to dislodge. Since the topsy-turvy derby against Hammarby in May, only Elfsborg Boras have beaten them, which says it all really.
I think further credit for Lagerlof and Bergstrand is warranted though. Their plans for this campaign have not really bore fruit with Asoro failing to show how good he is, and Fallenius clearly needing more time to showcase his talents too. They’ve taken calculated gambles but haven’t had the required luck. Despite that, Djurgarden remain in the title race, and have added some good players like Kaib and Qurbanli to help them with their shortcomings. There’s always a solution when this duo are in charge.
I just can’t envision a scenario whereby Djurgarden will fail to take advantage of what is essentially an IFK Goteborg ship that is listing close to scuppers. The visitors are very smart, and their hosts are very predictable. Therefore, the away win at evens is most appealing right now.
Verdict: Djurgarden to win 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 Cup:
Oakleigh vs Melbourne City
Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners
Austrian Bundesliga:
Salzburg vs Austria Vienna
Rapid Vienna vs Hartberg
SCR Altach vs WSG Tirol
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Sint-Truiden vs RSC Anderlecht
AS Eupen vs Club Brugge
Cercle Brugge vs Racing Genk
Sporting Charleroi vs Standard de Liege
Westerlo vs AA Gent
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs Bahia
Corinthians vs Coritiba
Gremio vs Fluminense
Flamengo vs Sao Paulo
Fortaleza vs Santos
America Mineiro vs Goias
Bulgarian A PFG:
Levski Sofia vs Botev Vratsa
Ludogorets Razgrad vs CSKA Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Istra 1961 vs NK Osijek
Hajduk Split vs Slaven Koprivnica
Czechia Liga 1:
Bohemians 1905 vs Slovacko
Sigma Olomouc vs Teplice
Mlada Boleslav vs Slavia Prague
Pardubice vs Karvina
Ceske Budejovice vs Viktoria Plzen
Danish Superligaen:
Randers vs FC Nordsjaelland
Vejle vs FC Midtjylland
Brondby vs Lyngby
AGF vs Silkeborg
English Premier League:
Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tammeka vs Nomme Kalju
Trans Narva vs Kuressaare
Faroese Betrideildin:
IF vs HB Torshavn
B68 Toftir vs 07 Vestur Sorvagur
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
FC Honka Espoo vs Inter Turku
Ilves vs KuPS
Finnish Ykkonen:
Jaro Pietarsaari vs HIFK
MP vs SalPa
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois vs Racing Club Lens
Clermont Foot 38 vs AS Monaco
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Toulouse
Montpellier HSC vs Le Havre
Stade Rennais vs Metz
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Olympique Lyonnais
German DFB Pokal:
Rostocker vs Heidenheim
Rot-Weiss Essen vs Hamburger SV
Illertissen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
Makkabi vs VfL Wolfsburg
RW Koblenz vs Kaiserslautern
Unterhaching vs Augsburg
Lokomotiv Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Oberachern vs SC Freiburg
Energie Cottbus vs Paderborn 07
Astoria vs Union Berlin
FSV Frankfurt vs Hansa Rostock
Hungarian Liga 1:
Debreceni VSC vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Ferencvaros vs Puskas FC
Kecskemeti TE vs Fehervar
Coppa Italia:
Salernitana vs Ternana
Sassuolo vs Cosenza
Lecce vs Como
Monza vs Reggiana
Lithuanian A Lyga:
FK Panevezys vs Dainava
Kauno Zalgiris vs Riteriai
Zalgiris Vilnius vs Hegelmann Litauen
Dutch Eredivisie:
NEC vs Excelsior Rotterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Fortuna Sittard
AZ vs Go Ahead Eagles
Almere City vs FC Twente Enschede
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Aalesund FK vs Hamarkameratene
Lillestrom SK vs Viking Stavanger
Valerenga Oslo vs Haugesund
Portuguese Liga 1:
Rio Ave vs Chaves
Estrela do Amadora vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Arouca vs Estoril
Spanish Primera Liga:
Celta de Vigo vs CA Osasuna
Villarreal vs Real Betis Balompie
Getafe vs Barcelona
Swedish Allsvenskan:
IFK Goteborg vs Djurgarden
Sirius vs Kalmar FF
Hammarby vs Elfsborg Boras
BK Hacken Goteborg vs Varberg
Halmstad vs IFK Norrkoping
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs Lausanne Sport
Lugano vs Yverdon-Sport
Luzern vs Young Boys Bern
Swiss Challenge League:
Baden vs Vaduz
AC Bellinzona vs Aarau
Turkish Super Lig:
Sivasspor vs Samsunspor
Adana Demirspor vs Rizespor
Fenerbahce vs Gaziantep FK
Enjoy your free betting tips!