Arouca vs Real
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I’ve been extremely vocal about not handicapping Arouca in the members section in recent weeks and I stand by that because no opportunity has arisen to back them to clear the -1 Asian Handicap with good odds. I would not back them to beat the -1.5 Asian Handicap at any stage because they’re a model of efficiency, not entertainment. It’s efficiency that gets teams promoted to Portugal’s Liga 1, not entertaining fans.
However, if the opportunity arises to back Arouca to beat the -1 Asian Handicap (i.e. with insurance) at home against an inferior team at good odds, I am happy to take it. Yes, Arouca are a 1-0 team but an opponent like Real is always going to be capable of conceding goals from nowhere. That’s why I am happy to take the chance on Arouca winning this game by at least two goals.
If Arouca really wanted to, they could score three or four here. They aren’t likely to do that, though – it’s just not the style of boss Miguel Leal. I believe Arouca will score, sit on it very well because Real don’t bring much threat to the table, and hopefully nick a second on a break because the visitors are not the kind of team to sit back and take a defeat. That’s my understanding of this encounter, in a nutshell!
Real are not good enough to play at this level, as the Liga 2 table amply demonstrates. Draws are no longer handy results for them; they need to win games – but they can’t because keeping teams out is verging on being mythical to them.
Amusingly – and this is what I love about Portugal’s Liga 2 – the top goal-scorer for the division is a Brazilian attacker called Carlos and he plays for Real. He has scored 50% of their goals this season, which is both impressive and terrifying at the same time. I doubt he’ll be at Real next season if he can be the division’s top goal-scorer in a crap team. He’s literally all they can threaten Arouca with though. It’s not going to cut the mustard, in my view.
Arouca are littered with Liga 1 level players and a very experienced coach. I would be really surprised if Arouca failed to win this game, and I think it’s worth taking them to beat the -1 Asian Handicap as they’re more than capable of finishing the job off on the break.
Verdict: Arouca to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 9/10.
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 to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Argentinian Superliga:
Godoy Cruz de Mendoza vs Belgrano de Cordoba
Talleres de Cordoba vs Banfield
Boca Juniors vs Temperley
Atletico Lanus vs River Plate
Australian A-League:
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Wellington Phoenix
Austrian Bundesliga:
Admira Wacker vs Rapid Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Waasland-Beveren vs Club Brugge
Standard de Liege vs Royal Excel Mouscron
Sporting Charleroi vs Lokeren
Croatian Prva Liga:
Cibalia Vinkovci vs Hajduk Split
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Rudes
Danish Superligaen:
OB Odense vs FC Helsingfor
SonderjyskE vs FC Nordsjaelland
Lyngby vs Brondby
English Premier League:
Huddersfield Town vs Bournemouth
Newcastle United vs Manchester United
Southampton vs Liverpool
Finnish Suomen Cup:
MuSa vs PS Kemi Kings
French Ligue 1:
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Troyes
Nantes Atlantique vs Lille OSC
Olympique Lyonnais vs Stade Rennais
German Bundesliga:
VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Werder Bremen vs VfL Wolfsburg
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Netanya vs Bnei Sakhnin
Hapoel Acre vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Italian Serie A:
Sassuolo vs Cagliari
Internazionale vs Bologna
Chievo Verona vs Genoa
Sampdoria vs Hellas Verona
Torino vs Udinese
AS Roma vs Benevento
Dutch Eredivisie:
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Twente Enschede
Vitesse Arnhem vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Excelsior Rotterdam vs NAC Breda
Groningen vs ADO Den Haag
Portuguese Liga 1:
Belenenses vs Desportivo Aves
Chaves vs FC Porto
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Feirense
Boavista vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Portuguese Liga 2:
Gil Vicente vs Academica de Coimbra
Leixoes Matosinhos vs Sporting Braga II
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Sporting Covilha
UD Oliveirense vs Famalicao
Santa Clara vs FC Porto II
Arouca vs Real (7) 2-0
Vitoria Guimaraes II vs Cova Piedade
SL Benfica II vs Academico Viseu
Romanian Liga:
CS U Craiova vs Sepsi
Spanish Primera Liga:
Sevilla CF vs Girona
Barcelona CF vs Getafe
Celta de Vigo vs RCD Espanyol
Valencia CF vs Levante
Swiss Super League:
Grasshopper Zurich vs Luzern
Lausanne Sport vs Young Boys Bern
St. Gallen vs FC Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso vs Wil
Rapperswil-Jona vs Vaduz
Turkish Super Lig:
Kayserispor vs Sivasspor
Akhisarspor vs Bursaspor
Alanyaspor vs Konyaspor
Istanbul BB vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!