Lugano vs Grasshopper Zurich
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What we have here are two very intense teams. I don’t mean intense as in Young Boys Bern or Thun where goals are all but guaranteed. What I mean is that the two teams in question are fighters. They’re quite cautious, never give up, and pride themselves on their organisation – well, as much as Swiss teams can! That’s why the previous meetings between these two teams this season have been low-scoring; they tend to cancel one another out. This game should follow suit, really.
I would actually argue that Lugano have been the better side when facing Grasshopper Zurich this season though, for those of you that want to enter the 1×2 market. Lugano are playing well at the moment, they’ve got boatloads of spirit, and they know how to get under a team’s skin. I wouldn’t say that they’ve got a better side than Grasshopper Zurich, and they certainly don’t have a manager of Yakin’s standing either, but they’re good enough to cause problems, that’s for sure.
Grasshopper Zurich are good enough to win this game, especially given that Yakin has now reinforced their squad with some more of “his” players. Their latest one is Australian centre-back Sainsbury, who is a very good addition to their squad, although he can’t play today. A Yakin team can be flexible with their approach, they give 110% in each game, and they never doubt themselves. On paper, this Grasshopper Zurich side isn’t as good as those in the recent past but with Yakin at the helm, they know precisely how to hurt teams. I rate the visitors very highly indeed, which is why I simply refuse to oppose them in this game.
I wouldn’t really be surprised if either team won this game, hence me not getting involved on that front. I slightly favour Lugano but nowhere near enough to back it. Taking under 2.5 goals at 4/5 is a very logical call though. Neither team will push for more goals if they get the first (other than via breaks) and neither possess overly clinical finishers so I’m going to roll with under 2.5 goals here.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 4/5.
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 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:
Argentinos Juniors vs Atletico Tucuman
San Lorenzo de Almagro vs Newell’s Old Boys
Temperley vs Independiente
Rosario Central vs Club Olimpo
Australian A-League:
Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory
Adelaide United vs Central Coast Mariners
Austrian Bundesliga:
Rapid Vienna vs Sturm Graz
SV Mattersburg vs Austria Vienna
Wolfsberger AC vs Admira Wacker
LASK Linz vs SCR Altach
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Antwerp vs KV Oostende
Zulte-Waregem vs AS Eupen
Lokeren vs Kortrijk
Club Brugge vs Racing Genk
Bulgarian A PFG:
Etar vs Septemvri Sofia
Vereya vs CSKA Sofia
Cherno More Varna vs Beroe
Croatian Prva Liga:
NK Osijek vs Rijeka
Istra 1961 vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Czech Republic HET Liga:
Mlada Boleslav vs Karvina
Banik Ostrava vs Slovacko
Zlin vs Dukla Prague
Baumit Jablonec vs Teplice
Vysocina Jihlava vs Slavia Prague
Bohemians 1905 vs Zbrojovka Brno
Danish Superligaen:
Silkeborg vs Lyngby
English FA Cup:
Sheffield Wednesday vs Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion vs Southampton
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Coventry City
Huddersfield Town vs Manchester United
Finnish Suomen Cup:
RoPS Rovaniemi vs Kajaani
AC Oulu vs KuPS Kuopio
HJK Helsinki vs KTP
Ilves vs FC Lahti
Viikingit Helsinki vs JJK Jyvaskyla
VPS Vaasa vs TPV
Klubi-04 vs Ekenas IF
French Ligue 1:
Paris Saint-Germain vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Amiens SC vs Toulouse
Angers SCO vs AS Saint-Etienne
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Stade Rennais
Montpellier HSC vs En Avant Guingamp
Troyes vs Metz
German Bundesliga:
Koln vs Hannover 96
SC Freiburg vs Werder Bremen
Hamburger SV vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg vs Bayern Munich
Schalke 04 vs Hoffenheim
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Ra’anana
MS Ashdod vs Hapoel Acre
Bnei Sakhnin vs Maccabi Haifa
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Maccabi Petah Tikva
Italian Serie A:
Udinese vs AS Roma
Chievo Verona vs Cagliari
Genoa vs Internazionale
Lithuanian Super Cup:
Suduva Marijampole vs Stumbras
Dutch Eredivisie:
Vitesse Arnhem vs Excelsior Rotterdam
NAC Breda vs AZ Alkmaar
PSV Eindhoven vs Heerenveen
ADO Den Haag vs Willem II
Portuguese Liga 1:
Desportivo Aves vs Maritimo Funchal
SL Benfica vs Boavista
Estoril vs Belenenses
Portuguese Liga 2:
Gil Vicente vs Sporting Clube de Portugal II
Sporting Braga II vs Arouca
Academica de Coimbra vs Vitoria Guimaraes II
Spanish Primera Liga:
Las Palmas vs Sevilla CF
Eibar vs Barcelona CF
Deportivo Alaves vs Deportivo La Coruna
Malaga CF vs Valencia CF
Swedish Svenska Cupen:
AIK Solna vs Syrianska Sodertalje
Oddevold vs Halmstad
Kalmar FF vs Atvidaberg
GIF Sundsvall vs Norrby
IFK Norrkoping vs Helsingborg
Sirius vs Oster
IFK Goteborg vs Varberg
Swiss Super League:
FC Basel vs St. Gallen
Lugano vs Grasshopper Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
Rapperswil-Jona vs FC Schaffhausen
Turkish Super Lig:
Antalyaspor vs Kayserispor
Sivasspor vs Osmanlispor
Fenerbahce vs Alanyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!