Rijeka vs Sarpsborg 08
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Today’s free tip is in the UEFA Europa League encounter between Rijeka and Sarpsborg 08 in Croatia. The first leg of this tie ended 1-1 so there’s still everything to play for here. As expected, it was an open game of football but it was just one of those days so the scoreline ended up at 1-1 – typical!
With Radosevic having left Rijeka now though, their stranglehold on games is nowhere near as strong. They’re still better than Sarpsborg 08, admittedly, but they saw in the first leg that containing their Norwegian opposition is not very easy. I think they’re going to have to be a bit smarter tonight or they may end up heading down the St. Gallen route.
When I see Kek’s attack though, I can only really see Rijeka advancing tonight. Gorgon is a decent poacher, and with classy Heber and powerful Acosta alongside him, Rijeka have plenty of dangerous options. They’ve got decent support from midfielders like Canadija and Kvrzic too, especially the latter. They can outscore more teams than they let on, Rijeka, but it’s just not Kek’s style to be overly adventurous and dangerous. They have to be coaxed into it. Still, with Radosevic gone and a fearless side heading to Croatia to face them, Rijeka’s hand might just be forced here, which is what I am banking on.
As I’ve said many times already, I really like where Sarpsborg 08 are at right now. They’re not simply here to make up the numbers. They’ve got a really good attack, largely because of Singh, Zachariassen, plus their Danish contingent. They’ve actually got two good finishers in Mortensen and Schwartz. They’re even more dangerous now they added French forward Muhammed to their squad. He’s absolute lightning with his raw pace, although don’t get too excited by him because he couldn’t hit a barn door with his finishing!
What I love about Bakke’s boys is that they’re confident and fearless. They don’t look scared of any opponent, nor any situation. They still make basic errors, especially at the back, but they have an unbelievable level of confidence in their own ability to outscore teams. I don’t see them fearing Rijeka, and why should they? It’s not like they’re facing Barcelona CF at the Nou Camp tonight! Sarpsborg 08 are good enough in attack to really upset the apple cart here. Unfortunately for them, I can’t see them doing that without conceding, and they sure as hell can’t go to Croatia to defend given that the first leg ended 1-1. Besides, defending isn’t their style. They only want to attack, and that’s what I expect them to do tonight.
Whether Rijeka do “a job” on Sarpsborg 08 here or whether it’s a very good game, I expect it to go over 2.5 goals.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
No freebies today so good luck if you’re betting!
Thursday’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.
UEFA Europa League:
Kairat Almaty vs Sigma Olomouc
AEK Larnaca vs Sturm Graz
HJK Helsinki vs Olimpija Ljubljana
FC Copenhagen vs CSKA Sofia
Progres Niedercorn vs FK Ufa
Universitatea Cluj vs RB Leipzig
CFR Cluj vs Alashkert
Suduva Marijampole vs Spartaks Jurmala
FC Midtjylland vs The New Saints
APOEL Nicosia vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Kukesi vs Torpedo Kutaisi
Molde FK vs Hibernian
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Dinamo Minsk
Zalgiris Vilnius vs Sevilla CF
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Pyunik Yerevan
Luzern vs Olympiakos Piraeus
LASK Linz vs Besiktas JK
Dinamo Brest vs Apollon Limassol
Zrinjski Mostar vs Ludogorets Razgrad
F91 Dudelange vs Legia Warsaw
Atalanta Bergamo vs Hapoel Haifa
Brondby vs Spartak Subotica
FC Basel vs Vitesse Arnhem
Lech Poznan vs Racing Genk
Maribor vs Rangers
FCSB vs Hajduk Split
Partizan Belgrade vs FC Nordsjaelland
Rapid Vienna vs Slovan Bratislava
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Trencin
AA Gent vs Jagiellonia Bialystok
Rosenborg BK vs Cork City
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Mariupol’
Burnley vs Istanbul BB
Rijeka vs Sarpsborg 08
Valur Reykjavik vs Sheriff Tiraspol
Sporting Braga vs Zorya Lugansk
Copa Sudamericana:
Botafogo vs Nacional Asuncion
Colon de Santa Fe vs Sao Paulo
Defensor Sporting vs Fluminense
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
B36 Torshavn vs KI Klaksvik
07 Vestur Sorvagur vs HB Torshavn
Enjoy your free betting tips!