Konyaspor vs Besiktas JK
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Today’s free tip is in the Turkish Super Lig encounter between Konyaspor and Besiktas JK.
Although rightly the favourites to win this game, there is little to suggest that Besiktas JK should be backed to win in Konya today. They’ve got better players, the Istanbul giants, but I just don’t think they did good enough business pre-season because these players of Gunes’ – they don’t look like they fear for their starting spot. Why should they? Besiktas JK rested a few players for their mid-week trip to face Malmo FF in the UEFA Europa League and were beaten 2-0. With all due respect to the Swedish champions, that’s not a game that Besiktas JK should be losing.
The most ineffectual part of the Besiktas JK team right now is their attack, which is largely because they can’t put the ball in the net with any real regularity. They’ve got some brilliant, experienced creators in their squad, especially in their talismanic winger, Quaresma. I think that both Lens and Babel have rolled back the years since joining them too, producing some wonderful displays, and both returning Tore and newbie Ljajic are good at making things happen too, not to mention Ozyakup. However, they lack a good target man and it’s making them very predictable. I’m a big fan of Vagner Love but he’s not going to win anything in the air, and Besiktas JK do try and play a wide game. It was one thing to lose Tosun last season but to lose Negredo as well? It was very damaging.
At home, with their fans behind them, Besiktas JK can usually get by without dealing with that particular issue. This is because they see more of the ball, they control proceedings, and they’ll generally find a way through, even if it’s from one of their brutal back four. Away from home, however, they’re struggling, much like city rivals Galatasaray. They’re not able to control games as effectively, and their reduction in chances created is causing them to struggle even more in front of goal. On paper, their starting eleven remains arguably the strongest in Turkey’s Super Lig. In reality, I don’t think there’s enough competition to motivate the players that bit more, and I don’t think they’ve got enough options in attack so I don’t fancy their chances in Konya today.
The Super Lig is hardly what you’d call a “tactical” division. It’s really rather chaotic, littered with diving and poor decision-making. Nonetheless, patterns remain in this division, as they do in every division. However, one exception to that rule – at least for the present – is Konyaspor. Unless a team (ala Goztepe last time out) really pulls them out into an open game, Konyaspor keep the door firmly shut. I wouldn’t call them a good defensive side, per se, but they control games well enough for teams to find it hard to score against them, which is very beneficial for a tip of this nature.
Experienced boss Calimbay knows the Super Lig very well by now, and he’s got plenty of workhorses in his squad. Players that have been involved in relegation dogfights, that have been around for a while, and that take pride in their performance. I wouldn’t say that any of their players are excellent (although Yatabare sometimes does something wonderful!) but I would say that, as a unit, they’re very compact, and they’re hard to beat as a result. They’re even harder to topple when they have a lead because they’re good on the break and they’ve got good stamina to boot. They’re a pretty trustworthy side, Konyaspor, at least for a Super Lig team.
Historically, Besiktas JK struggle in Konya. It’s been four years since they last won in this city, and although I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed it today, I certainly wouldn’t advocate backing such to occur. Konyaspor are organised, they’re determined, and they’re not the team you want to face after an away game in Europe mid-week. I do think that Besiktas JK have more match-winners, and that could prove decisive here, but rather than get sucked into the 1×2 market for no real reason, I’d much rather plump for under 2.5 goals as it’ll take some unusual circumstances to send this game sky-rocketing.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals 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.
Argentinian Superliga:
Banfield vs San Lorenzo de Almagro
Atletico Tucuman vs Atletico Lanus
Rosario Central vs Union de Santa Fe
Talleres de Cordoba vs Belgrano de Cordoba
Racing Club Avellaneda vs Boca Juniors
Austrian Bundesliga
Rapid Vienna vs SV Mattersburg
Wacker Innsbruck vs LASK Linz
Sturm Graz vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Zulte-Waregem vs RSC Anderlecht
Standard de Liege vs Club Brugge
AA Gent vs Racing Genk
Bulgarian A PFG:
Etar vs Vitosha Bistritsa
Botev Vratsa vs Ludogorets Razgrad
Levski Sofia vs Slavia Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Rudes vs Dinamo Zagreb
Hajduk Split vs NK Osijek
Czech Republic HET Liga:
Karvina vs Dukla Prague
Opava vs Bohemians 1905
Baumit Jablonec vs Slovacko
Viktoria Plzen vs Teplice
Slavia Prague vs Marila Pribram
Danish Superligaen:
Hobro vs FC Nordsjaelland
AC Horsens vs Esbjerg
FC Copenhagen vs Randers
Aalborg BK vs Brondby
FC Midtjylland vs Vendsyssel
English Premier League:
Fulham vs Arsenal
Southampton vs Chelsea
Liverpool vs Manchester City
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Tallinn vs Nomme Kalju
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
IFK Mariehamn vs FC Lahti
HJK Helsinki vs VPS Vaasa
KuPS Kuopio vs Ilves
French Ligue 1:
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Nantes Atlantique
Olympique de Marseille vs Stade Malherbe de Caen
AS Monaco vs Stade Rennais
Paris Saint-Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais
German Bundesliga:
SC Freiburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Hoffenheim vs Eintracht Frankfurt
RB Leipzig vs Nurnberg
German Bundesliga 2:
Union Berlin vs Heidenheim
Ingolstadt vs Paderborn 07
St. Pauli vs SV Sandhausen
Hungarian Liga 1:
Vidi vs MTK Budapest
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Hadera vs Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Beitar Jerusalem vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Italian Serie A:
Genoa vs Parma
Atalanta Bergamo vs Sampdoria
SS Lazio vs ACF Fiorentina
AC Milan vs Chievo Verona
SSC Napoli vs Sassuolo
SPAL vs Internazionale
Italian Serie B:
Brescia vs Padova
Livorno vs Spezia
Palermo vs Crotone
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Atlantas Klaipeda vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Stumbras vs Suduva Marijampole
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Emmen vs Fortuna Sittard
Willem II vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Vitesse Arnhem vs Heracles Almelo
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs AZ Alkmaar
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Start Kristiansand vs Sarpsborg 08
Kristiansund vs Tromso
Rosenborg BK vs Sandefjord
Bodo/Glimt vs Molde FK
Odd vs Ranheim
Brann Bergen vs Lillestrom
Portuguese Liga 1:
Boavista vs Desportivo Aves
SL Benfica vs FC Porto
Portimonense vs Sporting Clube de Portugal
Portuguese Liga 2:
Academica de Coimbra vs Estoril
FC Porto II vs Arouca
Varzim vs Vitoria Guimaraes II
Leixoes Matosinhos vs UD Oliveirense
Sporting Braga II vs Academico Viseu
Russian Premier League:
Yenisey vs Spartak Moscow
Akhmat Grozny vs Anzhi Makhachkala
Zenit St. Petersburg vs FK Krasnodar
CSKA Moscow vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Valladolid vs Huesca
Atletico Madrid vs Real Betis Balompie
RCD Espanyol vs Villarreal CF
Sevilla CF vs Celta de Vigo
Valencia CF vs Barcelona CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
BK Hacken Goteborg vs Malmo FF
IFK Norrkoping vs Djurgarden
AIK Solna vs Orebro
Brommapojkarna vs Hammarby
Swiss Super League:
Grasshopper Zurich vs Lugano
Neuchatel Xamax vs Sion
Thun vs FC Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso vs Lausanne Sport
Aarau vs Winterthur
Servette vs FC Wil
Turkish Super Lig:
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Sivasspor
Fenerbahce vs Istanbul BB
Akhisarspor vs Trabzonspor
Konyaspor vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!