Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Netanya
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Today’s free tip is in the Ligat Ha’al encounter between Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv and Maccabi Netanya. Despite having had a terrific campaign thus far, I suspect that Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv will struggle today. This is largely because of things that have happened at the club of late, and it may well continue.
I mean, it’s one thing to beat Maccabi Netanya at the moment. They’ve become the polar opposites of the attacking force that they were last season and have supremely eased into their groove as a defensive and organised unit. The transformation may be displeasing for the neutrals because they’re not so much fun to watch nowadays but they’re a lot more efficient because of it. It was the logical thing to do, really, bearing in mind the attacking stars like Kougbenya and Saba that moved on. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting them to take to it as well as they have, however, so kudos to boss Drapic for that.
Now imagine trying to beat an organised, well-oiled, and consistent Maccabi Netanya without some of your best players. That’s the position that Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv find themselves in today. Firstly, they lost Shua a week or two back. He’s one of two very talented youngsters that the club has ushered through this season, the other being Ivorian all-round midfielder Soro. I wouldn’t get carried away with Shua, incidentally – I think he needed another year at a lesser club – but that’s not going to happen now that Maccabi Haifa has signed him. Sadly for him, I suspect that will pretty much end his career as it’s almost impossible for any youngster to flourish at such a joke of a club.
Secondly, rapid Congolese attacker Tchibota is suspended for spitting after the final whistle against Hapoel Ra’anana. Now, out of the twenty-seven goals scored by Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv in the Ligat Ha’al this season, sixteen of them were scored by either Shua or Tchibota. Basically, over 50% of their goals this season would not have happened without those two players – and yet Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv can field neither today. Indeed, with Spanish centre-back Cuellar out too, I don’t see why anybody would trust Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv to win this game.
Thirdly, Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv have over-achieved this season. Yes, they’ve got some very promising youngsters coming through and the odd good player to help them out but this is generally still an average team that is performing better than expected. Unlike the likes of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, this team cannot flourish as they have been this season without their best players available to them, and most of their best players cannot play today. Therefore, I think it’s entirely logical that European hopefuls Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv will struggle today.
Can Maccabi Netanya take advantage of that? Time will tell. I don’t blame anyone for taking that chance but it’s not something that appeals to me since it’s been made blatantly apparent that Maccabi Netanya have prioritised defending this season. Indeed, a draw at in-form Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv has to be considered a good result, really. Therefore, I would not be tempted to back Maccabi Netanya personally, even with draw no bet. I did toy with laying the hosts but the odds are too short so I won’t do that.
Instead, I’m going to go for under 2.5 goals. Much like the hosts, Maccabi Netanya is missing a couple of players – Kougbenya (against his former club) and Olsak. Kougbenya has not shone since his summer move but he’s the most mobile attacker this team has so his absence is notable. Target man Beciraj is not someone that can make things happen on his own, after all. Olsak’s importance is more related to their defence than anything because he’s a battling midfielder. The only way to replace him is with numbers, so I expect Maccabi Netanya to be even more cautious than usual today.
I’ve enjoyed seeing how well Maccabi Netanya has contained teams this season though. It’s not pretty football to watch but it’s still admirable, particularly in a division where tactics really don’t seem to be all that important to teams. If they’re smart here, Maccabi Netanya, they should get something from the game. Their hosts should struggle to find the back of the net and Maccabi Netanya fend their opponents off well so I’m going to roll with under 2.5 goals in what should be a very tight game between two well-matched outfits.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 83/100.
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. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Argentinian Superliga:
River Plate vs Defensa y Justicia
Australian A-League:
Sydney FC vs Newcastle Jets
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Standard de Liege vs Kortrijk
AS Eupen vs Lokeren
Waasland-Beveren vs Cercle Brugge
Zulte-Waregem vs Antwerp
English Premier League:
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Leicester City
Bournemouth vs West Ham United
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Southampton vs Everton
Newcastle United vs Cardiff City
Watford vs Burnley
Arsenal vs Chelsea
French Ligue 1:
Paris Saint-Germain vs En Avant Guingamp
AS Monaco vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Nimes Olympique vs Toulouse
Stade de Reims vs OGC Nice
German Bundesliga:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
VfB Stuttgart vs Mainz 05
Eintracht Frankfurt vs SC Freiburg
Augsburg vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
Hannover 96 vs Werder Bremen
RB Leipzig vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Netanya
Bnei Sakhnin vs Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Ra’anana
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Italian Serie A:
AS Roma vs Torino
Udinese vs Parma
Internazionale vs Sassuolo
Italian Serie B:
Lecce vs Benevento
Crotone vs Cittadella
Carpi vs Foggia
Perugia vs Brescia
Dutch Eredivisie:
AZ Alkmaar vs FC Utrecht
PEC Zwolle vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
ADO Den Haag vs VVV Venlo
Groningen vs Heracles Almelo
Portuguese Liga 1:
Belenenses vs Tondela
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Moreirense
Santa Clara vs Maritimo Funchal
Portuguese Liga 2:
Famalicao vs Farense
Sporting Braga II vs Pacos de Ferreira
Cova Piedade vs Vitoria Guimaraes II
FC Porto II vs Estoril
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Madrid vs Sevilla CF
Huesca vs Atletico Madrid
Celta de Vigo vs Valencia CF
Turkish Super Lig:
Yeni Malatyaspor vs Goztepe
Antalyaspor vs Kayserispor
Galatasaray vs Ankaragucu
Enjoy your free betting tips!