Santos vs America
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Copa Libertadores clash in Brazil between Santos and Mexican outfit America. These two sides both enjoy playing an attack breed of football as they know little else so I expect an entertaining game here.
Have Santos kept a clean sheet at home in the Copa Libertadores this season? No; absolutely not. They’ve shipped four goals in three home games, conceding in all three home games against Venezuelan outfit Deportivo Tachira, Paraguayan giants Cerro Porteno, and Chilean samba side Colo Colo. To be fair to Santos, I can understand why they adopt such an attacking approach to their football – just look at their offensive power! Neymar, Ze Eduardo, Keirrison, Elano, Ganso etc. etc. Therefore, it’s more than reasonable to expect Santos to score here as they’ve now actually bagged eleven goals in six games in the Copa Libertadores. They can’t defend for shit but scoring goals is something that they do well, especially with starlet Neymar looking better with each passing game, so I think we’ll see Santos take the bull by the horns here.
Visitors America only know one brand of football; attack. It’s therefore no surprise that two out of their last three away games on the continent have ended 3-1 and 3-2 respectively, the latter of which was on their last trip to Brazil to face Fluminense. In Vuoso, Sanchez, Marquez, and Reyna, America have a very potent attack, enough so to forget that they’re still without one of the best target men in Latin America – Cabanas. With Brazilian midfielder Rosinei behind them, it’s no surprise at all that America tend to score goals and create over 2.5 goals games. They remarkably kept a clean sheet in their last away game in the Copa Libertadores as they claimed a pricless 0-0 draw in Uruguay with giants Club Nacional de Montevideo, although I’d attribute that scoreline being largely due to the hosts in that game placing a large amount of pressure on talented marksman Garcia, who is still in his tender years. America will have to face a barrage of attacks here and can they handle it? Nope!
What can America do to counter these attacks? Simple; they’ll counter-attack Santos, just as all the other clubs have done and have done successfully too. I’d absolutely hate to pick a winner between these two sides over two legs as both play similar styles of football. Santos have better individuals but it rarely shows due to poor defending. Either way, my call for tonight’s game is for both sides to score at 4/5 as that’s what tends to happen in Santos’ home games and America’s away games and the odds seem to be a tad generous.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 4/5.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Universitatea Cluj vs Poli Timisoara – over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
We should certainly have an interesting game on our hands here!
Unviersitatea Cluj have nothing left to play for and yet that has seemed to inspire them of late, going unbeaten in seven out of their last eight games and winning five times along the way. Morale is high and why shouldn’t it be? They’ve staved off relegation after promotion last year and they’ve earned it, in my view. Now they’re attacking dangerously with no pressure on them and that makes them an interesting side to watch at the moment. With only long-term absentee Szilagyi absent, I see no reason that Cojocnean, Machado, Niculescu, and Cristea can’t produce some magic here. Cluj’s last four home games in a row have gone over 2.5 goals due to scoring eleven times and conceding five times along the way and I expect that record to increase today.
Visitors Poli Timisoara need the points, simply put. They’re a strong attacking force with arguably the best player in Romania this season – Zicu – pulling the strings. Magera is a decent target man and Helder is a decent midfielder but let’s not beat around the bush – they’re nothing without Zicu, who is happily available today. The problem with Timisoara is when they fail to break down resilient defences due to relying excessively on Zicu to bail them out. However, when they encounter a side that attacks them then we have a clear over 2.5 goals situation, which is precisely what I expect to occur today. Four out of Timisoara’s last five games have not only gone over 2.5 goals but also over 3.5 goals so you can see where I’m coming from here. Three out of their last four away games have gone over 2.5 goals and it’d have been four out of four since the winter break had Victoria Branesti bothered to score against Timisoara’s rather error-prone defence. Timisoara are a goalscoring side and if they have any intention of laying claim to the Liga title then this is the type of game that they’re going to have to win, simply put.
With number one goalkeeper Pantilimon absent for the visitors, the hosts will undoubtedly have opportunities to exploit Timisoara’s already weak defence. However, the visitors boast an excellent player in Zicu and I’m sure we’ll see Timisoara take advantage of Cluj’s lax defending. For me, this game is a nailed over 2.5 goals game – I’m just a bit surprised at the decent odds for the selection.
Team news – Universitatea Cluj miss Szilagyi whereas Poli Timisoara miss Mansour and Pantilimon.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Vaslui
Recommended bets:
No multiples appeal to me today – sorry, guys!
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!
UEFA Champions League:
Real Madrid vs Barcelona (6) 1-1
Copa Libertadores:
Jaguares vs Atletico Junior Barranquilla (6) 0-0
Estudiantes De La Plata vs Cerro Porteno (6) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Once Caldas Manizales vs Cruzeiro (7) 1-1
Santos vs America (7) over 2.5 goals
Ecuadorian Primera A:
Independiente vs El Nacional Quito (6) 0-0
Imbabura vs Espoli Cayambe (6) 2-1
Olmedo Riobamba vs Deportivo Cuenca (5) 1-1
Manta vs Emelec Guayaquil (6) 0-1
Barcelona Guayaquil vs LDU Loja (6) 1-0
English Premier League:
Fulham vs Bolton Wanderers (5) 2-1
French Ligue 1:
Olympique Lyonnais vs Montpellier HSC (7) 2-1
Olympique de Marseille vs OGC Nice (7) 1-0
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Szolnoki MAV vs Vasas Budapest (6) 1-1
Kaposvari Rakoczi vs Ferencvaros (4) 1-2
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Siofok (6) 2-1
Debreceni VSC vs MTK Budapest (5) 2-1
Latvian Virsliga:
Liepajas Metalurgs vs FK Ventspils (6) 1-2
Daugava Daugavapils vs Skonto Riga (6) 0-1
Paraguayan Division Profesional:
Sol de America vs Independiente FBC (6) 2-1
Tacuary vs Rubio Nu (6) 1-0
Sportivo Luqueno vs Olimpia Asuncion (7) 0-1
Romanian Liga:
Targu Mures vs Astra Ploiesti (6) 0-0
Unirea Urziceni vs CFR Cluj (6) 0-0
FC Brasov vs Victoria Branesti (7) 2-0
Vaslui vs Universitatea Craiova (8) 2-0
Universitatea Cluj vs Poli Timisoara (5) 1-2
Slovakian Corgon Liga:
Kosice vs Spartak Trnava (6) 1-1
Venezuelan Primera Division:
Caroni vs Zamora (7) 0-1
Aragua vs Trujillanos (6) 0-0
Real Esppor Club vs Carabobo (5) 1-1
Zulia vs Deportivo Tachira (5) 0-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!