Arminia Bielefeld vs Holstein Kiel
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Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga 2 encounter between Arminia Bielefeld and Holstein Kiel. Neither team has anything to play for here, which is obviously risky. Teams tend to revert to their default mode in such circumstances though, and the default setting for both Arminia Bielefeld and Holstein Kiel is to play good attacking football. I don’t see any reason to expect anything but that today.
The hosts have recovered star Faroese attacker Edmundsson, which helps. He’s their main creator; their main unpredictable threat. What doesn’t help, however, is the absence of half of their defence, namely Bomer and Brunner. Whether they want it or not, Arminia Bielefeld is almost certainly going to end up playing in an open game here so they’ll need their attack to be at its best. Still, with Edmundsson joined by midfield maintainer Prietl back in the squad, Arminia Bielefeld should be able to hurt Holstein Kiel today. Well, it doesn’t take much to do that nowadays really, to be fair.
Although I don’t rate Klos nor Voglsammer all that highly, the bottom line is that both lend the Arminia Bielefeld a real sense of awkwardness. They’re not afraid to get stuck in, to put their heads where it hurts, and to pull defenders out of position. Neither are what I’d describe as a ‘good finisher’ but both make good runs and are annoying to play against. They get a lot of support from a very attack-minded team too, so it’s not hard to understand why they’ve scored so many goals this season. I’m expecting an attack-minded display from Arminia Bielefeld today, to put it briefly.
The visitors are never far away from putting in a good attacking shift either. Ever since they were promoted to the Bundesliga 2, this team has won plaudits from many neutrals in Germany because of the old-fashioned attacking style they deploy. They’re never afraid to commit men forward, and they never lack belief when it comes to facing hard teams. This is very much a fearless Holstein Kiel side and with so much attacking quality on its books, I struggle to believe that Arminia Bielefeld is worth the backing its currently getting on the exchanges.
Rumour has it that big Seydel will return for Holstein Kiel today, which would be a timely boost as he’s their most unplayable attacker. He’s barely featured this season due to numerous injuries but he’s one hell of a handful, and his return would be helpful considering that Sierra is out for the visitors. Even if Seydel doesn’t make an appearance, though, I trust Holstein Kiel to do what it always does today i.e. attacking and scoring goals. The team cannot and will not defend as all of their efforts are centred around outscoring teams. With Okugawa, Jae-sung, Benes, Muhling, Meffert, and Schindler as options, even the continued absence of Kinsombi is not a big issue here. Holstein Kiel is good at hurting teams, basically, and with nothing to lose today, I expect more of the same from them.
I’m not going near the 1×2 market here because absentees and the fact that the outcome is irrelevant makes it not worthwhile to me. However, backing over 3.5 goals, even in a dead rubber affair, is very appealing at 83/100 when two such adventurous teams lock horns.
Verdict: Over 3.5 goals at 83/100.
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.
Australian A-League:
Perth Glory vs Sydney FC
Austrian Bundesliga:
St. Polten vs LASK Linz
Austria Vienna vs Wolfsberger AC
Sturm Graz vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Club Brugge vs Antwerp
AA Gent vs RSC Anderlecht
Racing Genk vs Standard de Liege
Brazilian Serie A:
Sao Paulo vs Bahia
Internacional vs CSA
Chapecoense vs Fortaleza
Goias vs Botafogo
Athletico Paranaense vs Corinthians
Ceara vs Gremio
Vasco da Gama vs Avai
Croatian Prva Liga:
Hajduk Split vs Istra 1961
Gorica vs NK Osijek
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Banik Ostrava vs Slavia Prague
Slovan Liberec vs Viktoria Plzen
Sparta Prague vs Baumit Jablonec
Danish Superligaen:
FC Nordsjaelland vs OB Odense
Esbjerg vs FC Copenhagen
AC Horsens vs Vendsyssel
Vejle vs Hobro
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Maardu vs Tallinna Kalev
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
HB vs KI
AB vs TB
EB/Streymur vs NSI Runavik
German Bundesliga 2:
Hamburger SV vs MSV Duisburg
Arminia Bielefeld vs Holstein Kiel
Jahn Regensburg vs SV Sandhausen
VfL Bochum vs Union Berlin
Darmstadt 98 vs Erzgebirge Aue
Heidenheim vs Ingolstadt
Dynamo Dresden vs Paderborn 07
Greuther Furth vs St. Pauli
Magdeburg vs Koln
Hungarian Liga 1:
Puskas FC vs Ferencvaros
Varda SE vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Szombathelyi Haladas vs Vidi
MTK Budapest vs Budapest Honved
Disogyori VTK vs Ujpest
Debreceni VSC vs Paksi SE
Icelandic Pepsideild:
IBV vs Vikingur Reykjavik
Stjarnan Gardabaer vs KA
Breidabik Kopavogur vs IA
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Be’er Sheva vs Hapoel Hadera
Maccabi Netanya vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
Maccabi Haifa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Italian Serie A:
Chievo Verona vs Sampdoria
Juventus vs Atalanta Bergamo
Parma vs ACF Fiorentina
Empoli vs Torino
AC Milan vs Frosinone
SSC Napoli vs Internazionale
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Stromsgodset vs Tromso
Lillestrom vs Odd
Sarpsborg 08 vs Ranheim
Haugesund vs Kristiansund
Rosenborg BK vs Mjondalen
Bodo/Glimt vs Brann Bergen
Portuguese Liga 1:
Moreirense vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Tondela vs Chaves
Portuguese Liga 2:
Estoril vs Famalicao
Farense vs Acadeimco Viseu
Pacos de Ferreira vs Cova Piedade
Sporting Covilha vs Mafra
Varzim vs Academica de Coimbra
UD Oliveirense vs Arouca
Penafiel vs Leixoes Matosinhos
Russian Premier League:
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Yenisey vs Dinamo Moscow
Arsenal Tula vs FK Krasnodar
FK Rostov vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Spanish Primera Liga:
Eibar vs Barcelona CF
Real Madrid vs Real Betis Balompie
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Malmo FF vs Kalmar FF
Sirius vs BK Hacken Goteborg
Djurgarden vs Elfsborg Boras
Swiss Schweizer Pokal:
FC Basel vs FC Thun
Turkish Super Lig:
Akhisarspor vs Kayserispor
Bursaspor vs Goztepe
Alanyaspor vs Rizespor
Galatasaray vs Istanbul BB
Enjoy your free betting tips!