Arminia Bielefeld vs Greuther Furth
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Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga 2 encounter between Arminia Bielefeld and Greuther Furth.
At this level, the quality gap isn’t all that prevalent. I’d agree with the notion that Hamburger SV and VfB Stuttgart can reach levels that other teams at this level cannot but aside from that, everybody else is fair game for one another, circumstances dependent. With that in mind, seeing that Arminia Bielefeld are priced as short as they are was very surprising indeed. I can’t deny that the home team are more entertaining than their opponents but are they really that much better than Greuther Furth, a team they’ve failed to beat in in three consecutive home games? I don’t think so.
I have to admit that Arminia Bielefeld have picked up some good results so far this season though. They’ve scored plenty of goals and are now on a three-game winning streak. However, I still relate that to the teams/styles that they’ve faced rather than some sudden quality signings they’ve made. In fact, they’ve barely made any signings of note pre-season. This is virtually the same team that failed to beat Greuther Furth twice last season. Arminia Bielefeld thrive upon playing in open games because they’ve got two solid strikers in Voglsammer and Klos, both of which carry a lot of strength, and with support from Edmundsson, Prietl etc. they’re very effective. The moment they’re dragged into tactical affairs, however, they struggle. This is not a team that can defend well so they hate such games.
That’s what Arminia Bielefeld are up against today though. Greuther Furth are a very flexible outfit, one that is very hard to break down, and I just don’t think that the home team has enough penetration to properly hurt them. On the break, yes – if Greuther Furth are too adventurous here, they’ll be punished for it. I don’t see that happening though. Greuther Furth are a bit too streetwise at this level to go attacking crazily away from home so it’s down to Arminia Bielefeld to break them down, which really doesn’t suit their style.
I actually rather like how Greuther Furth are shaping up this season, which is probably a pretty unpopular opinion because the true nature of Germany’s Bundesliga 2 is to play attacking football, which Greuther Furth don’t do. Instead, what they do is sit and wait for opponents to attack, counter them, and sit on any leads they get. I wouldn’t say they’re brilliant at it but they’re better than most at it when it comes to this level of football, and they’ve got a lot of the right players in their squad to allow them to play that way. Greuther Furth are capable of playing in a ‘conventional’ Bundesliga 2 match, as they’ve amply demonstrated on numerous occasions, but they’ll seldom invoke such because they’re not as clinical as most teams at this level. Playing cautiously allows them to have a greater say in how the game pans out, which is why they do it.
Greuther Furth have been quite clever pre-season too, which helps. Instead of it just being Keita-Ruel to score the goals now – who has performed heroically for them over the past twelve months despite his obvious limitations – the club has acquired Nielsen and Hrgota, both of which I class as Bundesliga level target men. Neither of them have had enough game time to be anywhere near their best yet but they represent a big challenge for defenders to deal with at this level. With these options in their squad, the job of supporting players such as in-form Green, Redondo, Sarpei, and Seguin is made a lot easier. Furthermore, now they’ve added Mavraj in defence they look a lot more solid. This is going to be a hard side to beat this season.
Greuther Furth have the right blend of everything to make a royal nuisance of themselves this season. I don’t think they’re good enough in midfield to actually achieve promotion or anything of that kind but I really don’t see them losing many whilst they’re as flexible and organised as they are, and I don’t think we’ll see them lose against Arminia Bielefeld today either. Anything is possible in football, of course, but the odds on the hosts winning this game are not a true portrayal of where these two teams are at, nor what kind of game we’re to expect.
Therefore, I’ll take my chances on Greuther Furth winning with a +0.5 Asian Handicap.
Verdict: Greuther Furth to win with a +0.5 Asian Handicap at 11/10.
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.
Austrian Bundesliga:
LASK Linz vs Wolfsberger AC
Admira Wacker vs SV Mattersburg
Swarovski Tirol vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AS Eupen vs Sint-Truiden
Kortrijk vs KV Oostende
Waasland-Beveren vs Sporting Charleroi
Brazilian Serie A:
Sao Paulo vs Gremio
Bahia vs CSA
Chapecoense vs Santos
Athletico Paranaense vs Ceara
Internacional vs Botafogo
Bulgarian A PFG:
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Botev Plovdiv
Etar vs Beroe
Croatian Prva Liga:
Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb
Istra 1961 vs NK Osijek
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Bohemians 1905 vs Slovan Liberec
Slovacko vs Mlada Boleslav
Marila Pribram vs Viktoria Plzen
Danish Superligaen:
FC Nordsjaelland vs Hobro
English Premier League:
Southampton vs Manchester United
Chelsea vs Sheffield United
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa
Leicester City vs Bournemouth
Manchester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle United vs Watford
West Ham United vs Norwich City
Burnley vs Liverpool
French Ligue 1:
Olympique Lyonnais vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Angers SCO vs Dijon FCO
Toulouse vs Amiens SC
Nantes Atlantique vs Montpellier HSC
Nimes Olympique vs Stade Brestois
Estonian Meistriliiga;
Tallinna Kalev vs Trans Narva
Tammeka vs Nomme Kalju
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
KPV vs FC Honka Espoo
SJK vs KuPS
Ilves vs Inter Turku
VPS vs HIFK
Finnish Ykkonen:
MyPa vs Kajaani
MuSa vs Jaro Pietarsaari
AC Oulu vs Haka Valkeakoski
German Bundesliga:
Bayern Munich vs Mainz 05
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs TSG Hoffenheim
VfL Wolfsburg vs Paderborn 07
SC Freiburg vs Koln
Schalke 04 vs Hertha Berlin
Union Berlin vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
German Bundesliga 2:
Arminia Bielefeld vs Greuther Furth
Dynamo Dresden vs St. Pauli
Wehen Wiesbaden vs Jahn Regensburg
Hungarian Liga 1:
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Paksi SE
Fehervar vs Varda SE
Ujpest vs Budapest Honved
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Puskas FC
Debreceni VSC vs Kaposvari Rakoczi
Icelandic Pepsideild:
UMF Grindavik vs KA
Stjarnan Gardabaer vs FH
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
MS Ashdod vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Maccabi Netanya vs Sektzia Nes Tziona
Hapoel Haifa vs Maccabi Haifa
Italian Serie A:
AC Milan vs Brescia
Juventus vs SSC Napoli
Italian Serie B:
Benevento vs Cittadella
Spezia vs Crotone
Cosenza vs Salernitana
Cremonese vs Virtus Entella
Juve Stabia vs Pisa
Livorno vs Perugia
Trapani vs Venezia
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Palanga vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Kauno Zalgiris vs Atlantas Klaipeda
Rieterai vs Suduva Marijampole
Dutch Eredivisie:
Heerenveen vs Fortuna Sittard
Groningen vs Heracles Almelo
ADO Den Haag vs VVV Venlo
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Stabaek vs Stromsgodset
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira vs Maritimo Funchal
Desportivo Aves vs Famalicao
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Rio Ave
Gil Vicente vs Vitoria Setubal
Portuguese Liga 2:
Leixoes Matosinhos vs Feirense
FC Porto II vs Casa Pia
Vilafranquense vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Cova Piedade vs SL Benfica II
Russian Premier League:
FK Ufa vs FK Orenburg
Rubin Kazan vs Sochi
Lokomotiv Moscow vs FK Rostov
Akhmat Grozny vs Tambov
Spanish Primera Liga:
CA Osasuna vs Barcelona CF
Getafe vs Deportivo Alaves
Levante CF vs Real Valladolid
Real Betis Balompie vs Leganes CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Elfsborg Boras vs Sirius
Orebro vs AFC Eskilstuna
Swiss Super League:
Servette vs Neuchatel Xamax
Swiss Challenge League:
SC Kriens vs Winterthur
Aarau vs FC Wil
FC Schaffhausen vs Chiasso
Turkish Super Lig:
Konyaspor vs Antalyaspor
Goztepe vs Denizlispor
Besiktas JK vs Rizespor
Enjoy your free betting tips!