Dynamo Kiev vs Malmo FF
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Today’s free tip is in the UEFA Europa League encounter in Ukraine between Dynamo Kiev and Malmo FF.
At long last, Dynamo Kiev owner Surkis pandered to the cries of the fans and sacked Khatskevich a few weeks back. Although he was a former player of theirs, it had become very apparent that he was holding the team back with overly defensive football, stifling the creativity of players like Rodrigues, Verbic, and Tsygankov, completely isolating Sol up front. I think letting the Belarusian go was the right thing to do, especially after their embarrassingly limp display in Belgium against Club Brugge.
However, since appointing a replacement – Mykhaylychenko – things have somehow gotten worse. The club hasn’t won a match since he came in, conceding too many and not scoring enough. I appreciate that there’s always a transition period for such times but normally you get a honeymoon period too, which there simply hasn’t been. The heads are still dropped, the effectiveness and efficiency still isn’t there, and Dynamo Kiev still aren’t winning games.
Personally, I find it all very bizarre because this is a good team. They’ve got good individuals in most areas. It’s not the Dynamo Kiev we saw in the late 90’s and early 2000’s but it’s one that can hold its own, and it’s one that should still win most domestic matches. Something isn’t clicking right now though, which makes it a very good time to oppose them under the right circumstances. I believe that the visit of Swedish heavyweights Malmo FF ticks that particular box.
Malmo FF are currently in a very focused, driven mode because they’ve had to be in order to stay in a ridiculously competitive Allsvenskan title race. Only Djurgarden and Zrinjski Mostar have beaten them since April now, and it took the best Djurgarden display I’ve ever seen in order for that one to come about. The other happened in Bosnia-Herzegovina after Malmo FF had already won the first leg 3-0…
When Malmo FF are focused, they’re dangerous. For my money, this is the best team in Sweden because they’ve got two players per position, a lot of experience, and a lot of match-winners. I can’t honestly make up my mind about boss Rosler but he’s grinding out the right results and that’s what counts. This team has more than enough routes to goal to score goals against Dynamo Kiev today, and they’re good enough at controlling the game in midfield to stop teams hurting their defence too much. It’s a squad that looks…well, complete. I can’t see this Malmo FF side struggling against a demoralised and unconvincing Dynamo Kiev, even in Ukraine.
These two teams are pretty evenly-matched, and given the current circumstances, backing the visitors with a +0.5 Asian Handicap makes sense to me.
Verdict: Malmo FF to win with a +0.5 Asian Handicap at 21/20.
Thursday’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.
UEFA Europa League:
APOEL Nicosia vs F91 Dudelange
Qarabagh FK vs Sevilla CF
Dynamo Kiev vs Malmo FF
FC Copenhagen vs Lugano
FC Basel vs FK Krasnodar
Getafe vs Trabzonspor
PSV Eindhoven vs Sporting Clube de Portugal
LASK Linz vs Rosenborg BK
Stade Rennais vs Celtic
CFR Cluj vs SS Lazio
Eintracht Fraknkfurt vs Arsenal
Standard de Liege vs Vitoria Guimaraes
VfL Wolfsburg vs Oleksandriya
AA Gent vs AS Saint-Etienne
AS Roma vs Istanbul BB
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Wolfsberger AC
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Sporting Braga
Slovan Bratislava vs Besiktas JK
Manchester United vs FK Astana
Partizan Belgrade vs AZ Alkmaar
FC Porto vs Young Boys Bern
Rangers vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Ludogorets Razgrad vs CSKA Moscow
RCD Espanyol vs Ferencvaros
Copa Sudamericana:
Colon de Santa Fe vs Atletico Mineiro
Finnish Ykkonen:
Haka Valkeakoski vs TPS
Enjoy your free betting tips!