Helsingborg vs Elfsborg Boras
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Today’s free tip is in the Swedish Allsvenskan encounter between Helsingborg and Elfsborg Boras.
Neither team has anything to play for here, just to set the scene accordingly. Helsingborg have stumbled their way to Allsvenskan survival and Elfsborg Boras have done their usual fading-into-mid-table-anonymity trick. I suppose fielding a few kids here (either team) is not out of the question, which may jeopardise the tip, but I don’t think enough will change for the visitors to not be worth a shot here.
For starters, they’re facing Helsingborg. This team may have only just been promoted but expectations were high for them, given who they managed to bring in. However, after a positive start, things quickly went sour. One manager got sacked, and then another got sacked – Helsingborg are now onto manager no. 3 of their campaign. Some people are quite excited that Olof Mellberg has got the job as he did well as a manager in Sweden before moving to Denmark but personally, I think it’s a bizarre move for a team that is supposed to be pushing for Europe in the near future.
Subsequently, Helsingborg have had little to no consistency over the past few months. They’ve got some top-drawer players in their squad, one of which is Swedish international centre-back Granqvist, and boatloads of experience to boot. On paper, Helsingborg can name a very strong squad. In reality, they lack most things that they should have – teamwork, composure, organisation, finesse etc. I don’t see that changing in their last game of the season either, not with their absentees in mind. I mean, young goalkeeper Joelsson is still out, meaning hit-and-miss Lindegaard is in net again. The far more pressing concern has to be the absence of Granqvist though. He’s had some sticky patches this season but is by far their best and most composed defender. Without him, there is no defence. I just don’t see how this disorganised, inconsistent Helsingborg side with at least two important players out can beat in-form Elfsborg Boras right now.
True enough, on paper the home team have the stronger squad. It’s been some years since Elfsborg Boras could proudly boast that they had a strong squad. However, what they lack in individual quality they make up for in effort and togetherness. It’s not served them all that well for the majority of the campaign because this team still doesn’t defend well and because they’re not the best at converting their chances. Truth be told, I’ve opposed them a lot more than I’ve backed them this season, and I’ve seldom been let down when doing so. You really have to pick your moments with Elfsborg Boras!
However, having seen how admirably they’ve performed of late, I almost feel compelled to back them today. Backing them away from home on natural turf is usually a big ‘no go’ from me but they seem to be a lot better now that they’re playing without any pressure. There’s no expectation on them right now, and they’re not going down this season. Whatever the case may be, they’ve been mentally ‘freed’, if you will. I watched them beat IFK Goteborg in their derby last time out and it was wholly deserved. IFK Goteborg were poor but Elfsborg Boras had them on the ropes from start to finish. They’ve had a lot of hard games lately, Elfsborg Boras, but have performed really well in all of them. I just don’t know why that would suddenly change today.
In my opinion, the long-term future of Elfsborg Boras is bleak. They’re constantly selling good players and not replacing them. However, in the short-term, they’re alright. They look confident, they’re creating chances easily, and they’re frustrating teams. Helsingborg should be able to give them a game but, as per usual, I doubt they will. At the bare minimum, I expect the visitors to get a draw here. I rather fancy their chances to pick up three points though, so I’ll chance my arm on the away win with draw no bet cover at 9/10.
Verdict: Elfsborg Boras to win with draw no bet at 9/10.
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.
Australian A-League:
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Brisbane Roar
Melbourne Victory vs Western United
Austrian Bundesliga:
Sturm Graz vs Wolfsberger AC
Rapid Vienna vs St. Polten
SV Mattersburg vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AS Eupen vs Racing Genk
Royal Excel Mouscron vs Antwerp
Waasland-Beveren vs Zulte-Waregem
Sint-Truiden vs KV Oostende
Club Brugge vs Kortrijk
Brazilian Serie A:
Fortaleza vs Atletico Mineiro
Palmeiras vs Ceara
Fluminense vs Vasco da Gama
Chapecoense vs Sao Paulo
Bulgarian A PFG:
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Beroe
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb vs Inter Zapresic
Gorica vs Hajduk Split
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Sigma Olomouc vs Mlada Boleslav
Slavia Prague vs Banik Ostrava
English Premier League:
Bournemouth vs Manchester United
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Aston Villa vs Liverpool
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Norwich City
Manchester City vs Southampton
Sheffield United vs Burnley
West Ham United vs Newcastle United
Watford vs Chelsea
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Trans Narva vs Tallinna Kalev
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Nomme Kalju
French Ligue 1:
Olympique de Marseille vs Lille OSC
Nimes Olympique vs Stade Rennais
Metz vs Montpellier HSC
Toulouse vs Olympique Lyonnais
Angers SCO vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Amiens SC vs Stade Brestois
German Bundesliga:
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg
RB Leipzig vs Mainz 05
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen vs SC Freiburg
Union Berlin vs Hertha Berlin
German Bundesliga 2:
St. Pauli vs Karlsruher SC
Greuther Furth vs Darmstadt 98
Erzgebirge Aue vs Heidenheim
Hungarian Liga 1:
Puskas FC vs Budapest Honved
Ferencvaros vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Diosgyori VTK vs Varda SE
Kaposvari Rakoczi vs Ujpest
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Fehervar
Debreceni VSC vs Paksi SE
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Haifa vs Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Hapoel Ra’anana vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Hapoel Hadera vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
Beitar Jerusalem vs Hapoel Kfar Saba
Italian Serie A:
AS Roma vs SSC Napoli
Bologna vs Internazionale
Torino vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Ascoli vs Venezia
Crotone vs Perugia
Livorno vs Juve Stabia
Pescara vs Pisa
Salernitana vs Virtus Entella
Dutch Eredivisie:
RKC Waalwijk vs Heracles Almelo
Sparta Rotterdam vs PSV Eindhoven
AZ Alkmaar vs Twente Enschede
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Molde FK vs Kristiansund
Portuguese Liga 1:
SL Benfica vs Rio Ave
Moreirense vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Portuguese Liga 2:
Sporting Covilha vs Penafiel
Casa Pia vs Vilafranquense
Russian Premier League:
Dinamo Moscow vs Akhmat Grozny
FK Ufa vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Sochi vs Tambov
Zenit St. Petersburg vs CSKA Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
RCD Espanyol vs Valencia CF
Levante CF vs Barcelona CF
Sevilla CF vs Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Real Betis Balompie
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Helsingborg vs Elfsborg Boras
Orebro vs Malmo FF
Falkenberg vs AFC Eskilstuna
IFK Norrkoping vs Djurgarden
Hammarby vs BK Hacken Goteborg
IFK Goteborg vs Ostersunds FK
AIK Solna vs GIF Sundsvall
Sirius vs Kalmar FF
Swiss Super League:
St. Gallen vs FC Sion
FC Thun vs FC Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
FC Schaffhausen vs Winterthur
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs Aarau
Grasshopper Zurich vs SC Kriens
Turkish Super Lig:
Konyaspor vs Genclerbirligi
Alanyaspor vs Istanbul BB
Trabzonspor vs Goztepe
Antalyaspor vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!