Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
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There are some really interesting odds available for this game in Israel. I get that Ironi Kiryat Shmona can only hope to pick up points at home but honestly, they don’t look capable of picking up points anywhere right now. They’re not bad defensively, I suppose, but their attack is toothless.
They’re taking on what I would class as a decent Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv side too. Not as good as the one they had last season before Shua etc. moved on (and I warned at the time it was too soon – look at him now, banished from the Maccabi Haifa squad!), but still good enough to win against Ironi Kiryat Shmona today. Importantly, Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv have retained their ability to find a route to goal, even after player sales. Keeping hold of Ivorian box-to-box midfielder Soro was as good as a new signing, in my book. He’s a fine player for them. Now he’s got Ljujic helping out alongside him, which gives today’s away team a good level of creativity and movement.
I still think that they need a more dependable goal-scorer, admittedly. It’s nice that Jan, Zaneti, and Ghadir have shared out the goals this season but none of them strike me as a good enough finisher to fill Shua’s boots, no matter how young he was. Still, I like the work ethic of this team, their drive to score goals, and their ability to dig deep defensively too. It’s an all-round decent outfit, one that is hard to beat. Even if they don’t manage to win today, I think it’ll take a seriously below-par display in order for them to lose it.
You might think that Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv have some solving to do in attack, but that’s nothing compared to the problems Ironi Kiryat Shmona have in attack. They just don’t threaten enough, never mind score enough. One goal scored in their past four games really does tell the full story. Ok, it’s reasonable to expect them to fail against Maccabi Tel-Aviv but the others should be considered to be fair game for Ironi Kiryat Shmona. At the moment, it feels like every goal they concede is the one that decides the game. I don’t honestly know what they can do to solve it, either – this is not a club that can afford to invest.
What’s ironic about this team seldom threatening is that they’re not far away from being able to do so. I’m a big fan of Irish striker Sheridan, for example. He’s too selfless to be a designated poacher but he works hard, has good movement, and excellent awareness of those around him. He’ll win balls in the air, make good runs in behind – all that’s missing is the finishing. Putting someone alongside him would be a good combination for Ironi Kiryat Shmona but there’s nobody that can do it well enough. Subsequently, although they’re agonisingly close to having a presentable attack, they still don’t have one. In typical Ironi Kiryat Shmona fashion, though, they’ve now said that the Irishman will soon be leaving. Honestly, with decision-making like this, the club will do well to stay in the Ligat Ha’al.
Whilst Nachmias remains at the back, I’ll trust this team to keep annoying opponents. They do have a pretty good level of organisation in that respect. This is the Ligat Ha’al, though. Nobody is a top-drawer defender, or they just don’t play at this level. This league is not big on tactics, nor on defensive football, so even defence-minded teams will concede goals eventually. It’s a lack of composure in front of goal that is rife in the Ligat Ha’al. Still, Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv have enough about them for me to trust the away team to score a goal or two here, and that should really be enough, especially if Sheridan and Rian, two of the home team’s main forwards, both substantial doubts today.
For me, the away win with draw no bet is well worth taking here.
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv to win with draw no bet at 4/5.
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.
FIFA World Club Cup:
Al Hilal vs Esperance Tunis
Australian A-League:
Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix
Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners
Perth Glory vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Austrian Bundesliga:
Admira Wacker vs Rapid Vienna
Hartberg vs Salzburg
St. Polten vs SCR Altach
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Antwerp vs AS Eupen
Sporting Charleroi vs Cercle Brugge
Zulte-Waregem vs Sint-Truiden
Racing Genk vs Waasland-Beveren
Bulgarian A PFG:
Beroe vs Tsarsko selo
Cherno More Varna vs Arda
CSKA Sofia vs Dunav 2010
Croatian Prva Liga:
Rijeka vs Varazdin
Dinamo Zagreb vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Marila Pribram vs Slovacko
Sigma Olomouc vs Bohemians 1905
Slovan Liberec vs Karvina
Zlin vs Opava
Banik Ostrava vs Sparta Prague
English Premier League:
Liverpool vs Watford
Burnley vs Newcastle United
Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Leicester City vs Norwich City
Sheffield United vs Aston Villa
Southampton vs West Ham United
French Ligue 1:
Metz vs Olympique de Marseille
Amiens SC vs Dijon FCO
Angers SCO vs AS Monaco
Stade Brestois vs OGC Nice
Nimes Olympique vs Nantes Atlantique
Toulouse vs Stade de Reims
German Bundesliga:
Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen
Hertha Berlin vs SC Freiburg
Koln vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Mainz 05 vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Paderborn 07 vs Union Berlin
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs RB Leipzig
German Bundesliga 2:
Heidenheim vs Arminia Bielefeld
Karlsruher SC vs Greuther Furth
St. Pauli vs Wehen Wiesbaden
Hungarian Liga 1:
Kaposvari Rakoczi vs Debreceni VSC
Paksi SE vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Puskas FC vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Varda SE vs Fehervar
Budapest Honved vs Ujpest
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Sektzia Nes Tziona
Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv
Hapoel Haifa vs Hapoel Kfar Saba
Hapoel Ra’anana vs Maccabi Haifa
Italian Serie A:
Brescia vs Lecce
SSC Napoli vs Parma
Genoa vs Sampdoria
Italian Serie B:
Ascoli vs Cittadella
Frosinone vs Pescara
Venezia vs Spezia
Virtus Entella vs Empoli
Livorno vs Benevento
Dutch Eredivisie:
ADO Den Haag vs FC Groningen
Fortuna Sittard vs RKC Waalwijk
VVV Venlo vs PEC Zwolle
FC Twente Enschede vs Vitesse Arnhem
Portuguese Liga 1:
Maritimo Funchal vs Boavista
SL Benfica vs Famalicao
Vitoria Setubal vs Desportivo Aves
Portuguese Liga 2:
Estoril vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Casa Pia vs Mafra
Vilafranquense vs Leixoes Matosinhos
Spanish Primera Liga:
Granada CF vs Levante CF
Real Sociedad vs Barcelona CF
Athletic Club vs Eibar
Atletico Madrid vs CA Osasuna
Swiss Super League:
Servette vs FC Thun
St. Gallen vs FC Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs FC Schaffhausen
Turkish Super Lig:
Rizespor vs Kasimpasa
Genclerbirligi vs Goztepe
Galatasaray vs Ankaragucu
Enjoy your free betting tips!