Ostersunds FK vs IFK Norrkoping
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Today’s free tip is in the Swedish Allsvenskan encounter between Ostersunds FK and IFK Norrkoping.
The Allsvenskan table would have you believe that this is one of the worst teams in the Swedish top flight hosting one of the best teams. That’s not entirely accurate when it comes to IFK Norrkoping, but it is when it comes to Ostersunds FK. Aside from that, IFK Norrkoping are playing some bloody good football at the moment so they more than deserve to be taken seriously right now. In a backwards kind of way, the league table does accurately portray the level of difference between these two teams right now, and I’d like to think it’d show in the result too.
I’ve already criticised Ostersunds FK a substantial amount in previews in the members’ section this season because of what they did prior to the commencement of the Allsvenskan. Well, rather what they didn’t do, which was recruit properly. It’s like they took a look at how many steps backward Elfsborg Boras have taken over the years, and were somehow inspired to copy them by failing to replace any of the top players that they’ve lost – and there have been many. Unlike with Elfsborg Boras, a lot of the Ostersunds FK players have left within the past two years; at least their apparent mentors did it over a lot of years!
I mean, look at who Ostersunds FK lost over the past couple of years or so – Aiesh, Islamovic, Edwards, Hopcutt, Ghoddos, Widgren, Sema, Somi, and Bachirou, to name a few. Not a single one of them has been properly replaced. I’m not sure I can call it short-sightedness on behalf of the manager or club either. It all stems from the goings-on behind the scenes with the court case involving ex-chairman Daniel Kindberg. He – and others – were sentence to jail time and ordered to pay a substantial amount of money back. Whilst this court case has raged on though, the club hasn’t been certain of what would happen to them. Suffice to say that investment was halted, and there was a lot of talk in the Swedish media that Ostersunds FK would begin this campaign in the Superettan rather than the Allsvenskan because Kindberg was in charge of the club whilst the wrongdoing took place.
Not only has the above led to Ostersunds FK not being able to recruit, both on and off the pitch, it’s also led to them not being able to keep what they’ve already got. This is a small club. There’s no pull here, and what little pull there was has now gone. This is regarded as a sinking ship, and I firmly believe it will sink without substantial investment. As far as I am concerned, the Swedish Allsvenskan is amongst the most competitive leagues in Europe right now so there’s no scope for sympathy for the glorious football that Ostersunds FK used to play. They’re going to have to suck it up, and get on with things with a seriously limited squad.
To be fair, the type of player that is brought in to Ostersunds FK is not one to complain. They’re all generally of similar mindsets i.e. hard-working, desire to play to good football. That’s why ‘superstar’ Morrison lasted so little time in Sweden; he didn’t fit the bill, although I can understand why the club wanted to take a chance on such a talented footballer. What’s left – other than injury-prone midfielder Kroon – is nothing much to speak of in terms of quality, but the passion and drive is there. They’ll surprise the odd team that underestimate them, but other than that, Ostersunds FK are going to get beaten a lot this season.
I watched their last game against Orebro, and despite threatening on the break, they were still unable to score. I thought they made life a bit awkward for Orebro, but then again, Orebro do that to themselves anyway so it wasn’t what I’d call a progressive step for Ostersunds FK, that display, although it did at least stop their run of defeats. Prior to that, they’d been easily beaten by both Hammarby and Sirius, 2-0 on each occasion. Teams that score goals against them will beat them because of their lack of firepower. Their defence is reasonable enough to hold teams at bay for a while, but they’re under pressure for much longer than usual because the quality isn’t in front of them anymore, and that will naturally lead to Ostersunds FK conceding in the end – and they’ve no way back into games when that happens.
The above is damning enough as it is. Then, when you consider that they’re hosting high-flying IFK Norrkoping, it looks a lot more depressing for the home team. I mean, I’ve been blown away by what I’ve seen from IFK Norrkoping this season. I’m used to seeing them play good football; that bit wasn’t a surprise. For me, the big surprise was how effective they were at both ends. When I evaluated their squad pre-season, I thought their attack looked good, and their defence looked below average, so about par for the course with this team. I was a bit concerned that they didn’t have a proven goal-scorer too, but not too much because of their excellent midfielders.
IFK Norrkoping have been phenomenal, though. Beating Kalmar FF at home won’t set many tongues wagging, but absolutely hammering AIK Solna away from home was one that did. AIK Solna haven’t been beaten like that on their own patch for not far off thirty years, even during their relegation in the early 2000s! Even when they lose, AIK Solna don’t get torn apart; it’s not in their nature. IFK Norrkoping’s drive, movement, and finesse was far too much for them. After that, they dusted down yet another Stockholm club, beating Djurgarden 3-0. I was even more impressed by that result because for my money, Djurgarden are the best tactical outfit in Sweden. They did what they could in that game, and did cause IFK Norrkoping some problems without converting their opportunities, but IFK Norrkoping ultimately outsmarted and outscored them. I thought Levi’s goal summed the game up brilliantly; there was no way he should have even considered shooting from the position he was in, but the confidence level in this squad is seriously high so he tried it, and he scored a wonderful strike because of it. That’s where IFK Norrkoping are at right now – killers!
To think that they’ve done all this without their best midfielder, Fransson, is quite staggering. Now, I don’t know how long it’ll last because this is a very competitive division, and IFK Norrkoping are not known for being consistent at this level. For now though, they’re showing zero signs of slowing down. Nyman has been excellent at leading their line, Thern has been brilliant supporting, and Haksabanovic gets better every time I watch him play – he’s everywhere! They’ve got a lot of routes to goal, and a lot of confidence to boot. It’s famous last words, I suppose, but I just can’t see how they’d falter against such a weak opponent, not whilst they’re looking as impressive as they are.
Therefore, I’ve got to consider the -1 Asian Handicap in favour of IFK Norrkoping as a good value bet today.
Verdict: IFK Norrkoping to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 19/20.
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:
SV Mattersburg vs Admira Wacker
Swarovski Tirol vs SCR Altach
Austria Vienna vs St. Polten
Bulgarian A PFG:
Slavia Sofia vs CSKA Sofia
Beroe vs Levski Sofia
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Arda vs Botev Plovdiv
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb vs NK Osijek
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Slovan Liberec vs Banik Ostrava
Ceske Budejovice vs Mlada Boleslav
Bohemians 1905 vs Slovacko
Danish Superligaen:
SonderjyskE vs Silkeborg
English Premier League:
Aston Villa vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
English FA Cup:
Norwich City vs Manchester United
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Kuressaare vs Flora Tallinn
Tulevik vs Tallinna Kalev
Trans Narva vs FCI Levadia Tallinn
Flora Paide vs Legion
Finnish Ykkonen:
SJK-Akatemia vs Ekenas IF
KPV vs KTP
Kajaani vs Jaro Pietarsaari
AC Oulu vs Gnistan
Finnish Suomen Cup:
Haka Valkeakoski vs HJK
German Bundesliga:
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs TSG Hoffenheim
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Mainz 05
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Hertha Berlin
VfL Wolfsburg vs Bayern Munich
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Paderborn 07
Werder Bremen vs Koln
SC Freiburg vs Schalke 04
Augsburg vs RB Leipzig
Union Berlin vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
Hungarian Liga 1:
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Fehervar
Ujpest vs Kaposvari Rakoczi
Diosgyori VTK vs Varda SE
Debreceni VSC vs Paksi SE
Ferencvaros vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Puskas FC vs Budapest Honved
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Hapoel Hadera vs Hapoel Ra’anana
Italian Serie A:
Brescia vs Genoa
Cagliari vs Torino
SS Lazio vs AFC Fiorentina
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Start Kristiansand vs Odd
Valerenga Oslo vs Viking Stavanger
Russian Premier League:
FK Orenburg vs FK Krasnodar
Spartak Moscow vs FK Ufa
Rubin Kazan vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Dinamo Moscow vs CSKA Moscow
FK Rostov vs Arsenal Tula
Spanish Primera Liga:
Athletic Club vs Real Mallorca
Celta de Vigo vs Barcelona CF
CA Osasuna vs Leganes CF
Atletico Madrid vs Deportivo Alaves
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Ostersunds FK vs IFK Norrkoping
Swiss Super League:
FC Luzern vs Servette
Young Boys Bern vs Neuchatel Xamax
Swiss Challenge League:
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs FC Schaffhausen
Vaduz vs SC Kriens
Turkish Super Lig:
Fenerbahce vs Yeni Malatyaspor
Trabzonspor vs Ankaragucu
Goztepe vs Alanyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!