Atletico Mineiro vs RB Bragantino
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Today’s free tip is in the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Atletico Mineiro and newly-promoted RB Bragantino in Belo Horizonte.
Atletico Mineiro have impressed me more than any other Brazilian team this season. The strides they’ve made (despite not outlaying huge amounts of cash) have been very noticeable. It should not come as a surprise, given that talented Argentinian boss Sampaoli is at the helm, but it’s still nice to see someone trying to break up the growing financial muscle that is Brazilian football, particularly in the form of Palmeiras and Flamengo. That said, I think all Brazilians would agree that, as long as it’s not the incredibly unpopular Corinthians that runs the show, they don’t care who or what goes on!
Atletico Mineiro enter tonight’s game on the back of a 3-1 defeat in Sao Paulo against Santos. That game was the first this season where I’ve seen them get ‘out-finished’, if you will i.e. Santos took their chances better. Rafael’s red card didn’t help, and the number one goalkeeper will be suspended tonight because of it, but it was a valuable lesson for Atletico Mineiro nonetheless. They’ve been excellent this season and yet have still walked a defensive tightrope that finally snapped at Santos. They need to bounce back, and hosting RB Bragantino represents a good opportunity to do so.
Atletico Mineiro recently signed Eduardo Sasha to aid them in breaking teams down. They had all of the required arsenal to hurt teams on the break, and a great presser in Marrony up top, but lacked penetration when it came to teams that simply sat back against them. Sasha brings that extra level of penetration, and has settled in very well at his new club, which basically means that Atletico Mineiro are now well equipped for every challenge they’ll face in Serie A.
Fortunately for us, RB Bragantino are not the kind of team to sit back and wait. They play aggressive attacking football, and I respect them a lot for it. It’s ill-advised to do so against Atletico Mineiro, given how fast they are at counterattacking (especially Allan), but I doubt that will stop the away team from trying it. They may have some joy, to be fair – Atletico Mineiro are far from perfect at the back. I tend to find that they give their opponents too much space around the box, for example. Fortunately, not many goals are scored from outside the box in Serie A but the danger is still there!
RB Bragantino need to wise up if they’re to stay in Serie A though. This style of theirs is admirable and entertaining, but it’s not getting them enough points. Yes, draws at Sao Paulo and Athletico Paranaense are decent and all, but when was their last win? Almost a month ago now? It’s not good enough. During that period, they’ve lost against Fortaleza and Coritiba respectively, two teams that are likely to be in the relegation battle with them. What’s the point in turning up for one-off games away from home against superior teams when they can’t even beat those around them?
When they started playing in Serie A once again at the start of the season, I thought we were in for some great RB Bragantino displays. They were hungry, effective, and clinical. Since then though, they’ve gone downhill rather rapidly. As with all Red Bull projects, you know that things will come good for them sooner or later, and the arrival of Haydar from Atletico Junior Barranquilla (Colombia) just two days ago signals their clear intent to turn RB Bragantino into a Brazilian powerhouse in due course. He joins the likes of Weverton, Thonny Anderson, and Alerrandro in a rather expensive time for RB Bragantino which will work – just not yet.
Indeed, Thonny Anderson is still injured at the moment. Wesley and Vitinho are too, and Morato is suspended for tonight’s game. Despite the presence of talented playmaker Lucas Evangelista in midfield and Alerrandro up front against his old club, I can’t see many positives for the visitors tonight. I see too many gaps at the back, and I doubt Haydar will make his debut straightaway. They’re a little short of options in midfield, and rapid Morato will be missed in attack too. This is not a bad RB Bragantino side, to be clear – it’s just a bad time for them, and a trip to Belo Horizonte to face a more mature, more consistent Atletico Mineiro could not have come at a worse time, really.
RB Bragantino are making too many mistakes at the back, and are playing too boldly for a new team in Serie A, no matter how much they’ve invested on quality prospects of the future. There needs to be a certain level of respect and understanding at this level that I’ve seen from the likes of Fortaleza, but I’m yet to see from RB Bragantino. Until they gain that perspective, it’s hard for me to imagine them doing well. Therefore, I’m going to take my chances on Atletico Mineiro beating the -1 Asian Handicap against under-strength, below-par RB Bragantino at good odds of 11/10.
Verdict: Atletico Mineiro to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 11/10.
Sunday’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 Ried vs Swarovski Tirol
St. Polten vs Sturm Graz
Wolfsberger AC vs Salzburg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
RSC Anderlecht vs Cercle Brugge
Sint-Truiden vs Antwerp
Zulte-Waregem vs Sporting Charleroi
Kortrijk vs Royal Excel Mouscron
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs RB Bragantino
Fluminense vs Corinthians
Gremio vs Fortaleza
Bahia vs Atletico Goianiense
Goias vs Internacional
Ceara vs Flamengo
Palmeiras vs Sport Recife
Botafogo vs Vasco da Gama
Bulgarian A PFG:
CSKA 1948 Sofia vs Montana
Levski Sofia vs Etar
Croatian Prva Liga:
Istra 1961 vs Varazdin
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Gorica
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Karvina vs Sparta Prague
Zlin vs Zbrojovka Brno
Viktoria Plzen vs Mlada Boleslav
Danish Superligaen:
AC Horsens vs Randers
Lyngby vs Aalborg BK
Brondby vs FC Nordsjaelland
OB vs FC Copenhagen
English Premier League:
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton
West Bromwich Albion vs Leicester City
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Legion vs Trans Narva
Kuressaare vs FCI Levadia Tallinn
Faroese Betrideildin:
EB/Streymur vs Vikingur Gota
AB vs TB
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Ilves vs HJK
French Ligue 1:
Lille OSC vs Metz
Angers SCO vs Stade de Reims
Dijon FCO vs Stade Brestois
Lorient vs Racing Club Lens
Nimes Olympique vs Stade Rennais
AS Monaco vs FC Nantes Atlantique
Paris Saint-Germain vs Olympique de Marseille
German DFB Pokal:
Chemnitzer FC vs TSG Hoffenheim
Rielasingen-Arlen vs Holstein Kiel
Eintracht Norderstedt vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Kaiserslautern vs Jahn Regensburg
TSV Steinbach vs SV Sandhausen
Wiedenbruck vs Paderborn 07
Hansa Rostock vs VfB Stuttgart
Elverseberg vs St. Pauli
Wehen Wiesbaden vs Heidenheim
Magdeburg vs Darmstadt 98
Waldhof Mannheim vs SC Freiburg
Hungarian Liga 1:
Ujpest vs Varda SE
MTK Budapest vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
KR vs Stjarnan Gardabaer
KA vs Fylkir Reykjavik
FH vs Breidablik Kopavogur
HK vs IA
Valur Reykjavik vs Vikingur Reykjavik
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs MS Ashdod
Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Mexican Liga MX:
Pumas UNAM vs Atletico San Luis
Queretaro vs Leon
Tijuana vs Cruz Azul
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Emmen vs VVV
Heracles Almelo vs ADO Den Haag
Sparta Rotterdam vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam
FC Groningen vs PSV Eindhoven
RKC Waalwijk vs Vitesse Arnhem
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Aalesund FK vs Sarpsborg 08
Stromsgodset vs Rosenborg BK
Mjondalen vs Sandefjord
Bodo/Glimt vs Odd
Valerenga Oslo vs Brann Bergen
Paraguayan Division Profesional:
Guarena vs Sportivo San Lorenzo
Cerro Porteno vs Nacional Asuncion
Portuguese Liga 2:
Cova de Piedade vs Mafra
Leixoes Matosinhos vs Casa Pia
SL Benfica II vs Vilafranquense
Varzim vs FC Porto II
Russian Premier League:
Dinamo Moscow vs Rubin Kazan
CSKA Moscow vs Spartak Moscow
Rotor Volgograd vs FK Krasnodar
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Valladolid vs Real Sociedad
Deportivo Alaves vs Real Betis Balompie
Villarreal CF vs Huesca
Valencia CF vs Levante CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Hammarby vs Helsingborg
Falkenberg vs IFK Goteborg
Malmo FF vs AIK Solna
Mjallby Solvesborg vs Varberg
Swiss Schweizer Pokal:
Neuchatel Xamax vs SC Kriens
FC Thun vs FC Luzern
Chiasso vs FC Zurich
Turkish Super Lig:
Ankaragucu vs BB Erzurumspor
Kayserispor vs Kasimpasa
Trabzonspor vs Besiktas JK
Antalyaspor vs Genclerbirligi
Enjoy your free betting tips!