Coritiba vs Santos
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Today’s free tip is in the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Coritiba and Santos.
The mid-week game in Sao Paulo was a case of ‘spot the title challenger’ as Coritiba effective bitch-slapped Palmeiras for long periods of that game. At no stage did the title hopefuls look comfortable in containing Coritiba, especially not when they consistently played out from the back with amazing composure. Palmeiras were so out of touch that boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo was forced into making two changes on the half-hour mark, bringing Ramires and Willian on for Ze Rafael and Lucas Esteves, although there was even confusion that front as Gustavo Scarpa thought he was the first one being taken off! That 3-1 defeat was to prove to be his last game in charge of Palmeiras as he was sacked – again. Last time, it was in a row over Keirrison’s future, going back at least a decade now. This time, it was because his talented team were playing like they’d never seen a football before, leaving Anthony Lopes as interim boss for their next match.
All the talk in the Brazilian media was about how badly Palmeiras played (despite scoring a beautiful goal in the second-half that was ruled out for a harsh offside) but there was little talk about how well Jorginho’s Coritiba played. They moved the ball around like Flamengo for large periods of that game, and until the last ten minutes of the encounter, never really showed any nerves in defence when dealing with a very good attack. Throughout that match, Coritiba had a good enough understanding, and enough composure, to simply play their way around Palmeiras. They frequently tore their opponents apart, and deserved to score the three that they did. Giovanni Augusto’s goal in particular was a thing of beauty as the build-up and precision was sublime.
Subsequently, Coritiba enter tonight’s game with an awful lot of confidence. They’ve started to play some seriously good football, the minnows, and despite not having many star players, they still look very effective. Robson Fernandes bagged two in that game, and looked a threat throughout. It was very much a team effort, though. Everybody was happy to get forward as well as to get back and help defend. I just can’t get over how composed Coritiba were, though – they looked completely at home in outplaying Palmeiras, which is a ludicrous concept, at least on paper.
This isn’t a one off, either. Coritiba have done this against Atletico Mineiro, Sao Paulo, Vasco da Gama, Internacional, and Flamengo this season, causing each of them a lot of problems. Most of them haven’t found ways to combat Coritiba’s playing out from the back either, because the reality is that most Serie A teams really don’t work all that hard. I daresay Santos will be similar in that respect too, so unless the visitors pull a rabbit out of the hat, they’re going to find it seriously tough to a get positive result tonight.
That’s amplified by the potential absence of star striker Marinho too. He was a last minute absentee for their home game against Atletico Goianeinse, who beat them 1-0 despite not even having Mancini in charge as he’d left for Corinthians. I’ve said it all season long,and I’ll say it again – Marinho has carried Santos for the majority of this season. His finishing has been superb, and if he is indeed out tonight – which I’d advise making sure of before getting involved here – then Santos are going to find it really tough to score here. He’s scored goals without Santos playing well; it’s not like Santos are creating lots of chances and lots are being missed. They don’t create enough, and he’s had to make some by himself. That’s why they’ve brought Robinho home, although I imagine he’s still quarantining so wouldn’t play here.
It shouldn’t be about Marinho though, not a team like this. Santos have always been able to attract good attackers, especially when it comes to creativity, but that’s barely happened this season. Soteldo has been a good signing, but if it weren’t for Marinho, they’d genuinely be in the bottom six by now. Robinho’s arrival may spark something for them but I doubt it’ll be what they need. Honestly, Santos have been more reminiscent of local rivals Corinthians this season than they have of their usual talented, entertaining selves. It’s a shame.
So, not only are Santos going to have to dig out the energy to actually deal with a team that lets the ball do the talking for the majority of the time, but they’re also going to have to find a route to goal that works. Key Uruguayan midfielder Sanchez is still injured, which doesn’t help, and Soteldo is a doubt because of his international commitments for Venezuela. Santos don’t have many good players, and most of them are either out or in doubt here. I’m not sure Santos have enough of anything that is required to deal with Coritiba, to be frank.
Therefore, I’m happy to roll with Coritiba to win with draw no bet at evens.
Coritiba to win with draw no bet at evens.
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.
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Cercle Brugge vs AA Gent
KV Mechelen vs Kortrijk
Beerschot-Wilrijk vs Sint-Truiden
Standard de Liege vs Club Brugge
Brazilian Serie A:
Coritiba vs Santos
Fluminense vs Ceara
Sao Paulo vs Gremio
Atletico Goianiense vs Athletico Paranaense
Bulgarian A PFG:
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Tsarsko selo
CSKA Sofia vs Beroe
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb vs Gorica
Rijeka vs Varazdin
Danish Superligaen:
FC Midtjylland vs OB
English Premier League:
Everton vs Liverpool
Chelsea vs Southampton
Newcastle United vs Manchester United
Manchester City vs Arsenal
Estonian Meistriliiga:
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Tulevik
Tallinna Kalev vs Nomme Kalju
Faroese Betrideildin:
B36 Torshavn vs TB
KI vs EB/Streymur
Finnish Ykkonen:
Ekenas IF vs SJK-Akatemia
MuSa vs VPS
Jaro Pietarsaari vs Kajaani
Gnistan vs AC Oulu
French Ligue 1:
Stade de Reims vs Lorient
Olympique de Marseille vs Girondins de Bordeaux
German Bundesliga:
TSG Hoffenheim vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
SC Freiburg vs Werder Bremen
Hertha Berlin vs VfB Stuttgart
Mainz 05 vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Augsburg vs RB Leipzig
Arminia Bielefeld vs Bayern Munich
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs VfL Wolfsburg
German Bundesliga 2:
Greuther Furth vs Hamburger SV
Karlsruher SC vs SV Sandhausen
Eintracht Braunschweig vs VfL Bochum
Hungarian Liga 1
Budafoki MTEvs Diosgyori VTK
Ujpest vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Puskas FC vs MTK Budapest
Italian Serie A:
SSC Napoli vs Atalanta Bergamo
Internazionale vs AC Milan
Sampdoria vs SS Lazio
Crotone vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Cosenza vs Cittadella
Cremonese vs Venezia
Frosinone vs Ascoli
Monza vs Vicenza Virtus
Pordenone vs SPAL
Reggiana vs Chievo Verona
Salernitana vs Pisa
Virtus Entella vs Reggina
Pescara vs Empoli
Portuguese Liga 1:
Gil Vicente vs Tondela
Maritimo Funchal vs Portimonense
Sporting Braga vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs FC Porto
Portuguese Liga 2:
Arouca vs SL Benfica II
Casa Pia vs FC Porto II
Mafra vs Vizela
Dutch Eredivisie:
Willem II vs FC Twente Enschede
Heracles Almelo vs RKC Waalwijk
AZ Alkmaar vs VVV
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Mjondalen vs Brann Bergen
Molde FK vs Bodo/Glimt
Russian Premier League:
Zenit St. Petersburg vs PFC Sochi
FK Krasnodar vs Rubin Kazan
Lokomotiv Moscow vs FK Ufa
FK Khimki vs Spartak Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Granada CF vs Sevilla CF
Celta de Vigo vs Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Cadiz
Getafe vs Barcelona CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Falkenberg vs Orebro
Swiss Super League:
Servette vs Young Boys Bern
Vaduz vs Lugano
Turkish Super Lig:
Rizespor vs Ankaragucu
Kayserispor vs Sivasspor
Konyaspor vs Yeni Malatyaspor
Trabzonspor vs Istanbul BB
Enjoy your free betting tips!