Santos vs Bahia
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Today’s free tip is in the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Santos and Bahia.
Backing both teams to score in Santos games is generally a good move. You won’t find many clubs in Brazil that have the attacking talent that Santos have, and yet fail to dominate any game whatsoever. The home team simply cannot control games properly, especially not with Sanchez still out, so they give more than their fair share of opportunities away. Assuming their opponents have their shooting boots on, they’ll generally score.
Indeed, what’s somewhat masked by their Serie A placing of sixth in the table is that Santos tend to give away more opportunities than they create. The difference between them and most Serie A teams, however, is that they know how to take their chances, largely because of Marinho’s brilliance. He’s scored almost half of their league goals in this campaign, and he deserves even more credit than that because few of them were tap-ins; he usually has to make them himself too, albeit via a touch of help from Soteldo from time to time.
Cuca is a good manager too, which is somehow more worrying than it is comforting, considering that this is probably the best that can be gotten out of this really rather limited Santos squad. A massive club, they remain, but one that impresses on the pitch, they are not. Still, I have to hand it to them because whether they play well or not, they score goals, Santos. Marinho has carried them this season, it’s true, but if it’s not him then they’d just find somebody else, and with one of the best academies in Brazil, it’s not impossible that a potential replacement would be coming from there.
Santos are fun to watch, at least. Their games tend to have goals because, as I said above, they don’t control them well enough, but they do tend to take what chances are presented to them. What makes tonight’s affair even more interesting is that Bahia love playing against Brazil’s elite. They’re a very motivated team as it is, but the prospect of being able to play as underdogs (i.e. no expectation) and claim a famous scalp is an opportunity that they tend to jump at.
I can’t say that Bahia are exactly giant-killers; that would be terribly misleading of me. They play with the mental fortitude to be such a team, yes, but they’re nowhere near good enough defensively to be one. They’ll concede against just about anyone, Bahia, but they’ve got enough drive and tenacity to score against anyone too. It makes them a very entertaining watch, particularly at the Fonte Nova. They are not fazed by the prospect of facing any team, really, and nor should they be when it comes to this Santos team either.
Aside from that, they do have a touch of class in their squad, Bahia. It’s principally a group of grafters with everything to prove, and nothing to lose, but having the likes of Elias, Gilberto, and Rodriguinho (when fit) does help keep the players focused. I can’t help admiring their mental strength the most, though. They’re such warriors, Bahia, even if they’re fighting their battles in the wrong parts of the pitch! They know no fear, and they never know when they’re beaten. Sure, their boisterous approach will see them lose more than they win against the big boys of Serie A, but they sure do make their opponents sweat along the way. I expect more of the same tonight.
Therefore, I’m on both teams to score at 9/10.
Verdict: Both teams to score at 9/10.
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:
Rapid Vienna vs SCR Altach
Admira Wacker vs Wolfsberger AC
Sturm Graz vs LASK
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
RSC Anderlecht vs Antwerp
Standard de Liege vs KV Oostende
Waasland-Beveren vs AA Gent
Brazilian Serie A:
Flamengo vs Sao Paulo
Santos vs Bahia
Sport Recife vs Athletico Paranaense
Goias vs Vasco da Gama
Bulgarian A PFG:
CSKA Sofia vs Tsarsko selo
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Levski Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Sibenik vs Rijeka
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Dinamo Zagreb
Danish Superligaen:
OB vs AC Horsens
FC Copenhagen vs Lyngby
Aalborg BK vs Brondby
English Premier League:
Aston Villa vs Southampton
Newcastle United vs Everton
Manchester United vs Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Paide vs Kuressaare
Flora Tallinn vs Nomme Kalju
Faroese Betrideildin:
Vikingur Gota vs B36 Torshavn
IF vs AB
EB/Streymur vs Skala
HB Torshavn vs TB
NSI Runavik vs KI
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
IFK Mariehamn vs HJK
French Ligue 1:
AS Saint-Etienne vs Montpellier HSC
Angers SCO vs OGC Nice
Dijon FCO vs Lorient
Nimes Olympique vs Metz
Stade de Reims vs Racing Club Strasbourg
AS Monaco vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Lille OSC vs Olympique Lyonnais
German Bundesliga:
SC Freiburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Hertha Berlin vs VfL Wolfsburg
German Bundesliga 2:
Greuther Furth vs Hannover 96
Karlsruher SC vs Darmstadt 98
Wurzburger Kickers vs VfL Bochum
Hungarian Liga 1:
Budafoki MTE vs Paksi SE
Ujpest vs MTK Budapest
Varda SE vs Diosgyori VTK
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs MS Ashdod
Italian Serie A:
Udinese vs AC Milan
Spezia vs Juventus
Torino vs SS Lazio
SSC Napoli vs Sassuolo
AS Roma vs ACF Fiorentina
Sampdoria vs Genoa
Italian Serie B:
Reggina vs SPAL
Frosinone vs Cremonense
Dutch Eredivisie:
Heracles Almelo vs FC Utrecht
Sparta Rotterdam vs SC Heerenveen
FC Emmen vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
PSV Eindhoven vs ADO Den Haag
AZ Alkmaar vs RKC Waalwijk
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Mjondalen vs Molde FK
Rosenborg BK vs Start Kristiansand
Kristiansund vs Bodo/Glimt
Stabaek vs Viking Stavanger
Sandefjord vs Brann Bergen
Stromsgodset vs Valerenga Oslo
Portuguese Liga 1:
Portimonense vs Santa Clara
Gil Vicente vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Tondela
Portuguese Liga 2:
Leixoes Matosinhos vs SL Benfica II
Casa Pia vs Penafiel
Academico Viseu vs Feirense
Arouca vs Vizela
Mafra vs Varzim
Russian Premier League:
FK Ufa vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
FK Khimki vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Rotor Volgograd vs CSKA Moscow
Tambov vs Dinamo Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Betis Balompie vs Elche
Celta de Vigo vs Real Sociedad
Granada CF vs Levante CF
Valencia CF vs Getafe CF
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Sirius vs Kalmar FF
Elfsborg Boras vs IFK Norrkoping
Mjallby Solvesborg vs Ostersunds FK
Hammarby vs BK Hacken Goteborg
IFK Goteborg vs Orebro
Falkenberg vs Djurgarden
Swiss Super League:
St. Gallen vs FC Basel
Turkish Super Lig:
Rizespor vs Kayserispor
Konyaspor vs Istanbul BB
Besiktas JK vs Yeni Malatyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!