Stade de Reims vs Dijon FCO
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Today’s free tip is in the French Ligue 1 encounter between Stade de Reims and Dijon FCO.
There’s not a great deal between these two teams, all things considered. I think both are good mid-table teams but both have had too many absentees/changes to combat this season, the former of which are still battling such, hence my interest tonight.
It’s nice to see Gulon’s men easing into their groove now. It took a while because of how many newbies they brought in pre-season but there was never any real doubts over how well it would work. They were impressive enough last season, Stade de Reims, and not just because they’re as good at defending as they are attacking; just not both at the same time! No, it was because they played solve lovely attacking football with their trident spear-heading things, and that was only likely to improve this season with so many good players coming in.
It’s not gone swimmingly for all of their newcomers, to be fair. Scottish target man Hornby has found opportunities hard to come by, for example, and Greek attacker Donis looks like he’s never seen a football before. Injured or not, he would not be near this squad right now. However, Sierhuis and Berisha have been marvellous, helping Zeneli make striker Dia’s job all the easier. Emerging talent Toure has played well too, as has Mbuku in spells. They look likely, overly familiar, and thoroughly dangerous now though, which has recently steered Stade de Reims to wins against both FC Nantes Atlantique and Girondins de Bordeaux respectively.
The only thing that has disappointed me about Stade de Reims this season has been their defending. Young Austrian centre-back Maresic has not come close to fulfilling his potential yet, for example, and Serbian shot stopper Rajkovic is no different. I often find that he makes very basic errors in goal, and although I appreciate that Stade de Reims do prefer to attack than defend, they’re actually good at both so I have no excuses for him. Perhaps with time he’ll adjust. Still, the team controls games well enough to be trusted to beat the likes of Dijon FCO tonight, and it’s a good time to face the visitors.
Part of me still feels sorry for Dijon FCO, you know. They were chucked under the bus this season by players not wanting to be here any more, right after they’d decided which players could go in order to keep the books balanced. Long story short, they were left without attackers for a while, and are still without them now because of injuries. Ivorian star Roger Assale has barely been able to string a few games together because of it, and Benzia – well, who even knows when he was last fit? Konate is not a natural goal-getter, and Chouiar is yet to register a goal this season, which tells you all you need to know about why Dijon FCO are currently battling relegation. They’re a good side though. If they were at full-strength, and I would be very wary of such an outfit.
Even without recognisable strikers on the pitch tonight, they’ll still be a threat. I mean, Celina is a brilliant creator, and I am a huge fan of Balde, who is a very natural dribbler. Ndong isn’t shy when it comes to getting forward either, although he’s not somebody I’d personally trust in front of goal! This is a very mobile team that should be very good at scoring goals but their lack of forwards leaves them without the goals bit, which is the most important part. It’s actually quite the young, exciting team that Dijon FCO have got but without the necessary pieces and experience, that doesn’t count for much.
Panzo has impressed at the back this season, as has Boey in spells, but they need players to learn from. Ordinarily they’d have them but with Lautoa and Chafik now both out for Dijon FCO, those kids will be left to Ecuele Manga. I wouldn’t want to come up against the Gabon international; half the time he doesn’t seem to know who he plays for, but he’s seldom second to that ball, no matter who is in his way! It’s fair to say that he may not be the best fella to learn from, and I would not class him as much of an organiser either. Subsequently, that’s both the Dijon FCO defence and attack that are going to struggle tonight.
I still rate Dijon FCO highly, and their midfield will ensure that Stade de Reims don’t have things all their own way tonight. However, I’m sure you can see why I fancy backing the home win at 4/5 with the above taken into account.
Stade de Reims to win at 4/5.
Wednesday’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.
Copa Libertadores:
Boca Juniors vs Santos
Copa Sudamericana:
Velez Sarsfield vs Atletico Lanus
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AS Eupen vs Racing Genk
Brazilian Serie A:
Botafogo vs Athletico Paranaense
Gremio vs Bahia
Sport Recife vs Fortaleza
Coritiba vs Goias
Flamengo vs Fluminense
RB Bragantino vs Sao Paulo
English League Cup:
Manchester United vs Manchester City
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois vs OGC Nice
Lorient vs AS Monaco
Metz vs Girondins de Bordeaux
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Stade Rennais
Racing Club Strasbourg vs Nimes Olympique
Lille OSC vs Angers SCO
Olympique Lyonnais vs Racing Club Lens
Olympique de Marseille vs Montpellier HSC
Stade de Reims vs Dijon FCO
AS Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain
German Bundesliga 2:
Wurzburger Kickers vs St. Pauli
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Sakhnin vs Maccabi Netanya
Hapoel Hadera vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
Cagliari vs Benevento
Atalanta Bergamo vs Parma
Bologna vs Udinese
Crotone vs AS Roma
SS Lazio vs ACF Fiorentina
Sampdoria vs Internazionale
Sassuolo vs Genoa
Torino vs Hellas Verona
SSC Napoli vs Spezia
AC Milan vs Juventus
Portuguese Liga 2:
Leixoes Matosinhos vs UD Oliveirense
Spanish Primera Liga:
Athletic Club vs Barcelona CF
Turkish Super Lig:
Denizlispor vs Kayserispor
Istanbul BB vs BB Erzurumspor
Genclerbirligi vs Hatayspor
Trabzonspor vs Goztepe
Besiktas JK vs Rizespor
Antalyaspor vs Fatih Karagumruk
Enjoy your free betting tips!