Istanbul BB vs Hatayspor
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Today’s free tip is in the Turkish Super Lig encounter between Istanbul BB and Hatayspor.
Things just keep going from bad to worse for Istanbul BB. They’ve not put in a single good display since crashing out of the UEFA Champions League, and a mid-week Super Cup defeat against Trabzonspor was the final straw for the board, sacking Buruk Okan with immediate effect. He did a lot of good at that club, but if you build the club on money, you’re only going to attract mercenaries, so can they really be surprised when those players no longer have any motivation after European football ended? I don’t think so. Also, who are they going to bring in now to lead this relatively fan-less group of mercenaries?
To me, this sacking tells me that they’ve written the rest of their Super Lig campaign off. I can just about understand that, given that they’re closer to relegation than to another title push. Still, they’re the reigning champions – they can’t just go down without so much as a whimper! This might just become the worst title defence in Turkish history if they carry on. At least if they kept Okan then they’d have someone that knows the players inside out. Alright, they may not be interested in working as hard as they did in Europe, but they sure as hell aren’t going to earn a big move to a better club if they end up getting the reigning champions relegated through disinterested displays so, sooner or later, they’re going to start producing the goods. The revamp can take place in summer once they’ve secured their place in the division. Now, though? They’ve opened a real can of worms.
It’s not the losing matches that concerns me with Istanbul BB; any team can lose a match. No, it’s the fact that they don’t deserve any more than that. Their displays are utterly lifeless in every sense of the word. This is not a naturally fast or particularly athletic team; they need to rely on their intelligence and tactics in order to beat teams. When they lose interest, those characteristics are particularly affected – in a bad way. Subsequently, Istanbul BB just keep on churning out dross, week after week, against both good and bad teams. The Super Cup defeat against Trabzonspor may look unlucky on paper but they were hopelessly outplayed in it, and the scoreline flattered Istanbul BB.
Today’s game will be Istanbul BB’s fourth in eleven days. They have some depth in their squad, but with little interest and commitment, this is not a welcome run of fixtures for today’s hosts, and things aren’t going to get any easier with a cross-city trip to face Galatasaray in the coming days. It’s hard for me to be even remotely positive about the home team here, even though they have the far better squad. I mean, Hatayspor aren’t winning many games either, but they’re at least playing like they give a shit! Their players have entered each game with enough passion to intimate that it’s a Cup final they’re playing in, you know? That’s a team I can take seriously.
Furthermore, Hatayspor are scoring goals for fun. They’ve made a terrific discovery this season in Gabonese forward Boupendza, who already has thirteen goals to his name this season. In him and Diouf, Hatayspor have a really athletic, powerful, quick-thinking attack, and both of them are good at scoring goals. With Akintola, Ilgaz, Aabid, and Ribeiro in midfield, they’re not short of support options either. They may be a tad imbalanced at Hatayspor, but they’ve got a very strong attack. This attack has earned them something against Besiktas JK, Fenerbahce, Sivasspor, Antalyaspor, Goztepe, and even a win in the reversal of today’s fixture. This is not a team to take lightly!
Hatayspor are confident, and they’ve absolutely nothing to fear today, even if they are facing a superior team. They work hard enough to stay in games, even if they’re not playing particularly well, and they always create chances. They may not be perfect, the newly-promoted visitors, but they sure are effective when getting forward. A team like that should be able to trouble Istanbul BB greatly here, and the odds sure do make such a prospect enticing. For me, backing Hatayspor to avoid defeat at generous odds of 19/20 is a risk worth taking.
Verdict: Hatayspor to win with a +0.5 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.
Copa Libertadores:
Palmeiras vs Santos
Australian A-League:
Western United vs Melbourne Victory
Macarthur FC vs Sydney FC
Brisbane Roar vs Adelaide United
Austrian Bundesliga:
Hartberg vs Salzburg
SCR Altach vs Sturm Graz
SV Ried vs Admira Wacker
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
KV Mechelen vs Racing Genk
AS Eupen vs Royal Excel Mouscron
OH Leuven vs Germinal Beerschot
Kortrijk vs Sporting Charleroi
Croatian Prva Liga:
NK Osijek vs Istra 1961
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sibenik
Hajduk Split vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Czechia Liga 1:
Teplice vs Karvina
Slovacko vs Ceske Budejovice
Pardubice vs Marila Pribram
Sparta Prague vs Bohemians 1905
English Premier League:
Everton vs Newcastle United
Crystal Palace vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City vs Sheffield United
West Bromwich Albion vs Fulham
Arsenal vs Manchester United
Southampton vs Aston Villa
French Ligue 1:
Montpellier HSC vs Racing Club Lens
Olympique de Marseille vs Stade Rennais
German Bundesliga:
Bayern Munich vs TSG Hoffenheim
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Augsburg
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Hertha Berlin
Union Berlin vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Werder Bremen vs Schalke 04
RB Leipzig vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
German Bundesliga 2:
Hamburger SV vs Paderborn 07
Holstein Kiel vs Eintracht Braunschweig
Jahn Regensburg vs Darmstadt 98
Hungarian Liga 1:
MTK Budapest vs Puskas FC
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Ujpest
Ferencvaros vs Varda SE
Fehervar vs Budapest Honved
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Netanya vs MS Ashdod
Italian Serie A:
Bologna vs AC Milan
Sampdoria vs Juventus
Internazionale vs Benevento
Italian Serie B:
Ascoli vs Brescia
Virtus Entella vs Cosenza
Empoli vs Frosinone
Pordenone vs Lecce
Pisa vs Reggiana
SPAL vs Monza
Dutch Eredivisie:
Heracles Almelo vs FC Groningen
FC Utrecht vs PEC Zwolle
Fortuna Sittard vs VVV Venlo
Vitesse Arnhem vs RKC Waalwijk
Portuguese Liga 1:
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Famalicao
Tondela vs Farense
Portimonense vs Boavista
Portuguese Liga 2:
Chaves vs Feirense
UD Oliveirense vs Vizela
Spanish Primera Liga:
Eibar vs Sevilla CF
Real Madrid vs Levante
Valencia vs Elche
Villarreal vs Real Sociedad
Swiss Super League:
St. Gallen vs FC Zurich
Turkish Super Lig:
Kasimpasa vs Kayserispor
Alanyaspor vs Sivasspor
Istanbul BB vs Hatayspor
Fenerbahce vs Rizespor
Enjoy your free betting tips!