Trabzonspor vs Alanyaspor
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Today’s free tip is in the Turkish Super Lig encounter between Trabzonspor and Alanyapor.
I’m still a little on the cautious wagon when it comes to Trabzonspor, folks. I want to have it rammed down my throat by Avci that this team is ready to bounce back from any setbacks they encounter. The win against Kasimpasa mid-week was a step in the right direction, for sure, but harder tests await – and today’s opponents might just prove to be one.
Trabzonspor may still believe in their chances of winning the Super Lig this season, and were it not for surprisingly efficient displays by the big Istanbul clubs, I’d fancy them. By no means is it impossible though, and the way teams compete for major honours is by not letting setbacks get them down. I understand that losing against Fenerbahce is a life or death matter for Trabzonspor nowadays but that kind of thing is going to happen sometimes because Fenerbahce are a good team. Therefore, winning your following games as opposed to the usual emotional rollercoaster is absolutely paramount, so I think it’s more important than usual that Trabzonspor actually win today.
I think they’ve got a good chance of doing it too. This was already a pretty good squad before Avci arrived; it’s just that they didn’t react well to losing top players pre-season, especially as some of them actually went to Fenerbahce themselves. A bit of focus and shepherding from a manager that knows the Super Lig inside out by now, and a few timely signings to improve the competitive nature of the team, and suddenly Trabzonspor are back in the mixer as one of Turkey’s top teams once more, even beating Istanbul BB to the Super Cup recently. This will be a good team for as long as they keep Avci in charge, in my opinion. They’ll be alright after him too, but for my money, he’s the best they’ve had in ages, and time should prove it.
Whether you want to analyse the consistency Trabzonspor have started to play with since Avci took over, or their capacity to control games now, or their ability to actually keep teams out sometimes, it all comes from the same source. He’s a very good manager, and just look at what he’s done with Greek forward Bakasetas, for example. Bakasetas is a machine; he presses, he wins 50/50s etc. but he’s by no means a finisher. Indeed, I could make the argument that he shoots too often with that in mind but he’s still the kind of player a big team needs sometimes, and since he’s signed from Alanyaspor, he’s bagged four goals in seven appearances. If nothing else, trust in Avci – he knows what he’s doing.
Alanyaspor are one of the teams that were expected to do really well this season. They’re not have a stinker, to be fair to them, but it’s fair to say that they don’t look as convincing as they did in the past. I can sort of understand it, in a way. They’re not mercenaries, Alanyaspor, but they’re also not as good as the big Istanbul clubs. Subsequently, when they see Besiktas JK, Fenerbahce, and Galatasaray signing the likes of Ozil and Tosun, and barely dropping points anywhere, it can be hard to keep the motivation levels up – which is precisely what’s happened.
Alanyaspor are now without a win in four matches, and although they’ve had a hard game or two along the way, they should have won at least two of those games, if not three. Now enters the most difficult period for boss Tokatli since he took over in November; he needs to somehow pick up and re-motivate this team despite a limited amount of experience of managing at a top level. I’m not bold enough to say it’s impossible, and we’re talking about the Super Lig after all, but let’s just say that I think it’s unlikely he’ll be able to do it, shall we?
I don’t mind Alanyaspor conceding goals because that’s something that is a byproduct of their natural attacking flair. No, what I mind is when they’re not scoring, which is the case at the moment. Alright, they’ve not got natural finishers other than Babacar (when it suits him, which isn’t very often) but they do have a lot of fast, skilful dribblers in the final third, and plenty of support from midfield. In other words, they should never have problems finding the net, Alanyaspor – but they are. My belief is that it’s a lack of work-rate that is doing it too. They don’t have a Belhanda or an Ozil for when times are tough like this, and the team needs to be carried. If Alanyaspor don’t work as a unit, then they don’t work at all – and that’s where they’re at right now.
Therefore, despite Alanyaspor being a good match for their hosts, I don’t think it’s a good time to face them. Trabzonspor aer doing enough to win games, and Alanyaspor have seldom looked less likely to do so despite their vast array of attacking talent. Therefore, I’m on the home win at 19/20.
Verdict: Trabzonspor to win at 19/20.
Monday’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.
Australian A-League:
Central Coast Mariners vs Macarthur FC
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent vs KV Oostende
Bulgarian A PFG:
Tsarsko selo vs Slavia Sofia
Danish Superligaen:
Aalborg BK vs SonderjyskE
English Premier League:
Chelsea vs Everton
West Ham United vs Leeds United
French Coupe de France:
OGC Nice vs Monaco
German Bundesliga 2:
Hamburger SV vs Holstein Kiel
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
MS Ashdod vs Hapoel Hadera
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
Internazionale vs Atalanta Bergamo
Italian Serie B:
Chievo Verona vs Vicenza
Portuguese Liga 1:
Belenenses vs SL Benfica
Portuguese Liga 2:
Cova de Piedade vs Academico Viseu
FC Porto II vs Casa Pia
SL Benfica II vs Arouca
Vilafranquense vs Sporting Covilha
Romanian Liga:
Arges vs Politehnica Iasi
Voluntari vs Dinamo Bucharest
Russian Premier League:
Arsenal Tula vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Rubin Kazan vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Betis Balompie vs Deportivo Alaves
Turkish Super Lig:
Trabzonspor vs Alanyaspor
Antalyaspor vs Kasimpasa
Goztepe vs BB Erzurumspor
Konyaspor vs Fenerbahce
Enjoy your free betting tips!