Ceara vs Santos
FreeWe’re always looking for new recruits to help us so please click here if you want to find out more about the ways you can help us (e.g. local input, watching games)!
There are 11 bankers and 7 value tips in the Members Section today so feel free to sign up here to see everything + team news!
Tonight’s featured game is the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Ceara and Santos.
I’d normally like a bit of draw no bet action for Ceara to beat Santos but honestly, barring Marinho magic, shouldn’t have a chance here.
Santos detest playing against energetic, overly committed teams anyway, largely because they can never be bothered to match them for work-rate. All that makes a difference for them in such games is their individuals. Well, Marinho has been injured for a while, even though he’s back now, and Kaio Jorge has gone, so the number of players that can make the difference for them is rapidly dwindling, especially with Guilherme having predictably faded into the background again, and Leonardo still with a lot to learn.
I feel a bit sorry for Sanchez in midfield, really. He’s far too good and too professional for Santos, but here he still is, tirelessly running the show. The veteran Uruguayan is one of few positives on this side of Sao Paulo this season. Truth be told though, it might not be enough to keep them up. You either need a lot of quality or a good work-rate to stay up, and Santos have neither. They’ve walked this tightrope for a while now, seemingly blissfully unaware that most Brazilian heavyweights have been relegated from Serie A for being too blase. I would not be surprised to see them go down, honestly – they don’t have the bottle for a relegation fight.
Naturally, Santos have blamed the manager, sacked him, and Fabio Carille is the man in charge now. I don’t care who the manager is, though – getting this team to work hard is nigh on impossible nowadays. The casual signing of Diego Tardelli to ‘bail them out’ is yet another sign of their failings as a club as he’s not played well in years, and often has injury problems anyway. Baptistao is another signing they’ve made, someone else that hasn’t played well in years – and this fella couldn’t even be a regular in China. The only man that can save them tonight is Marinho, and that is a risk, I admit. He’s a wonderful footballer, worthy of a far better club, and can decide games on his own. Other than that though, Santos are lambs to the slaughter here.
Don’t forget that this is Santos’ third game in a week; Ceara have had a whole week to prepare for this match. Even if they hadn’t though, I still wouldn’t doubt the home team. Ceara are equipped for a relegation battle because they’re fighters, they give a shit, they want to do well as a unit. They’ve not had the best of times lately, it’s true, as they’re still trying to get used to life under Tiago Nunes, who was appointed as manager back in August. Keep in mind that the only team to beat Ceara at home this season has been Bahia though. Gremio, Atletico Mineiro, and Fortaleza all lost in Ceara, whilst Sao Paulo and Flamengo could only manage draws. This is not a coincidence.
Indeed, I suppose you could consider Ceara as the modern day version of Sport Recife i.e. nobody wants to play against them away from home on their tiny pitch in front of baying fans. It’s a throwback to the 70’s, playing Ceara away, and you need strong stomachs for such encounters – and few are weaker than Santos in that regard. True enough, they need to improve away from home, and they need to take some more of their chances, but these are minor problems compared to those that confront Santos so I’m not worried.
Generally speaking, the energy and motivation of Ceara is what kills teams in this fixture. Mendoza may not have done as well as I thought he would, and goals have been sporadic throughout their squad, but every time I watch this team play at home, I am convinced that they’ll get something. They may have an inferior squad to Santos, Ceara, but they’re a far more impressive unit, and they want it more.
Therefore, the home win appeals to me a lot more than it probably should tonight.
Verdict: Ceara to win at 21/20.
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.
Austrian Bundesliga:
SV Ried vs Wolfsberger AC
Austria Vienna vs SCR Altach
Admira Wacker vs Hartberg
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
KV Oostende vs Germinal Beerschot
Union Saint-Gilloise vs Zulte-Waregem
KV Mechelen vs OH Leuven
Sporting Charleroi vs Club Brugge
Brazilian Serie A:
Chapecoense vs Palmeiras
Athletico Paranaense vs Juventude
Atletico Mineiro vs Sport Recife
Ceara vs Santos
Bahia vs RB Bragantino
Bulgarian A PFG:
Cherno More Varna vs Lokomotiv Sofia 1929
Levski Sofia vs CSKA 1948 Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica vs Istra 1961
Sibenik vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Czechia Liga 1:
Slovacko vs Zlin
Slovan Liberec vs Mlada Boleslav
Viktoria Plzen vs Ceske Budejovice
English Premier League:
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Brentford
Burnley vs Arsenal
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Manchester City vs Southampton
Norwich City vs Watford
Aston Villa vs Everton
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Legion vs Tulevik
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Trans Narva
Kuressaare vs Vaprus Parnu
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
HIFK vs IFK Mariehamn
FC Lahti vs AC Oulu
Haka Valkeakoski vs Ilves
KTP vs KuPS
SJK vs Inter Turku
French Ligue 1:
Racing Club Lens vs Lille OSC
AS Saint-Etienne vs Girondins de Bordeaux
German Bundesliga:
Bayern Munich vs VfL Bochum
Mainz 05 vs SC Freiburg
Augsburg vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
Arminia Bielefeld vs TSG Hoffenheim
Koln vs RB Leipzig
German Bundesliga 2:
Holstein Kiel vs Hannover 96
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Jahn Regensburg
SV Sandhausen vs Heidenheim
Werder Bremen vs Hamburger SV
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Sakhnin vs Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Hapoel Nof HaGalil vs MS Ashdod
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Haifa
Italian Serie A:
Genoa vs ACF Fiorentina
Internazionale vs Bologna
Salernitana vs Atalanta Bergamo
Italian Serie B:
Ascoli vs Benevento
Lecce vs Alessandria
Monza vs Ternana
Reggina vs SPAL
Perugia vs Cosenza
Vicenza vs Pisa
Cittadella vs Pordenone
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Hegelmann Litauen vs FK Panevezys
Dziugas Telsiai vs Zalgiris Vilnius
Banga Gargzdai vs Kauno Zalgiris
Dutch Eredivisie:
SC Heerenveen vs Fortuna Sittard
Willem II vs FC Groningen
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Cambuur Leeuwarden
FC Utrecht vs RKC Waalwijk
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Kristiansund vs Haugesund
Odd vs Lillestrom
Portuguese Liga 1:
Famalicao vs Maritimo Funchal
Belenenses vs Gil Vicente
Arouca vs Vitoria Guimaraes
Portuguese Liga 2:
Rio Ave vs Feirense
Mafra vs Trofense
Romanian Liga 1:
Chindia Targoviste vs FCV Farul Constanta
U Craiova 1948 vs FCSB
Russian Premier League:
FK Ufa vs FK Khimki
Krylya Sovetov Samara vs FK Rostov
Akhmat Grozny vs FK Krasnodar
Spanish Primera Liga:
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Getafe
Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Club
Elche vs Levante
Deportivo Alaves vs CA Osasuna
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Degerfors vs Sirius
BK Hacken Goteborg vs Mjallby Solvesborg
Swiss Schweizer Pokal:
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs FC Sion
Etoile Carouge vs Winterthur
Paradiso vs Aarau
Buochs vs Luzern
Bosporus vs FC Schaffhausen
FC Thun vs Grasshopper Zurich
Turkish Super Lig:
Sivasspor vs Gaziantep FK
Kasimpasa vs Trabzonspor
Antalyaspor vs Besiktas JK
Adana Demirspor vs Rizespor
Enjoy your free betting tips!