Luzern vs St. Gallen
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Today’s free tip is in the Swiss Super League encounter between Luzern and St. Gallen.
I’d like to think we’d see goals in this one. Luzern are confident again now, and St. Gallen are easily the worst team in the Super League when it comes to defending, meaning they have to go on the offensive in every match.
But Luzern have drawn against FC Basel and Young Boys Bern away from home for their last two matches! They don’t concede anymore – right? Wrong. They played really well in Basel but their hosts suffered from a bout of Esposito-itis in the sense that without him, they did nothing. Young Boys Bern actually crucified Luzern, even when down to ten men, and it was little more than a miracle that Luzern got out of that game alive. I have to applaud their togetherness, especially given how they’ve dealt with defensive absentees, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this team has stopped giving lots of chances away because they haven’t.
It’s nice to see Luzern back though. It’s also nice to see the board keep the faith with Celestini despite many Swiss media outlets clamouring for his head. There’s still work to do with getting Sorgic back to his best, integrating Cumic, and figuring out how to get Ndenge and Schurpf back into the squad after they both recovered from a lengthy period out. Things are improving at the club though, and I like that. Luzern do play really good football when they’re confident, and they’re certainly feeling the confidence right now.
Importantly, the home team have got key attacker Ndiaye back. He’s been their best forward this season, largely because he’s kept them in games that they’ve had no right to be in, based on the balance of play. He may not start this game, but should at least make the bench, and his presence always gives Luzern a lift nowadays. The big issue for Luzern is in defensive situations though. Although back in training, number one goalkeeper Muller is not yet back between the sticks, and although Vasic was the hero against Young Boys Bern, he’s had more bad games than good this season. All three of the main centre-backs – Burch, Badstuber, Domgjoni – have struggled this season, often dispossessed or out of position. That, fused with Frydek and Farkas being injured has turned their back four into a case of ‘who’s left’. I find it hard to believe that a dangerous St. Gallen wouldn’t capitalise upon that element here, whether they win or not.
St. Gallen need to get some points though. I appreciate that they beat Servette last time out but that was entirely down to the official making two horrendous errors, enough so for the Swiss FA to demote Piccolo to the Challenge League for the foreseeable future. St. Gallen aren’t actually doing enough to win matches, as it goes. They’re attacking well more often than not, but their defending is just calamitous at all times. It’s literally all about attacking with this team, which is why playmaker Ruiz’s recent absent hurt them as much as it did; they knew they’d concede, and responding without the Spaniard is tough.
Luckily, Ruiz is very much back now, and striker Babic is supposed to be on the cusp of returning too – another boost. I love the determination and pressing of youngster Besio, and the movement/aerial prowess of Schubert, but Babic remains their best finisher. With Youan, Gortler, and Ruiz making chances, it’s not going to be hard for Babic to get the opportunities to score goals that he needs, although I don’t really believe he’ll play much of a part today, if any part. Still, this team is good enough at attacking to score goals, and I can’t imagine Luzern keeping them out.
Much like Luzern, St. Gallen are a joke at the back though. Stergiou’s injury picked up on Switzerland U21 duty has not gone away, and the club are refusing to say what it is, making him doubtful today (although he’ll probably not play at all). That’s one of their best defenders, and one of just two recognisable centre-backs. Now they’re without regular left-back Kempter, and will be for the rest of 2021 as he’s picked up a bad injury. That’s half of their back four out, and anyone who has watched right-back Luchinger before knows how much time he spends in attack, which actually aids the team greatly; he’s very good in the final third. A back four containing what I assume will be Luchinger, unfit Nuhu, defensive midfielder Stillhart, and makeshift left-back Traore is just asking for trouble against a rejuvenated Luzern.
For me, this game should contain a lot of goals. I wouldn’t even dream of trying to bet on which way it’d go though.
Verdict: Over 3 Asian goals at 51/50.
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:
Hartberg vs Rapid Vienna
LASK vs SCR Altach
Salzburg vs Sturm Graz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Antwerp vs Club Brugge
RSC Anderlecht vs Germinal Beerschot
Racing Genk vs AA Gent
OH Leuven vs Sint-Truiden
Brazilian Serie A:
Atletico Mineiro vs Cuiaba
Internacional vs Corinthians
RB Bragantino vs Sao Paulo
Bahia vs Chapecoense
Bulgarian A PFG:
Beroe vs CSKA Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb vs Istra 1961
Lokomotiva Zagreb vs Rijeka
Czechia Liga 1:
Hradec Kralove vs Teplice
Viktoria Plzen vs Baumit Jablonec
Ceske Budejovice vs Slavia Prague
Sparta Prague vs Mlada Boleslav
Danish Superligaen:
Brondby vs FC Copenhagen
Silkeborg vs OB
Randers vs AGF
FC Midtjylland vs SonderjyskE
English Premier League:
Brentford vs Leicester City
West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United vs Liverpool
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Tallinn vs Kuressaare
Faroese Betrideildin:
07 Vestur Sorvagur vs HB Torshavn
KI vs EB/Streymur
IF vs NSI Runavik
B36 Torshavn vs Vikingur Gota
B68 Toftir vs TB
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
HJK vs Inter Turku
French Ligue 1:
OGC Nice vs Olympique Lyonnais
Racing Club Lens vs Metz
Lorient vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Stade de Reims vs Troyes
Stade Rennais vs Racing Club Strasbourg
AS Monaco vs Montpellier HSC
Olympique de Marseille vs Paris Saint-Germain
German Bundesliga:
Koln vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
VfB Stuttgart vs Union Berlin
VfL Bochum vs Eintracht Frankfurt
German Bundesliga 2:
St. Pauli vs Hansa Rostock
Jahn Regensburg vs Hannover 96
SV Sandhausen vs Werder Bremen
Hungarian Liga 1:
Debreceni VSC vs Puskas FC
Budapest Honved vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Ferencváros vs MTK Budapest
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Beitar Jerusalem vs Hapoel Haifa
Italian Serie A:
Atalanta Bergamo vs Udinese
ACF Fiorentina vs Cagliari
Hellas Verona vs SS Lazio
AS Roma vs SSC Napoli
Internazionale vs Juventus
Italian Serie B:
Pisa vs Pordenone
Reggina vs Parma
SPAL vs Como
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Dainava vs Dziugas Telsiai
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Twente Enschede vs NEC Nijmegen
Cambuur Leeuwarden vs Feyenoord Rotterdam
Vitesse Arnhem vs Go Ahead Eagles
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs PSV Eindhoven
FC Groningen vs AZ Alkmaar
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Kristiansund vs Sarpsborg 08
Rosenborg BK vs Sandefjord
Stromsgodset vs Bodo/Glimt
Tromso vs Mjondalen
Valerenga Oslo vs Haugesund
Odd vs Brann Bergen
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira vs Arouca
Vizela vs SL Benfica
Portimonense vs Estoril
Portuguese Liga 2:
Feirense vs Estrela
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Mafra
Trofense vs Sporting Covilha
Romanian Liga 1:
FCV Farul Constanta vs FCSB
Russian Premier League:
FK Ufa vs Rubin Kazan
Akhmat Grozny vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Spartak Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Sevilla vs Levante
Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Real Betis Balompie vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Hammarby vs Ostersunds FK
Elfsborg Boras vs Sirius
Mjallby Solvesborg vs IFK Goteborg
AIK Solna vs IFK Norrkoping
Varberg vs Malmo FF
Swiss Super League:
Luzern vs St. Gallen
FC Basel vs Lugano
Servette vs FC Sion
Turkish Super Lig:
Fatih Karagumruk vs Hatayspor
Antalyaspor vs Istanbul Basaksehir
Sivasspor vs Adana Demirspor
Fenerbahce vs Alanyaspor
Enjoy your free betting tips!