AC Oulu vs Honka Espoo
FreeToday’s featured game is the Finnish Liiga Cup encounter between high-flying AC Oulu and giants FC Honka Espoo. AC Oulu have surpassed all expectation so far and have even won their Liiga Cup group to earn this fixture with last season’s Veikkausliiga runners-up FC Honka Espoo. FC Honka Espoo are the bigger and better side and generally tend to have their place in the latter stages of this competition somewhat cemented irrespective of how they play.
AC Oulu have surprised me this season, I must confess. Whereas I do appreciate that the Liiga Cup is not exactly the foremost of competitions in Finnish football, it is nonetheless a trial period for clubs, players, and managers and there is at least some desire to win it with competition in Finland no longer being just about HJK Helsinki. AC Oulu have only lost once during their six Liiga Cup games and I respect them for that although it should be pointed out that they have played some of the poorer sides from the Veikkausliiga so far so it’s not a monumental achievement for AC Oulu. That said, I don’t rate their squad at all and strongly fancy them to be relegated this season from the Veikkausliiga following promotion last season because I genuinely don’t believe that they’re good enough to stay up so perhaps winning four of those six games is a monumental thing after all! AC Oulu haven’t been overly convincing at home in the Liiga Cup which is where the cracks in their armour begin to show as they failed to register a goal against KuPS Kuopio, they laboured to a 3-2 win against Jaro Pietarsaari, and beat an impotent Haka Valkeakoski. However, they’re now hosting one of the top dogs in Finnish football and I think they’re going to find out how tough Veikkausliiga football is about to become today.
FC Honka Espoo are yet to straighten out their somewhat susceptible defence which is why I suspect that they’ll be runners-up behind HJK Helsinki yet again in the Veikkausliiga this season. Nonetheless, their goalscoring looks as potent as ever which makes them very dangerous opponents indeed. They’ve got bags of ability and have only lost one player over the winter break so are looking strong for the season ahead. Honka are yet to win an away game in the Liiga Cup but when you consider that their away games have been against a very physical IFK Mariehamn, the efficient Inter Turku, and sleeping giants MyPa Anjalankoski, you can understand why that is. Honka have scored ten goals during those six games however and when you consider the calibre of opponent that they’re facing, you have to be somewhat impressed with that fact. Honka haven’t been as convincing as I’d like them to be yet in the Liiga Cup and that’s probably due to them not taking this competition too seriously like most (if not all) clubs. However, they remain the better side here by a long way so look good to win today.
Honestly, the bookies look to have really dropped a ball here. Pricing Honka at evens to win at little AC Oulu is unbelievable. You have to wonder if they’ve just looked at Liiga Cup statistics from this season before announcing this odds selection. Honka are twice the side that AC Oulu are and have come through a much harder group than they have to get here. I feel AC Oulu will get a strong “welcome to the top flight of Finnish football” greeting from one of the Veikkausliiga’s best sides today at frankly unbelievable odds that you will not see when the two sides meet in the Veikkausliiga.
Verdict: FC Honka Espoo to win at evens.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Cruzeiro vs Velez Sarsfield – home win at 5/6.
The old Brazil-Argentina rivalry is awakened once more tonight with the last game between these two ending with Velez winning and Cruzeiro ending the game with nine men. However, the game is in Brazil this time around and last year’s runners-up Cruzeiro need to win to keep themselves in a good position to qualify for the latter stages of this competition so the rivalry in this game should really be rather intense.
Is there much quality difference between these two sides? No. Cruzeiro are traditionally strong at home, which should give them the edge, whereas Velez Sarsfield are more regimented and reliable defensively than most South American sides so don’t suffer easily on the road. Velez haven’t lost any of their other two away games in the Copa Libertadores this season and although the terrain and location certainly favoured the hosts in both games, it has to be worth mentioning that Velez were not playing great sides but still scored just once in each game. Cruzeiro deal with their away games in a much more Brazilian fashion i.e. badly but they make their home games count which is why they’ve already scored six goals in two home games.
As I mentioned previously, this game is important for Cruzeiro – they need to win it. They’ll want revenge from the game in Argentina, they’re strong at home, and experienced in this competition. Velez won’t want to lose this game but at the same time they don’t need anything from it. I expect Velez to struggle here as many sides have and will already and although I expect a close and tense game, I think there’s value in the home win for a flambuoyant and potent Cruzeiro.
Verdict: Cruzeiro to win at 5/6.
Accumulator fodder:
Internacional, Gamba Osaka, Suwon Bluewings, NSI Runavik, Khimki, Koper, Deportivo Italia, HJK Helsinki, FC Honka Espoo.
Recommended bets:
Khimki, Koper, HJK Helsinki, and FC Honka Espoo at 7/1.
Cruzeiro, Internacional, Deportivo Italia, Gamba Osaka, and Suwon Bluewings at 6/1.
As ever, if there any questions/explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!
UEFA Champions League:
Arsenal vs Barcelona (5) 1-1
Internazionale vs CSKA Moscow (6) under 2.5 goals
Copa Libertadores:
Cruzeiro vs Velez Sarsfield (7) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Monterrey vs Sao Paulo (7) 1-1
Internacional vs Cerro (9) -1.75 handicap
Morelia vs Banfield (6) 0-0
Asian Champions League:
Melbourne Victory vs Kawasaki Frontale (6) 1-1
Gamba Osaka vs Armed Forces (9) both sides to score
Suwon Bluewings vs Henan Jianye (8) 2-0
Beijing Guoan vs Seongam Ilhwa Chunma (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Sepahan vs Pakhtakor Tashkent (6) 0-0
Al Jazira vs Al Ahli (7) 0-1
Al Gharafa vs Esteghlal (6) 0-0
Al Shabab vs Al Ain (6) 1-0
Belgian Eerste Klasse – Play-Offs:
Club Brugge vs Kortrijk (7) under 2.5 goals
AA Gent vs Anderlecht (6) 1-1
Zulte-Waregem vs Sint-Truiden (7) 1-0
Westerlo vs Mechelen (6) 2-1
Lokeren vs Cercle Brugge (6) 1-1
Belgian Tweede Klasse:
Boussu Dour Borinage vs Oostende (6)
Colombian Primera A:
Atletico Nacional de Medellin vs Atletico Huila (5) 1-0
Deportivo Pereira vs Independiente Medellin (6) 1-1
Danish Superligaen:
Esbjerg vs AGF Aarhus (6) 1-1
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
NSI Runavik vs IF Fuglafjordur (9) -1.75 handicap
Finnish Liiga Cup:
HJK Helsinki vs Jaro Pietarsaari (9) 3-1
JJK Jyvaskyla vs TPS Turku (7) 1-2
VPS Vaasa vs Inter Turku (6) 0-1
AC Oulu vs FC Honka Espoo (8) 1-3
Greek B Ethniki:
Agrotikos Asteras vs Ilioupoli (7)
Anagennisi Karditsas vs Doxa Dramas (5)
Ionikos Nikaias vs Ethnikos Asteras (6)
Kalamata vs Panaitolikos Agrinio (5)
Olympiakos Volos vs OFI Crete (7) over 2.5 goals
Panserraikos vs Kerkyra (6)
Pierikos Katerini vs Diagoras Rodos (7)
Rhodos vs Ethnikos Piraeus (5)
Thrasivoulos vs Aigaleo Athens (7)
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Paksi SE vs Zalaegerszegi TE (5) 1-1
International Friendlies:
Chile vs Venezuela (7) 2-1
Paraguay vs South Africa (7) under 2.5 goals
Dutch Eredivisie:
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Vitesse Arnhem (7) 1-0
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Arka Gdynia vs Polonia Bytom (6) 1-1
Russian Division 1:
Khimki vs Avangard Kursk (8)
Kuban Krasnodor vs Salyut Belgorod (7) under 2.5 goals
Singaporean S-League:
Woodlands Wellington vs Tampines Rovers (7) 1-2
Slovenian Prva Liga:
Drava vs Rudar Velenje (5) 1-0
Interblock Ljubljana vs Gorica (7) 1-1
Koper vs Olimpija Ljubljana (8) 2-0
Domzale vs Nafta Lendava (6) 1-1
Celje vs Maribor (6) 1-2
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Djurgardens vs Brommapojkarna (5) 1-0
Swiss Challenge League:
Kriens vs Vaduz (7)
Locarno vs Lausanne Sports (6)
Uruguayan Primera Division:
Racing Club Montevideo vs Cerro Largo (7) 2-1
Venezuelan Primera Division:
Deportivo Italia vs Monagas SC (8) 2-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!