Anderlecht vs Standard de Liege
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Eerste Klasse game between newly-crowned champions Anderlecht and UEFA Europa League hopefuls Standard de Liege.
Of course, this game runs much deeper than mere league placings will show. I’d make a case for Anderlecht not hating any side more than they do Standard de Liege and the same applies to the visitors. The players that have swapped shirts between the two clubs over the years (e.g. Jovanovic, Mbokani, and especially Van Damme) can all testify the hatred that arises from such a move and thus this game is of the utmost importance, even at the end of the season.
It’s a good job that it is an important game for Anderlecht because they’ve not had any reason to win either of their last two games and they’ve subsequently been bloody awful, in my view. They did nothing to Kortrijk last time out and battled to a draw with Club Brugge before that. Although the title is theirs, the party hats came out a bit too soon, in my view, and Jacobs’ side needed bringing back down to reality, which Kortrijk did. Just in time, too – they should be able to get going for this big derby and make it count against a side that they’re frankly better than, especially with some of the best attacking players in Belgium on the side of Les Mauves.
Visitors Standard are a threat in Liege but are rarely a threat away from home. They tend to defend well and take their chances on counter-attacks but that’s simply not something that they can afford to do today. You see, although Anderlecht have already won the league, Standard still need points to claim a UEFA Europa League place or face the possibility of not playing European football next season, which would be a huge blow for them and their fans. They did a good job against AA Gent last time out despite having no fit strikers but I think it’ll take more than an enthused display for them to get a result at the Vanden Stock. The visitors will work hard here, naturally, and they do have some cracking players. However, they’re very short on strikers due to injury and thus their goal-scoring capabilities have been massively handicapped. Additionally, Anderlecht can afford to sit and counter Standard today with lots of pace as Standard have to come out of their shell to attack and try and get three points, something which they hate to be forced into doing. It’s not that Standard can’t win games; they absolutely can win games. However, they like to do it in a tactically astute manner and today they can’t do that, which puts them in an awkward position, hence me again favouring Anderlecht.
Although the visitors need the points more than the hosts, I see much more quality and potency on the side of Anderlecht than I do Standard. With rivarly at its maximum for this game, Anderlecht need to motivate themselves properly here. If they do that then the home win appeals to me a lot at 4/5.
Verdict: Anderlecht to win at 4/5.
Sunday’s Picks
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 to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
Argentinian Primera Division:
Atletico Lanus vs Banfield (7) 2-0
Argentinos Juniors vs Racing Club Avellaneda (6) 1-1
Colon de Santa Fe vs Tigre (6) 1-0
Boca Juniors vs Velez Sarsfield (5) 2-2, at least one red card in this game
Austrian Bundesliga:
SV Kapfenberg vs Rapid Vienna (7) 1-2
Wacker Innsbruck vs Sturm Graz (5) 1-1
Wiener Neustadt vs Salzburg (7) 0-1
Admira Wacker vs SV Ried (6) 1-0
Austria Vienna vs SV Mattersburg (7) 2-1
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Club Brugge vs Kortrijk (5) 2-1
AA Gent vs Racing Genk (6) 2-2
Anderlecht vs Standard de Liege (7) 1-0
Bulgarian A PFG:
Slavia Sofia vs Svetkavitsa (7) 2-0
Montana vs Lokomotiv Sofia (5) 2-1
Chilean Primera Division:
Universidad Catolica vs Universidad de Chile (5) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
O’Higgins vs Audax Italiano (6) 2-1
Colombian Primera A:
Real Cartagena vs Atletico Huila (6) 1-1
Deportes Tolima vs Deportes Quindio (7) 2-0
Cucuta Deportivo vs Independiente Medellin (6) 0-0
Atletico Nacional de Medellin vs Atletico Junior Barranquilla (5) 1-1
Danish Superligaen:
Lyngby vs Aalborg BK (5) 1-1
SonderjyskE vs FC Copenhagen (6) 0-1
HB Koge vs Silkeborg (5) 2-2
AGF Aarhus vs Brondby (5) 2-1
Danish 1st Division:
Vestjaelland vs Vejle-Kolding (6)
Blokhus vs Naestved (7)
Fredericia vs Bronshoj (6)
Hjorring vs Skive (4)
Ecuadorian Primera A:
Emelec Guayaquil vs Deportivo Cuenca (7) 1-0
English Premier League:
Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers (5) 2-1
Everton vs Newcastle United (5) 1-0
Manchester City vs Queens Park Rangers (9) -1.5 handicap
Norwich City vs Aston Villa (7) 2-0
Stoke City vs Bolton Wanderers (5) 2-1
Sunderland vs Manchester United (6) 0-1
Swansea City vs Liverpool (6) 1-0
Tottenham Hotspur vs Fulham (7) 2-0
West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal (5) 1-2
Wigan Athletic vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (7) 2-0
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
EB/Streymur vs NSI Runavik (7) over 2.5 goals
B36 Torshavn vs Vikingur Gotu (4) 1-1
KI Klaksvik vs Suduroy (7) 1-0
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
TPS Turku vs VPS Vaasa (7) 1-0
IFK Mariehamn vs FC Lahti (7) 1-0
Finnish Ykkonen:
KooTeePee Kotka vs Hameenlinna (8)
French Ligue 1:
AC Ajaccio vs Olympique Lyonnais (5) 1-1
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Lorient (7) 1-0
Stade Brestois vs Valenciennes (5) 0-0
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Sochaux (6) 2-1
Dijon FCO vs Toulouse (4) 1-0
Olympique de Marseille vs Auxerre (4) 1-1
Montpellier HSC vs LOSC Lille (5) 1-0
AS Nancy-Lorraine vs Saint-Etienne (5) 1-2
OGC Nice vs Evian Thonon Gaillard (6) 1-1
Paris Saint-Germain vs Stade Rennais (7) 2-1
Greek Super League:
Atromitos vs AEK Athens (6) 1-0
Panathinaikos vs PAOK Salonika (4) 0-1
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Fehervar vs Gyori ETO FC (5) 2-2
Diosgyori VTK vs Budapest Honved (7) 1-0
Italian Serie A:
Juventus vs Atalanta Bergamo (7) 2-1
Fiorentina vs Cagliari (5) 1-1
AC Milan vs Novara (8) 2-0
Parma vs Bologna (6) 1-1
Cesena vs AS Roma (4) 1-1
Lazio vs Internazionale (6) 1-2
Chievo Verona vs Lecce (5) 1-1
Genoa vs Palermo (5) 1-0
SSC Napoli vs Siena (9) -1.5 handicap
Catania vs Udinese (6) 1-0
Latvian Virsliga:
Daugava Daugavpils vs Daugava Riga (7) 2-0
Gulbene 2005 vs Metta/LU (5) 1-1
Spartaks Jurmala vs FK Ventspils (7) 1-2
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Siauliai vs Suduva Marijampole (4) 1-1
Zalgiris Vilnius vs Kruoja Pakruojis (8) 2-0
Mexican Primera Division:
Santos Laguna vs Tigres UANL (6) 1-0
Dutch Eredivisie:
Vitesse Arnhem vs NEC Nijmegen (6) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Twente Enschede vs RKC Waalwijk (5) 2-1
Norwegian Eiteserien:
Fredrikstad vs Haugesund (5) 1-0
Sandnes Ulf vs Rosenborg BK (7) 1-2
Aalesund FK vs Stromsgodset (5) 1-2
Honefoss vs Odd Grenland Skien (4) 1-1
Sogndal vs Viking Stavanger (5) 2-2
Lillestrom vs Brann Bergen (5) 1-2
Paraguayan Division Profesional:
Independiente FBC vs Deportivo Carapegua (6) 1-0
Nacional Asuncion vs Olimpia Asuncion (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Rubio Nu vs Cerro Porteno (7) 0-1
Peruvian Primera Division:
Real Atletico Garcilaso vs Universidad San Martin (5) 1-1
Jose Galvez vs Inti Gas (7) 1-0
Polish Liga 1:
Nieciecza vs Flota Swinoujscie (6)
Romanian Liga:
Petrolul Ploiesti vs Gaz Metan Medias (5) 2-1
Concordia Chiajna vs Targu Mures (7) 2-0
Rapid Bucharest vs Pandurii Targu Jiu (7) 2-1
Vaslui vs Sportul Studentesc (7) 1-0
FC Brasov vs Steaua Bucharest (6) 2-1
Russian Premier League:
Spartak Nal’chik vs FK Krasnodar (5) 1-0
Krylya Sovetov Samara vs Terek Grozny (5) 0-0
Amkar Perm’ vs Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod (4) 0-1
Tom’ Tomsk vs Rostov-na-Donu (6) 2-1
Kuban’ Kransodar vs Dinamo Moscow (6) 0-1
Lokomotiv Moscow vs Spartak Moscow (6) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Rubin Kazan’ vs CSKA Moscow (5) 1-1
Anzhi Makhachkala vs Zenit St.Petersburg (6) 1-1
Scottish Premier League:
Celtic vs Hearts (8) 2-0
Motherwell vs Dundee United (7) 1-0
St.Johnstone vs Rangers (7) 1-2
Singaporean S-League:
Home United vs Young Lions (7) 2-0
Harimau Muda vs Tampines Rovers (7) 0-2
Spanish Primera Liga:
Getafe vs Real Zaragoza (5) 1-2
Levante vs Athletic Club de Bilbao (6) 2-1
Real Madrid vs Real Mallorca (8) -1.5 handicap
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Granada (5) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Espanyol vs Sevilla CF (6) 2-1
Malaga vs Sporting Gijon (7) 2-1
Villarreal CF vs Atletico Madrid (5) 1-2
Racing Santander vs Osasuna (4) 0-1
Spanish Segunda Liga:
Real Valladolid vs Hercules Alicante (6) over 2.5 goals
Elche vs Sabadell (6)
Deportivo Xerez vs Villarreal II (7)
Swedish Allsvenskan:
IFK Norrkoping vs Orebro (5) 2-2
Elfsborg Boras vs AIK Solna (7) 2-0
Helsingborg vs BK Hacken Goteborg (4) 1-2
Swedish Superettan:
Assyriska Sodertalje vs Falkenberg (7)
IFK Varnamo vs Hammarby (5)
Umea vs Osters (6)
Swiss Super League:
Thun vs Young Boys Bern (5) 1-1
FC Zurich vs Servette (6) 1-0
Swiss Challenge League:
Locarno vs St.Gallen (7)
Vaduz vs Bellinzona (6)
Uruguayan Primera Division:
Defensor Sporting vs Cerro Largo (7) 2-0
River Plate Montevideo vs Danubio (6) 1-1
Cerro vs El Tanque Sisley (7) 1-0
Liverpool Montevideo vs Rentistas (7) 2-1
Montevideo Wanderers vs Penarol (5) 1-2
Enjoy your free betting tips!