Anzhi Makhachkala vs Spartak Nal’chik
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Russian Premier League encounter between moneybags Anzhi Makhachkala and relegation favourites Spartak Nal’chik. Out of the two sides, only Spartak Nal’chik has consistently delivered what was expected of them pre-season although I’m sure they’d sacrifice that consistency to be where Anzhi are right now!
I watched Anzhi win at Lokomotiv Moscow and I was genuinely very impressed. Lokomotiv were asleep for the first goal, admittedly, but Anzhi played very well and if they keep playing like that then a European place really isn’t beyond them. However, it’s games like this that they must win to prove themselves, not the one-off games against Russia’s elite. Indeed, I’ve noticed that Anzhi struggle to break down sides like this much more than they do against bigger sides so they need to develop themselves to combat varying tactical approaches to become the heavyweights that they desire to be. Anzhi have the personnel to attack well and score goals though and considering that they’ve shipped just one goal in five home games so far this season, you have to consider that they’re only realistically going to need one goal to win this game.
Can Spartak Nal’chik stop Anzhi today? Not for my money. Since they lost influential boss Krasnozhan, Spartak have effectively been condemned to relegation as the whole team was built around him. Spartak are not a side with much ability; they simply work very hard and have good attention to detail tactically. However, without the right motivation, this side really struggles, hence them having failed to win a game since the start of the season. To their credit, they’re unbeaten in four consecutive games now but all have been draws and two of those games have been against newly-promoted opponents; let’s see how they handle actual quality today. Spartak have done well defensively away from home this season and that’s no great surprise; their tactics are set up away from home solely to enforce defensive strength rather than trying to win games. The good side of that tactical approach is that it can work most of the time. The bad side is that if they concede, they’re generally going to lose.
All in all, this game is about when the first goal is scored, for me. If Anzhi get it, they’ve won the game. I don’t see Spartak breaching a solid Anzhi defence here so it’s all about the likes of Boussouffa in this game, who will spend his whole game trying to unlock the opposing defence. If Anzhi get that goal then 4/5 on the home win looks very good here.
Verdict: Anzhi Makhachkala to win at 4/5.
Friday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Rostov-na-Donu vs FK Krasnodar – home win at 6/5.
Where do the bookies get these odds from?! Maybe I’ll be proven completely wrong but I rate Rostov as a much, much better team than Krasnodar are! Krasnodar are only here because they bought the Premier League license from defunct Saturn Moscow Oblast; they’re still not Premier League quality for me. They work hard and can defend well when they need to but they lack a consistent threat in front of goal and the necessary creativity to win games too. Rostov, on the other hand, have plenty of everything that they need and they tend to demonstrate it best at home. They’ve spent the majority of the current campaign trying to integrate their new signings and we’ve seen signs that they’re well on their way to having a really strong squad already with their 3-0 drubbing of Amkar Perm’ in their last home game. They ran CSKA Moscow close in a 2-1 loss and drew 2-2 at Krylya Sovetov Samara so you can see that the goals are starting to come to them now. Surprisingly, it’s Adamov who is scoring the goals rather than Kirichenko but it’s working for Rostov so I’m sure they won’t complain! Their creative and energetic midfield is the fundamental part of Rostov winning games, however. They’ve got lots of talent and alternatives in the likes of Ivanov, Yankov, Rebko, Gatskan, Grigorjev, Kalachev, Khoklov, Cesnauskis. etc. The fact that only Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod have scored in Rostov since the start of the campaign tells you how strong today’s hosts are on their own turf and I expect to see that all too clearly indicated in the result. Krasnodar may have started the season well by being hard to beat on the road but they’ve lost two consecutive away games now and they were comfortably beaten in both games. With no wins in seven games leading them into this encounter, I just don’t see how the visitors will be able to come away with a result here. They’re stubborn and it won’t be a pretty game but Rostov have more than enough to win this one. For me, there’s value in the home win at 6/5.
Verdict: Rostov-na-Donu to win at 6/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Dundalk, Suduva Marijampole.
Recommended bets:
Anzhi Makhachkala, Dundalk, and Suduva Marijampole at over evens.
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!
Toulon Tournament:
Mexico vs Italy (7) 0-1
France vs Colombia (6) 1-0
Argentinian Primera Division:
Olimpo vs Newells Old Boys (6) 2-1
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
IFK Mariehamn vs Jaro Pietarsaari (6) 2-1
Irish Premier League:
Bohemians vs Sligo Rovers (4) 2-2
Dundalk vs Drogheda United (8) 2-0
Galway United vs Bray Wanderers (5) 1-1
St.Patrick’s Athletic vs Derry City (6) 0-0, at least one red card in this game
UCD vs Shamrock Rovers (7) 0-1
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Banga Gargzdai vs Atlantas (6) 2-1
Suduva Marijampole vs FBK Kaunas (10) -1.5 handicap
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Brann Bergen vs Sogndal (5) 1-0
Russian Premier League:
Tom’ Tomsk vs Lokomotiv Moscow (4) 1-2
Anzhi Makhachkala vs Spartak Nal’chik (7) 1-0
Terek Grozny vs CSKA Moscow (5) 0-1
Kuban’ Krasnodar vs Amkar Perm’ (7) 1-0
Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod vs Krylya Sovetov Samara (6) 2-1
Dinamo Moscow vs Zenit St.Petersburg (5) 1-2
Spartak Moscow vs Rubin Kazan’ (5) 1-0
Rostov-na-Donu vs FK Krasnodar (6) 1-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!