Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk
FreeToday’s featured game is the UEFA Super Cup Final between UEFA Champions League holders Barcelona of Spain and UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. I don’t think there’s any great secret that Barcelona are better than Shakhtar Donetsk despite a contradicting result at the Nou Camp in the Champions League Group Stages last year as Barcelona were defeated 3-1. The reasoning behind that is that they fielded an under-strength squad due to qualification having already been achieved, although full credit for Shakhtar Donetsk for seizing the initiative against them. Shakhtar Donetsk won’t be too far off the likes of Barcelona in five-ten years time if they continue investing heavily as they currently are. They’ve got a lot of very good players at this club but they’re not quite there yet. Barcelona, however, are virtually the finished article with bags of quality in most areas of the pitch. I’ve watched them in both games against Athletic Club de Bilbao and they carved out so many chances that it was unreal. They’re looking to become even bigger goalscorers this year and I can’t see a better occasion for them to do so than today. They’re a better side, more experienced in Europe and will be ever-so-slightly motivated from their defeat last time out against the Ukrainians, regardless of which squad played them – this is the Catalan way, I’m afraid! For those reasons, taking a Barcelona victory with -1.75 handicap at 11/10 – they’re more than good enough to do it and have the competitive game experience to see it happen.
Friday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk – home win with -1.75 handicap at 11/10 – see introduction for full details.
Clermont Foot vs Chateauroux – away win at 15/8. There’s not a great deal of quality difference between these two outfits but I’m riding the momentum here. Chateauroux currently sit atop Ligue 2 with three wins and one draw from their opening four games, which included two impressive wins away to Strasbourg and Angers SCO respectively, two sides that were unlucky not to gain promotion last season. Clermont Foot, by contrast, have lost three of their opening four games and drawn the other. Their main problem is scoring goals, something that is obviously very key in football! Despite having lost to Clermont Foot at home already this season in the Coupe de la Ligue, Chateauroux haven’t lost a league game against them since 2005, which spans a total of six games in which Chateauroux have amassed four wins, three of which were in their last three meetings at either ground. For those reasons, the away win looks ridiculously priced at 15/8 but I’m happy to take those odds and run!
Galway United vs Shamrock Rovers – away win at 10/11. Ever since the loss of O’Shea, Galway United appear to be significantly struggling in the Irish Premier League. Don’t get me wrong, they were hardly a great side prior to his exit but I think it’s fair to say that they were more competitive with him in the side. They’ve lost their last two games consecutively and don’t have the easiest of games at home to high-flying Shamrock Rovers. The visitors themselves have only managed two draws in their last two games but are a better outfit and need the points almost desperately as Bohemians are beginning to pull away at the top of the table. Shamrock Rovers have one of the best away records in the division and also have the additional knowledge that they’ve not lost to Galway United in their last eight meetings, beating them six times, including a victory at this ground last season. All of the above appears to speall out a rather straightforward away win and 10/11 is good odds to see it happen at!
Roda JC vs Vitesse Arnhem – home win at 11/10. There’s not much between these two sides but again, I’m siding with momentum. Roda JC have only been beaten once in their opening four games, winning once and drawing twice. Vitesse Arnhem, rather surprisingly, have lost three of their opening four games, drawing the other game. They had a good campaign last year but already look to be struggling this year. Most campaigns are a struggle for Roda JC – they’re used to it by now – but they’ve strengthened the squad over summer by a substantial amount, enough to perhaps achieve a mid-table finish this season. That said, there’s still not much between these two sides so I’d recommend keeping bets low for this game. What did finally tip the scales in Roda JC’s favour for me was that they’ve won this exact fixture for two years running now; I can’t see it being a problem against a weaker Vitsese Arnhem than they’ve previously faced. I think 11/10 on a home win is good value though, even if both sides are struggling to find the net!
As ever, any questions/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com. For the complete picks listing, see below!
UEFA Super Cup:
Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk (9) -1.75 handicap
Australian A-League:
Adelaide United vs North Queensland Fury (7) 2-0
Perth Glory vs Melbourne Victory (7) 1-2
Austrian Bundesliga:
SV Mattersburg vs Austria Karnten (7) 2-0
Austrian Liga 1:
Gratkorn vs Austria Vienna II (8)
St.Polten vs Wacker Innsbruck (6)
Lustenau vs Austria Lustenau (5)
Dornbirn vs Hartberg (7)
First Vienna vs Salzburg II (7)
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Westerlo vs Zulte-Waregem (5) 1-2, draw no bet
Bulgarian A PFG:
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Beroe (8) 2-0
English League One:
Milwall vs Brighton & Hove Albion (7)
Finnish Ykkonen:
TPV Tampere vs Atlantis FC Helsinki (8)
French Ligue 2:
Bastia vs Laval (5)
Istres vs Dijon FCO (6)
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Arles (7)
Clermont Foot vs Chateauroux (8)
Strasbourg vs Sedan-Ardennes (6)
German Bundesliga:
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs FSV Mainz 05 (6) 1-1
German Bundesliga 2:
Karlsruher SC vs St.Pauli (7)
Rot Weiss Ahlen vs 1860 Munich (5)
Koblenz vs Energie Cottbus (6)
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Fehervar vs Zalaegerszegi TE (8) 2-0
Irish Premier League:
Bray Wanderers vs Derry City (8) 0-2
Galway United vs Shamrock Rovers (8) 1-2
Maltese Premier League:
Valletta vs Floriana (8)
Dutch Eredivisie:
RKC Waalwijk vs ADO Den Haag (7) 1-1
Roda JC vs Vitesse Arnhem (7) 2-1
Dutch Eerste Divisie:
AGOVV Appeldoorn vs TOP Oss (8)
BV Veendam vs Stormvogels Telstar (7)
De Graafschap vs Omniworld (8)
FC Den Bosch vs Cambuur Leeuwarden (6)
Eindhoven vs Excelsior (7)
Volendam vs FC Zwolle (5)
Go Ahead Eagles vs Fortuna Sittard (9)
Helmond Sport vs Dordrecht ’90 (7) over 2.5 goals
Haarlem vs Emmen (6)
RBC Roosendaal vs MVV Maastricht (5)
Northern Irish Premier League:
Portadown vs Lisburn Distillery (6)
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Piast Gliwice vs Odra Wodzislaw (7) 1-0
Legia Warsaw vs Polonia Bytom (7) 2-1
Portuguese Liga de Honra:
Estoril vs Varzim (7)
Russian Division 1:
FK Krasnodor vs Anzhi Makhachkala (6)
Cherno Novorosisk vs Volgar Gazprom Astrakhan (6) draw no bet
NoSta Novotroitsk vs Volga Nyzhnyi Novgorod (8)
Vityaz Podolsk vs KamAZ Nab Chelny (7)
Shinnik Yaroslavl’ vs FK Chita (8)
Salyut Belgorod vs Energiya Khabarovsk (6)
Metallurg Lipetsk vs Luch-Energiya Vladivostok (5)
FK Nizhnyi Novgorod vs Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast (5)
Alaniya Vladikavkaz vs Sibir Novosibirsk (7) over 2.5 goals
Slovenian Prva Liga:
Domzale vs Nafta Lendava (6) 1-0
Swedish Superettan:
Vasby United vs Ljungskile (5)
Swiss Challenge League:
Lugano vs Locarno (9)
Turkish Super Lig:
Besiktas JK vs Gaziantepspor (8) -1.75 handicap
Welsh Premier League:
Aberystwyth Town vs Prestatyn Town (7) 2-0
Bala Town vs Porthmadog (7) 2-1
Newi Cefn Druids vs Bangor City (8) 0-1
Haverfordwest County vs Carmarthen Town (7) 2-1
Neath Athletic vs Newtown (6) 0-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!