Catania vs Bologna
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Serie A game between Catania and Bologna. Bologna have just confirmed their place in Serie A next season with a 3-2 win against Genoa whereas Catania still have an outside chance of stealing a UEFA Europa League place.
Catania don’t usually need any specific motivation anyway, to be honest – they’re driven by their nutcase fans and that’s generally enough for them to try to win their games. Catania have a very strong home record in Serie A and I cannot name a single side that has an easy game against the battling Sicilian outfit. Catania enter this game on the back of a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Palermo so that at least helps stop the rot following their recent poor run. It’s not so much that Montella’s team haven’t been playing well because they have, in my opinion. Where they’re going wrong is that their defence are shipping goals far more easily than usual. It was always going to be tricky for them to replace Silvestre but they did surprisingly well at first. However, they’re all over the place at the moment with just one clean sheet kept from their last seven games so it’s reasonable to expect them to concede here. They’re still scoring goals despite the sale of Maxi Lopez, which is impressive. The absence of Barrientos today will harm their creativity although happily Catania have lots of talented attackers, such as Gomez, Almiron, Lodi, and Bergessio. Catania do need another target man but that’s a problem that they’ll have to solve in Summer. For now, Catania are scoring goals and they’re also conceding goals so I think it’s time for a rare over 2.5 goals home game for Catania.
Visitors Bologna are in a prime position to contribute, too. They’ve been playing some really good football lately and with a forward line that potentially includes, Acquafresca, Diamanti, and Di Vaio, is it any wonder that they’re scoring goals? Ramirez is having a terrific season and Pioli’s team simply looks like they believe in themselves right now, which is refeshing to see. No defeats in five consecutive games gives Bologna plenty of momentum here and you don’t just lose momentum. There may be an element of complacency following the news that Bologna are safe from relegation but generally speaking, this side is motivated and should give a good account of themselves. Bologna have a couple of issues here with Belgian goalkeeper Gillet out and both Pulzetti and Mudingayi absent from midfield. Bologna will miss Mudingayi as he’s their best bal-winner and it’s hard to win games without the ball, as I’m sure you’d all agree. That plays into Catania’s hands massively as they play through the middle a lot. However, Bologna are very good on the counter-attack and I do think that they’ll be a tough nut for Catania to crack today.
Therefore, my call for this game is over 2.5 goals. Most of Catania’s games go under 2.5 goals so there is risk here. However, I feel that there’s enough on the plate to make it a worthwhile punt today, especially with both sides having that never-say-die attitude.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at evens.
Wednesday’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!
Copa Libertadores:
Boca Juniors vs Union Espanola (6) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Emelec Guayaquil vs Corinthians (6) 0-0
Vasco da Gama vs Atletico Lanus (6) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Anderlecht vs AA Gent (7) over 2.5 goals
Kortrijk vs Racing Genk (5) 1-2
Danish Superligaen:
AGF Aarhus vs Lyngby (7) 2-0
Nordsjaelland vs FC Copenhagen (6) 2-2
English Premier League:
Chelsea vs Newcastle United (5) 2-2
Bolton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur (7) 1-2
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Jaro Pietarsaari vs Inter Turku (7) 0-2
KuPS Kuopio vs HJK Helsinki (5) 1-0
French Ligue 1:
AC Ajaccio vs Sochaux (4) 1-1
Girondins de Bordeaux vs Stade Rennais (6) 1-0
Stade Brestois vs Toulouse (6) 0-0
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Lorient (6) 1-0
Dijon FCO vs Auxerre (5) 1-1
Olympique Lyonnais vs Valenciennes (4) 1-1
Olympique de Marseille vs AS Nancy-Lorraine (5) 2-1
OGC Nice vs LOSC Lille (5) 1-1
Paris Saint-Germain vs Saint-Etienne (6) 2-1
Greek Super League:
Panathinaikos vs Atromitos (5) 1-1
PAOK Salonika vs AEK Athens (7) 1-0
Italian Serie A:
AC Milan vs Atalanta Bergamo (4) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Catania vs Bologna (5) 2-1
Genoa vs Cagliari (5) 1-2
Parma vs Internazionale (5) 1-1
Juventus vs Lecce (8) over 2.5 goals, at least one red card in this game
Fiorentina vs Novara (7) 2-0
Lazio vs Siena (5) 2-1
Cesena vs Udinese (5) 1-1
Latvian Virsliga:
Daugava Daugavpils vs Gulbene 2005 (7) 2-0
Daugava Riga vs Liepajas Metalurgs (7) 0-2
FC Jurmala vs FK Ventspils (7) 0-1
Jelgava vs Spartaks Jurmala (6) 2-1
Metta/LU vs Skonto Riga (7) 1-2
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Tauras Taurage vs Kruoja Pakruojis (5) 0-1
Ekranas Panevezys vs Suduva Marijampole (5) 0-0
Vilnius vs Dainava (6) 1-0
Dutch Eredivisie:
Groningen vs NAC Breda (6) 1-1
FC Utrecht vs Vitesse Arnhem (6) 1-2
NEC Nijmegen vs AZ Alkmaar (6) 1-0
De Graafschap vs Excelsior Rotterdam (6) 2-1
RKC Waalwijk vs Roda JC Kerkrade (7) 1-0
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs VVV Venlo (9) over 2.5 goals
Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Heracles Almelo (8) over 2.5 goals
PSV Eindhoven vs ADO Den Haag (6) 1-0
Twente Enschede vs Heerenveen (5) 2-2
Peruvian Primera Division:
Cobresol vs Union Comercio (6) 1-0
Juan Aurich vs Melgar FBC (7) 2-0
Sporting Cristal vs Alianza Lima (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Cienciano v Inti Gas (7) 2-0
Jose Galvez vs Sport Huancayo (6) 2-1
Spor Boys vs Universidad Cesar Vallejo (5) 1-1
Romanian Liga:
Targu Mures vs Vaslui (6) 1-0
Astra Ploiesti vs Rapid Bucharest (5) 1-0
Dinamo Bucharest vs Universitatea Cluj (7) 2-0
Russian Premier League:
Spartak Nal’chik vs Rostov-na-Donu (4) 1-2
Amkar Perm’ vs FK Krasnodar (6) 1-1
Spartak Moscow vs Dinamo Moscow (6) 1-1
Rubin Kazan’ vs Zenit St.Petersburg (5) 0-1
Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod vs Terek Grozny (5) 2-1
Lokomotiv Moscow vs CSKA Moscow (6) 2-1
Kuban’ Krasnodar vs Anzhi Makhachkala (5) 1-1
Scottish Premier League:
Aberdeen vs Hibernian (5) 1-1
Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Dunfermline Athletic (4) 0-1
Kilmarnock vs St.Mirren (5) 1-0
Rangers vs Dundee United (7) 2-1
Spanish Primera Liga:
Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad (7) 2-1
Barcelona vs Malaga (7) 2-0
Sevilla CF vs Real Betis Balompie (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Real Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid (6) 1-0
Real Zaragoza vs Levante (5) 2-1
Valencia CF vs Osasuna (4) 0-1
Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Real Madrid (7) over 2.5 goals, at least one red card in this game
Swedish Allsveskan:
Atvidaberg vs BK Hacken Goteborg (6) 1-2
Syrianska Sodertalje vs Elfsborg Boras (4) 1-1
IFK Goteborg vs GIF Sundsvall (7) 2-1
Helsingborg vs AIK Solna (6) 0-0
Swiss Super League:
Basel vs Thun (7) 1-0
Grasshopper Zurich vs Servette (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Lausanne Sports vs Sion (6) 1-1
Turkish Super Lig:
Galatasaray vs Trabzonspor (7) over 2.5 goals
Sivasspor vs Istanbul BB (6) over 2.5 goals
Ukrainian Premier League:
Arsenal Kiev vs Volyn Lutsk (4) 1-1
Metalurg Donetsk vs Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk (5) 1-1
Tavriya Simferopol vs Vorksla Poltava (5) 2-1
Karpaty Lviv vs Kryvbas Kryvyi Rh (7) 2-1
Obolon Kiev vs Illichivets Mariupol (4) 1-1
Oleksandriya vs Chernomorets Odessa (6) 0-0
Metalist Kharkiv vs Shakhtar Donestk (5) 1-2
Zorya Lugansk vs Dynamo Kiev (7) 0-1
Uruguayan Primera Division:
Penarol vs River Plate Montevideo (7) 2-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!