Cucuta Deportivo vs Atletico Nacional de Medellin
FreeToday’s featured game is the only one from scant pickings that remotely interests me today. It’s the Colombian Primera A encounter between Cucuta Deportivo and Atletico Nacional de Medellin. Both sides have only played one game in the Clausura Second Round and neither have won yet so both will be keen to get off the mark here.
However, both sides are a bit out of their depth in this particular round of the competition. They’re both adept defensively but lack the quality in attack to be any kind of real threat. Cucuta Deportivo just about managed to hold off a superior Once Caldas Manizales in their last game in a 0-0 draw away from home, which is a good result, whereas Atletico suffered an unthinkable defeat at home to an average Deportes Quindio side and look set to struggle in this stage.
Atletico Nacionacl are the bigger of these two sides by a mile; no questions asked. However, their glory days are behind them nowadays with their academy produce somewhat lacking in recent times. The likes of Carmelo Valencia, Edixon Perea, and John Julian de la Cuesta have all moved on and there’s not really an awful lot coming through to bolster their push to become a legitimate title threat again. The fact that veteran Patino (playmaker) and Maggiolo (striker – formerly of Estudiantes De La Plata) provide the greatest attacking threat for the hosts is what I find hardest to accept, especially given the nature of hispanic footballers to generally be very attacking, hence the large amount of talented attacking South American youngsters in the world. All Atletico have left nowadays is their defence, which is one of the finest in Colombia as it happens, but they’re starting to struggle of late. Atletico have lost composure lately, leaking an uncharacteristic six goals in three games – it’s just not like them at all. Losing at home to Deportes Quindio is not a result that I can accept for Atletico and demonstrates my points made above entirely. If Atletico lack in defence then they’re not a force – it really is that simple.
Unfortunately for Atletico, they miss quintessential defender Palomino for this game through suspension. How on earth they hope to cope without him in this game is beyond me – all they can hope for is that Cucuta Deportivo don’t take their chances. To be fair though, that’s a fairly legitimate possibility. Cucuta are not a great attacking side. They won six out of nine at home in the initial Primera A stages, which is a good record, but they’re also out of their depth in this stage of the tournament and it will show at somepoint. Their defence is strong, strong enough to avoid conceding against a poor-travelling Atletico side so I fancy them to at least keep a clean sheet in what should be a fairly low-scoring encounter. However, I’m taking a chance on Cucuta winning this one because I think the odds should be shorter given the chances that will open up for the hosts whilst the visitors miss Palomino. Cucuta will he happy after a good draw at Once Caldas and they should be able to edge this game tonight, despite their unconvincing head-to-head record in this encounter. They’re going to have to heavily rely upon Carpintero in attack (as usual!) but it should be enough to see them win this game, to be blunt.
Let’s face it – there’s only three sides that realistically have the capacity to win the Clausura – Deportes Tolima, Independiente de Santa Fe Bogota, and Once Caldas Manizales respectively – and neither of these two sides are one of them, as you can see. They’re both here to preserve their honour and beat those who they can steal goals off. As far as both sides are concerned, the opposition is someone that they can take points off so I expect both sides to approach this with a view to winning it. However, Atletico don’t travel well and miss a key defender and that should give an inspired Cucuta Deportivo the impetus to attach to their momentum and therefore should steer them towards the home win. I’d leave it if it drops below evens but whilst it’s above evens, the home win appeals to me.
Verdict: Cucuta Deportivo to win at 21/20 – why not bet on this game now at Bwin?
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Thursday’s Picks
Nothing else appeals to me today guys, I’m afraid, but feel free to check below for my thoughts on today’s games anyway!
Copa Sudamericana:
Independiente vs Liga de Quito (6) 1-0
Colombian Primera A:
Deportes Quindio vs Once Caldas Manizales (6) 1-1
Cucuta Deportivo vs Atletico Nacional de Medellin (6) 1-0
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Fredrikstad vs Honefoss (5) both sides to score
Enjoy your free betting tips!