Fredrikstad vs Brann Bergen
FreeWant to support the site for all the hard work that goes into it? Click here for membership details. Need outright wins instead of value picks? Click here for consultancy details.
Ok guys, thanks very much for the support with the Bet365 link and banner clicking – it’s really good of you all! If you could please continue to do this whenever you remember then it’d be greatly appreciated, especially if placing bets at that time. Thank you!
Today’s secondary featured game is the Eliteserien game in Norway between newly-promoted Fredrikstad and atypical flops Brann Bergen. A lot of people will nail the home win here based on statistics alone but I’m not keen on that one today.
Why? Well, Fredrikstad are a very good unit but you have to understand what makes that unit “tick”, so to speak. For me, there are three essential players in this team that they will suffer without because let’s face it – there’s a lot of decent players and three good/very good players. Those three players are Borges, Elyounoussi, and Piiroja. Borges and Elyounoussi are the match-winners, the creators, the goalscorers – everything to do with attacking goes through them and it suits Fredrikstad for it to be that way. Big Piiroja at the back is the one that holds the defence together and keeps opponents out and you can see how important that is for Fredrikstad because they are not a prolific goalscoring side – they tend to win games narrowly or not at all. Now, their two attacking dynamos are both available but Piiroja is out injured for this game and for me, that’s a big, big blow for Fredrikstad and immediately makes the odds on them winning this game look too short here. Only two Eliteserien sides have scored less home goals than Fredrikstad this season so you can see just how important solid defending is to them. Piiroja’s absence means the likelihood of them keeping a clean sheet here is minimal, in my view, so I don’t like backing the home win here, irrespective of their vociferous fans and solid unit.
I cannot lie, though – I do detest Brann Bergen. This side should have been relegated last season with some of the shit that they were displaying and how they weren’t is beyond me – I guess they owe Huseklepp a lot more than is portrayed! How Brann are third in this league is something that I will never really understand, to be honest. They’re a big club but I look at their squad and really struggle to find their quality. I mean, Mjelde in midfield carries them sometimes and sometimes it’s Nigerian hitman Ojo but overall, this side lacks cohesion, hence them shipping so many goals. It’s always the same with Brann, although they’ve certainly become a lot more potent this season from what I’ve seen, which is why I am interested here. It’s got quite a lot to do with Ojo, who was signed from Nybergsund pre-season and he’s slotted into the Eliteserien very well indeed with nine goals in fourteen appearances. This bet is more about him than about Brann, to be honest!
I basically don’t think Fredrikstad will keep a clean sheet and given that they’ve only won once this season when they’ve conceded at home, I don’t think they’ll win the game. Brann can concede goals against anyone but they can also score goals and with no Piiroja at the back for Fredrikstad, I think Ojo will run riot here. I’m a tad concerned at the missing Mjelde for Brann Bergen today as he’s a big part of their team but with Piiroja out, I can still see Brann scoring at least once here today. Let’s bear in mind that Brann’s three defeats on the road have all had reasoning – two were on artificial turf and the other was in the derby with Viking Stavanger. For the rest of their games, Brann Bergen were a nightmare for home sides to face and I just don’t think Fredrikstad have enough quality throughout their squad to win this game. Therefore, laying the hosts at 9/10 appeals to me today.
Team news – Fredrikstad miss Piiroja and Valencia whereas Brann Bergen miss Mjelde.
Verdict: Lay Fredrikstad at 9/10.
Monday’s Picks
Accumulator fodder:
Singapore, Inter Turku.
Recommended bets:
No multiples appeal to me today – sorry guys!
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!
International Friendly:
Singapore vs Chinese Taipei (8) 2-0
Austrian Liga 1:
Blau-Weiss Linz vs LASK Linz (7) at least one red card in this game
Danish Superligaen:
AGF Aarhus vs Lyngby (6) 2-1
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Inter Turku vs MyPa Anjalankoski (8) 2-0
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
Vikingur Reykjavik vs Fram Reykjavik (6) 1-2
Thor Akureyi vs Keflavik (6) 0-0
Japanese J-League:
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Avispa Fukuoka (6) 1-0
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Fredrikstad vs Brann Bergen (6) 1-0
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Kalmar FF vs Helsingborg (6) 0-0
Trelleborg vs IFK Goteborg (5) 2-1
Swedish Superettan:
Brommapojkarna vs Atvidaberg (6)
Landskrona BoIS vs Falkenberg (7)
Osters vs
Enjoy your free betting tips!