Galatasaray vs Ankaragucu
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Today’s free tip is in the Turkish Super Lig encounter between Galatasaray and Ankaragucu.
Despite a rather pleasant start to the current campaign, Galatasaray have gone a bit off the rails of late. Crashing out of the UEFA Europa League against Rangers in Scotland was followed by frustrating back-to-back defeats against Kasimpasa and Alanyaspor respectively, which has led to boss Fatih Terim clashing with the board. There’s always something going on at this club nowadays. Despite my belief that Fatih Terim is that only one that can actually do a good job at this club, I get the impression that a parting of the ways is rapidly becoming inevitable.
I still think it’d be the wrong move, though, forcing him out of the club. I appreciate that he’s been rubbing folk up the wrong way over the past couple of years – not just the Galatasaray board, but the ‘underground’ rulers of the Super Lig too – but he’s a very good manager; arguably Turkey’s best ever. He’s managed to reinvent Galatasaray at a time when they were rapidly disappearing from view with soulless display after soulless display. Instead of relying on fast attackers, which is what most Super Lig teams do nowadays, he’s changed things around to be a team that controls games more, and plays through the middle, relying on their capacity to break teams down. For my money, the approach has worked well. Yes, there have been a couple of teething issues, but that’s only to be expected. I believe Galatasaray look a lot more comfortable when they don’t have to run everywhere all of the time.
It suits their players better too. I mean, a midfield containing Belhanda, Feghouli, Turan, and Etebo is not going to struggle to break teams down, and you all saw how well Kilinc did it last year at Sivasspor too. If they do need to switch it up then they have got very offensive-minded full-backs as well as Turan, who can play wider, and Akbaba. By no means is this approach set in stone, and Galatasaray remain a flexible attacking side. Focusing play through the middle aids Falcao to no end though. He’s not as fast as he once was, but he is as clever and clinical so the timing of his runs is better than ever; it’s only his pace that has suffered with age and injuries. I think this new approach suits today’s hosts, to be frank, and it sure does make it harder for teams to get at them and expose their Muslera-less goal and unconvincing defence.
More of the same should be evident today too. Ankaragucu were a bad team last season that consistently made bad calls behind the scenes, so they couldn’t really complain when they were relegated. However, they were bailed out by the Turkish FA, and have responded by…well, doing nothing. They’ve signed some players to replace the many they lost when their loan deals expired, but none of them do much for me. All of the teams that were promoted to the Super Lig pre-season have arrived with a better squad than Ankaragucu currently have, and that has surely got to concern the capital club.
Unsurprisingly, Ankaragucu have been dreadful so far this season. There’s no continuity, they’re awful in defence, and they’re even worse in attack. The only player they’ve got that I like is wide threat Paintsil, who does have a lot to offer. Boligni is out tonight though, and Diousse is virtually working with amateurs in midfield so he’s ineffectual too. I mean, that’s bad enough, isn’t it? It made me consider the -1.5 Asian Handicap just because of Ankaragucu’s lack of cohesion, lack of quality, and poor form.
However, the news that Covid-19 is rife in the Ankaragucu camp only cemented my opinion further. I appreciate that they surprised Galatasaray in the reversal of this fixture last season when the Super Lig heavyweights rocked up in Ankara with a ‘can’t be arsed’ attitude, but this Galatasaray side has a bit more idea and togetherness than the preceding Galatasaray squad. They’re by no means perfect, but they couldn’t ask for an easier opponent, or a more opportune time to face them. Ankaragucu boss Capa actually said these words in a press conference yesterday; ‘Coronavirus is our biggest enemy right now’.
Although no names have been given with regard to the Covid-19 victims of the visitors, it’s safe to assume that it’s going to make a weak squad weaker. Therefore, I can’t help but find odds of 4/5 on Galatasaray beating the -1.5 Asian Handicap as something that can’t be passed up on today.
Verdict: Galatasaray to beat the -1.5 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
Saturday’s Thoughts
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. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Salzburg vs Swarovski Tirol
Hartberg vs Austria Vienna
St. Polten vs SV Ried
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Germinal Beerschot vs OH Leuven
Sporting Charleroi vs Cercle Brugge
Club Brugge vs KV Mechelen
Brazilian Serie A:
Botafogo vs Ceara
Corinthians vs Internacional
Coritiba vs Atletico Goianiense
Fortaleza vs Fluminense
Bulgarian A PFG:
Slavia Sofia vs Botev Plovdiv
Beroe vs Arda
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica vs NK Osijek
Istra 1961 vs Hajduk Split
Danish Superligaen:
FC Nordsjaelland vs FC Midtjylland
English Premier League:
Sheffield United vs Manchester City
Burnley vs Chelsea
Liverpool vs West Ham United
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tallinna Kalev vs Trans Narva
Tulevik vs Legion
FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Tammeka
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
TPS vs SJK
Finnish Ykkonen:
KTP vs Kajaani
MP vs VPS
MuSa vs Jaro Pietarsaari
Gnistan vs KPV
SJK-Akatemia vs MyPa
Ekenas IF vs AC Oulu
French Ligue 1:
Stade Rennais vs Stade Brestois
FC Nantes Atlantique vs Paris Saint-Germain
German Bundesliga:
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Werder Bremen
Koln vs Bayern Munich
Augsburg vs Mainz 05
Arminia Bielefeld vs Bv09 Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs RB Leipzig
German Bundesliga 2:
Paderborn 07 vs Jahn Regensburg
Erzgebirge Aue vs Holstein Kiel
Osnabruck vs SV Sandhausen
Eintracht Braunschweig vs Nurnberg
Hungarian Liga 1:
Puskas FC vs Zalaegerszegi TE
Budapest Honved vs Mezokovesd-Zsory
Fehervar vs Ferencvaros
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Haifa
Maccabi Netanya vs Hapoel Kfar Saba
Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Hapoel Hadera
Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs Beitar Jerusalem
Italian Serie A:
Crotone vs Atalanta Bergamo
Internazionale vs Parma
Bologna vs Cagliari
Italian Serie B:
Cittadella vs Monza
Ascoli vs Pordenone
Brescia vs Virtus Entella
Chievo Verona vs Cosenza
Vicenza vs Pisa
Salernitana vs Reggiana
Venezia vs Empoli
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Panevezys vs Banga Gargzdai
Kauno Zalgiris vs Riteriai
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Twente Enschede vs PEC Zwolle
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Fortuna Sittard
FC Groningen vs VVV Venlo
Willem II vs Vitesse Arnhem
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Odd vs Sarpsborg 08
Haugesund vs Aalesund FK
Portuguese Liga 1:
Belenenses vs Farense
Rio Ave vs Moreirense
Maritimo Funchal vs CD Nacional de Madeira
Portuguese Liga 2:
Sporting Covilha vs FC Porto II
Academica de Coimbra vs UD Oliveirense
Chaves vs Vilafranquense
Russian Premier League:
Rubin Kazan vs Arsenal Tula
Spartak Moscow vs FK Rostov
Akhmat Grozny vs FK Krasnodar
PFC Sochi vs Lokomotiv Moscow
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Madrid vs Huesca
Athletic Club vs Sevilla CF
CA Osasuna vs Atletico Madrid
Deportivo Alaves vs Barcelona CF
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso vs FC Wil
FC Schaffhausen vs SC Kriens
Turkish Super Lig:
Genclerbirligi vs Gazisehir Gaziantep
Galatasaray vs Ankaragucu
Enjoy your free betting tips!