Japan vs Czech Republic
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Today’s secondary featured game is the final game of the Kirin Cup in Japan between the hosts and Czech Republic. The fact that two games have been played in the tournament thus far and neither have produced any goals sets a good precedent for this game – well, one that means you shouldn’t waste your time watching it!
So – let’s look at Japan first. They’re a good side when at full-strength but they’re not at full-strength. In fact, they’re pretty far from it, too. They miss vastly experienced Tamuda in attack, not to mention Okubo and Yano. In midfield, they also miss a whole host of vital players in the shape of Abe, Kagawa, Inamoto, Matsui, and the two Nakamuras. Instead, Japan are placing their hopes in out-of-form Honda and a good Okazaki with Endo looking to hold things together in midfield whilst Honda rampages on to support Okazaki. It’s not worked well for them so far – they were outplayed in their 0-0 draw with Peru – and with such important players missing for them, I don’t see how that’ll improve today.
Czech Republic have brought a marginally stronger side than Japan but not massively so. They’re lacking a lot of experience in midfield with only converted defender Hubschmann there of any substantial experience. There’s no Plasil or Rosicky to make things happen and that could be a problem. However, they have brought some decent strikers with in-form Rezek, towering Hubnik, experienced Lafata, pacey Fenin, and talented all-rounded Necid to choose from. The Japanese can’t really prepare for the Czech attack here because they’ve brought a lot of options and I like that. The Czechs may or may not need to score to win this bet but they’ve got a better strikeforce than Japan have ahead of this game, in my view. Defensively, the Czechs have brought some experienced heads in Sivok, Kadlec, Rajnoch, Hubnik etc. so they should have enough to keep a fairly impotant Japanese threat at bay.
Either way, for me, laying the Japanese at 6/5 has terrific value in this game. The Japanese are not at their strongest by any stretch of the imagination and although the Czechs don’t tend to score many themselves, I’m confident their defence can keep Japan out. Therefore, my call is to lay Japan.
Verdict: Lay Japan at 6/5.
Tuesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Faroe Islands vs Estonia – lay Estonia at 7/5.
I don’t think you’ll find someone outside of Estonia who rates the Baltic nation as highly as I do but they’re way, way too short at 1/2 to win this game. They needed two last-gasp goals to beat Faroe Islands at home after trailing for most of the game and on artificial turf in Toftir, I think it’s going to be hard to reproduce that today.
If Estonia had a full squad available to them then I’d consider backing them to win but they don’t. They were beaten 3-0 by Italy lately and although a lot of people expected that kind of strong win, I wouldn’t if Estonia were at full-strength – that’s how much I rate them nowadays. However, they missed Dmitrijev in midfield and that effectively removed almost all of their creativity as Puri and Mosnikov aren’t really ready yet. For the game in Toftir, Estonia have Dmitrijev absent again only now left-sider Klavan is suspended, as is midfielder Vunk. Purje and Lindpere aren’t even in the squad so this Estonia midfield looks very, very thin on the ground, in my view – there’s only Vassiljev there of any real quality. Zenjov and Saag are a good threat in attack, unfortunately, and Estonia have brought a strong defence with Piiroja being the rock that holds it together. However, are they really going to breach such a stubborn home side easily? I’m not so sure.
Faroe Islands were sort of unlucky against Slovenia. I think they surprised their opponents by naming a pretty attacking line-up – I know it surprised me! They were architects of their own downfall in that game with an own goal and a failed clearance from a free-kick leading to Slovenia’s two goals. The Slovenians did little else to trouble the Faroese but the hosts were guilty of missing a few chances of their own, unfortunately. They’ve got a decent striker in Holst, however, and with Edmundsson etc. ready to lend a hand if required, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Faroese give Estonia a rough ride today.
For me, the value is in laying Estonia today at 7/5. I can’t see the visitors having it easy with virtually all of their midfield missing and the hosts are playing better than their results indicate.
Verdict: Lay Estonia at 7/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Germany, Hungary, Singapore, Paraguay, Brazil.
Recommended bets:
Brazil, Germany, and Paraguay at under evens.
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!
UEFA European Championship Qualifiers:
Belarus vs Luxembourg (5) 1-0
Azerbaijan vs Germany (8) 0-2
Sweden vs Finland (6) 1-0
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Albania (7) 1-0
San Marino vs Hungary (8) 0-2
Faroe Islands vs Estonia (5) 2-1
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifiers:
Armenia vs Montenegro (6) 1-1
Lithuania vs Malta (5) 1-0
International Friendlies:
Gabon vs Gambia (7) 2-1
Japan vs Czech Republic (7) 0-0
Australia vs Serbia (6) 1-0
South Korea vs Ghana (6) 2-1
Singapore vs Maldives (8) 2-0
Slovenia vs Republic of Macedonia (6) 1-0
Norway vs Lithuania (7) 2-0
Russia vs Cameroon (4) 0-0
Austria vs Latvia (6) 2-1
Italy vs Republic of Ireland (7) 1-0 (played in Belgium)
Venezuela vs Spain (6) 1-2
Paraguay vs Bolivia (8) 2-0
Ecuador vs Greece (6) 1-0 (played in USA)
Brazil vs Romania (8) 2-0
International Friendly – U21:
Estonia vs Latvia (6) 1-1
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
Breidablik Kopavogur vs Fram Reykjavik (6) 1-1
Thor Akureyi vs IBV Vestmannaeyjar (5) 0-1
KR Reykjavik vs FH Hafnarfjordur (5) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Enjoy your free betting tips!