Liga de Quito vs Libertad Asuncion
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Today’s featured game is the Copa Sudamericana game in Ecuador between Liga de Quito and Libertad Asuncion.
Quito is quite possibly the most feared city for an away game in South America. Even including some Bolivian sides, I cannot think of a side that manipulates their altitude advantage anywhere near as much as Liga de Quito do. For an average side, they have an outstanding home record and it’s in no small part due to the difficulty that sides have on their trip to Ecuador. Twelve wins from their last thirteen home games in the Copa Sudamericana tells you how good Liga de Quito are at this height and as they’re an experienced side with the likes of Gonzalez, Vega, and Urrutia at their disposal, they really have to be taken seriously here.
Visitors Libertad Asuncion are experienced on the continent themselves but there’s just no defence for playing at this height unless you spend about a week or two there prior to the game to change your breathing patterns. They’ve done quite well in the Copa Sudamericana thus far, Libertad – they’ve looked composed defensively and although Sao Paulo aren’t a particularly hard side to face currently, Libertad still did very well against them. Libertad will no doubt give Liga de Quito a tough task tonight – that’s just how they approach games – but I can’t see it being any more use than anyone else’s defensive approach here; it’s just a nightmare height to play at.
Interestingly enough, these two sides met back in 2009 with Liga de Quito winning the home leg 1-0. I fully expect Liga de Quito to win this game too, which at least activates the insurance side of the bet. Will they beat the handicap? The potential is definitely there – they’ve done it for their last two home games in this competition – so I feel it’s well worth a flutter to take Liga de Quito with a -1 Asian Handicap tonight as I just can’t see them not winning the game here.
Verdict: Liga de Quito to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
Thursday’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!
UEFA Europa League:
Rubin’ Kazan vs Tottenham Hotspur (7) 0-0
Shamrock Rovers vs PAOK Salonika (4) 1-1
Vorskla Poltava vs Standard de Liege (6) 1-0
FC Copenhagen vs Hannover 96 (4) 0-1
Legia Warsaw vs Rapid Bucharest (7) 1-0
PSV Eindhoven vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (8) over 2.5 goals
Vaslui vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (6) 1-1
Lazio vs FC Zurich (7) 2-1
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Stoke City (5) 1-1
Besiktas JK vs Dynamo Kiev (4) 1-2, at least one red card in this game
Salzburg vs Athletic Club de Bilbao (6) 1-1
Paris Saint-Germain vs Slovan Bratislava (8) 2-0
Metalist Kharkiv vs Malmo FF (8) 2-0
Austria Vienna vs AZ Alkmaar (6) 0-0
Sporting Braga vs Maribor (7) 2-1
Birmingham City vs Club Brugge (6) 1-0
Celtc vs Stade Rennais (7) 0-0
Atletico Madrid vs Udinese (6) 1-0
Schalke 04 vs AEK Larnaca (7) over 2.5 goals
Steaua Bucharest vs Maccabi Haifa (5) 0-0
Twente Enschede vs OB Odense (8) over 2.5 goals
Fulham vs Wisla Krakow (7) 1-0
Anderlecht vs Sturm Graz (7) 2-0
AEK Athens vs Lokomotiv Moscow (6) 1-0
Copa Sudamericana:
Liga de Quito vs Libertad Asuncion (8) 2-0
Japanese J-League:
Gamba Osaka vs Kashima Antlers (7) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Nagoya Grampus vs Cerezo Osaka (7) 2-1
Ventforet Kofu vs Yokohama F.Marinos (7) 1-2
Kashiwa Reysol vs Albirex Niigata (7) 2-0
Kawasaki Frontale vs Omiya Ardija (7) 2-1
Avispa Fukuoka vs Shimizu S-Pulse (6) 1-1
Urawa Red Diamonds vs Jubilo Iwata (5) 1-0
Vegalta Sendai vs Sanfrecce Hiroshima (5) 2-2
Vissel Kobe vs Montedio Yamagata (7) 2-0
Singaporean S-League:
Tanjong Pagar vs Woodlands Wellington (6) 1-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!