Liverpool vs Aston Villa
FreeToday’s featured game is in the English Premier League and features Liverpool and Aston Villa. After a disappointing defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on their opening day, Liverpool bounced back with a 4-0 victory over bogey side Stoke City at Anfield and now turn their sights to Martin O’Neill’s misfiring Aston Villa. The hosts have lost Xabi Alonso over summer and it showed in their opening game. I can’t say they’ve brought in a replacement that is ready here and now so they are going to miss him. That said, they still have the lethal Fernando Torres and reliable Steven Gerrard to carry them when required. Tonight, however, they should require little carrying. Aston Villa have looked weak already this season with an almost unbelievable 2-0 home defeat against Wigan Athletic. They then lost to a good Rapid Vienna side, admittedly, but it’s a game they shouldn’t be losing. That actually damages them in two ways; one because they now travel to Anfield on the back of two straight defeats and the other way because they now have to really turn up mid-week to overcome Rapid Vienna and progress, which means they surely can’t field a full squad tonight? Either way, Aston Villa’s small squad is already beginning to look smaller and stretched. It’s all well and good that Martin O’Neill says he’s going to strengthen the squad depth, but when is he actually going to do it? For me, Aston Villa are too weak defensively and too stretched to cause any problems to a decent Liverpool side and taking the home win with -1.75 handicap at 6/5 looks to be the bargain of the day.
Monday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Liverpool vs Aston Villa – home win with -1.75 handicap at 6/5 – see introduction for full details.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Cherno More Varna – home win at 2/1. This should be a really interesting game! Why? Well, personally I consider Cherno More Varna to be part of the top five teams in the country and their performances tend to reflect that. However, Lokomotiv Plovdiv are in the chasing pack behind those sides and they’re one of the few that aren’t so far away from catching them. Despite starting the season pointless, I’ve been completed and utterly swayed by the head-to-head encounters between these two sides. Why? Well, for ten of the last eleven times these two sides have met at either ground, the result has been a home win. The other time was a draw, incidentally. So what that basically means is that there hasn’t been an away win between these two sides since 2003!! That’s quite an amazing statistic, in my opinion! With that information, I can’t quite work out why the bookies make Cherno More Varna favourites to win this game to such a significant extent. I’m going to stick with the traditional home win, which in this instance obviously favours Lokomotiv Plovdiv at 2/1. This could be a nice little earner today!
Orgryte vs Malmo – away win at 10/11. Despite their defence finally being breached last match, Malmo still have some good momentum entering this game against bottom-of-the-table Orgryte, who haven’t won in their past four games, losing their last two consecutively. Malmo are a lot better than their league placing indicates and I expect a comfortable away win here today. 10/11 is a good set of odds to see it happen at, too!
Gefle vs Hammarby – home win at 11/10. Relegation-threatened Hammarby are sliding further and further into the drop zone as they have now claimed just four points from their last fifteen. Their only win came against Djurgardens, the only side in the Allsvenskan that currently has worse form than they do. Basically, it’s not looking good for Hammarby, who suffered the embarassment of losing at home to bottom club Orgryte a few games ago, which was Orgryte’s only victory in the Allsvenskan this season. Gefle aren’t the best side in this division, as I’ve said before, but they’re organised, efficient and a lot better than Hammarby currently. Gefle are currently undefeated in their last three games, winning two of them. If that’s not enough to convince you that a home win at 11/10 is a worthwhile bet, then consider that Gefle better Hammarby home and away last season. Potential bargain of the day!
Djurgardens vs IFK Goteborg – away win at 3/4. It’s that time again – ride the wave! IFK Goteborg are far from their scintillating best at the moment but they’re placing a Djurgardens side that can’t get anything off anyone at the moment and appear destined for the Superettan. I don’t think I need to tell you how much better IFK Goteborg are than Djurgardens so I’d take 3/4 on the away win before it inevitably drops!
As ever, any questions/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com. For the complete picks listing, see below!
Bulgarian A PFG:
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Cherno More Varna (7) 2-1
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Banik Ostrava vs Brno (4) 0-1, draw no bet
Danish Superligaen:
OB Odense vs Randers (8) 2-1
English Premier League:
Liverpool vs Aston Villa (8) -1.75 handicap
French Ligue 2:
Metz vs Bastia (8)
German Bundesliga 2:
1860 Munich vs Karlsruher SC (7)
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Beitar Jerusalem vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) 1-1
Italian Serie B:
Cesena vs Reggina (6)
Japanese J-League:
Oita Trinita vs Vissel Kobe (6) 1-1
Latvian Virsliga:
Dinaburg Daugavpils vs FK Daugava Riga (8) -1.75 handicap
Dutch Eerste Divisie:
De Graafschap vs TOP Oss (7)
FC Den Bosch vs FC Eindhoven (7)
Emmen vs Go Ahead Eagles (8)
Omniworld vs Fortuna Sittard (6)
Volendam vs Cambuur Leeuwarden (6)
Zwolle vs Dordrecht ’90 (5)
Helmond Sport vs Excelsior (6)
Haarlem vs AGOVV Appeldoorn (6)
MVV Maastricht vs BV Veendam (8)
RBC Roosendaal vs Stormvogels Telstar (8)
Norwegian Tippeligaen:
Brann Bergen vs Sandefjord (8) 2-1
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Belenenses vs Naval de Maio (7) under 2.5 goals/under 1.5 goals
Singaporean S-League:
Home United vs Gombak United (6) 2-1
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Trelleborgs vs Halmstads (6) 2-1
Orgryte vs Malmo (8) 0-2
Gefle vs Hammarby (8) 2-1
Djurgardens vs IFK Goteborg (8) 1-2
Swedish Superettan:
GIF Sundsvall vs Angelholms (7)
IFK Norrkoping vs Sirius Uppsala (8)
Landskrona BoIS vs Trollhattan (7)
Jonkopings Sodra vs Atvidabergs (6) draw no bet
Turkish Super Lig:
Diyarbakirspor vs Fenerbahce (8) over 2.5 goals
Swiss Challenge League:
Kriens vs Gossau (7)
Enjoy your free betting tips!