Palmeiras vs Fluminense
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Today’s free tip is in the Brazilian Serie A encounter between Palmeiras and Fluminense.
Well, what do you know? Suddenly Palmeiras get all of their stars back at once, and then start killing everybody rather than just the midtable and lower teams. Tactically, they’re the best team in Brazil right now, and when a squad as good as theirs is smart too, they’re just killers – and Palmeiras are precisely that right now.
Alright – Gabriel Veron is still injured, and Vina is off to AS Roma, but this ruthless Palmeiras machine just keeps rolling on, professionally disposing of everything thrown at them. I really wouldn’t bet against this team winning the Copa Libertadores again this year, and a Serie A title push is certainly not beyond them. I’ll be more concerned about both of those things if they end up losing Weverton or Gomez, and the reasoning for such can be seen in what happened when they were at the Copa America. Palmeiras still performed well, for the most part, but were less efficient. With them, however, they’re animals.
Now Palmeiras are not your conventional Brazilian team in the sense that they don’t crazily attack opponents. They do attack, but in a more measured way, and it annoys the hell out of teams like Atletico Goianiense and Ceara, the ones that sit back and wait for counterattacking opportunities, because Palmeiras seldom give such away. They’ll eventually grind teams down via Scarpa or Veiga, and then Deyverson, Adriano, Willian, Wescley, or Breno Lopes will score. What are the odds that Willian will return to his old stomping ground this summer too? Arsenal have made it clear he won’t be in their Premier League squad for the forthcoming season. Anyway, Abel Ferreira’s team are the epitome of efficiency right now, and beating defensively inept Fluminense looks very much within their reach.
Fluminense are a good enough attacking team but they simply cannot keep teams out. They give away better chances than most of Serie A’s clubs combined, which is why it’s their Achilles Heel. The bigger problem that is lurking behind that, however, is that they’re not scoring enough goals to offset such. Paulo’s departure has proved problematic, as has Manchester City-bound Kayky’s integration into the senior team. Bobadilla hasn’t settled, and Hernandez has as many red cards as he has goals, so winning games has become a real trial for Machado’s men.
I can’t criticise Fluminense, really. They’ve done all of the right things pre-season but none of their attempts have come off – yet. Ganso is still anonymous, Nene’s diminished role is taking its toll on the team, and the fact that their best forward is still Fred is not ideal. I enjoy Fluminense’s style of play, and when they’re in full flow, they’re a dangerous opponent. However, when they’re playing like they are, they’re a dream for teams like Fluminense because they’ll huff, puff, fail to score, and concede far too easily. Even a 1-0 team like Palmeiras should be able to handicap them here.
Verdict: Palmeiras to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 5/4.
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:
Rapid Vienna vs Hartberg
SCR Altach vs LASK
Swarovski Tirol vs Admira Wacker
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
OH Leuven vs Zulte-Waregem
Kortrijk vs RFC Seraing
Germinal Beerschot vs Cercle Brugge
KV Oostende vs Sporting Charleroi
Brazilian Serie A:
Gremio vs America Mineiro
Palmeiras vs Fluminense
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Plovdiv vs Pirin Blagoevgrad
Levski Sofia vs Slavia Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Gorica vs Sibenik
Czechia Liga 1:
Hradec Kralove vs Bohemians 1905
Pardubice vs Karvina
Baumit Jablonec vs Banik Ostrava
Sparta Prague vs Sigma Olomouc
Danish Superligaen:
Aalborg BK vs FC Midtjylland
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
SJK vs AC Oulu
HJK vs Haka Valkeakoski
Finnish Ykkonen:
Jaro Pietarsaari vs TPS
KPV vs VPS
Jippo Joensuu vs Ekenas IF
MuSa vs Gnistan
PK-35 Helsinki vs RoPS
German Bundesliga 2:
Darmstadt 98 vs Jahn Regensburg
Heidenheim vs Paderborn 07
Dynamo Dresden vs Ingolstadt
Hansa Rostock vs Karlsruher SC
Werder Bremen vs Hannover 96
Icelandic PepsiMaxDeild:
HK vs Valur Reykjavik
Israeli Super Cup:
Maccabi Haifa vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Riteriai vs Dziugas Telsiai
Romanian Liga 1:
Voluntari vs Botosani
Academica Clinceni vs CFR Cluj
Russian Premier League:
FK Khimki vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Lokomotiv Moscow vs Arsenal Tula
Rubin Kazan vs Spartak Moscow
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Mjallby Solvesborg vs Malmo FF
Sirius vs Degerfors
Swiss Super League:
Luzern vs Young Boys Bern
Lausanne Sport vs St. Gallen
Enjoy your free betting tips!