Rio Ave vs Braga

30/04/2009

This encounter in Portugal sees lowly Rio Ave hosting Europa-League hopefuls Braga. Ordinarily, this game would be considered a whitewash away win, and rightfully so, but the hosts have now notched up two straight wins, albeit against opposition around them in the league. Those two wins have taken them out of the drop zone and they’ll be keen to stay there. Braga, by their own high standards, may be a little disappointed by the season so far to find themselves behind Nacional Funchal albeit only by a point and they’ll be keen to ensure they are playing European football again next year. Both sides will clearly be keen to win this game and on the tough pitch at Rio Ave, there should be a very fierce encounter in prospect. In my mind, I can’t see anything but an away win, providing Braga turn up for this game. If they don’t and allow the hosts to hustle and bustle them, this game could begin to lean towards a draw as Braga’s predominant weakness is goalscoring. However, I’m going to call a 1-2 victory for the visitors in hope that they get a goal in the first half and counter-attack the hosts when they attack them in the second half. Expect plenty of yellow cards in this game, although I find it unlikely there’ll be reds.

Friday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, utilise what you will, wherever you will. Below are the sides that I cannot explain not winning their respective games:

Cherno More Varna, Boulogne, Gyori ETO FC, Debrecen

The next group of sides are the sides that have a very good chance of being successful in their respective games:

Montpellier HSC, Tours, Kecskemeti TE, Szombathelyi Haladas, Bohemians, RKC Waalwijk, Go Ahead Eagles, GKS Belchatow, Wisla Krakow, Unirea Urziceni, Steaua Bucharest, Galatasaray SK, Metalist Kharkiv

This last group of three is my risky tip of the day – all have a decent chance of success and should bring you the best odds:

VFL Bochum, Fehervar, Dordrecht ’90

However, if this blatant listing of good tips isn’t enough for you, somehow, then I’ll list bets I find likely/intriguing/good value in order of likelihood:

Cherno More Varna, GKS Belchatow, Boulogne, Gyor ETO FC, Debrecen – Should be about 6/1
Galatasaray SK, Metalist Kharkiv, Tours – Should be 6/1 or 7/1
Wisla Krakow, Steau Bucharest, Unirea Urziceni, Bohemians, Kecskemeti TE – Should be 6/1 again

For the complete picks listing, see below!

Austrian Bundesliga:

Austria Vienna vs SV Mattersburg (7) 2-1

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Club Brugge vs Lokeren (7) 2-1

Bulgarian A PFG:

Cherno More Varna vs Belasitsa Petrich (9) 3-0

Faroese Meistaradeildin:

IF Fuglafjordur vs KI Klaksvik (6) 1-0

French Ligue 2:

Ameins SC vs Tours FC (8)
Bastia vs Vannes OC (6)
Boulogne vs AC Ajaccio (9)
Chateauroux vs Brest (6)
Dijon FCO vs Clermont Foot (5)
Stade de Reims vs Troyes (7)
En Avant Guingamp vs Strasbourg (6)
Metz vs Nimes (7)
Montpellier HSC vs Angers SCO (8)

German Bundesliga:

VFL Bochum vs Hannover 96 (6) 1-0

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Szombathelyi Haladas vs Budapest Honved (8) 2-1
Debrecen vs Kaposvari Rakoczi (9) 3-1
Kecskemeti TE vs Rakospalotai EAC (8) 2-0
Fehervar vs Zalaegerszegi TE (6) 2-1
Nyiregyhaza Spartacus vs Paksi SE (5) 1-1
Gyori ETO FC vs Vasas Budapest (9) 3-0

Irish Premier League:

Drogheda United vs Derry City (4) 1-1
Bohemians vs Dundalk (8) 2-1
Galway United vs St Patrick’s Athletic (6) 2-2
Cork City vs Sligo Rovers (7) 2-1

Italian Serie B:

Vicenza vs Rimini (7)

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

Haarlem vs FC Emmen (7)
Omniworld vs Stormvogels/Telstar (7)
Cambuur Leeuwarden vs FC Eindhoven (7)
FC Den Bosch vs Dordrecht ’90 (6)
AGOVV Appeldoorn vs VVV Venlo (7)
Fortuna Sittard vs MVV Maastricht (7)
RKC Waalwijk vs RBC Roosendaal (8)
Go Ahead Eagles vs Top OSS (8)
BV Veendam vs Excelsior (6)
Helmond Sport vs FC Zwolle (6)

Polish Ekstraklasa:

GKS Belchatow vs Polonia Bytom (8) 2-0
Piast Gliwice vs Wisla Krakow (8) 1-2

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Rio Ave vs Braga (8) 1-2

Romanian Liga:

Unirea Urziceni vs Gloria Bistrita (8) 2-0
Steaua Bucharest vs Otelul Galati (8) 2-1

Swedish Allsvenskan:

Kalmar vs Hacken Goteborg (6) 1-0
Trelleborgs vs Orgryte Goteborg (7) 2-0
Brommapojkarna vs Elfsborg Boras (5) 1-1

Turkish Super Lig:

Hacettepe SK vs Galatasaray SK (8) 1-2

Ukrainian Premier League:

Arsenal Kiev vs Metalist Kharkiv (8) 1-2

Enjoy your free betting tips!