Spain vs Honduras
FreeToday’s featured game is the World Cup encounter between Spain and Honduras. The opening game defeat for Spain against Switzerland has idiots falling over themselves to condemn the World Cup favourites but any actual football fan will tell you that they were unlucky on that day, although I would say that they deserved their misfortune purely by fielding Villa in attack on his own as he’s not good enough to do it! Honduras are frankly one of the worst sides in the tournament and did nothing to convince us otherwise against Chile either.
So – Spain! They’ve got a lot to prove here and frankly they need to win the game following their unfortunate defeat against Switzerland in their opening game. Hopefully Del Bosque won’t be stupid enough to put Villa up front on his own again or this bet is in limbo because Villa is too easy to defend against on his own – he either need Torres to take the markers away from Villa or he needs Llorente to take at least one marker away from home and give Spain an option in attack. Either way, Spain out-passed and frankly outplayed Switzerland in their opening group game but what can you say? Football springs surprises sometimes and Switzerland took one of their few chances in that game and Spain didn’t. To dismiss Spain’s World Cup campaign from one result is absolutely ridiculous though and anyone that has done so really should be banned from football forever! Spain still have the magic of Xavi and Iniesta to call upon and frankly they’re an incredibly dangerous side, something that should be a lot more evident today. An early goal in this game should see them walk it comfortably, which is partially what I’m relying upon today.
Honduras were woeful against Chile. There’s no diplomatic way that I can phrase that, unfortunately – they’re simply not good enough to be here. I’ve nothing but respect for what can only be described as a heroic achievement for Honduras when they qualified for the World Cup but they’re out of their depth here and they’ve shown that in every friendly they’ve played pre-World Cup and against Chile. The 1-0 scoreline against Chile really did flatter Honduras as they were largely outplayed, outfought, and should have been more heavily outscored. However, Chile were missing key striker Suazo and as I mentioned pre-tournament – they do look a tad lightweight without him when it comes to goalscoring. Honduras are indebted to goalkeeper for Valladares for keeping them in the game, frankly, because on another day the scoreline could and should have been 4-0. Honduras not only pose little threat in attack – although Suazo may return for this game and he is key for their attack – but they cannot defend. They also need to take something from this game but I simply cannot see how that scenario can arise. I can accept Switzerland taking something from Spain because they’re a strong unit defensively but I cannot envision Honduras doing so because they don’t have the ability nor the tactics to do so. With that in mind, you have to really fear for Honduras today.
If Spain approach this game correctly, this could be the biggest scoreline in the tournament so far. However, Spain’s opening game proved that they still have a couple of issues that need ironing out despite their overall convincing display. That said, Spain are facing arguably the worst side in the tournament today and if they can’t score a few against them then I really am concerned. I’m not convinced enough to take them on the handicaps because it depends which Spain side turns up but I’m very happy with the idea of Spain scoring in both halves of this game at a rather generous 3/4.
Verdict: Spain to score in both halves at 3/4.
Monday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Chile vs Switzerland – Chile to win at 6/5.
This bet hinges entirely on one thing – Suazo must start this game for Chile. If not, then feel free to disregard this bet.
The reason that I say the above is because Chile lacked potency against Honduras. They dominated the game from start to finish and create a load of chances and still only managed to score one goal, which was fortuitous in itself as the defender booted it into the goal off the attacker. I’ll admit the Honduran goalkeeper had the game of his life but Chile could have and should have scored more goals in that game but no Suazo hindered them. He should be fit for this game and if he starts then I’m happy to back Chile today because of their outstanding passing game and ability to frustrate sides.
There’s not a lot I can add about Switzerland. They’re a tenacious side and Hitzfeld has got them defending for their lives, as you’d expect, so they’re certainly a tough unit to break down. I’d go as far as to say they were excellent against Spain. No, they didn’t match them in terms of ability but the Swiss played to their strengths and were dogged and thus took something from the game – a very credible three points, in fact. I expect a very similar display from Switzerland today as Chile are like a “mini-Spain” in my eyes – plenty of gifted midfielders but a little short in attack. Switzerland may be able to attack more in this game because Chile aren’t as good as Spain but that could be very dangerous indeed as the Chileans are incredibly quick on the counter-attack so I do see Chile having more joy against Switzerland than their fellow hispanic nation did.
I’ve no further news on the injury situation concerning Behrami but Frei should return and Senderos is out. Each one of them is key but I’m especially pleased to see defensive rock Senderos (yeah, I never thought I’d be saying that either!) out because the Swiss aren’t as strong at the back without him. Frei adds potency for the Swiss in attack and Behrami is a much-needed engine in the middle. Either way, if Chile field Suazo against a Swiss defence minus Senderos then I think the price of 6/5 on the Chileans to win the game is very generous indeed – they’re a great footballing side with bags of potential.
Verdict: Chile to win at 6/5.
Portugal vs North Korea – lay Portugal for the first half at 3/4, lay Portugal overall at 2/1.
Portugal are yet another disappointing side in this tournament. The amount of people placing belief in this side, which is effectively Ronaldo on his own, is unbelievable. Much like Italy yesterday – please don’t back Portugal purely because of their name at shockingly short odds against a very well-organised side here! The only way Portugal can do something here is if Ronaldo makes it happen. They lack any penetration, they lack good strikers, they lack composure, and thus they lack chances. This is the exact type of opponent that Portugal simply hate playing against. Seriously, I believe they’ll have a better game against the likes of Brazil because they can attack them. They’re simply going to be sending wave after wave against a tough side to break down and barring an early goal in this game, I have serious doubts that Portugal can take anything from this game. They were massively disappointing against Ivory Coast, as I expected them to be, and I see zero reasons whatsoever that they should be backed to do anything in this game today.
North Korea were fantastic against Brazil! I’m happy you guys made some money on taking my recommendation on both sides to score and to be honest, a similar bet wasn’t far from my mind today. However, Portugal do pay some attention to defending and have done ever since they realised that they don’t score many goals themselves so they’re a tad more aware than Brazil are at the back. Returning to North Korea though – they were so well-marshalled and dogged that it took Brazil until the second-half to finally break through and that was through a fantastic strike from Maicon. It was either going to take a stroke of genius or a hideous defensive mistake and it turned out that the former got the ball rolling with five-times World Cup winners Brazil eventually sneaking a 2-1 win. I say “sneaking” quite happily, incidentally, as North Korea barely put a foot wrong in that game and were a frighteningly strong defensive unit. I expected them to make it hard for Brazil but I did expect more from Brazil and yet the North Koreans fended them off well, dare I even say with ease? Either way, this North Korean side have proven their worth defensively in this tournament and good luck if you underestimate them today against an impotent Portugal side because I certainly won’t be.
With the above in mind, I have two bets for you to consider. You can either lay Portugal in the first-half alone at 3/4 as anything that Brazil can do, Portugal can be much worse at! Alternatively, if you feel bold and that Ronaldo will have an off-day, then consider laying the Portuguese overall at 2/1, which again is generous odds. Portugal offer so little in terms of breaking sides down like this, hence their draw against Cape Verde Islands pre-World Cup, so barring some magic from Ronaldo and/or an early goal, I don’t see much (if any) joy in this game for Portugal today.
Verdict: Lay Portugal in the first-half at 3/4, lay Portugal overall at 2/1.
Selfoss vs FH Hafnarfjordur – away win at 4/5.
Is it safe to back FH as the champions that they are in the Urvalsdeild again? I think we’re slowly approaching that time again! If so, then the bookies are really going to regret pricing FH so long against a newly-promoted side today!
Selfoss have had their honeymoon period already following promotion and it’s been brought to a rather abrupt end. Selfoss are now without a win in four consecutive Urvalsdeild games and they’ve lost their last three so morale is a little low currently. It’s a bit unfortunate for today’s hosts as they have scored in all three defeats against superior opponents but have lost each game 2-1, interestingly enough. If Selfoss could sort out their defence then I’d give them a shout here but frankly if they’re conceding to the minions that “compete” with FH for the Urvalsdeild title then they’ll concede against the reigning champions! Selfoss have only won once in four home games and they’ve lost twice so things look a little ominous for the hosts today as they are hosting an FH side that are growing in confidence and thus results too.
FH Hafnarfjordur are unstoppable when they’re in-form so let’s hope that their recent form suggests that they’re back on-course for the Urvalsdeild title. FH are by far the better of these two sides and with no defeats in three Urvalsdeild games (including two wins), FH are slowly hitting their heights again. I’m still concerned with how many goals FH are leaking – five goals in three Urvalsdeild games – but the fact that they’re out-scoring their opponents encourages me in believing that they’re starting to rediscover their ability once more. Their win against bitter rivals KR Reykjavik last match will have given them a great morale boost and they bring a good amount of momentum into this game as a result of both that game and their recent run in general. FH tend to do well against the newly-promoted sides, as you’d expect, and have beaten newly-promoted local rivals Haukar Hafnarfjordur already this season so they know how to do it. They beat both Stjarnan and IBV last year away from home, who were the newly-promoted sides at the time, and frankly I’ll be very surprised if they don’t repeat that feat again today against their inferior hosts.
Realistically, if the FH we know and love turn up for this game as we know they can, then odds for this game should never be longer than 2/5 for this selection so this is a potential gold mine tonight. I’m banking on FH holding their run of good form as they have done of late, having cast off the shackles of their poor displays at the start of the season, and they’ve certainly got the ability to win this one today.
Verdict: FH Hafnarfjordur to win at 4/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Spain
Recommended bets:
Chile and Spain at 2/1.
As ever, if there any questions/explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below!
World Cup:
Portugal vs North Korea (4) 0-0
Chile vs Switzerland (7) 2-1
Spain vs Honduras (9) -1.75 handicap
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Haka Valkeakoski vs KuPS Kuopio (6) 1-1
VPS Vaasa vs FC Lahti (5) 2-1
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
Selfoss vs FH Hafnarfjordur (8) 0-2
Keflavik vs Fram Reykjavik (5) 1-1
Haukar Hafnarfjordur vs UMF Grindavik (4) 1-2
Singaporean S-League:
Tampines Rovers vs Woodlands Wellington (7) 2-0
Swedish Superettan:
Orgryte vs Assyriska Sodertalje (5)
Landskrona BoIS vs Brage (7) under 2.5 goals
Enjoy your free betting tips!