Standard de Liege vs Anderlecht

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Today’s secondary featured game is the Eerste Klasse encounter between heavyweights Standard de Liege and Anderlecht. Realistically, both sides need to win this game to have a hope of winning the Eerste Klasse so expect a tense game with plenty of cards, especially with ex-Anderlecht man Jelle Van Damme hardly the most popular player wearing a Liege shirt currently!

Standard’s lethal threesome of Tchite, Witsel, and Defour are all back in Standard’s ranks and have been for some time and can’t you tell? Look at how well they’ve played lately! They’ve won seven out of their last eight games in the Eerste Klasse, somehow keeping four clean sheets in their last five games. Just to impose on you all how good that record actually is – Standard have faced all of the remaining top five teams (obviously excluding themselves) during those seven games ala Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Racing Genk etc. and they’ve been extremely successful along the way. I don’t know if it’s the brilliance of the afore-mentioned trio or perhaps a farewell party for highly sought-after playmaker Defour but whatever it is is absolutely working for Standard right now. They’re not scoring many but you don’t have to whilst keeping clean sheets so how can I possibly do anything but back them here? They won 1-3 at Anderlecht easily in their first game of the latter stages of the Eerste Klasse campaign (yeah, the setup can be confusing!) and they’ve gone from strength to strength ever since. With a roaring Maurice Dufrasne cheering them on, I have to fancy Standard to win this one.

Additionally, Anderlecht’s season has gone from bad to worse and I’ll frankly be amazed if they win this one. I mean, fair enough, derby games can spring surprises sometimes as we all know. However, Anderlecht have been weak in creativity ever since they sold Boussouffa to Anzhi Makhachkala and will need to replace him in summer as the level of creativity is halved without him. Additionally, we have to consider that massive injury list of Anderlecht’s. I can’t obtain full confirmation that the below list is 100% accurate but I do know that the vast majority are absolutely out of this game and as an Anderlecht fan, I’d personally look at that list and cry with despair! No Biglia in central midfield, no De Sutter as an alternative to inexperienced Lukaku, no Legear to provide width, no Deschacht at full-back (again!), and no Proto between the posts. The remaining team that Anderlecht have available to them is not good enough to win at Standard today. Famous last words, perhaps, and maybe they’ll somehow scrap a draw, but given that both sides must win this game, I expect an open game. If that happens – if – then Anderlecht will be ripped apart here by a vastly superior Standard midfield and that’s exactly what I expect to happen here.

This game may take some time to get going as I expect a rather tactical first-half where both sides sit back to see how the other is lining up. However, backing Standard to win this game at 21/20 really appeals to me today with the above in mind.

Team news – Anderlecht miss Veselinovic, Proto, Biglia, Deschacht, Kouyate, De Sutter, and Legear.

Verdict: Standard de Liege to win at 21/20.

Saturday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Slovan Liberec vs Slovacko – home win with -1.5 handicap at 8/5.

Only three sides in the Gambrinus Liga have scored more goals at home than Slovan Liberec this season as today’s hosts average scoring well over two goals per home game, hence the inspiration for this selection. Despite having nothing to play for, Slovan Liberec have been massively driven over the past few weeks and went on an amazing run of six games without defeat, winning five times along the way. They won four home games during that run and beat the -1.5 handicap three times along the way despite facing the likes of Sigma Olomouc and Mlada Boleslav along the way. They finally had their excellent run broken last match in Prague by giants Sparta but it was in a spirited 3-2 defeat that could have ended a different scoreline on another day. I doubt Liberec will be disheartened from such a good display and I fancy them to continue their usual dominant home form today. Bear this statistic in mind, too – Slovan have won seven out of eight home games in the Gambrinus Liga by beating the -1.5 handicap so why not again today against a very much inferior opponent?

All that favours Slovacko here is that Slovan miss regular defender Gebre Selassie, which is a blow. However, Slovacko miss Kordula in midfield and that’s a bit of a blow to their own plans as he’s also a regular. Slovacko have real problems scoring goals right now, which is a further problem. They’ve scored in just one of their last four games and have scored just twice in their last five away games in a row. That’s a big problem for Slovacko because their defence is vulnerable at the best of times. They’ve lost eight game on the road in the Gambrinus Liga this season and five of them have beaten the -1.5 handicap so you can see where I’m coming from here. This side averages scoring just over a goal per every two away games whilst averaging conceding nearly two goals per away game, which basically makes them sitting ducks. They’ve heroically all but beaten the drop now, barring some kind of very unfortunate miracle, so they don’t really have any motivation to do well here.

I can see scorelines of 2-0 or 3-1 here but either way, I still think that the handicap is astronomically priced here. This is far from a dead cert as Slovan Liberec don’t have anything to play for either but the risk versus the generous odds = no contest, in my view.

Team news – Slovan Liberec miss Gebre Selassie whereas Slovakco miss Kordula and Kuncl.

Verdict: Slovan Liberec to beat the -1.5 handicap at 8/5.

Kuressaare vs Maag Tammeka Tartu – under 2.5 goals at 13/10.

This should hopefully be as straightforward as it looks. Kuressaare are generally relegation battlers but their saving grace is not conceding many goals at home. They lose or draw most of their home games anyway but it’s no surprise that three out of their four home games in the Meistriliiga this season have gone under 2.5 goals. What is surpising, however, is that they’ve hosted reigning champions Flora Tallinn and arguably the second best team in Estonia – Nomme Kalju – along the way so they are quite capable on their own turf, obviously overlooking their abject display at home to Levadia Tallinn last week, which fused an unlikely scoreline from both sides! Kuressaare just look to keep it tight and grind out a draw so that’s what I expect from them today. Maag Tammeka Tartu’s promising youngsters are easing into their groove, spear-headed by striker Prosa. They’ve won four consecutive games ahead of this one and they are the better team. However, this side operates entirely on confidence due to their youthful average age and thus they’re the side to back when playing well and the side to oppose when not. Their last four games have gone over 2.5 goals but that’s due to playing Sillamae Kalev away (who are much better than they are – they did very well to win it!) and shitty Ajax Lasnamae twice. The other game was ironically a 2-1 win at home to Kuressaare but only a set piece resulting in Saar’s goal gave Kuressaare a faint hope in an otherwise under 2.5 goals game. I think Maag Tammeka Tartu will edge this game by a goal or two but Kuressaare at home are very hard to break through and thus under 2.5 goals appeals to me at 13/10.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 13/10.

Fehervar vs Gyori ETO FC – under 2.5 goals at 57/50.

This game is irrelevant, first of all – that encourages me! Fehervar have scored a lot of goals lately but they don’t need to here – they’re the Soproni Liga champions officially now. Gyori ETO FC are a good side and had they more firepower than they’d have competed more actively for the title. Instead, Gyori just keep a tight defence and look to poach wins whereas Fehervar play a more flambuoyant style of football. As a result, we generally see games betwen these two sides end in draws or low-scoring wins. In fact, eight out of the last ten meetings between these two sides have gone under 2.5 goals and given how this game doesn’t matter and there’s only pride to play for, I think we’ll see another under 2.5 goals game here at generous odds.

Team news – Gyori ETO FC miss Santa, Takody, Dudas, Nicolas, Totadze, Babic, and Ganugrava.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 57/50.

Lech Poznan vs Ruch Chorzow – lay Lech Poznan at evens.

If there’s ever a time to oppose Lech, it’s now. They lost the game 1-0 at Reymonta against Wisla in their last game in an utterly lacklustre and ineffectual display. Worse news – Latvian star striker Rudnevs misses this game through injury. They look lost in front of goal without him. With rows between Stilic and boss Bakero continuing behind closed doors and Peszko having left in January, Lech’s attacking options have been massive shortened and they basically look a spent force at the moment. Defender Wolakiewicz is suspended and although Djurdjevic is back for this game for Lech – albeit with special jaw protection! – they’re still not a side that I fear in front of goal. Lech can be brilliant but with Bakero under increasing pressure and his persistent attempts at rotating the squad unnecessarily, this Lech side looks incapable of winning this game. Visitors Ruch Chorzow have done surprisingly well lately when you consider that they’ve parted with just about any good quality players they had left this season with strike duo Niedzielan and Sobiech having moved on, not to mention defender Sadlok. They realised that before the mid-season break, however, and were subsequently active in January and February as they sought to bolster their squad. They signed pacey Pawel Abbott, whom some of you may remember from his time at Huddersfield Town and Preston North End, just to name a couple. He’s still settling in but Piech and Jankowski are carrying Ruch well. Dokic at the back has proven to be a good signing from Javor Ivanjica and overall, I think it’s fair to say that Ruch have been very smart with their transfer activity and I have a lot of respect for them because of it. They’ve been immense lately too, for some reason. This side has strong cohesion and are unbeaten in five consecutive games now, winning three times along the way. They’ve kept four clean sheets in those five games and they’ve even won 2-3 at Legia Warsaw after the winter break so their strength and team spirit is more than apparent. For me, there has to be value in laying impotent and uninterested Lech Poznan here.

Team news – Lech Poznan miss Wolakiewicz, Rudnevs, Kikut, Bandrowski, and Drygas whereas Ruch Chorzow miss Dokic and have doubts over Zienczuk.

Verdict: Lay Lech Poznan at evens.

Dubnica vs MSK Zilina – lay MSK Zilina at 4/5.

If rock-bottom Dubnica are to beat the drop, which is unlikely, then they simply must win this game, or at the very least avoid defeat. If it’s any comfort for Dubnica at such a difficult stage of the season then they must be happy that Dubnica possess so many experienced players in the Corgon Liga dogfight ala Porazik, Kovac, Brusko etc. This Dubnica side is bottom of the table, admittedly, but they’re there because they don’t score goals, not because they can’t defend. This side averages cocneding just over a goal per home game and that’s not a bad record considering where they are in the table. They’ve really tightened their belts since the winter break too, losing just once in six consecutive home games. They’ve fended off league leaders Slovan Bratislava in a 1-1 draw and UEFA Europa League hopefuls Spartak Trnava 1-0 at home during that time so why not mighty MSK Zilina too? I won’t lie to you guys; I’ll oppose Zilina at every opportunity at the moment because they’re weak in attack. They’ve sold all but one of their good attackers and Ceesay isn’t in the best of form right now. They miss Oravec, to be blunt! Additionally, Zilina must be tired for this game. This is their third game in six days and the first one of those games was an exhausting 120-minute debacle with Slovan Bratislava which Zilina ended up losing anyway. Zilina have failed to win all six Corgon Liga away games since returning from the winter break, which isn’t surprising considering their lack of goal threat. They’ve failed to score in four of those away games and have screwed up against sides in the same bracket as Dubnica so why not here? Zilina don’t have a great record at Dubnica in recent years and the last meeting of these two sides was at Zilina back in March and that ended 0-0. With all of this information in mind, I have to lay Zilina at decent odds of 4/5.

Team news – MSK Zilina miss Rilke and Strba.

Verdict: Lay MSK Zilina at 4/5.

Accumulator fodder:

Austria Vienna, Slovan Liberec, Banik Ostrava, Nomme Kalju, Bayern Munich, Kaposvari Rakoczi, AC Milan, Lokomotiv Moscow.

Recommended bets:

Standard de Liege, Austria Vienna, and AC Milan at over 2/1.

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!

International Friendly:

Tanzania vs South Africa (6) 1-0

Argentinian Primera Division:

Gimnasia De La Plata vs Banfield (5) 2-1
San Lorenzo de Almagro vs Argentinos Juniors (6) 0-0
All Boys vs Arsenal de Sarandi (6) over 2.5 goals
Racing Club Avellaneda vs Newells Old Boys (7) 2-0

Austrian Bundesliga:

SV Kapfenberg vs Wiener Neustadt (5) 1-1
Austria Vienna vs Wacker Innsbruck (8) 2-0
LASK Linz vs Sturm Graz (6) 0-1
SV Ried vs Rapid Vienna (4) 0-1

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

AA Gent vs Racing Genk (6) 0-1
Lokeren vs Club Brugge (6) 0-1
Standard de Liege vs Anderlecht (7) 1-0

Bulgarian A PFG:

Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Levski Sofia (6) 2-2
Pirin Blagoevgrad vs Akademik Sofia (7) 2-1
Minior Pernik vs Chernomorets Burgas (6) 1-0
Montana vs Sliven (7) 2-0
Lokomotiv Sofia vs Cherno More Varna (6) 1-0

Chilean Primera Division:

Palestino vs Huachipato (6) 2-1
O’Higgins vs Santiago Wanderers (6) 1-0
Colo Colo vs Deportes Iquique (7) 2-0

Colombian Primera A:

Itagui Ditaires vs Once Caldas Manizales (6) 1-1
Boyaca Chico vs Atletico Huila (6) 2-1
Deportivo Pereira vs Atletico Nacional de Medellin (4) 0-1
Deportes Tolima vs La Equidad Bogota (7) 2-1

Croatian Prva Liga:

Split vs Hrvatski Dragovoljac (7) 2-0
Zadar vs Dinamo Zagreb (4) 0-0
Sibenik vs Varteks Varazdin (7) 1-0
Osijek vs Karlovac (6) 1-0
Istra 1961 vs Slaven Koprivnica (6) 1-1
NK Zagreb vs Hajduk Split (4) 1-0

Cypriot Division 1:

AEK Larnaca vs Anorthosis Famagusta (5) 1-1
AEL Limassol vs Enosis Neon Paralimni (6) 2-1
A.E.Paphos vs Alki (5) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Ermis vs Ethnikos Achnas (5) 1-1

Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:

Slovan Liberec vs Slovacko (8) 2-0
Banik Ostrava vs Usti nad Labem (8) 2-0
Teplice vs Viktoria Plzen (6) 1-1

Danish Superligaen:

Randers vs OB Odense (5) 1-1

Danish 1st Division:

Vejle vs Fredericia (5)
Bronshoj vs Viborg (6)
Hobro vs Roskilde (5)

Ecuadorian Primera A:

El Nacional Quito vs Imbabura (7) 2-1
Espoli Cayambe vs Deportivo Quito (4) 1-1

English Premier League:

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United (4) 1-1
Blackpool vs Bolton Wanderers (5) 1-2
Sunderland vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (6) 2-1
West Bromwich Albion vs Everton (6) 1-1

English League One:

Bournemouth vs Huddersfield Town (5) both sides to score

English League Two:

Torquay United vs Shrewsbury Town (6)

English FA Cup:

Manchester City vs Stoke City (6) 2-1

Estonian Meistriliiga:

Kuressaare vs Maag Tammeka Tartu (6) 0-1
Ajax Lasnamae vs Nomme Kalju (8) -1.5 handicap

Finnish Ykkonen:

OPS Oulu vs PK-35 Helsinki (6)
Viikingit Helsinki vs Hameenlinna (7)

German Bundesliga:

Koln vs Schalke 04 (6) 2-1
Kaiserslautern vs Werder Bremen (5) 1-2
SC Freiburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen (6) 1-1
Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart (8) over 2.5 goals, both sides to score
Hoffeheim vs VfL Wolfsburg (5) 0-1
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt (6) 2-1
Hamburger SV vs Borussia Moenchengladbach (5) 1-2
Hannover 96 vs Nurnberg (6) 1-0
Mainz 05 vs St.Pauli (7) 2-0

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Budapest Honved vs Ujpest (6) 1-1
Fehervar vs Gyori ETO FC (6) 1-0
Kaposvari Rakoczi vs Szolnoki MAV (8) 2-0
Lombard Papa vs MTK Budapest (6) 1-0
Kecskemeti TE vs Siofok (6) 2-1

Italian Serie A:

Lazio vs Genoa (6) 1-0
AC Milan vs Cagliari (8) 2-0

Italian Serie B:

Cittadella vs Crotone (6)
Portosummaga vs Empoli (5)
Novara vs Frosinone (7)
Varese vs Modena (5)
Sassuolo vs Padova (4)
Vicenza vs Pescara (6)
Livorno vs Piacenza (6)
Torino vs Triestina (6)

Japanese J-League:

Vegalta Sendai vs Jubilo Iwata (6) 2-1
Montedio Yamagata vs Omiya Ardija (5) 1-1
Shimizu S-Pulse vs Vissel Kobe (6) 2-1
Albirex Niigata vs Kashiwa Reysol (6) 2-1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs Yokohama F.Marinos (6) 1-1

Paraguayan Division Profesional:

Independiente FBC vs Guarani Asuncion (6) 1-1
Sol de America vs Sportivo Luqueno (5) 1-0

Polish Ekstraklasa:

Korona Kielce vs Arka Gdynia (6) 2-1
Slask Wroclaw vs GKS Belchatow (7) 1-0
Lechia Gdansk vs Polonia Warsaw (5) 1-1
Lech Poznan vs Ruch Chorzow (6) 1-1

Polish Liga 1:

Bogdanka Leczna vs Sandecja Nowy Sacz (6)
Pogon Szczecin vs Ruch Radzionkow (7)
Flota Swinoujscie vs Kolejarz Stroze (7)
Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski vs Gornik Polkowice (5)
Katowice vs Odra Wodzislaw (7)
LKS Lodz vs Nieciecza (6)

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Olhanense vs Rio Ave (6) 1-1
Beira-Mar vs CD Nacional de Madeira (5) 0-1
Naval de Maio vs Vitoria Guimaraes (6) 1-2
SL Benfica vs Uniao de Leiria (7) 2-0
Pacos de Ferreira vs Academica de Coimbra (6) 1-0
Maritimo Funchal vs Porto (5) 2-2
Vitoria Setubal vs Portimonense (6) 2-1
Sporting Braga vs Sporting Club de Lisboa (6) 1-0

Romanian Liga:

Universitatea Cluj vs Rapid Bucharest (5) 2-1

Russian Premier League:

Spartak Nal’chik vs Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod (6) 1-1
FK Krasnodar vs Tom’ Tomsk (6) 1-1
Anzhi Makhachkala vs Kuban’ Krasnodar (5) 0-0
Lokomotiv Moscow vs Terek Grozny (8) 2-0

Scottish Premier League:

Hamilton Academicals vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle (6) 1-2
Hibernian vs Aberdeen (5) 1-1
St.Mirren vs St.Johnstone (6) 1-1

Singaporean S-League:

Young Lions vs Woodlands Wellington (6) 1-0

Slovakian Corgon Liga:

Ruzomberok vs Zlate Moravce (7) 1-1
Senica vs Nitra (7) 2-1
Spartak Trnava vs Dukla Banska Bystrica (7) 2-0
Tatran Presov vs Slovan Bratislava (5) 1-2
Dubnica vs MSK Zilina (5) 2-1
DAC Dunajska Streda vs Kosice (6) 1-1

Slovenian Prva Liga:

Rudar Velenje vs Triglav (6) 1-0
Nafta Lendava vs Celje (6) 2-1
Maribor vs Koper (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Olimpija Ljubljana vs Primorje (7) 2-0
Gorica vs Domzale (5) 1-2

Spanish Segunda Liga:

Tenerife vs Real Valladolid (6)
Cordoba vs Albacete (7)
Numancia vs Ponferradina (7)

Swedish Allsvenskan:

Halmstad vs Mjallby Solvesborg (6) 0-0
Kalmar FF vs BK Hacken Goteborg (6) 1-1

Swedish Superettan:

Falkenberg vs Atvidaberg (6)

Swiss Super League:

Bellinzona vs Neuchatel Xamax (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
St.Gallen vs Luzern (6) 2-1

Swiss Challenge League:

Vaduz vs Wohlen (6)
Aarau vs Winterthur (5)
SC Kriens vs FC Schaffhausen (6)
Wil vs Yverdon Sport (7)

Turkish Super Lig:

Konyaspor vs Sivasspor (5) 1-1
Manisaspor vs Bucaspor (6) 1-0
Genclerbirligi vs Galatasaray (6) 2-1

Ukrainian Premier League:

Vorskla Poltava vs Shakhtar Donetsk (7) 0-1

Enjoy your free betting tips!