Stjarnan Gardabaer vs FH Hafnarfjordur
FreeToday’s featured game is one I’ve been waiting for weeks and weeks to arrive! Sad, I know, but the game between Stjarnan Gardabaer and FH Hafnarfjordur in the Icelandic Landsbankadeild Karla is one that should be very profitable. Because of the hosts’ impressive home form since their promotion (7 played, 6 won, 1 drawn), the bookies have no choice to give very good odds on an away win, which in this instance is 11/10. FH Hafnarfjordur are the daddies in this league, make no mistake. They boast a phenomenal away record with six wins and one defeat from seven away games this season. As a matter of fact, out of all fourteen games they’ve played this season, there’s only two games they’ve not win and they’ve both been against title rivals Keflavik. This bodes extremely ominously for plucky Stjarnan Gardabaer who I feel are going to get a bit of a footballing lesson from league leaders FH Hafnarfjordur. At odds of 11/10, this is an away game not to be missed out on!!
Thursday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Stjarnan Gardabaer vs FH Hafnarfjordur – away win at 10/11 – see introduction for full details.
Karabakh Agdam vs FC Honka Espoo – away win with double chance at 4/5. FC Honka Espoo disappointed by losing the first leg at home to Karabakh Agdam and have subsequently set themselves a very uphill task to turn this tie around. However, the fact remains that they are the better side here and it’s hard to overlook the fact that the Azeri hosts can only ride their luck for so long. The Finnish side are very capable of getting a result here and taking them at double chance odds of 4/5 is certainly worth a punt.
FC Lahti vs Club Brugge – home win at 5/2. This is one of my riskiest calls but one I really like the look of. After resting a host of players last match, FC Lahti have virtually a full squad to choose from as they host Club Brugge of Belgium. The funny thing here is that both of these sides are generally wildly unpredictable. Both are capable of turning up and playing football but both tend to do the unexpected. For instance, in the first leg, Club Brugge managed to win 3-2. However, this game is one they should be winning with a considerable amount more easy if you take into account the difference in league quality and team quality. FC Lahti are a side that can (and did!) cause them problems. The Belgians are going to have a tough task ahead of them tonight unless they turn up properly and I don’t think they will, to be honest. Taking a home win at 5/2 looks very inviting although I’d probably take at draw no bet if doubtful.
Young Boys Bern vs Athletic Club de Bilbao – away win at 13/10. Visitors Athletic Club de Bilbao suffered a real shock to the system when they surprisingly lost at home to Swiss side Young Boys Bern. The Spaniards showed that they hadn’t played a competitive match prior to that encounter by lacking any real penetration in the game. However, I think they’ll have woken up from the first leg and realised just how serious this game is. Basque players are generally very professional and organised and if the Swiss side think this game is already over, they have another thing coming. I fancy an away win here because they’re more than capable and odds of 13/10 are worth the risk.
Interblock Ljubljana vs Metalurg Donetsk – away win at 11/10. Despite having won the first leg in Ukraine 2-0, Metalurg Donetsk are still a better side than hosts Interblock Ljubljana, which puts us in a very interesting position. The hosts have to take the game to Metalurg Donetsk and the Ukrainians are very good on the counter-attack. I don’t envision a particularly close encounter here; the gulf in class between the two sides should be too great to make a difference. I think 11/10 on an away win here is a steal because even a Metalurg Donetsk side “doing a job” can win this game with some ease.
Derry City vs CSKA Sofia – home win with draw no bet at 7/4. This is a very interesting call indeed. Tenacious Derry City made life very hard indeed for Bulgarians CSKA Sofia in the first leg. However, the visitors today carry into this game a 1-0 lead after a second-half goal deflated the Irish resistance. However, a game in Ireland is a very different and difficult game. A CSKA Sofia side with little competitive football under their belt this season travel to a very tenacious side that knows just one goal makes the difference here. Interestingly, I don’t believe there’s an awful lot of difference between the Irish Premier League and the Bulgarian A PFG, which may sound crazy but I just don’t see a gulf between them. I think Derry City are more than capable of winning this game. Whether they go through or not is another matter, which is frankly irrelevant, but odds of 3/1 on a home win look rather intriguing here.
Motherwell vs Steaua Bucharest – away win at evens. I can’t provide secrets here; Steaua Bucharest are just too good for Motherwell. Scottish sides are really on the decline in European football with even average European sides being able to dispose of Scottish teams with little issue. Steaua Bucharest have impressed me greatly with their approach to this season and the results they’ve generated because of it. Despite being virtually through already, an average and cautious Steaua Bucharest should still walk this game and it’s certainly worth a bet at evens.
Pacos de Ferreira vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv – home win at 3/4. I called the exact same thing for the first leg and I’m doing the same again. Both of these sides are average at best in their own leagues but are generally pretty damn poor. Neither side scores many goals and both sides are “home sides”. I expect the Portuguese side to win the game but who knows if they will qualify or not? More to the point – who cares? This has to be one of the most boring match-ups I’ve seen in years.
Breidablik Kopavogur vs Fylkir Reykjavik – away win at 8/5. Breidablik Kopavogur are very much on a downward spiral currently with their usual issues as well as three straight Landsbankadeild Karla defeats. Unfortunately for them, they’re hosting Fylkir Reykjavik, a side that is better than they are without doubt. The visitors have won three games from their last five and boast an away record of three wins, one draw and three defeats this season. The hosts’ home record isn’t too bad but they shouldn’t be able to compete with Fylkir Reykjavik today and odds of 8/5 are very welcome here.
BK Hacken vs GAIS Goteborg – home win at 3/4. BK Hacken are an oddly good run at the moment, which is interesting considering they’re a pretty poor outfit in my eyes. They’re unbeaten in six games and have won two from their last four games. Their home record is pretty damn good too, all things considered – eight games played, four wins, three draws and just one defeat. They’re hosting a very poor GAIS Goteborg that have lost their last two games, haven’t won a competitive game since April, and also have an atrocious away record with five defeats, two draws and one win from eight games. All of the above spells out a home win and I’m somewhat surprised they bookies have given us a sight of decent odds at 3/4 – this is virtually a banker in my eyes.
GIF Sundsvall vs IFK Norrkoping – home win at 5/6. I’m a little cautious with this game after IFK Norrkoping’s demolition of Assyriska Sodertalje last match. The visitors today are new to the division after demotion from the Allsvenskan and have struggled to adapt. That said, you’re always aware that they’re capable of springing surprises, hence today’s caution. However, they are travelling to fellow demoted side GIF Sundsvall today, a side that are now facing a very realistic possibility of promotion after a slow start. Three wins on the bounce sees them sat in third place in the Superettan. GIF Sundsvall’s most notable feature is that they almost never concede at home with just four goals conceded from seven home games this campaign. The visitors aren’t great on the road and also have to bear in mind that they’ve lost here the last two times they’ve been here. For those reasons, a home win at 5/6 looks favourable.
As ever, any questions/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com. For the complete picks listing, see below!
UEFA Europa League:
Krylya Sovetov Samara vs St Patrick’s Athletic (8) -1.75 handicap
Kosice vs Slavija Sarajevo (8) 2-0
Karabakh Agdam vs FC Honka Espoo (5) away win with double chance
Cherno More Varna vs PSV Eindhoven (7) 0-0
Slovan Liberec vs Vaduz (10) -1.75 handicap
Lech Poznan vs Fredrikstad (7) 2-1
Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs IFK Goteborg (6) 1-1
Slaven Koprivnica vs Tromso (6) 2-1
LOSC Lille vs Sevojno (9) -1.75 handicap
FC Lahti vs Club Brugge (5) 2-1
Austria Vienna vs Vojvodina Novid Sad (8) 2-0
Sturm Graz vs OFK Petrovac (8) 3-1
APOP Kinyras Peyias vs Rapid Vienna (8) 0-2
Young Boys Bern vs Athletic Club de Bilbao (5) 1-2
Basel vs KR Reykjavik (9) -1.75 handicap
Legia Warsaw vs Brondby (6) 1-1
Elfsborg Boras vs Braga (7) 0-0
Budapest Honved vs Fenerbahce (7) 1-2
Galatasaray vs Maccabi Netanya (8) 2-0
NAC Breda vs Polonia Warsaw (8) -1.75 handicap
Metalist Kharkiv vs Rijeka (8) -1.75 handicap
Interblock Ljubljana vs Metalurg Donetsk (7) 1-2
Derry City vs CSKA Sofia (4) 1-0, draw no bet
Sigma Olomouc vs Aberdeen (8) 2-1
OB Odense vs Rabotnicki Skopje (9) -1.75 handicap
Hajduk Split vs MSK Zilina (7) 2-1
FK Sarajevo vs Helsingborgs (7) 1-1
AA Gent vs AS Roma (7) 1-2
Hamburger SV vs Randers (9) -1.75 handicap
Red Star Belgrade vs Dinamo Tbilisi (8) 2-1
PAOK Salonika vs Valerenga Oslo (8) 2-1
Motherwell vs Steaua Bucharest (7) 0-1
Fulham vs Vetra Vilnius (10) -1.75 handicap
Pacos de Ferreira vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv (6) 1-0
Copa Nissan Sudamericana:
Alianza Atletico Sullana vs Deportivo Anzoategui (7) 2-0
Australian A-League:
Melbourne Victory vs Central Coast Mariners (8) 2-1
Brazilian Serie A:
Palmeiras vs Gremio (8) over 2.5 goals
Fluminense vs Sport Recife (6) 1-0
Gremio Barueri vs Vitoria (4) 1-1
Faroese Meistaradeildin:
KI Klaksvik vs HB Torshavn (9) -1.75 handicap
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Jaro Pietarsaari vs VPS Vaasa (6) 1-1
Icelandic Landsbankadeild Karla:
Stjarnan Gardabaer vs FH Hafnarfjordur (8) 1-3
Breidablik Kopavogur vs Fylkir Reykjavik (8) 1-2
Fram Reykjavik vs Keflavik (6) 1-1
UMF Grindavik vs Valur Reykjavik (7) 0-1
Mexican Primera Division:
Tigres UANL vs Jaguares (7) 2-1
Russian Division 1:
NoSta Novotroitsk vs FK Krasnodor (7)
Shinnik Yaroslavl’ vs Anzhi Makhachkala (6)
Vityaz Podolsk vs Cherno Novorosisk (8)
Salyut Belgorod vs FK Chita (9)
Singaporean S-League:
Tampines Rovers vs Home United (7) 2-1
Swedish Allsvenskan:
BK Hacken vs GAIS Goteborg (8) 2-1
Swedish Superettan:
GIF Sundsvall vs IFK Norrkoping (8)
Enjoy your free betting tips!