TFT Issue 174!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Fehervar vs Diosgyori VTK – home win with -1.5 handicap at 9/10.
Today’s featured game is the Soproni Liga dual between reigning champions Fehervar and newly-promoted Disogyori VTK.
The hosts are by far the best side in the country and with the backing of the country’s government, that’s not really a great surprise. However, to their credit, they do play some superb football and they do have the best striker in Hungary in Alves. Amusingly, Paulo Sousa brought in ex-Manchester United frontman Evandro Brandao to add some pace to the attack and this variety does increase the danger of Fehervar. They’ve got some very good players and they tend to find it easy to control games and score goals as a result. However, my own personal rule is not to take them to win away from home – they often fail to register the goals that they do at home. A lot of people will look at their defeat at Kaposvari Rakoczi in the last round of fixtures and be put off this game because of it but I’m not one of them because Fehervar are lethal on their own turf, simply put. I’ll be surprised if any side this season comes away from Fehervar with anything but a defeat, which is what a good Paksi SE side found when they were drubbed 4-0 here by Sousa’s men recently.
I like Diosgyori VTK; I admire their spirit and tenacity. I don’t like their nutcase fans that like to cause problems but that’s beside the point. Diosgyori VTK are not the side to underestimate, generally speaking. They’ve just been promoted but have some classy players like Gallardo in their team following heavy financial investment from their mafia owner. They’ve already scored a draw off giants Ferencvaros away from home, which was impressive but not entirely unexpected given Ferencvaros’ European committments. People might even expect more of the same from them here; who knows? I doubt it though. I think they concede goals too easily with the right application anyway but their biggest downfall is temperament. They’ve had three men sent off in the last two games now and I can’t honestly say what it is as to whether it’s fan pressure or just plain stupidity but this side struggles to keep eleven men on the field and that’s never a good thing. Indeed, Pal sits out this game through suspension today and if Diosgyori VTK lose it whenever things don’t go their way then this game in particular is going to cost them in a lot of ways and I suspect Pal won’t be on his own on the sidelines anymore in that case!
For me, there’s too big a class difference between these two sides to ignore this bet. Diosgyori VTK can rile some of the bigger sides with their fanatical support but Fehervar are simply elite in Hungary right now and if they can batter a well-organised and resolute Paksi SE side then God only knows what they’ll do to hard-working but susceptible Diosgyori VTK. For me, there’s value in the home win with a -1.5 handicap at 9/10 today.
Team news – Fehervar miss Filipe Oliveira.
Verdict: Fehervar to beat the -1.5 handicap at 9/10.
Additional games
Sileks Kratovo vs Renova Dzepciste – home win at 7/5.
This is more of a speculative bet than anything but I do like it a lot. Renova have been very strong in Macedonia over the past few years and it’s shown in their head-to-head meetings with Sileks too. However, Sileks are a good home side and they tend to demonstrate that in the First League every year so this isn’t an easy game for Renova. There’s an additional factor to consider for thisg ame today, though – Ramadan Karee. This is a muslim tradition and what it basically means is that muslims cannot eat between 5am and 7pm. How does it affect Renova? Well, a large portion of Renova’s squad are actually muslim and if you’re playing football in the middle of the day with no food then you have no energy and if you have no energy then things go wrong – it’s just how the human body works. This festival started earlier this week and I think Renova are going to be affected havily in this game, one way or another. Therefore, I think the home win at 7/5 is definitely worth a punt today.
Verdict: Sileks Kratovo to win at 7/5.
PS Kemi Kings vs HiFK Helsinki – home win at 11/10.
I’m not a huge fan of the side that Kemi Kings have this season but if they don’t win this game then they all need to be shot. Seriously, HiFK Helsinki are rapidly demonstrated how poor they actually are with six consecutive defeats leading them into this game. Their quality of player is poor and their morale is rock-bottom right now. Even HiFK’s vociferous fans can’t pull them out of this one, as is indicated by three consecutive defeats at home. They’ve already lost four out of six on the road this season and with half of their defence missing this game today, it’s hard to see them getting a result here as they’ve shown nothing of the sort lately in any of their other games. Additionally, their best striker and leading goalscorer Britschgi misses out today too, which further deepens the gloom at HiFK right now. Kemi Kings aren’t dynamite but Huusko and Adriano have bags of attacking experience between them and midfield twosome Stevens and Tyystala have done a good job supporting them this season too. I think there’s enough here for the hosts to secure a much-needed win with, basically. Only giants Viikingit Helsinki have won here since May so giving Kemi Kings the advantage at 11/10 against a HiFK side in disarray appeals to me a lot today.
Team news – PS Kemi Kings have doubts over Berg whereas HiFK Helsinki miss Tanner, Pyhala, and Britschgi.
Verdict: PS Kemi Kings to win at 11/10.
Team news
Belgium – AA Gent miss Arzo. OH Leuven miss Van Goethem. Lierse SK miss De Wree and have doubts over Sonck and Vandooren. Cercle Brugge miss Nuno Reis and Amido Balde whilst Rudy is a doubt. Mons miss Sapina.
Bulgaria – Cherno More Varna miss Iliev, Marchev, and T.Kolev. Montana miss Koparonov. Minior Pernik miss Vandev. Rakovski have no absentees. Chernomorets Burgas miss Toshev, Asis, Pore, and Zhuzhu. Kaliakra miss Bonev. No news from the other games.
Croatia – Dinamo Zagreb miss Alispahic. No other news as of yet but I’ll be updating this during the day I hope!
Czech Republic – Gambrinus Liga – Marila Pribram and Viktoria Zizkov have no listed absentees yet. Slovan Liberec miss Dockal (sold). Slavia Prague have no listed absentees. Sigma Olomouc miss Prikryl. Banik Ostrava miss Frejlach.
England – Nottingham Forest have no listed absentees. Burnley miss Gray. Derby County have doubts over Tyson, Doyle, Pearson, and Ward. Birmingham City miss Jerome, King, and Zigic. Brighton & Hove Albion miss El-Abd and Elphick. Doncaster Rovers miss O’Connor, Chambers, Woods, Stock, Lockwood, Mantis, and Wilson. Bristol City miss Stewart and Ribeiro whilst having doubts over McAllister. Ipswich Town have no absentees. Watford miss McGinn. Burnley have no absentees. West Ham United miss Brown. Cardiff City have no absentees. Coventry City miss Eastwood and Turner whilst having doubts over Deegan, Platt, and Clarke. Leicester City have no absentees. Reading miss Tabb and have doubts over Leigertwood and Church. Millwall have doubts over Robinson and Trotter. Peterborough United miss Lewis and Hibbert. Crystal Palace miss Clyne and Moxey. Leeds United miss Becchio and Somma whilst having doubts over O’Brien. Southampton have no absentees. Middlesbrough miss Halliday and Thomson. Peterborough United miss Pearce.
Estonia – Maag Tammeka Tartu miss Roops. Viljandi miss Sinilaid. No other news from Estonian clubs.
Finland – Veikkausliiga – Inter Turku miss Osinachi and Parviainen. Jaro Pietarsaari miss Teles, Wargh, Elmi, and Skrabb whilst having doubts over Grove and Niang. JJK Jyvaskyla miss Korte, Tuomanen, and Okkonen. HJK Helsinki have doubts over Litmanen and are expected to give partial rests to Ring, Sadik, and Pukki as they have international duties next week.
Finland – Ykkonen – No absences for OPS Oulu. Jippo Joensuu miss Maattanen and Korpelainen. PS Kemi Kings have doubts over Berg. HiFK Helsinki miss Tanner, Pyhala, and Britschgi. PoPa Pori miss Viljanen. PK-35 Helsinki miss Halonen, Ristola, and Olatuga.
Germany – Augsburg have no absentees. SC Freiburg have no absentees. Werder Bremen miss Naldo, Boenisch, Silvestre, Pizarro, Avdic, Ayik, and Borowski. Kaiserslautern miss Bugera, Lucas, Simunek, Nemec, Derstroff, and Vermouth. Hannover 96 have a full squad. Hoffenheim miss Ibisevic. No absentees for VfB Stuttgart or Schalke 04. Koln miss Mohamad, Petit, and Freis. VfL Wolfsburg miss Friedrich and Diego was banished from the squad for disciplinary reasons – don’t expect to ever see him in a VfL Wolfsburg shirt again whilst Magath is at the helm.
Hungary – Fehervar miss Filipe Oliveira. Diosgyori VTK miss Pal and Goher. Vasas Budapest have doubts over Baranyos and Jokic. Szombathelyi Haladas miss Schimmer, Oross, Rajos, Molnar, Sipovic, and Simon. Gyori ETO FC miss Dudas. Siofok have no absences. Kaposvari Rakoczi miss Hajduch and Pavlovic. Lombard Papa have a full squad.
Italy – Internazionale miss Lucio, Maicon, Cambiasso, Milito and Nagatomo whilst having doubts over Stankovic. AC Milan miss Inzaghi, Flamini, Mexes, and Shaarawy. Note that this game is being played in Beijing, China – not Italy.
Lithuania – No news from Ekranas or Tauras. Siauliai sacked manager Sirmelis and replaced him with Kancelskis. Siauliai miss Rymavicius. No news on Dainava. Zalgiris Vilnius have a full squad. Suduva Marijampole have a full squad.
Macedonia – No listed absentees today.
Moldova – Little news today but Milsami have appointed a new manager. Sheriff Tiraspol miss Franca as he was sold.
Netherlands – Roda JC Kerkrade miss Donald and Svard. Groningen miss Sparv and van de Laak. Heerenveen miss Rorda. NEC Nijmegen have doubts over Goossens. RKC Waalwijk have no absentees. Heracles Almelo miss Maertens and Looms. VVV Venlo miss Musa.. FC Utrecht miss Nesu, Mulenga, and Duplan.
Poland – Ekstraklasa – GKS Belchatow miss Buzala and Nowosielski. Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala have no absentees. Jagiellonia Bialystok miss Arzumanjan, Pejovic, El Mehdi, Grzelak, and Trytko. Lechia Gdansk miss Surma and Bajic whilst having doubts over Benson. Polonia Warsaw miss Sadlok. Wisla Krakow miss Jovanovic and Boguski.
Poland Liga 1 – Dolcan Zabki miss Stanczyk. Gornik Polkowice miss Aldas and Salamonski. Bogdanka Leczna have doubts over Ninkovic and Luczak. Olimpia Grudziadz have doubts over Ruszkul. GKS Katowice have no absentees. Zawisza Bydgoszcz have doubts over Hrymowicz and Oleksy. Olimpia Elblag have no absentees. Pogon Szczecin have doubts over Djousse, Klatt, and Petasz. Warta Poznan miss Otuszewski.
Russia – Zeni St.Petersburg miss Lazovic, Bukharov, and Kerzhakov whilst having doubts over Krishito. CSKA Moscow miss Vasin, Schennikov, Aldonin, Necid, Nababkin, and Gonzalez. No absentees from Kuban’ Krasnodar nor Dinamo Moscow. Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod miss Grigalava. Rostov-na-Donu miss Okoronkwo, Radich, and Hagush.
Scotland – Dundee United miss Swanson and Gunning. St.Mirren miss Murray, Mooy, and Smith whilst having doubts over McQuade. Dunfermline Athletic miss Bell and Phinn whilst having doubts over Rutkiewicz. Inverness Caledonian Thistle miss Meekings, Cox, and McKay.
Slovenia – Maribor have doubts over Tavares. Domzale miss Apatic. No team news from other clubs as of yet.
Sweden – Malmo FF miss Rexhepi. Mjallby Solvesborg miss Leandersson. Trelleborg FF have doubts over Pode. Gefle have doubts over Dahlberg.
I hope this helps you guys out :) Let me know if you have any comments to make although I should point out that anyone asking if I have any team news on any game not listed will be shot.