TFT Issue 180!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
You know, the more I pass through fridays, the more I hate them. It just seems that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Still, let’s see how saturday goes.
Featured game
AC Oulu vs KooTeePee Kotka – home win at 5/6.
Today’s featured game is the Ykkonen clash between AC Oulu and KooTeePee Kotka.
As I expected, Stafsula’s return to the frontline of AC Oulu has made them dangerous again and unsurprisingly, they’ve won two out of their last two games. They drubbed PoPa Pori 4-0 and even won at high-flying FC Lahti last match to throw the promotion race wide open again, which should give them even more confidence than their momentum had given them.
AC Oulu and FC Lahti are the top two sides in the Ykkonen, for me, with only PK-35 Helsinki coming close to them. AC Oulu need Stafsula in their team but with him, they’re a totally different side and almost unplayable on their day. There’s a six point gap between AC Oulu and FC Lahti prior to this game and a win today makes it three points before FC Lahti face PoPa Pori in a few days time and Oulu would love to close that gap, particularly with Lahti’s injury problems.
The motivation is there, the momentum is there, the confidence is there, and the goals are back. It’s a braver man than me that goes against AC Oulu today. I do like KooTeePee Kotka, to be fair. They’re a very accomplished defensive unit, contrary to what their inexplicable 2-3 defeat against Hameenlinna showed last match. However, their one big problem is scoring goals against better sides than they are and AC Oulu are definitely one of those sides. I expect to see KooTeePee revert to their old tricks – sit deep, be physical, counter well – so I don’t see them scoring here.
Can KooTeePee keep Oulu out? After yesterday’s debacle, I’d not rule anything out. However, KooTeePee’s defence has been a little on the frail side recently and in-form AC Oulu are not the side to display weakness against. I think one way or another, Stafsula and co. will break through this KooTeePee defence and that should be enough to win the game for the hosts. If the goal is early enough then it may be worth looking at the handicap in-play but the straight win appeals to me at 5/6 for the better of these two sides.
Verdict: AC Oulu to win at 5/6.
Additional game
Rabotnicki Skopje vs Shkendija 79 – home win at 9/10.
This one follows the same line as last weekend’s games as Shkendija 79 have plenty of muslim players that are in the middle of Ramadan Karee, which means they can’t eat between 5am and 7pm, thus making them very tired/devoid of energy in games like this. Unfortunately for reigning champions Shkendija 79, they’re playing arguably the best side in Macedonia right now and I think they’ll get beaten as a result. Rabotnicki do have a fascinating game with Lazio on the horizon and may rest players but I’d take Rabotnicki’s second string over an exhausted Shkendija 79 side any day of the week.
Verdict: Rabotnicki Skopje to win at 9/10.
Team news
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent – Thijs is a doubt.
Standard de Liege – Mangala, Dufour, and Gonzalez are absent. Cyriac and Berrier return.
Racing Genk – De Bruyne and Ogunjimi are absent. Boss Vercauteren has said he will leave after Genk’s next two matches.
Zulte-Waregem – D’Haene is a doubt. Habibou returns.
Club Brugge – Stenman is absent.
OH Leuven -Van Goethem is absent. Annys and Ruytninck big doubts.
Germinal Beerschot – No absentees.
Westerlo – Dekelver is absent.
Kortrijk – Oussalah is absent. Veselinovic could debutise.
Cercle Brugge – Rudy and Gombami are absent. Foley is a doubt.
Mons – Van Imschoot is absent.
Sint-Truiden – Smetana and Daseleire are absent. Okotie could debutise. Big rumours about boss Brepoels going to Racing Genk after admitting he’d received a job offer from a club but refused to name which one.
Bulgarian A PFG:
Montana – Lichkov is absent.
Kaliakra – No absentees.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv – Companucci is absent. Da Silva, Espinoza, and Benjelun are doubts.
Lokomotiv Sofia – Dyakov, Savic, and Velev are absent.
Beroe – Zhekov and Bozhanov are absent. Stankovic is a doubt.
Ludogorets – No listed absentees.
Rakovski – Branekov is absent.
Litex Lovech – Bodurov, Tom, and Sandrinho are absent.
Cherno More Varna – Rumours of virus in the camp but no listed absentees.
Levski Sofia – Miliev, Stanchev, Mulder, and Toni Calvo are absent.
CSKA Sofia – Junior Moraes and Halilovic are absent.
Chernomorets Burgas – Ibrahima and Tevia are absent.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Istra 1961 – Stranatic and Kovacevic are absent.
Hajduk Split – Vukusic, Vejic, Milicevic, Inoha, Vukovic, and Ljubicic are absent.
Rijeka – Pilcic, Sivonjic, Zivulic, Ljubovic, Tadejevic, and Bjelic are absent.
Varteks Varazdin – Aganovic and Safaric have left the club. Many players leaving the club due to financial problems.
Zadar – Jonjic and Bilaver are absent.
Lokomotiva Zagreb – Horvat, Bagaric, Lilaj, and Puljic are absent.
Cibalia Vinkovci – Jonjic, Matkovic, and Rugacevic are absent.
Slaven Koprivnica – Maras, Jambrusic, Somoci, and Jurakic are absent.
Osijek – Jugovic is absent.
Split – Vidic is absent
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Banik Ostrava – Lukes returns.
Mlada Boleslav – No listed absentees.
English Premier League:
Newcastle United – Ben Arfa is absent.
Arsenal – Fabregas, Wilshere, Diaby, and Nasri are absent. Van Persie and Gibbs are doubts. Walcott and Vermaelen return.
Manchester City – Tevez is absent. Aguero is a doubt.
Swansea City – Monk is a doubt.
Liverpool – Gerrard, Johnson, and Skrtel are doubts.
Sunderland – O’Shea is absent.
Fulham – Davies is absent. Zamora returns.
Aston Villa – Cuellar is absent.
Queens Park Rangers – Hulse is absent.
Bolton Wanderers – Lee is absent whilst Tuncay is a doubt.
Wigan Athletic – Alcaraz is absent. McCarthy is a doubt.
Norwich City – Vaughan and Ward are absent. Crofts and Martin are doubts.
Blackburn Rovers – Nelsen, Petrovic, and Ribeiro are doubts.
Wolvehampton Wanderers – Edwards and Guedioura are absent.
English Championship:
Watford – McGinn is absent.
Derby County – Barker, Buxton, Anderson, and Leacock are absent. McGinn is a doubt.
Barnsley – Gray returns.
Southampton – Barnard and Jaidi are absent. Fox debutises.
Birmingham City – King, Zigic, and Jerome are absent.
Coventry City – Eastwood, Turner, Clarke, Deegan, and Wood are absent.
Crystal Palace – Moxey, Clyne, and Iversen are absent.
Burnley – Paterson is absent.
Doncaster Rovers – Mason, Sharp, Hayter, O’Connor, Chambers, Woods, Stock, Lockwood, Martis, and Wilson is absent.
West Ham United – McCartney, Brown, O’Neil, and Carew are absent.
Ipswich Town – Ingimarsson is injured. Delaney is a doubt.
Hull City – McLean is absent. Adebola and Rosenior are doubts.
Leeds United – Becchio and Somma are absent. Paynter is a doubt.
Middlesbrough – Zemmama and Thomson are absent.
Leicester City – Peltier is absent.
Reading – Tabb, Williams, Cummings, and Church are absent.
Millwall – Racon, McQuoid, and Batt are absent.
Nottingham Forest – Boateng returns. Derbyshire could debutise.
Portsmouth – Pearce is absent. Ashdown and Lawrence return.
Brighton & Hove Albion – El-Abd and Elphick are absent. Hoskins and LuaLua are doubts.
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Viljandi – Veis is absent.
No other team news in Estonia today.
Finnish Ykkonen:
AC Oulu – Pennanen and Kauppila are absent.
KooTeePee Kotka – Kinnaslampi debutises.
Hameenlinna – Kalervo, Lappalainen, and Verno are absent. Makela returns.
PS Kemi Kings – Huusko has been released. Adriano is absent. Mbachu debutises.
Jippo Joensuu – Ngueukam, Maattanen, and Koivuranta are absent.
Viikingit Helsinki – Pulkkinen and Sesay are absent.
German Bundesliga:
Schalke 04 – Escudero, Hoogland, Kenia, Moritz, and Farfan are all absent.
Koln – Mohamed, Petit, Freis, Novakovic, and Ionita are absent.
Nurnberg – Nilsson, Frantz, and Zeitz are absent.
Hannover 96 – Andreason, Carlitos, and Sobiech are absent.
SC Freiburg – Rosenthal is absent.
Mainz 05 – Svensson, F.Heller, and Szalai are absent.
Hamburger SV – Stepanek, Arslan, Sala, Berg, and Guererro are absent.
Hertha BSC Berlin – Hubnik, Schulz, Djuricin, and Kargbo are absent.
Hoffenheim – Gulde, Ibertsberger, Jaissle, Sigurdsson, Vukcevic, Weis, and Ibisevic are absent.
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund – Koch, Owomoyela, Subotic, Bakalorz, Kringe, and Barrios are absent.
VfL Wolfsburg – Friedrich, Kahlenberg, and Diego are absent.
Bayern Munich – Robben and Breno are absent.
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Gyori ETO FC – Dudas and Simon are absent.
Vasas Budapest – Polenyi, Simek, and Dajic are doubts.
Pecsi MFC – No absentees listed.
Kecskemeti TE – Dosso has been sold. David, Radanovic, Bertus, and Foxi T. are doubts.
Szombathelyi Haladas – Vukcevic debutises.
Zalaegerszegi TE – Varga and Pavicevic are absent.
Paksi SE – No listed absentees.
Siofok – No listed absentees.
Budapest Honved – Vernes and Nagy are absent.
Ferencvaros – Abdi and Andrezinho are absent.
Diosgyori VTK – No listed absentees.
Lombard Papa – No listed absentees.
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Klaipeda – No absentees listed.
Kruoja Pakruojis – Cistjakov is absent. Pocevicius returns.
Tauras Taurage – Seedorf and Gedgaudas are absent. Recicki has been sold.
Dainava – No news.
FBK Kaunas – No news.
Siauliai – Rimavicius returns.
Dutch Eredivisie:
Twente Enschede – Chadli, Ruiz, and Kuipers are absent. Bajrami is a doubt.
AZ Alkmaar – Didulica, Moisander, and Romero are absent. Altidore is a doubt.
PSV Eindhoven – Hutchinson, Wuytens, and Labyad are absent.
RKC Waalwijk – Schet is absent.
Vitesse Arnhem – Room, Snijders, van Diermen, Pedersen, Velthuizen, and Ibarra are absent.
VVV Venlo – Musa, Timisela, and Molhoek are absent.
Feyenoord Rotterdam – Schenkeveld, Fernandez, an Biseswar are absent.
Roda JC Kerkrade – Donald, Vormer, and Svard are absent.
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Stabaek – No absentees.
Stromsgodset – Hanssen, Stubhaug, and Rhoden are absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa;
Jagiellonia Bialystok – Arzumanyan, Pejovic, El Mehdi, Grzelak, and Trytko are absent.
Korona Kielce – Michalek, Cebula, Hernani, Janczyk, and Kaczmarek are absent.
Polonia Warsaw – Sadlok is absent.
LKS Lodz – Kaczmarek is absent.
Wisla Krakow – Jovanovic is absent.
Zaglebie Lubin – No listed absentees.
Polish Liga 1:
Olimpia Grudziadz – Kowalski is absent.
Zawisza Bydgoszcz – Ekuwame and Imeh are absent.
Ruch Radzionkow – No listed absentees.
GKS Katowice – Gorczyca, Wisniewski, and Sadowski are absent.
Flota Swinoujscie – Rygielski ad Uszalewski are absent.
Bogdanka Leczna – Oziemczuk is absent.
Dolcan Zabki – No listed absentees.
Kolejarz Stroze – Gruca is absent. Chrapek may debutise.
Piast Gliwice – No absentees. Home games in Wodzislaw for now.
Pogon Szczecin – Radler is injured. Djousse returns. Grocholski could debutise.
Sandecja Nowy Sacz – Dymkowski is absent.
Polonia Bystom – Tiodorovic, Maka, and Pokotyluk could debutise. Polonia fans are banned from away games.
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Rio Ave – Mendes, Bruno China, Tatarini, and “Happy” are absent.
Sporting Braga – Paulo Cesar, Ukra, Custodio, Henrique Galo, and Mark are absent.
Sporting Clube de Lisboa – Onyewu, Carrillo, Turan, Martin, Ilori, James, Bojinov, Fernandez, Arias, and Aguiar are absent.
Olhanense – Louis Philippe and Matthew are absent.
Romanian Liga:
Petrolul Ploiesti – Durovic, Mitea, Catarama, and Zendeli are absent.
Rapid Bucharest – Rui Duarte is absent.
Concordia Chajna – No news.
Vaslui – Papp, Canu, Zmeu, Jovanovic, Sanmartean, Wesley Lopes, and Milanov are absent.
Dinamo Bucharest – Pulhac, Alexe, and Grigorie are absent.
Pandurii Targu Jiu – Pleasca is absent.
Russian Premier League:
Tom Tomsk – No absentees. Financial fraud investigations at club.
Spartak Nal’chik – Lebedev absent. Supposed rumours of fixed away win here.
Dinamo Moscow – No absentees.
Terek Grozny – Edilov, Canan, and Ferreira are absent.
Rubin Kazan – Carlos Eduardo and Smith are absent. Martins and Ansaldi return.
CSKA Moscow – Schennikov, Gonzalez, Necid, and Aldonin are absent.
Rostov-na-Donu – Radic, Gatskan, and Boussaid are absent. Smolnikov could debutise.
Kuban’ Krasnodar – Kulik is absent.
Scottish Premier League:
Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Gillet, Proctor, McKay, Meekings, and Cox are absent.
Rangers – Papac and Whittaker are absent. Weir is a doubt.
Celtic – Izaguirre is absent. Brown and Kayal are doubts.
Dundee United – Severin is absent. Mackay-Steven is a doubt.
Hearts – Black, Kyle, C. Elliott, S.Elliott, and Obua are absent. Templeton, Mrowiec, Hamill, and Grainger are doubts.
Aberdeen – Pawlett, Fyvie, Clark, and Mawene are doubts.
St.Johnstone – Millar and Parkin are absent.
Dunfermline Athletic – Bell, Phinn, and Rutkiewicz are absent.
St.Mirren – Hasselbaink are absent.
Motherwell – Lasley and Saunders are absent.
Serbian Superliga:
Partizan Belgrade – Anderson and Mijkovic are absent.
Novipazar – No listed absentees.
Vojvodina Novi Sad – No listed absentees. New coach.
Radnicki – No listed absentees.
Slovenian Prva Liga:
Koper – No absentees.
Gorica – No absentees.
Maribor – Viler, Majer, and Potokar are absent. Ibraimi and Tavares are doubts.
Domzale – Aptic, Juninho, Cimpric, and Brezovacki are absent.