TFT Issue 265!
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Featured game
Maritimo Funchal vs SL Benfica – away win at 4/5.
Today’s featured game is the tricky game in Madeira between Maritimo and SL Benfica.
Maritimo have been in terrific form so far this season so this won’t be an easy game for the visitors. They’ve already won four times at home in the Liga Sagres this season and they’ve drawn the other so massive respect must go to Maritimo. They played out a funny derby with goal-shy CD Nacional de Madeira last time out, throwing away an early lead to go 2-1 down before securing a point with a penalty six minutes into injury time at the end of the game, making it 2-2. They’ll be happy with that, Maritimo – Madeira derbies rarely make any sense! It came at a price though as a red card for key defender Ruben means that he’ll miss this game through suspension. With star striker Diawara in outstanding form, Maritimo will be a threat in this game, especially with so much momentum behind them. They actually beat Benfica recently in the Taca de Portugal so they should be very confident here indeed.
However, we can’t ignore just how good Benfica are in this league and I think they’ll do the damage. Benfica have won five out of their last six visits to Madeira to face Maritimo in the league, however, so they do know how to make it count here. They rested players during their mid-week win against Otelul Galati in the UEFA Champions League and even managed to give Paraguayan hitman Oscar Cardozo some much needed match time with the giant striker scoring the only goal of the game against their Romanian opponents. Benfica’s problem is being able to defend in the sense that only Luisao knows how to do it in their team and thus Benfica conceding here would not surprise me. However, they’ve got such a wealth of attacking power with Aimar, Gaitan, Saviola, Cardozo etc. that you can’t help but see them scoring a few here, especially with Ruben out.
Therefore, I’m all over Benfica winning this one at 4/5. I think the odds are a shade too respectful toward Maritimo, despite the difficulty of winning in Madeira, so my call is the away win here.
Verdict: SL Benfica to win at 4/5.
Additional game
Vitesse Arnhem vs Groningen – home win at evens.
I was put off backing Vitesse for a while due to their horrendous display against Feyenoord Rotterdam which saw them lose 0-4 in bizarre fashion. It was an uncharacteristic display from the hosts, however – they’re generally very strong indeed at home. They were perhaps a shade fortunate to get a 0-0 draw at Twente lately but their rampant 4-0 win against RKC Waalwijk has convinced me to jump back on the Vitesse train. Vitesse are almost at full-strength here, barring wasteful Chanturiah and influential van Ginkel, so I have to give them the nod here.
Groningen have long been one of the worst away sides in the Eredivisie. I cannot begin to imagine just how frustrated their fans are because their displays at home can be superb but their away displays are played at 50%, if that. The only side Groningen have beaten on the road this season was a very weak De Graafschap side in a 2-3 result. They’ve drawn at rock-bottom Excelsior Rotterdam and have been crushed by PSV Eindhoven and Heerenveen, generally conceding a minimum of two goals per away game. They can find the net themselves with an attack brimming with potential although they do lack experience, it has to be said, and that tends to be what costs Groningen in games like these.
Vitesse are a better side than Groningen nowadays and they have an arsenal of attacking power so I think they’ll do the business. Groningen generally turn it on away from home about once or twice per Eredivisie campaign and I don’t see any signs to suggest that today will be the day for them so my call is the home win at evens.
Verdict: Vitesse Arnhem to win at evens.
Team news
Australian A-League:
Gold Coast United – Anderson, Porter, and Broadfoot are absent.
Sydney FC – No absentees.
French Ligue 1:
Auxerre – Berthod and Del Valle are absent. Cisse is a doubt.
OGC Nice – Fae, Digard, and Pentecote are absent.
LOSC Lille – De Melo is absent. Pedretti is a doubt.
Dijon FCO – Berenguer and Souprayen are absent.
Lorient – Jouffre and Quercia are absent.
Olympique Lyonnais – Pied, Vercoutre, and Tafer are absent. Bastos is a doubt.
Dutch Eredivisie:
Vitesse Arnhem – Drost, Jenner, Piiroja, van Ginkel, Chanturiah, Snijders, Kalas, and Diermen are absent.
Groningen – Suk, Enevoldsen, Johanson, Ivens, Kwakman, and van der Laak are absent.
FC Utrecht – Mulenga, Gerndt, and Wuytens are absent.
Feyenoord Rotterdam – Fernandez, de Vrij, Ramstein, and Swerts are absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa:
LKS Lodz – Klus is absent. Golanski is a doubt. Saganowski returns. Big financial problems, so much so that the pitch no longer has undersoil heating.
Slask Wroclaw – Voskamp and Diaz are doubts.
Lechia Gdansk – Dawidowski, Machaj, Malkowski, Wisniewski, Bajic, Bak, Sazankov, and Popielarz are absent. Lukjanovs is a doubt.
Jagiellonia BIalystok – Mido is absent.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Athletic Club de Bilbao – Ander Herrera, Ocio, Castillo, I.Martinez, and Gurpegi are absent.
Atletico Madrid – Silvio and Costa are absent.
Espanyol – Weiss, Pandiani, Garcia, Lopez, Marquez, Mattoni, and Albin are absent.
Getafe – Guiza, Leon, and Ustari are absent.
Sporting Gijon – Eguren and Lora are absent.
Granada – Martins, Rico, Lucena, and Mainz are absent.
Malaga – Baptista and Maresca are absent.
Real Mallorca – Castro and Lacruz are absent.
Osasuna – Raul Garcia, Nekounam, Ruben, Damia, Bertran, Shojaei, and Echaide are absent.
Racing Santander – Francis, Samperio, and Bakircioglu are absent.
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid – Fuego and Jordi are absent.
Real Sociedad – Xabi Prieto, Cadamuro, da la Bella, Bergara, and Illarramendi are absent.
Villarreal CF – Musacchio, Catala, and Rossi are absent.
Real Zaragoza – Meira, da Silva, and Braulio are absent.