TFT Issue 277!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Aris Salonika vs Doxa Dramas – home win with -1.5 handicap at 9/10.
Today’s featured game is the Super League game in Greece between Aris Salonika and Doxa Dramas. It appears that the Greek FA have finally had enough of promoting and relegating teams so they’ve actually decided who is now in the division part-way through the season.
Although goalscoring is not always the forté of hosts Aris, they’re one hell of a side to face in Thessaloniki as any Super League side will testify. I don’t know what it is about Thessaloniki but no side ever has an easy away game in this city, including against bitter rivals PAOK and even struggling neighbours Iraklis. Away from home, Aris can generally be picked off with an early goal but at home they’re a completely different side. They ran a good Olympiakos Piraeus side close in a recent 2-3 defeat and actually ripped Panathinaikos apart with a 3-1 win in their following home game. Although they couldn’t find a way past Panaitolikos in their most recent home game, they showed their mettle by winning 1-2 at Panthrakikos in the Greek Cup and thus bring momentum into this game. Defender Sancare is suspended but aside from that, Aris are in prime position to dominate here. Although occasionally lazy, we all know how good attacker Nery Castillo can be and ex-Steaua Bucharest playmaker Toja is a real handful too, not to mention big target man Iacob, who has also played for Steaua Bucharest. Although hardly at the prime of their existence from over the past few years, I rate Aris very strongly at home and they absolutely have the personnel to make this a very convincing home win today.
Helpfully, opponents Doxa Dramas are just woeful. They don’t have any good players and subsequently don’t score goals either. They’ve scored in one Super League game since being uh…”promoted” in mid-November, which is a run of seven games. They’ve fought quite well in their games, to be fair to Doxa Dramas, but they’re so badly lacking in all areas of the field that I can’t see this Super League stay being extended for too long. It’s a bit unfair on the visitors though, really – they weren’t prepared for football in the Super League this season because they weren’t told that they’d be in it! They struggled in the play-offs against Levadiakos and OFI Crete respectively and were duly third in the group of four and thus they stayed in the Ethniki B but this sudden promotion has really damaged them. Their morale is in tatters for obvious reasons and they simply do not have the quality to be here; it’s as simple as that. They’ve got a new manager in that does know how to motivate his teams but as that’s my only concern from the side of Doxa Dramas, I’m going to overlook it for this one.
I don’t doubt that Doxa Dramas will approach this game with pluck because that’s all that they have nowadays. However, if Aris show up, then they’ve got the firepower to win this by two or three goals, in my view. There’s a big quality gap here and given the strong home advantage of all sides playing in Thessaloniki, I feel that the -1.5 handicap is well worth a bet at 9/10.
Verdict: Aris Salonika to beat the -1.5 handicap at 9/10.
Team news
Greek Super League:
Aris Salonika – Sancare is absent.
Doxa Dramas – New manager.
OFI Crete – Favali, Bodor, Papoulis, and Pitszos are absent. Popovits returns.
Levadiakos – No absentees.
Scottish Premier League:
Aberdeen – Pawlett is absent.
Hearts – Grainger, Kyle, Glen, and Santana are absent. Stevenson, Jonsson, and Driver are leaving the club and are unlikely to play.
Rangers – Goian is absent.
Celtic – Forrest is a doubt.
Hibernian – Osbourne is absent.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Chippendale, Tudur-Jones, and Proctor are absent.
Motherwell – Saunders and Jennings are absent.
Dunfermline Athletic – Gallacher, Easton, Rutkiewicz, McCann, Phinn, Bell, and McDougall are absent.
St.Johnstone – Wright and Sheridan are absent.
Kilmarnock – Gros and O’Leary are absent.
St.Mirren – No absentees.
Dundee United – Swanson and Severin are absent.