TFT Issue 297!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso – over 2.5 goals at 6/5.
Today’s featured game is the African Nations game between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
This game is being played in Equatorial Guinea, just like yesterday’s game between Libya and Zambia was although at a different venue. If the weather has affected this game as much as yesterday’s then please be very cautious with your stakes!
Aside from that, I like overs a lot here. The Ivorians were disappointing to many in their unconvincing 1-0 win against Sudan but I think it was to be expected, really – Sudan are not a bad side and they’re certainly not easy to beat. Burkina Faso, though – they attack a lot more and have less organisation at the back. Burkina Faso could and should concede goals here and their general approach should leave the Ivorians much more room in which to operate, room that they simply didn’t have against Sudan. If you give the Ivorians space and time then they’ll punish you as they’re the best side in the tournament. However, Burkina Faso are not without threats themselves and them scoring against Ivory Coast here would not surprise me. I basically anticipate a much more open game for the Ivorians here just as Burkina Faso demonstrated in their game with Angola. Their capitulation against Angola means that they cannot settle for anything but a win here or qualification will look more like a dream than anything, in my view. Therefore, over 2.5 goals appeals to me in this game as it’s slightly generously priced due to the amount of unders in the competition and due to the attacking nature of both sides.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 6/5.
Additional game
Sudan vs Angola – under 2 goals at 9/10.
Providing that the weather hasn’t destroyed the pitch, I like this one a lot too.
We saw in Sudan’s game that they know how to keep opposition at bay; it’s something that they’re really quite good at. Although they rattled the woodwork against the Ivory Coast, they didn’t really bring much attacking threat, however. I respect Sudan an awful lot in this tournament and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them do well on the sly but ultimately their firepower will be their downfall. However, as far as dominating games goes, these guys are much better at it than they’re giving credit for so I’ll definitely give them a shout against Angola today.
Angola, though – such a tough side to bet on. They showed up (eventually) against Burkina Faso to win 1-2 but their overall display wasn’t convincing. They’ll need Flavio and Manucho at their best in this game to break through a stubborn Sudan resolve and if they do, will it be enough? Sudan scoring here wouldn’t surprise me as defending is not the specialist area of Angola. They’ve got plenty of strength in midfield and good, experienced strikers but their defence is not great. However, it depends what mood they’re in as to how well they play. A 1-0 or 0-1 scoreline wouldn’t surprise me in this one.
However, the 1×2 market is just a big “no” for me today. I can’t find a convincing enough reason to back either team to win or lose this game. Under 2.5 goals, though – that appeals to me. Angola won’t have an easy ride here and I think we’ll see a stalemate for a while in this game until crap defending from Angola or a piece of magic from Manucho unlocks the goalscoring side of the game. After that, the game becomes a shade dangerous because it’s the second group game for both sides, which makes it somewhat pivotal. However, I don’t feel there’s enough tactical strength on the side of Angola to win this one convincingly and I don’t think Sudan are clinical enough for this game to go over 2.5 goals so my call is under 2.5 goals at 9/10, just like most of the games in this tournament tend to be.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 9/10.
Team news
Australian A-League:
Melbourne Victory – Velaphi, Alsopp, and Leijer are absent. Fabinho returns. Celeski and Pondeljak are doubts.
Sydney FC – No absentees.