TFT Issue 302!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Really short on time, sorry, so previews will be brief!
Featured game
Swansea City vs Chelsea – lay Chelsea at 11/10.
Today’s featured game is the clash between newly-promoted Swansea City and giants Chelsea.
Strangely enough, Swansea play better football than Chelsea at the moment. Chelsea are in a transitional period whereas Swansea have never looked better. Swansea pass the ball well, keep it very well, and play a dangerous wide game. I don’t like their calibre of strikers but they’re a good side not to be underestimated. Chelsea still have fantastic individuals but little more than that until Villas-Boas sorts out the mess left to him previous managers. I’ve no doubt at all that he’ll resolve their problems but it’ll take time and Chelsea just look unconvincing right now, especially with their injuries in central midfield. For me, there’s value in laying Chelsea here – no side has had an easy game here this season and only Manchester United have won a dicey game here to back up my call.
Verdict: Lay Chelsea at 11/10.
Additional games
Gabon vs Tunisia – Gabon to win at 7/5.
Tunisia have really rode their luck thus far. Only bad defending from Niger and bad defending from Morocco has granted them decent results. Tunisia don’t have good strikers and thus find it hard to score goals without assistance from their opponents. Gabon aren’t a great side but they’ve looked good thus far and Tunisia have looked particularly vulnerable to pace, which Gabon have plenty of. Gabon’s belief should be enough here alone against an unconvincing Tunisia side and thus the home win interests me at 7/5.
Verdict: Gabon to win at 7/5.
Niger vs Morocco – over 2.5 goals at 11/10.
Tunisia rode their luck against Niger. True, the Niger goal was blatant handball but Maazou destroyed that Tunisian defence whenever he felt like it with devstating pace and phenomenal strength. He was a bit unlucky with his finishes due to the bouncy pitch but it won’t take much for that to change here. Morocco defend a similar way to Tunisia and thus should be vulnerable to the same kind of attacks here. Morocco play much, much better football than Tunisia and can punish sides if they attack well enough although the reason that they’re out is because they’re not clinical enough. Still, Niger’s defence looks bad at the moment and I expect them to concede but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Niger score against a dodgy Morocco defence. This game may be redundant but over 2.5 goals appeals to me at 11/10 with the above in mind.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 11/10.
Team news
Italian Serie A:
Parma – Mirante and Pellet are doubts.
Juventus – Liechtsteiner, Elia, and Vucinic are doubts.