TFT Issue 318!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Bologna vs Fiorentina – home win with draw no bet at 4/5.
Today’s featured game is the Serie A game between Bologna and Fiorentina.
Bologna are notoriously hard to beat at home in Serie A. They know how to avoid the drop into Serie B; they’ve been perfecting it for long enough and now have lots of experience in their team. Their home record this season makes them look poor with five defeats in ten home games but this was largely due to their poor start to the season. Consider that Bologna have only lost twice in their last seven home games and one of those was a rather fortuitous win for AS Roma. AC Milan have drawn here and Atalanta Bergamo have lost here so please don’t underestimate the physical and well-organised hosts!
Bologna’s defence is solid and reliable at home. Their problem is scoring goals, which Pioli has identified and subsequently signed what is one of the best finishers in the world – Hernan Jorge Crespo. He’s getting on a bit and has suffered with injuries but he’s a natural poacher and I think it’s a cracking signing for Bologna. Di Vaio has been around; he knows how to find the net. Acquafresca is very good and Diamanti is always capable of the unpredictable so I actually quite rate Bologna in a strange sort of way. Uruguayan midfielder Ramirez has made a big splash since arriving at the club and Bologna are on the edge of becoming a very hard side to overcome again, which is pleasing. New signing Crespo does miss out today, incidentally, but they’ve build up momentum lately following six games without defeat and thus I’ll give them the nod here.
Fiorentina are a decent side but I’ve seldom seen such an incompetent away side. True enough, they rarely concede goals on the road, but they almost never score. They’ve scored in two away games in Serie A this season, one of which was at newly-promoted Novara (0-3 victory) and the other was in a loss (2-1) at Juventus. Everyone backs Fiorentina because they’ve heard of them and because of Jovetic but that’s just daft, in my view. Jovetic is a cracking player but one player doesn’t make a team. Cerci and Montolivo are big parts of this side because without them, Fiorentina have next to no creativity and that’s been their problem all season long – midfield.
I mean, there’s plenty of pace in there with Kharja, Behrami, Lazzari etc. but very little steel or creativity Montolivo is the main man for that but how popular will he be after stating that he’ll move on at the end of the season lately? They’ve signed Olivera from Lecce to bolster their midfield and I do rate the ex-Danubio attacker; he’s a handful and has experience in Serie A. However, there’s a lot of work for old hand Rossi to do here and I don’t think that this is the place to do it, especially not after a resounding 0-3 defeat against Napoli at weekend.
I just can’t see Bologna losing this one. A draw is possible if the hosts don’t take their chances but Fiorentina don’t attack well enough on the road do enough damage to win this game, in my view. Therefore, the home win with draw no bet looks good to me at 4/5.
Verdict: Bologna to win with draw no bet at 4/5.
Team news
UEFA Champions League:
SSC Napoli – Vargas is absent. Campagnaro is a doubt.
Chelsea – Cole is absent. Terry is a doubt.
CSKA Moscow – Honda, Nababkin, Vagner Love, Gonzalez, and Mamaev are absent.
Real Madrid – Diarra, Altintop, and Di Maria are absent. Arbeloa returns.
Finnish Liiga Cup:
MyPa Anjalankoski – Aho, Liskola, Vesala, Anttilainen, Nieminen, Sesay, and Ramadingaye are absent. Selin will debutise. Game played outside on artificial turf.
FC Honka Espoo – No absentees.
FC Lahti – Last game in their beloved Lahti Suurhalli so there will be motivation from the hosts.
HJK Helsinki – No absentees.
Italian Serie A:
Bologna – Gimenez, Krhin, Crespo, and Loria are absent.
Fiorentina – Pasqual, Kharja, and Kroldrup are absent.
Scottish Premier League:
Dundee United – Swanson, Severin, and Mentel are absent. Kenneth is a doubt.
Kilmarnock – Toshney is a doubt.