TFT Issue 326!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
MyPa Anjalankoski vs HJK Helsinki – away win at 4/5.
Eh, I don’t like the 1×2 markets for the Liiga Cup but looking at this fixture on paper, I have to take the away win here. HJK are light years ahead of MyPa, irrespective of their player sales over the past six months. Muurinen still has a lot of work to do with his new players but he’s one of the best managers in Finland and he has one of the best squads; why wouldn’t it show here? MyPa can be funny at home sometimes by sporadically switching their games to outdoor instead of indoor etc. and they will work hard against HJK but they’re packed full of Ykkonen level players so I can’t take them seriously here. I’m obviously banking on HJK to show up properly here, which is admittedly a risk, but given that HJK are two or three times better than MyPa, I have to view odds of 4/5 on HJK beating them as a bargain whether it wins or not.
Verdict: HJK Helsinki to win at 4/5.
Additional games
Hertha BSC Berlin vs Werder Bremen – under 2.5 goals at 11/10.
One of the weakest sides in the Bundesliga entertaining a very potent Bremen side; why unders?
Two words – Otto Rehhagel. It didn’t show in their visit to Augsburg but sometimes it can take a bit of time for managers to get their feet under the table and sometimes they just need a home game as a catalyst. Rehhagel is not a coach that inspires players, per se. He’s not an attack-minded manager, either. No, his ability lies in defence because very few sides can breach his side’s defence, irrespective of who he is in charge of. Fans of the Greek national team will echo those sentiments, I am sure!
I watched Hertha entertain Dortmund lately and that should have been 0-0, really – there was very little in it. Hertha provided some wayward finishing and Dortmund took a chance that came their way; that was pretty much the only difference. Hertha do play with spirit at home and they’re going to be a very tough nut to crack as the weeks go by with Rehhagel at the helm, in my view. They don’t score enough for me but Bremen’s defence may allow them to do so here.
Bremen are a goalscoring side themselves but if Pizarro doesn’t get the service that he needs then they don’t score; it’s that simple. They have some wonderful players but their continual injury list means that a few players are more important than others and Peruvian hitman Pizarro is definitely one of those important players. Bremen could spring a bit of a surprise and claim three points here but I fancy them to find this game a lot harder than most anticipate.
For me, under 2.5 goals is well worth a punt at 11/10 – Otto’s sides are a nightmare to face when they gel properly!
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 11/10.
RKC Waalwijk vs Excelsior Rotterdam – home win with -1.5 handicap at 11/10.
The league table can be a funny thing sometimes. The Eredivisie table, for example, shows that there’s only a thirteen point gap between these two sides. However, having watched both sides a number of times this season, I think there’s absolutely light years between them!
Forget Ajax, Feyenoord etc. – I’d happily stick RKC up there was one of the performers of the season, especially for consistency. True enough, they’re not lethal enough in front of goal but that’s their only real handicap, in my view. I love the work ethic that this side has, their never-say-die attitude. They play good football and are not afraid to attack sides. I watched them take a point from a tough trip to face Feyenoord lately and they more than earned that point. Despite falling behind near the end of the game, they still had the grit and the composure to come back and grab a deserved equaliser. It takes a lot to rile this RKC side, especially in Waalwijk, and I fancy the hosts to back that up with a convincing home win today.
Visitors Excelsior Rotterdam are helpfully awful. Not only do they struggle massively on natural turf but they have no ability whatsoever in defence. They can threaten up front if Maatesen or Vincken feel like performing but nobody else bothers usually. Excelsior are a dying club, in my view, selling players to other clubs and never replacing them. They’re now a very youthful side with little experience, no ability whatsoever to hold a lead, and are plagued with hit-and-miss strikers. It’s not a good combination and it goes some way as to explaining just why they’ve lost eight out of eleven on the road this season whilst being yet to win an away game.
Every time Excelsior fall behind, they try and fail to get back into the game. That’s what they’ve been handicapped by every side that’s beaten them this season when Excelsior were the visitors. They lack the composure and the experience to get back in games and thus I fancy RKC to batter them here if they get a goal early enough. For me, the -1.5 handicap is well worth a bet at 11/10.
Verdict: RKC Waalwijk to beat the -1.5 handicap at 11/10.
Team news
Bulgarian A PFG:
Botev Vratsa – No news.
Slavia Sofia – No absentees.
Ludogorets – Jarabica is absent. Marcelinho is a doubt.
Beroe – Andonov is absent. Zafirov and Penev are doubts.
Kaliakra – No news.
Montana – No news.
Litex Lovech – Thiago Miracema returns, as do Jelencovic and Sandrinho. No absentees.
Vidma-Rakovski – Panov and Ignatov are absent.
Cypriot Division 1:
Aris Limassol – Randosavlevic is a doubt.
Olympiakos Nicosia – P.Soteriou is a doubt. Gemogne returns. New boss Papavasileiou.
Enosis Neon Paralimni – Burchill is absent.
Nea Salamis – Lambropoulos is absent.
Ermis – Katianka is a doubt. Fassott and Goumenos return.
APOEL Nicosia – Trickovski is absent.
Alki Larnaca – Santa Maria and Aspas are absent.
Apollon Limassol – Paolo, Kolar, Merkis, Oseni, and Bangura are absent.
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Marila Pribram – Koukal, Hejda, Tarczal, Misun, Slapak, and T.Pilik are absent.
Hradec Kralove – Klapka, Rezek, and Fischer are absent.
Sparta Prague – Krejci, Kaderabek, and Vidlicka are absent. Keric and Prikryl are doubts.
Viktoria Plzen – Prochazka is absent.
Danish Superligaen:
AGF Aarhus – Moldskred, S.Larsen, and Graulund are absent. Akharraz may debutise.
Nordsjaelland – Mikkelsen, Granskov, Bechmann, and Lawan are absent.
English Championship:
Birmingham City – Carr is absent. Fahey is a doubt.
Derby County – Brayford is absent. Ward is a doubt.
Cardiff City – McPhail is absent.
West Ham United – Diop is absent. Reid is a doubt.
Portsmouth – Varney and Kanu are absent.
Middlesbrough – McDonald and Zemmama are absent.
Doncaster Rovers – Friend is absent. Woods and Bamogo are doubts.
Brighton & Hove Albion – Dicker, Elphick, and Painter are absent.
Leeds United – Bruce, Vayrynen, and Webber are absent.
Southampton – Lee is absent. Richardson is a doubt.
Watford – McGinn, Taylor, and Jenkins are absent.
Burnley – Stanislas is absent.
Barnsley – O’Brien, Perkins, and Hassell are absent.
Nottingham Forest – Maloney, Majewski, McGoldrick, Miller, Harewood, and Derbyshire are absent. Higginbotham is a doubt.
Ipswich Town – Smith is a doubt.
Bristol City – Nyatanta, McManus, Cisse, Skuse, Clarkson, and Elliott are absent.
Leicester City – Waghorn, Vassell, Delfouneso are absnet. Gallacher is a doubt.
Coventry City – Wood and Hreidarsson are absent.
Crystal Palace – Clyne, Moxey, Williams, and Wright are absent.
Peterborough United – Alcock, Zakuani, and Bennett are absent.
Millwall – Smith and Trotter are doubts.
Reading – No absentees.
Finnish Liiga Cup:
MyPa Anjalankoski – Nieminen, Sesay, Vesala, Aho, and Anttilainen are absent. Koskinen, Liskola, and Ramadingaye are doubts.
HJK Helsinki – Igwe may debutise.
Greek Super League:
Panionios – Kutsi returns.
Atromitos – Skondras is absent.
Aris Salonika – No absentees.
AEK Athens – No absentees.
Xanthi – Markovski is absent.
Panaitolikos – Charisteas, Koutroumanos, Entzegele, and Blazic are absent.
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Hapoel Haifa – Gluscevic and Tartazki are absent.
Ironi Ramat Hasharon – Suissa is absent.
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv – Ivaskevicius is absent.
Maccabi Petah Tikva – Sansoni, Damari, and Elbaz are absent.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Gabai is absent. Nassar returns. Back in their home ground.
MS Ashdod – Peti, Kola, Tubul, and Kahlon are absent.
Hapoel Petah Tikva – No absentees.
Hapoel Rishon Lezion – Cohen is absent. Obasnikov is a doubt. Mesic has left the club.
Maccabi Netanya – Kalibat, Harush, and Alexiev are absent. Binyamin is a doubt.
Bnei Sakhnin – Hazurov and Halaula are absent.
Beitar Jerusalem – No absentees.
Ironi Kiryat Shmona – Njubvo is absent. Tibi, Badash, and Gerzicich are doubts.
Italian Serie A:
Palermo – Pisano, Hernandez, and Balzaretti are absent. Bacinovic, Silvestre, and Migliaccio are doubts.
AC Milan – Aquilani, Cassano, Gattuso, Merkel, Mexes, Nesta, Pato, Seedorf, and Strasser are absent. Lopez, Flamini, and Boateng are doubts.
Juventus – Pepe and Vidal are absent.
Chievo Verona – Gulan, Morero, and Pellissier are absent.
Dutch Eredivisie:
ADO Den Haag – Ammi, Horvath, Immers, van Duinen, and Leeuwin are absent.
Heerenveen – Zomer and Kums are absent.
RKC Waalwijk – Auassar, Sno, and Bridji are absent.
Excelsior Rotterdam – Filleccia, Smith, Nuytinck, de Vries, and Eekman are absent.
VVV Venlo – Linssen and Verbeek are absent.
NAC Breda – van Fessem, Zonneveld, Gudelj, and Gilissen are absent.
AZ Alkmaar – Johansson is absent.
Heracles Almelo – Quansah, Vejinovic, and Breukers are absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa:
GKS Belchatow – Popek is absent. Baran returns.
Polonia Warsaw – Jez, Mynar, Lis, Pazio, and Weis are absent.
Legia Warsaw – No absentees. Hubnik is a doubt. Blanco debutises.
LKS Lodz – Adamski is absent.
Lechia Gdansk – Andriuskevicius and Traore are absent. Madera and Kosecki may debutise.
Wisla Krakow – Lamey and Czekaj are absent.
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Vitoria Setubal – Ney, Goncalves, and Meyong are absent. Severino, Diaz, and Zahavi return.
Sporting Clube de Lisboa – Onyewu, Rodriguez, Jeffren, Rinaudo, Neto, and Joao Pereira are absent. Patricio returns.
CD Nacional de Madeira – Edgar Costa, Skolnik, Todorovic, and Stojanovic are absent. Moreno and Madrid return.
Sporting Braga – Rivera, Luis Alberto, Paulo Vinicius, Baiano, Alan, and Ewerton are absent. Vinicius returns.
Romanian Liga:
Rapid Bucharest – Rui Duarte, Deac, and Pavlovic are absent.
Universitatea Cluj – Grecu and Pele are absent. M.Cristescu is a doubt.
Dinamo Bucharest – No absentees.
Gaz Metan Medias – Bud, del Campo, C.Gheorghe, Bozesan, Litu, Bawab, and Vitinho are absent.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Getafe – Casquero, Masilela, Rafa Lopez, and Lopo are absent. Gavilan, Alexis, and Cata Diez are doubts. Valera and Pedro Leon return.
Malaga – Baptista, Sergio Sanchez, and Buonanotte are absent. Camacho, Duda, and Gamez return.
Real Mallorca – Hemed, Aouate, Pau Cendros, Uche, and Pina are absent. Joao Victor returns.
Osasuna – Masoud, Punal, Richardo, Echaide, Sola, Lekic, and Balde are absent.
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid – Labaka is absent.
Racing Santander – Acosta is absent. Colsa, Tono, Diop, and Cisma return.
Barcelona – Messi, Busquets, Afellay, Abidal are absent. Thiago is a doubt.
Sporting Gijon – Colunga and Lora are absent.
Sevilla CF – Negredo and Cala are absent. Fazio returns.
Atletico Madrid – Godin, Falcao, Diego, Antonio Lopez, and Turan are absent. Silvio is a doubt.
Turkish Super Lig:
Ankaragucu – Aydin, Muhammed, Abudllah, and Veli are absent.
Eskisehirspor – Sezgin, Tello, and Erkan are absent.
Antalyaspor – Sammy is absent.
Samsunspor – Selim Teber is absent.
Mersin Idmanyurdu – Tisdell, Erdal, and Boum are absent.
Orduspor – Numan, Hasan Kabze, and Abdulkadir are absent.
Fenerbahce – Sezer, Bekir, and Cenare are absent.
Genclerbirligi – Curri, Emre Aygun are absent.
Ukrainian Premier League:
Chernomorets Odessa – Kovalchiuk is leaving the club. Bakay may debutise. Babich has retired.
Illichivets Mariupol – Targamadze may debutise.
Shakhtar Donetsk – Chygrynskyi is absent.