TFT Issue 3275!

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Bankers

General Information

We aim to give you the best possible information before each game. However, the moment the game starts, anything can happen, ranging from red cards to snow storms to pitch invasions. We can only prepare you for so much; it's up to you to learn how to develop yourself as to know when to jump ship if things aren't going as they should.

Pay attention to the odds provided for each tip. Be aware that the longer the odds are, the less chance there is of it coming in. Don't lean toward backing the bankers containing teams you've heard of or selections at longer odds because you trust the team more or if you see the pound signs flashing before your eyes. Sometimes bankers won't win, try to use the previews to steer you toward the right selection to make rather than taking the quick/lazy way.

Please understand that every single tip has the capacity to win, push, or lose. We aim to find good value bets (probability vs odds) as our focal area.

Banker

Istanbul BB vs Denizlispor 

KO: (UK time)

Denizlispor have been almost as disappointing as Ankaragucu this season. A trip to face in-form Istanbul BB, who have produced some breathtaking Super Lig displays over the past few weeks, should only result in a controlled home win here.

Verdict: Istanbul BB to win at 9/25.

Banker

Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Koln

KO: (UK time)

Without playing especially well lately, Bv09 Borussia Dortmund have been hammering home goals at a frightening rate. Against a Koln side that has not impressed me on any occasion this season, I can only see that goal-scoring trend leading to another Bv09 Borussia Dortmund win here.

Verdict: Bv09 Borussia Dortmund to win at 1/5.

Banker

RB Leipzig vs Arminia Bielefeld

KO: (UK time)

I don’t see RB Leipzig making light work of a diligent, well-organised Arminia Bielefeld side, despite the quality gap. I suspect we’ll see lots of rotation here, and it may even take the home time longer than it should to break the deadlock. However, I believe that they will at some stage, and when they do, it should really be game over. 

Verdict: RB Leipzig to win at 1/5.

Banker

VfB Stuttgart vs Bayern Munich

KO: (UK time)

VfB Stuttgart have played well this season, especially in attack. They’ve picked a good time to face Bayern Munich too, who have not performed well for a week or two now, and are generally perceived as looking ‘tired’, which would make perfect sense. Still, the reigning Bundesliga champions continue to grind out wins, and I suspect they’ll be able to do the same against a leaky VfB Stuttgart defence today too.

Verdict: RB Leipzig to win at 1/5.

Banker

Manchester City vs Burnley

KO: (UK time)

Burnley look in dire straits this season. For the first time in years, they genuinely look out of their depth. They’ve been in the Premier League long enough to have saved enough money to lavishly spend it – but seemingly refuse to. I think that’s set them back, and as much as I respect the battling nature of Dyche and co., if things don’t improve soon then their Premier League stay will be at an end. Manchester City are not brilliant at the moment, but they’re still grinding out wins, and this one should not be an exception. Home win.

Verdict: Manchester City to win at 4/25.

Banker

St. Polten vs Salzburg

KO: (UK time)

Even without Daka, Salzburg should have too much for St. Polten here. They were impressive against Bayern Munich, and a similar display today should not see them fail to overcome St. Polten. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made life hard for themselves along the way via sloppy defending though, as has been commonplace all season long.

Verdict: Salzburg to win at 4/25.

Banker

Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Schalke 04

KO: (UK time)

The visitors are horrendous, and missing lots of key players here. Borussia Moenchengladbach, on the other hand, just keep going from strength to strength, becoming ruthless in front of goal. I can only see that combination resulting in a home win here.

Verdict: Borussia Moenchengladbach to win at 9/25.

Banker

FC Emmen vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam

KO: (UK time)

Even with rotation taken into account, I have to trust in AFC Ajax Amsterdam picking up the win tonight. FC Emmen are very determined and confident but they lack quality in every area of the pitch, and that should make the difference here. No handicaps, though – they do up their performances against the top teams, FC Emmen.

Verdict: AFC Ajax Amsterdam to win at 4/25.

Banker

Paris Saint-Germain vs Girondins de Bordeaux

KO: (UK time)

PSG are too lazy for me; I actually think I’ve reached the point whereby I despise them now. However, Girondins de Bordeaux are seriously poor, even if their togetherness is quite impressive at times. It should not take more than a goal or two for the lazy home side to win this one.

Verdict: Paris Saint-Germain to win at 3/25.

Banker

Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Moreirense

KO: (UK time)

I do not like Sporting Clube de Portugal one iota. However, they have found it relatively easy to score goals of late, and they’re up against a Covid-19 stricken Moreirense side, who are even without their manager. If Sporting Clube de Portugal cannot win this one, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Verdict: Sporting Clube de Portugal to win at 1/4.

Featured game

Jahn Regensburg vs Würzburger Kickers

KO: (UK time)

I’ve got to hand it to the bookies today. They’ve left very little to go at in terms of value. I found myself agreeing with almost everything they’d done, really – barring in the Jahn Regensburg vs Wurzburger Kickers game, and even that comes with a proviso that Moritz makes the matchday squad for the hosts!

The form guide on Jahn Regensburg is a bit harsh at the moment with three straight defeats to their name. They’ve not played especially badly in those matches but they have defended poorly, so I suppose you could argue that they deserved what they got. For me though, they did enough to get something from the games – it’s just that things didn’t go their way in the final third. 

Let’s be fair to today’s hosts, though. They have two key attacking midfielders, namely George and Moritz, and both have been missing a lot recently. Still, George is back now, and Moritz should return here – but is still listed as a doubt. It may be prudent to wait for the starting line-ups before weighing in because I do want Moritz on the pitch here. Folk have forgotten how good he is at this level because of his ill-fated move to Hamburger SV, where everybody fails nowadays. Moving to a team like this has reminded everybody how good he can be.

With Moritz and George, Jahn Regensburg become a lot more dangerous in the final third. Albers has already bagged four goals for them this season, and Besuschkow is on hand to convert any penalties that come his way too, which George in particular is good at garnering. Although having been a consistently hard-working team for a while now, Jahn Regensburg, it’s been some time since I liked their attacking setup as much as I do right now. They look effective – well, when they’re all on the pitch! – and they should be able to prove it today.

Newly-promoted Wurzburger Kickers have sprung a few surprises this season, but have generally been pumped by opposing teams. Playing open attacking football at this level is not a bad idea, really. I’ve lost count of how many teams have been promoted to the Bundesliga 2, and have powered their way through this division too. Hell, Paderborn 07 achieved back-to-back promotions from playing that way, and Holstein Kiel nearly did too! However, Wurzburger Kickers have a few issues with it, and the main one is that they’re a bit crap. 

I do think they’ve tried their best pre-season, so fair play for that. They’ve had to take lucky punts on players to try and give them an edge. In-form DR Congo attacker Munsy joined from FC Thun, for example, and has done well thus far. He’s a crap finisher, but has been doing well in front of goal throughout 2020 – the first year in my memory in which he has actually done so. His speed keeps defenders on their toes though, and he’s a very focused individual, so he’s a handy signing for Wurzburger Kickers. Another former Super League player – defensive midfielder Toko – was a pre-season recruit too, although he had been playing in Sweden with IFK Goteborg most recently. They’re decent enough signings.

In came left-back Feick from Heidenheim too, who has been one of their best players this season. Staude joined with the intention of being a first-team midfielder but has been out for a month or so now, and still is. Changes a-plenty, basically, and some of them aren’t deliberate. Defender Hemmerich was a regular last season but he’s out too. Indeed, that trio are all out here, making Wurzburger Kickers’ task all the harder, given that they’re yet to fully integrate all their new signings.

I admire the spirit and work-rate in this team, but their effectiveness is limited, to say the least, and that’s especially true with the afore-mentioned out. Assuming Moritz makes the cut today, I’m struggling to accept that Jahn Regensburg might not win this one. They should be too good for their opponents here, and I expect to see them prove it.

Verdict: Jahn Regensburg to win at evens.

Team news

Note

All of the information in this section is listed to the best of our knowledge, and we use local sources for as many areas as we can.

Austrian Bundesliga:

Sturm Graz – Geyrhofer, Trummer are absent.
Swarovski Tirol – Jauregui is absent.
St. Polten – da Silva is absent.
Salzburg – Okugawa, Daka, and Bernede are absent.
Admira Wacker – Kadlec and Maier are absent.
Hartberg – Lema is absent. 

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Sint-Truiden – Konate, Teixeira, Vagiannidis, and van Dessel are absent.
Waasland-Beveren – de Mey, van de Wiel, and Vieira are absent.
Cercle Brugge – Hazard, van Damme, and Velkovski are absent. Deuro is a doubt.
Racing Genk – Toma is absent.
Royal Excel Mouscron Dabila and Niandu are absent.
Club Brugge – Dennis, Mitrovic, Ricca, and Sobol are absent.

Brazilian Serie A:

Santos – Raniel, Renyer, Sanchez, and Vladimir are absent.
Sport Recife – Marcao, Prata, and dos Santos Pereira are absent. Maxwell is a doubt.
Palmeiras – Breno, Empereur, Gabriel Veron, Gomes, Hinestroza, Jailson, Kuscevic, Luan, Monteiro da Silva, Scarpa, Vega, Veiga, Vinicius, and Vina are doubts. Mayke, Luan, Ribeiro, and Silva are absent.
Athletico Paranaense – Vitinho, Azevedo, and Jonathan are absent.
Bahia Pedro is absent.
Sao Paulo – Alves, Liziero, Paulo Boia, and Walce are absent.
Atletico Goianiense – Eder is absent.
Internacional – Saravia and Guerrero are absent. Boschilia is a doubt.

Croatian Prva Liga:

Varazdin
Istra 1961
Gorica
Lokomotiva Zagreb – 

Czech Republic Liga 1:

Marila Pribram No absentees.
Mlada Boleslav – Matejovsky is absent. Graiciar, Klima, and Mazuch are doubts.
Karvina – No absentees.
Zlin – Matejov, Vrastil, and Vyhnal are absent.
Slovacko – Divisek is absent.
Opava – Hnanicek, Schaffartzik, and Smekal are absent.
Ceske Budejovice – Ledecky and Matejka are absent.
Viktoria Plzen – Hybs is a doubt.

Danish Superligaen:

FC Midtjylland – Evander, Cajuste, and Riis are absent. Brumado and Olsen are doubts.
Aalborg BK – Ferreira and Hiljemark are absent. 

English Premier League:

Brighton & Hove Albion – Lamptey is absent. Lallana is a doubt. Trossard and March return.
Liverpool – Salah returns. Henderson and Alcantara are doubts. Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita, and Matip are absent.
Manchester City – No news.
Burnley – Pope, Stephens, and Brady are doubts.
Everton Digne, Gbamin, and Coleman are absent.
Leeds United – Rodrigo returns.
West Bromwich Albion – Livermore and Gibbs are doubts.
Sheffield United – Stevens and Mousset return.

French Ligue 1:

Olympique de Marseille Radonjic is absent.
FC Nantes Atlantique – Limbombe, Mendy, Perreira, and Simon are absent.
Paris Saint-Germain – Bernat, Diallo, Draxler, Icardi, and Kehrer are absent.
Girondins de Bordeaux – Hwang and Mexer are absent. Kalu is a doubt.

German Bundesliga:

Bv09 Borussia Dortmund – Raschl, Reinier, Schmelzer, Unbehaun, and Zagadou are absent. Guerreiro is a doubt.
Koln – Castrop, Hector, Queiros, Kainz, Krahl, Modeste, Schmitz, and Voloder are absent.
RB Leipzig – Borkowski, Hartmann, Hwang, Heinrichs, Klostermann, Laimer, Schreiber, and Wosz are absent. Halstenberg is a doubt.
Arminia Bielefeld – Rehnen is absent.
Union Berlin – Gentner, Pohjanpalo, N. Schlotterbeck, and Ujah are absent. Butler, Endo, Griesbeck, and Hubner are doubts.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Ache, Brugger, Barkok, Cavar, Fahrnberger, Makanda, and Willems are absent. Younes is a doubt.
Augsburg – Framberger, Sarenren Bazee, and Moravek are absent. Gruezo, Jensen, and Pedersen are doubts.
SC Freiburg – Flekken, Haberer, Kubler, and Kwon are absent.
VfB Stuttgart – Ailton, Al Ghaddioui, Awoudja, Cisse, Gonzalez, Grahl, Mola, and Thommy are absent. Mavropanos returns.
Bayern Munich – Arp, Davies, R. Hoffmann, and Kimmich are absent. Tolisso, Sarr, Sule, and Hernandez are doubts.
Borussia Moenchengladbach – Bensebaini and Hofmann are absent. Plea is a doubt.
Schalke 04 – Bentaleb, Fahrmann, Harit, Ibisevic, Oczipka, Paciencia, and Sane are absent.

German Bundesliga 2:

SV Sandhausen – S. Dieckmann and Kister are absent.
Erzgebirge Aue – Cacutalua, Kalig, and Majetschak are absent.
Jahn Regensburg – Moritz and Gimber are doubts.
Würzburger Kickers – Feick, Hemmerich, and Staude are absent.
Karlsruher SC Djuricin and Hanek are absent.
Paderborn 07 – Huth and Thalhammer are absent. 

Israeli Ligat Ha’al:

Maccabi Petah Tikva – Ronen, Hadida, and Levi are absent. Bar returns.
Hapoel Hadera – Flukcenko and Kahila are absent.
Bnei Sakhnin – Barshatski is absent.
MS Ashdod – Mishpati and Yehezkel are absent.
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv – Boss Berkovic left. Dos Santos, Finish, and Halaila are absent.
Hapoel Tel-Aviv – Gottlieb and Boateng return.

Italian Serie A:

Sassuolo – Romagna is absent. Defrel, Pegolo, and Caputo are doubts.
Internazionale – Vecino is absent. Kolarov, Brozovic, and Padelli are doubts.
Benevento Tuia and Volta are absent. Viola, Dabo, Foulon, and Falque are doubts.
Juventus – Ronaldo, Demiral, Chiellini, and Buffon are absent.
Atalanta Bergamo – Caldara and Depaoli are absent. Pasalic and Malinovskyi are doubts.
Hellas Verona – Kalinic, Ruegg, Gunter, Vieira, and Lovato are absent. Lazovic, Benassi, and Favilli are doubts.

Italian Serie B:

Brescia – Fridjonsson, Cistana, Zmrhal, Papetti, Bisoli, Donnarumma, Bjarnason, and Semprini are absent.
Frosinone – Luciani, Gori, Volpe, D’Elia, and Ardemagni are absent.
Empoli – Romagnoli and Terzi are absent.
Vicenza – Ierardi and Scoppa are absent.
Pescara – Del Favero, Drudi, Guth, and Ceter are absent.
Pordenone – Gavazzi and Barison are absent.
Pisa – Quaini and Varnier are absent.
Cittadella – Grillo and Bassano are absent.
Venezia No news.
Ascoli – Tassi, Malle, Sarzi Puttini, Donis, Buchel, and Corbo are absent.
Monza – No absentees.
Reggina – Charpentier, Faty, Menez, Vasic, Rolando, and Crisetig are absent.

Dutch Eredivisie:

FC Emmen – Flores is absent.
AFC Ajax Amsterdam – Antony and Kudus are absent.
ADO Den Haag – Zuiverloon, Bijen, Kishna, and Besuijen are absent.
SC Heerenveen – van der Heide, Ras, and Meier are absent.
VVV – No absentees.
PEC Zwolle – Clement and van Polen are absent.

Norwegian Eliteserien:

Viking Stavanger – Furdal and Hove are absent.
Start Kristiansund – Gjesdal is absent.
Brann Bergen – Ahamada, Pedersen, and Pettersen are absent.
Aalesund FK – Agdestein is absent.

Portuguese Liga 1:

Santa Clara – Shahriar is absent.
FC Porto – Marcano and Mbaye are absent. Pepe is a doubt.
Sporting Clube de Portugal – Antunes, Goncalves, Ristovski, and Tabata are absent.
Moreirense – Yan, Silva, Pedro, Oliveira, Lucas Rodrigues, Lacerda, Kewin, Isidio, and Amador are absent. Conte and Mane are doubts. 

Russian Premier League:

Arsenal Tula – Denisov, Kombarov, and Lutsenko are absent.
Zenit St. Petersburg – Karavaev, Krugovoy, Ozdoev, and Wendel are absent.
FK Khimki – Kazantsev is absent. Logashov is a doubt.
FK Krasnodar – Stotsky, Sorokin, and Petrov are absent. Safonov is a doubt.
FK Rostov No absentees.
Dinamo Moscow – Igboun is absent.
Akhmat Grozny Bystrov, Roshi, and Utsiev are doubts.
Lokomotiv Moscow – Barinov, Corluka, Lysov, and Smolov are absent. 

Spanish Primera Liga:

Elche Fidel and Rigoni are absent. Kone is a doubt.
Cadiz – Cala, Fernandez, Jose Mari, Lozano, Negredo, and Quezada are absent.
Valencia CF – Cillessen, Diakhaby, Gaya, and Gomez are absent.
Atletico Madrid – Costa, Herrera, Sanchez, Suarez, Torreira, and Vrsaljko are absent.
Huesca – Doumbia, Valera, and Silva are absent.
Sevilla CF – Acuna, Bono, Escudero, Fernandez, and Suso are absent.
Real Madrid – Benzema, Jovic, Militao, Odriozola, Ramos, and Valverde are absent.
Deportivo Alaves – Burgui, Garcia, and Pons are absent. 

Swiss Super League:

Vaduz G. Luchinger is absent. Obexer and M. Sutter are doubts.
FC Sion – Kabashi, Luan, and Andersson are absent.
Servette – Henchoz, Antunes are absent. Stevanovic is a doubt.
Luzern – Carbonell, Burch, Binous are absent. Alabi, Grether, and Owusu are doubts.

Swiss Challenge League:

FC Thun – Fatkic, Dzonlagic, Vasic, and Castroman are absent.
Chiasso – Magnin and Affolter are absent.

Turkish Super Lig:

Gazisehir Gaziantep – Morais, Tetteh, Guray Vural, and Dicko are absent.
Yeni Malatyaspor – No absentees.
Istanbul BB – Topal, Caicara, and Aleksic are absent.
Denizlispor – Ozgur Cek and Aytac are absent.
Rizespor – No absentees.
Galatasaray – Muslera, Falcao, Babel, Omar, Turan, Kocuk, and Belhanda are absent. 

Remaining thoughts

Note

The "remaining thoughts" section is there to be a rough guide in case you want to get involved in games we haven't tipped. It is not there to tell anybody to back specific scorelines, or to guarantee that "2-2" games will go over 2.5 goals, for example. Ian lists what he believes to be the most likely outcome, and this is based on his assessment as to which way each game will develop. However, a "remaining thoughts" game listed with a 2-2 scoreline may have only just edged out a 0-0 scoreline in terms of probability because each game can develop in different ways.

Austrian Bundesliga:

Sturm Graz vs Swarovski Tirol (6) 2-1
St. Polten vs Salzburg (7) over 2.5 goals
Admira Wacker vs Hartberg (5) 2-1

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Sint-Truiden vs Waasland-Beveren (5) 2-2
Cercle Brugge vs Racing Genk (6) 1-2
Royal Excel Mouscron vs Club Brugge (6) 0-1

Brazilian Serie A:

Santos vs Sport Recife (6) 2-1
Palmeiras vs Athletico Paranaense (7) 2-0
Bahia vs Sao Paulo (5) 1-1
Atletico Goianiense vs Internacional (6) 1-2

Bulgarian A PFG:

Arda vs Montana (6) 1-1
Lokomotiv Plovdiv vs Botev Plovdiv (5) 2-1, at least one red card in this game

Croatian Prva Liga:

Varazdin vs Istra 1961 (5) 2-1
Gorica vs Lokomotiva Zagreb (6) 1-0

Czech Republic Liga 1:

Marila Pribram vs Mlada Boleslav (5) 2-2
Karvina vs Zlin (6) 2-0
Slovacko vs Opava (6) 2-0
Ceske Budejovice vs Viktoria Plzen (6) over 2.5 goals

Danish Superligaen:

FC Midtjylland vs Aalborg BK (6) 2-1

English Premier League:

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Liverpool (5) 1-2
Manchester City vs Burnley (8) 2-0
Everton vs Leeds United (5) 2-2
West Bromwich Albion vs Sheffield United (4) 1-1

Estonian Meistriliiga:

Trans Narva vs Legion (6) 1-1
Tallinna Kalev vs Kuressaare (5) 2-1

Faroese Logmanssteypid:

Vikingur Gota vs B36 Torshavn (5) 2-2

French Ligue 1:

Olympique de Marseille vs FC Nantes Atlantique (6) 0-0
Paris Saint-Germain vs Girondins de Bordeaux (8) 2-0

German Bundesliga:

Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Koln (7) over 2.5 goals
RB Leipzig vs Arminia Bielefeld (7) 1-0
Union Berlin vs Eintracht Frankfurt (5) 2-1
Augsburg vs SC Freiburg (4) 1-1
VfB Stuttgart vs Bayern Munich (7) 1-2
Borussia Moenchengladbach vs Schalke 04 (7) 2-0

German Bundesliga 2:

SV Sandhausen vs Erzgebirge Aue (6) 2-1
Jahn Regensburg vs Würzburger Kickers (6) 2-0
Karlsruher SC vs Paderborn 07 (5) 2-2

Hungarian Liga 1:

Varda SE vs Budafoki MTE (4) 0-1
Fehervar vs Zalaegerszegi TE (6) 2-0
Ferencvaros vs MTK Budapest (6) 2-1

Israeli Ligat Ha’al:

Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Hapoel Hadera (5) 1-0
Bnei Sakhnin vs MS Ashdod (5) 1-1
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) 1-0, at least one red card in this game

Italian Serie A:

Sassuolo vs Internazionale (5) 2-2
Benevento vs Juventus (7) over 2.5 goals
Atalanta Bergamo vs Hellas Verona (6) 1-0

Italian Serie B:

Brescia vs Frosinone (6) 1-0
Empoli vs Vicenza (6) 1-0
Pescara vs Pordenone (5) 1-1
Pisa vs Cittadella (4) 1-2
Venezia vs Ascoli (5) 1-1
Monza vs Reggina (5) 2-2

Dutch Eredivisie:

FC Emmen vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam (7) 1-2
ADO Den Haag vs SC Heerenveen (6) 1-2
VVV vs PEC Zwolle (5) 2-2

Norwegian Eliteserien:

Viking Stavanger vs Start Kristiansund (6) 2-1
Brann Bergen vs Aalesund FK (4) 1-1

Portuguese Liga 1:

Santa Clara vs FC Porto (6) 0-1
Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Moreirense (7) 2-0

Portuguese Liga 2:

Academico Viseu vs Penafiel (5) 0-0
Cova de Piedade vs Feirense (6) 0-1

Russian Premier League:

Arsenal Tula vs Zenit St. Petersburg (7) 1-2
FK Khimki vs FK Krasnodar (6) 1-2
FK Rostov vs Dinamo Moscow (4) 1-1
Akhmat Grozny vs Lokomotiv Moscow (6) 0-0

Spanish Primera Liga:

Elche vs Cadiz (5) 1-1
Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid (6) 0-2
Huesca vs Sevilla CF (6) 1-2
Real Madrid vs Deportivo Alaves (6) 2-1

Swiss Super League:

Vaduz vs FC Sion (5) 1-1
Servette vs Luzern (4) 2-2

Swiss Challenge League:

FC Thun vs Chiasso (7) 2-0

Turkish Super Lig:

Gazisehir Gaziantep vs Yeni Malatyaspor (5) 1-1
Istanbul BB vs Denizlispor (7) 1-0
Rizespor vs Galatasaray (6) 1-2

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