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
Zlin vs Slavia Prague
KO: (UK time)
The ease with which Slavia Prague breezed to weekend victory at Karvina boded ominously for the rest of Czechia. They’ve only gotten stronger during the break, and they looked completely at ease in that match. They dealt with Karvina’s counters well, dictated the tempo, and although it took longer than I’d like for them to get the breakthrough, they still did it after probing for a while. Even when they conceded from a penalty late on, they showed no worry as they upped it a gear, scored again to restore their two-goal advantage, and won the game. If they don’t win the title this season, it’ll be unbelievable. I also think that they’ve got far, far too much for minnows Zlin to handle tonight too.
Verdict: Slavia Prague to win at 33/100.
Banker
Salzburg vs SV Ried
KO: (UK time)
Salzburg got what little rust there was out of their legs in their weekend victory against SCR Altach. I expect them to be almost back to their best tonight, that should be enough to see them secure the points at home against SV Ried, who looked a bit unfit in their 1-0 home defeat against Austria Vienna last time out. I certainly can’t envision them containing Daka and co. Home win.
Verdict: Salzburg to win at 7/100.
Banker
Juventus vs SPAL
KO: (UK time)
Rotation is likely for this Coppa Italia affair but Juventus have enough depth in attack to win it. I’m still concerned that they’ve not got enough movement in the final third but that really shouldn’t come into play against Serie B’s SPAL. I doubt it’ll be done easily, with their embarrassment against Genoa in mind, but I do expect a win for Juventus.
Verdict: Juventus to win at 1/5.
Banker
Manchester United vs Sheffield United
KO: (UK time)
The more games go by, the stronger Manchester United get. It’s been happening for a while now, but even the media have had to stop slagging them off because the proof is in the pudding. I still think that this project is another year or two away from completion, so competing for the title seems a bit much right now. It’s nice to be in the discussion though, that’s for sure. Confidence is high, and this team enters each game knowing that they can outscore their opponents, even if they fall behind. A team like that should not fail to overcome beleaguered and ineffectual Sheffield United, no matter how much the visitors have been battling of late. Let’s not forget that Sheffield United have serious defensive issues due to a lack of personnel, and midfield controller Berge is still injured too. Home win.
Verdict: Manchester United to win at 1/4.
Featured game
Young Boys Bern vs Lausanne Sport
KO: (UK time)
Swiss games have a habit of being very high-scoring because they play with the freedom of German Bundesliga 2 teams i.e. no fear whatsoever. The Swiss Super League used to be my favourite to watch but since Hutter left Young Boys Bern, and since FC Basel’s owner stepped down, the league has gotten worse and worse. It’s awfully romantic in footballing terms to see the likes of St. Gallen and Lugano pushing the league leaders but honestly, it’s embarrassing for the big clubs at this level. Young Boys Bern may be the reigning champions of everything in this country, but it’s more by proxy than anything – they’ve simply not been challenged. I maintain that Seoane is sending the capital club backwards; it’s just that nobody is going to punish them for it because everybody else has their own problems.
Young Boys Bern have gone from having two players per position under Hutter to lacking centre-backs, depth in wing-back areas, and having no backup striker. They can still move the ball beautifully at times – it’s just that they seldom seem to want to get anywhere. It’s as if Seoane wants them to play more Italian-influenced football (well, old Italian football) by controlling games and playing more cautiously. They’re not good enough to play that way though. They are often only at their best when forced into it, and that in itself is a sad indictment of Swiss football. In their first game back after the break, Young Boys Bern were held to a goalless draw at newly-promoted Vaduz in Liechtenstein. I like Vaduz, but by no means are they to be considered good at defending; it’s as far from Mario Frick’s mind as anything else. However, Young Boys Bern were punished for their sideways passing and lack of penetration, which makes a nice change, really – they usually get away with it, and thus are not deterred from trying it again. Admittedly, the Nsame petulance that saw him dismissed in that game didn’t help but they didn’t deserve to win that match – and that’s against a team they’re apparently a lot better than.
For tonight’s game, their Cameroonian hitman is now suspended, and not for the first time. I doubt his suitors will be impressed with yet another red card as a result of his bad temper. Because Seoane hasn’t done his job properly at the club, there is no competent backup striker at the club. Siebatcheu and Mambimbi both add decent speed and movement, but neither is a ruthless finisher, and nor does either of them have that killer instinct in the box. I am not a Young Boys Bern fan, but I find that especially infuriating when I saw that Lugano signed Abubakar from SC Kriens during the winter break. Abubakar fits the bill perfectly, just as Nsame did when he was signed to be Hoarau’s understudy – but Young Boys Bern didn’t go for the Portuguese striker, and they’re going to regret it, I promise you, possibly even starting tonight, because Nsame will leave this club at some point in the next six months.
Subsequently, despite their creators and ‘sexy’ football and fast forwards, they lack a goal-scorer for tonight’s match. They’ve not scored more than two goals in a home Super League game for over four months now because they’re pedestrian, cautious, and lacking in options. They still do enough to win – just – but without Nsame, I have very real concerns over them doing so. Of course, an early goal can change that but I doubt it will come. The pitches in Switzerland are not normally used at this time of year; I suspect even Young Boys Bern’s artificial pitch will be a bit of a mess to play on. All things considered, you’re a far braver man than I am if you back the reigning champions tonight.
So – it’s time to back Lausanne Sport, right? Wrong. They’ve defended intelligently this season, at least by Switzerland’s lax standards. Contini is an experienced manager at this level, and this defence has been together for a little while now. They’ve worked harder than opponents, and that’s allowed them to generally keep opponents to one goal scored against them or less for six to seven weeks now. Puertas and Bares have really emerged as some of the best young midfielders in the country when it comes to sniffing out danger and working hard to prevent teams getting around them, which again, is why Lausanne Sport don’t struggle much to keep teams out.
However, they do struggle in attack. They only have one route to goal, and that’s through towering Bosnia-Herzegovina striker Turkes, who has finally matured over the past twelve months or so, albeit a bit late in the day. He’s hard to play against. Not a problem for the home team tonight, though – he’s not playing. Outside of him, they need some magic from Norwegian creator Zekhnini or even Geissmann but no, neither of them are playing either. All of Lausanne Sport’s more decisive attacking players are out for the trip to Bern, basically. They still have some intimidating physical specimens in attack, and I feel like Guessand will show more of that in the months to come, but this is not an attack that should worry Young Boys Bern – and I say that knowing that, at no stage have Youngs Boys Bern defended long diagonals in behind their back three all season long.
A draw in Bern is a good result for any team, and one that has no attack would relish such even more. They need to keep away from the drop zone, Lausanne Sport, because they don’t have enough firepower to get away from it if they do get sucked in. A draw today would help them on that front. I think it’s a great time to face Young Boys Bern, who looked rusty against Vaduz, are missing their only goal-scorer, and the conditions are far from ideal either. No promises as how the game will end up, but backing under 3 goals at 4/5 makes a lot of sense to me at this time.
Verdict: Under 3 goals at 4/5.
Additional games
Darmstadt 98 vs SV Sandhausen
KO: (UK time)
You’ve got to love the German Bundesliga 2, haven’t you? I do. It’s tremendously entertaining, which helps, but it’s also incredibly fascinating how things pan out. Never has it been truer that nobody is too big to go down, as 1860 Munich and Kaiserslautern can testify. Pre-season, I remember being the most excited about the work Darmstadt 98 and SV Sandhausen respectively had both done in the transfer market, seriously bolstering their offensive weaponry. So where are they now? Both are either in, or just outside of, the relegation zone! Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up.
Both teams are very dangerous on their day. It’s fair say that Darmstadt 98 have proven it more in front of goal, but I am not stupid enough to write either team off as they’re both very capable. The problems that Darmstadt 98 have seem more authentic than the somewhat superficial ones of SV Sandhausen, in my opinion. The home team playing without Icelandic enforcer Palsson always makes them far too short of organisation in defensive situations anyway, but fusing that with a more natural attacking style has crippled their defence something rotten. They’d be a lot further down the Bundesliga 2 food chain if they weren’t scoring as many as they have been.
However, they do have a good goal threat, and that keeps them as a dangerous side to underestimate. I’ve said on multiple occasions over the years that few teams at this level work harder than Darmstadt 98, and I stand by those comments. This approach of Anfang’s, though – it’s not working. No matter how many they score, it’s still not enough to outscore most teams at this level, and that’s despite keeping Dursun, who has become far too good for them. I appreciate that Berko and Seydel have another level to go to, particularly the extremely talented latter, but something is not working. They’ve had to rely far too much on Kempe and Dursun for goals this season, and one of them is not going to score many on a general basis, and the other is unlikely to be at the club for much longer. They need to be very careful, Darmstadt 98.
Still, there’s no shortage of commitment from the team, as I said above. Things haven’t gone their way lately with four defeats on the spin, but let’s be fair to them; they’ve taken on VfL Bochum, Hannover 96, Heidenheim, and Holstein Kiel in those games, three of which are amongst the best in the division right now, and for the game against Heidenheim, they were without Dursun. The point is that Darmstadt 98 have more to offer, and tonight’s game against SV Sandhausen is one where they should really showcase it. They’re not going to find much resistance from the SV Sandhausen defence as they, much like their hosts, have adopted a far more attacking style than they’re used to this season.
In the past, SV Sandhausen used to find it really easy to create chances, even when playing defensive football, because they were very fast on the break. However, they were easily the worst team in the division when it came to actually putting the ball in the net, so something had to change. The changes they made were really good, as it goes. Bringing in Keita-Ruel from Greuther Furth was a terrific move. No, he’s not a natural finisher, but he’s a natural line-leader, and always brings others into play well. He attracts goals to him, even if his finishing is far more below par than it should be. With him, Bouhaddouz, and Behrens though, there are goals – or so I thought.
The reality is that goals have been hard to come by for this team. That’s why they’ve recently signed target man Schmidt from Heidenheim, who will miss tonight’s game because he was sent off on his debut. Very helpful. I don’t honestly know what’s gone wrong, though – there’s more than enough in this attack to score goals, even without a designated poacher. Even the absence of Nartey and Esswein in midfield tonight does not sway me; Ouahim and Halimi can make things happen. It’s goal-scoring that has been problematic for them. Lucky for SV Sandhausen, their opponents are missing their defensive organiser, and that means that counters alone should be enough to the visitors score at least once here. More than that seems unlikely right now, but again, I refuse to write off what I know to be a very dangerous team when they want to be.
The other point of interest here is that this is a derby. Not a particularly big one, but one that matters nonetheless, especially with both teams at the wrong end of the table. Sometimes that can make games ‘tense up’, if you will, but I’m not sure either team is in the position to do that here. Neither looks capable of defending with any degree of competence, and both only really have an attack to fall back on. Therefore, even if there’s a slow start, we really should see goals in this game. Both teams can win this game, and both really need to, so I am on over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Haifa
KO: (UK time)
Well, here’s a sight I never thought I would see in Israel; Maccabi Tel-Aviv playing as underdogs at home in a Ligat Ha’al match! Irrespective of the outcome, I can’t help but feel that the bookies have got this one very wrong, and the idea that they have is one of the reasons I like covering leagues of this nature i.e. they don’t know everything that they do about the major leagues.
Maccabi Haifa have been excellent this season; I can’t deny that. They’ve not been this consistent since the Yakubu days! They’ve got a lot right, been effective enough in the final third to counteract their shoddy defending, and been lucky enough not to concede as many opportunities as they normally would. They’ve earned that luck with intelligent recruitment though, as well as a certain Australian striker called Rukavytsya, who just gets better with age. Well, it was intelligent recruitment until lately, that is. Presumably, they were envious of Beitar Jerusalem’s attempts to re-establish themselves as Israel’s ‘circus’ team so Maccabi swooped to sign ex-Maccabi Tel-Aviv attacker Atzili, who fled the country for Cyprus pre-season after allegations he had sex with an underage girl. Even the news of the potential transfer had fans protesting, and the fact that he’s now arrived and debutised has only incensed them any more. All is never harmonious in the Maccabi Haifa world.
Cards on the table; the Ligat Ha’al is quite poor this season. Although it’s nice to see the likes of MS Ashdod performing well, or newly-promoted Maccabi Petah Tikva, the fact that they’re doing so well only goes to show how poor the competition has been overall. I’ll give Maccabi Haifa all the respect they deserve for beating lesser teams, which is something they traditionally struggle with. They’ve done so better than Maccabi Tel-Aviv too, which is why they’re comfortably top of the table right now. As much as I respect the changes that Maccabi Haifa have made though, they’re not Israel’s best team – not even close. No, this is a Maccabi Tel-Aviv league, no matter what happens, and I think tonight will be the first proper test Maccabi Haifa have had in ages – and they don’t tend to do well in testing times.
What’s generally happened this season is that Maccabi Haifa have taken their chances better than their opponents. It’s not as if they stifle their opponents; they just outscore them. A team that takes their chances against Maccabi Haifa, just as Hapoel Haifa did in the derby earlier in the season, can beat them. It won’t be easy; Maccabi Haifa look very confident in the final third, and although he’s basically a paedophile, Atzili is a very good attacker. Do Maccabi Haifa really have the work-rate and organisation to beat Maccabi Tel-Aviv, though? I’d be surprised to see it. Read nothing into their 3-0 win last weekend, either – Bnei Sakhnin had a lot of Covid-19 in their camp so it was a heavily rotated squad from usual.
Did you know that Maccabi Haifa haven’t beaten Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Ligat Ha’al since 2016? That’s because Maccabi Tel-Aviv not only always are the better team on paper, but because they’re smart enough to prove it. They almost always beat Maccabi Haifa at home, and if they intend on winning the title again this season, I think they need to win tonight too; see if they can set the cat amongst the pigeons with their mentally fragile visitors. As good as the away team are, Maccabi Tel-Aviv are better; it’s only proving it that has been missing.
Well, it looks like there’ll be more stability at the club moving forward with Dutch interim boss van Leeuwen having now been allowed to recruit his own backroom staff. I still think an Ivic return at some stage is inevitable but for now, it’s van Leeuwen. Their professional display in Netanya at weekend was an ominous sign for the rest of Israel because goal-scoring is what they’ve struggled with the most over the past couple of months, but they rattled three goals in during that game. They’re a bit late to the party, the home team, but they’re easing into their groove now, and as the best team in Israel, that’s a worrisome prospect.
Under van Leeuwen, they’ve gone from a leaky team that didn’t control games as well as they could into a disciplined and professional unit that only really lacked in the final third. Although I’ll freely admit that I still need to see more from Ben-Haim and Blackman, this remains a very good team, led by the supremely talented playmaker Biton. With him and Rikan running the show properly in midfield, lethal Cohen up front, and Pesic/Shechter as potentials to support him, Maccabi Tel-Aviv can boast a very dangerous attacking threat. With a lead, they’re the best team in the country; now they just need to become the best at breaking down stubborn defences. Based on what I saw in Netanya though, that time is well on its way. Don’t forget that they re-signed Geraldes lately, meaning that they’ve got very experienced and creative full-backs too, specifically to help with overloading opponents to help break teams down more!
For me, Maccabi Tel-Aviv being priced as underdogs at home in a Ligat Ha’al game is embarrassing work from the bookmakers. These two teams have not been realistically comparable for a lot of years now, and this one is no different. I respect the improvements Maccabi Haifa have made, but they’ve got a long way to go before I class them as being able to hold a candle to Maccabi Tel-Aviv. The home team have more winners, more experience, and a better balance – and they’re hungry for another title. For me, the value lies in backing the home team with draw no bet cover.
Verdict: Maccabi Tel-Aviv to win with draw no bet at evens.
Karlsruher SC vs Hannover 96
KO: (UK time)
A lot of folk seem to fancy the visitors here, and I get it. Karlsruher SC tend to lose out against the better teams in the Bundesliga 2, and with key defender Bormuth joining fellow defenders Carlson and Jung on the sidelines, the advantage sure does lie with Hannover 96.
However, I would add this; Hannover 96 are not even a top five team in the table right now. On paper, anybody can tell you that they’re one of the best teams in the division. Then again, so are Nurnberg, not that they ever seem to want to show it. There’s a fine line between being good, and proving it – and this level is very hard to prove it at unless the team has the right attitude. Now, they’ve picked up some good wins lately, Hannover 96, and more power to them for it. They’re good enough to push for promotion, and most of their key players (e.g. Falette, Bijol etc.) are now back. I can understand why some of you may want to back them tonight.
However, I’m not blown away by them – yet. I think they’ve scored a lot of goals against teams that really want to concede goals, if that makes sense. Any team with a bit of a backbone and more tenacity can trouble them though, so I’m not one of the folk that suggests the away win as a good idea here. After all, Karlsruher SC are an incredibly motivated and industrious team, never doubting their own capacity to outscore teams. Whilst I agree that Hannover 96 are more likely to edge it than their hosts, but the bookies are spot on for me here; there’s no value to be found in the 1×2 market here. Beating Karlsruher SC requires something that I’m yet to see from Hannover 96, in other words.
One thing that Hannover 96 and Karlsruher SC seem to agree on is goals, though. Karlsruher SC are one of the most predictable teams in the division; they make my life a lot easier because of it. Their adventurous nature will almost always lead them to both scoring and conceding goals, and they’ve generally got too much intensity and potency for lesser teams to handle. They’ll not shy away from challenges like tonight, but it’s in games like these where they can get burned for being too open in defence. I would not underestimate this team, though.
I appreciate that the timing of their last weekend win was favourable, but to beat Holstein Kiel away from home, bagging three in the process? To beat a very astute Greuther Furth? Even drawing with Heidenheim is a good result – and they’ve not struggled to score goals in any of those encounters. What they do is simple enough; get the ball in the air to Hofmann, and surround him with willing runners. Very few teams at this level can adequately suppress such a tactic. He scores plenty, the big man, but Goller, Wanitzek, Gondorf, and Kother have all contributed. Gueye does too, albeit in a different way. The best way to describe Karlsruher SC is to say that they’re an annoying team to beat, and they will be tonight too, whether their opponents get the best of them or not.
Karlsruher SC are mentally stronger than Hannover 96, which makes the game hard to call. I mean, Hannover 96 have the better squad; that’s quite obvious. Being able to prove it is another matter though. I see the foundation of a squad that I like at Hannover 96 with Ducksch, Twumasi, and Weydandt sharing out the goals, Sulejmani/Kaiser/Haraguchi/Maina/Muslija making things happen, Hult supporting from full-back, and Falette organising at the back. That’s a team that could potentially do well – if it stays fit. They’d need a better goal-scorer if they were to be promoted, as well as another centre-back and a new goalkeeper, but for now, this squad is in a good place. I’m sure Hannover 96 will trouble their hosts.
Enough to win, though? I just don’t know at this point. It’ll be a very interesting affair, and I’m confident that Karlsruher SC will have enough of it going their way to make it entertaining too. Therefore, whichever way this one goes, backing over 2.5 goals at 4/5 appeals to me.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Nurnberg vs Jahn Regensburg
KO: (UK time)
I despair when it comes to Nurnberg. Honestly, I don’t know how their fans do it. To arrive in the Bundesliga 2, relegated from the Bundesliga, with one of the best squads in the division, and to only just avoid relegation was bad enough. Then, they made substantial pre-season investments for the current campaign, and I for one was suitably impressed. However, it seems to be a carbon copy of last season at the moment with the club being closer to the relegation zone than the promotion places. I appreciate that the gap between themselves and Holstein Kiel in third place is just twelve points so it’s hardly insurmountable. However, it’s really not where they want to be right now, battling relegation, because this team does not have the mentality to cope with a relegation battle.
I’m enough of a footballing enthusiast to have watched Nurnberg’s relegation play-off last season, and they were only spared by blind luck. Honestly, they were beaten black and blue by Ingolstadt in the second leg (despite winning the first one 2-0 at home!), and only a late goal completely against the run of play stopped Nurnberg from dropping two divisions in two seasons. To be fair, this club made more than enough changes pre-season to make this season more successful but somehow it’s falling flat, and I honestly can’t explain to you why that is.
They made intelligent buys and loans, bringing in proven goal-scorer Schaffler, Kiwi wonderkid Singh, experienced forward Kopke etc. and they were finally going to get Misidjan back after what – two years out? It’s not like they were all joining a group of rank amateurs, either. As far as I am concerned, midfielder Geis is a Bundesliga level player, Hack has enough intelligence and technique for the Bundesliga, and both Singh/Handwerker have enough potential for it too. Things simply aren’t going as they should though. Loanee goalkeeper Fruchtl, brought in from Bayern Munich, hasn’t played a game. Singh hasn’t impressed enough to be a regular. Midisjan has now been sold to PEC Zwolle. Kopke has had too many injury problems. There’s an excuse for every single one of them, I’m afraid, but the result is the same – Nurnberg lose out.They’ve just added Norwegian midfielder Daehli to their squad, whose move to Racing Genk fell flat. He knows the division well from his time with St. Pauli, and was a very solid creator in midfield during his time there. Perhaps he can help Nurnberg control games better; time will tell.
Whilst Nurnberg don’t really struggle to score goals, they do struggle to control games, hence the demolition job suffered at home at weekend against Hannover 96. They’ve had hard games lately, Nurnberg – I’ll give them that. This isn’t an acceptable excuse, though. They’re supposed to be one of the best teams in the Bundesliga 2 but they’re playing as if they’d only just been promoted into the division! They’ve got more than enough firepower to be a threat, but their entire defensive preparation just isn’t good enough, and it’s not likely to improve tonight with Danish defender Sorensen out. They may well win this game, Nurnberg, but you’re a braver man than I am if you back them to do so. Indeed, I gave serious consideration to laying the home team tonight before settling for goals.
That’s the thing, you see. As confident as I am in Nurnberg making life unnecessarily hard for themselves, I’m also confident that Jahn Regensburg will be as inconsistent as ever. I’d argue that this is the best Jahn Regensburg squad I’ve seen for a while now but they’re no closer to stringing any consistently good runs together. Indeed, it could be argued that, although in possession of their best squad on paper, they’re not as effective as they were three years back. I appreciate that they’re still without a recognised goal-scorer, and that Albers’ goals have dried up of late, but that midfield of theirs is very dangerous; it shouldn’t matter who is up front.
I mean, Stolze and Besuschkow have been as excellent as ever, Vrenezi has come back from his loan spell as a very effective creator, and Moritz – when fit – has reminded people as to how good he can be. They’ve been so impressive in midfield, Jahn Regensburg, that even George has found himself on the peripheral – and he’s a very effective attacking option, albeit in a more direct sense. When it comes to a goal threat from midfield, Jahn Regensburg really are very good.
However, when it comes to playing the complete game, defending as one, and being clinical at the other end, it just doesn’t happen, at least not with any consistency. This season, they’ve gone from drawing at Fortuna Dusseldorf to shipping four at home against Osnabruck to humping an underrated SV Sandhausen side. I really don’t know what to expect from this team any longer, at least from a 1×2 perspective. They’re far too lax at the back, and they’re even more lax in midfield when it comes to letting opponents have the ball for too long, hence the steady access to the Jahn Regensburg back four. That leads to goals being conceded, which is why they’ve found wins hard to come by. They’ve got the personnel to prevent it happening though, so I really don’t get it.
Still, Jahn Regensburg walk hand-in-hand with goal-scoring, just as Nurnberg do. Therefore, despite both teams having some pretty significant issues to address as the Bundesliga 2 campaign unwinds, I’m inclined to believe that we’ll see a high-scoring game tonight.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Sporting Charleroi vs OH Leuven
KO: (UK time)
Five defeats in a row for Sporting Charleroi is very unusual nowadays. Although not a top team in Belgium, they’ve become a very steady team when it comes to competing for a European place, attracting some seriously impressive names over the years, one of which was Saido Berahino, not that he’s impressed much. But yeah – five defeats in a row! That’s an unusual place for Belhocine and co. to be in. Of course, there’s reasoning for it, is always the case with this team. They’ve played four out of those five away from home, and considering that they’ve come up against Standard de Liege, RSC Anderlecht, KV Oostende, and Antwerp in those games, I think that they can be forgiven the losses!
It’s logical enough to expect them to bounce back tonight though, in my opinion. In those games, their weakness was defending, not attacking. I mean, Berahino may not be firing but Nicholson is, and Rezaei is back from injury now. Christ, they’ve even got target man Teodorczyk in reserve, and he’s a proven goal-scorer at this level. Those two, supported by Fall and Gholizadeh, will score goals. The real stars of the attacking show for Charleroi are veteran Gillet and Japanese playmaker Morioka, both of which are serious class acts with tremendous vision and composure. They’re so good that Bruno can barely get a kick, and he’s a very good creator at this level himself. All of those players ensure that Charleroi have chances to score goals in every single game, no matter who they’re up against.
However, that defence is a problem. I don’t believe Belhocine knows his best back four, and with some players still out or not in the picture, I’m not surprised by that. Now Willems is out too, and even veteran shot stopper Penneteau is on the sidelines tonight. Still, I feel better about the Charleroi defensive situation now that they’ve acquired Botaka, who made his debut for them in the defeat against Standard de Liege. With him in the back four, I have to believe that things will eventually stabilise, enough so for the attacking aspect of this team to secure more wins. With the form guide misleading, and the transfer activity encouraging, I’m inclined to believe that the home team will bounce back tonight.
Of course, it’s not all about Charleroi. OH Leuven have problems of their own in defence. Last season, in the division below, it was Duplus and Schuermans that held everything together, but they’ve missed most of this campaign already. German defender Kotsych has seen more action as a result, and now he’s out too. Their defence is in a worse state than Charleroi’s, I assure you, which is why they’ve taken the same approach to games as tonight’s hosts have i.e. to try and score more goals than they concede. Sometimes it works for them, and sometimes it doesn’t – it’s a coin toss, really.
That coin has exploded ahead of this game though. See, OH Leuven may not be afraid to attack teams but they need a goal-scorer to make it count. That’s not been a problem this season as French forward Henry has been on fire. However, he’s out of this game, which leaves them with a huge space to fill, and nobody to fill it. That news has even dampened the excitement over the arrival of attacker Schrijvers from Club Brugge, who is a very good player indeed; far too good for OH Leuven on his day. He’s not a goal-scorer though; he’s a creator. Henry is the only goal-scorer in this squad now that Perbet is all but retired, so OH Leuven have no defence and no goal-scorers for the trip to Charleroi.
I still like their midfield, though. Maertens, Sowah, Mercier, Hubert, and even Myny have all done well this season. You’ll never find a OH Leuven midfield that refuses to help out at either end, and that battling nature is what makes me enjoy watching them play. However, their effectiveness and efficiency is in serious doubt at the moment because of their absentees, and a hammering against AA Gent at home last time out is unlikely to spur them on. Charleroi is always a tough team to beat because of their athleticism; doing so without some of your best/most reliable players is incredibly difficult, so suffice to say I don’t fancy the chance of the visitors tonight.
Therefore, the home win at 4/5 sits rather well with me.
Verdict: Sporting Charleroi to win at 4/5.
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: Salzburg – No absentees. SV Ried – No absentees. Swarovski Tirol –Anselm is absent. SCR Altach – Haudum is absent. Wolfsberger AC – Peretz is absent. LASK – Karamoko and Raguz are absent.
Belgian Eerste Klasse: Racing Genk – Wouters is absent. Daehli has left. Zulte-Waregem – Chorny, van Hecke, and Zarandia are absent. Germinal Beerschot – Mboko is a doubt. Kortrijk – D’Haene, de Sart, Deman, and Ocansey are absent. AA Gent – de Bruyn and Odjidja-Ofoe are absent. Sint-Truiden – Sankhon is absent. Van Dessel is a doubt. Sporting Charleroi – Penneteau, Willems, and Zajkov are absent. Goranov is a doubt. Botaka may debutise. OH Leuven – Duplus, Aguemon, Henry, Kotsych, and Schuermans are absent. Kehli and Osabutey are doubts.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Istra 1961 – Galilea, Tomasevic, Fuentes, Lisica, and Navarro are absent. Bosancic and Blagojevic are doubts. Rijeka – Velkovski, Ristovski, and Nwolokor are absent. Dinamo Zagreb – Stojanovic is a doubt. Hajduk Split – Jairo, Dimitrov, and Krekovic are absent.
Czechia Liga 1: Banik Ostrava – Juroska and Sasinka are absent. Slovan Liberec – No absentees. Bohemians 1905 – Bartek, Pokorny, and Vales are absent. Kostl and Schumacher are doubts. Opava – Hnanicek, Pikul, Rychly, Smola, and Tiehi are absent. Zlin – Matejov is absent. Slavia Prague – Sevcik and Yusuf are absent. Zima is a doubt.
English Premier League: Burnley – Taylor is a doubt. Barnes, Brownhill, and Brady are absent. Aston Villa – McGinn returns. Hause is absent. Chelsea – Boss Lampard sacked; new boss Tuchel. Kante is absent. Pulisic is a doubt. Wolverhampton Wanderers – Jimenez, Jose, Jonny, Marcal are absent. Podence is a doubt. Brighton & Hove Albion –Lallana and Connolly return. Welbeck and Lamptey are absent. Fulham – Cairney, Kongolo, and Robinson are absent. Cordova-Reid returns. Everton – Digne and Iwobi are absent. Doucoure, Gbamin, Nkounkou, Delph, and Allan are absent. Leicester City – Vardy, Praet, and Morgan are absent. Pereira returns. Manchester United – Jones is absent. Sheffield United – Egan, Berge, Osborn, and O’Connell are absent. McBurnie and Mousset are doubts.
French Ligue 1: Lorient – Callens, Delaplace, Fontaine, Le Goff, Mendes, Monconduit, Nardi, and Saunier are absent. Dijon FCO – Benzia and Chala are absent.
German Bundesliga 2: Darmstadt 98 – Palsson and Wittek are absent. SV Sandhausen – Biada, Esswein, Nartey, and Pat. Schmidt are absent. Paderborn 07 – No absentees. Holstein Kiel – Awuku, Ignjovski, and Thesker are absent. Bartels is a major doubt. Karlsruher SC –Bormuth, Carlson, Hanek, and S. Jung are absent. Hannover 96 – Evina, Frantz, Gudra, Lamti, Maina, and Sundermann are absent. Bijol and Franke return. Nurnberg –Besong, Celebi, Goden, Klandt, Knothe, Kopke, Lohkemper, Lukse, Sorensen, and Sorg are absent. Daehli may debutise. Jahn Regensburg – No absentees.
Israeli Ligat Ha’al: MS Ashdod – Yehezkel is a doubt. Azulai returns. Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv – Buzaglo, dos Santos, Zenati, Zrihen, and Ljujic are absent. Mori returns. Hapoel Kfar Saba – Gathon and Makhluf are absent. Maccabi Netanya – Banda and Ashkenazi are absent. Maccabi Tel-Aviv – Y. Cohen is absent. Glazer and Pesic are doubts. Maccabi Haifa – Gershon and Abu-Fani are absent.
Italian Serie B: Chievo Verona –Pucciarelli and Illanes are absent. Cittadella – Proia, Bassano, Awua, Mastrantonio, and Perticone are absent.
Italian Coppa Italia: Atalanta Bergamo – Pasalic is absent. Gomez has left. SS Lazio – Alberto, Cataldi, and Proto are absent. Juventus – Sandro, Dybala, and Israel are absent. SPAL – No news.
Dutch Eredivisie: AZ Alkmaar – de Wit, Svensson, and Vlaar are absent. FC Utrecht – Elia, Bergstrom, and Sylla are absent. RKC Waalwijk – Ngonge, El Haddouti, and John are absent. Fortuna Sittard – Polter is absent. VVV Venlo – Pachonik is absent. Vitesse Arnhem – No absentees. SC Heerenveen –Ras and Llanez Jr. are absent. Feyenoord Rotterdam – Conteh, Bijlow, Teixeira, and Kokcu are absent.
Swiss Super League: FC Zurich – Britto, Kololli, Reichmuth, Janjicic, and Seiler are absent. Vaduz – Coulibaly and Prokopic are absent. Young Boys Bern – Camara, Nsame, Martins-Pereira, Petignat, and Sierro are absent. Garcia and Spielmann are doubts. Lausanne Sport – Falk, Geissmann, Zehknini, Zohouri, Turkes, and Schneuwly are absent.
Turkish Super Cup: Istanbul BB – Visca, Kahveci, Rafael, Giuliano, Bolignoli, Caicara, and Chadli are doubts. Trabzonspor – Omur is 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: Salzburg vs SV Ried (7) 2-0 Swarovski Tirol vs SCR Altach (5) 2-2 Wolfsberger AC vs LASK (6) 1-1
Belgian Eerste Klasse: Racing Genk vs Zulte-Waregem (6) over 2.5 goals Germinal Beerschot vs Kortrijk (5) 1-2 AA Gent vs Sint-Truiden (7) over 2.5 goals Sporting Charleroi vs OH Leuven (6) 1-0
Croatian Prva Liga: Istra 1961 vs Rijeka (6) 0-1, at least one red card in this game Dinamo Zagreb vs Hajduk Split (5) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Czechia Liga 1: Banik Ostrava vs Slovan Liberec (6) 1-1 Bohemians 1905 vs Opava (5) 1-0 Zlin vs Slavia Prague (7) 0-2
English Premier League: Burnley vs Aston Villa (6) 0-0 Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (4) 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion vs Fulham (5) 1-1 Everton vs Leicester City (5) 0-1 Manchester United vs Sheffield United (7) 2-0
French Ligue 1: Lorient vs Dijon FCO (4) 2-1
German Bundesliga 2: Darmstadt 98 vs SV Sandhausen (5) over 2.5 goals Paderborn 07 vs Holstein Kiel (5) 1-2 Karlsruher SC vs Hannover 96 (5) 1-2 Nurnberg vs Jahn Regensburg (6) 2-2
Hungarian Liga 1: Varda SE vs Fehervar (5) 1-2 Budafoki MTE vs Ferencvaros (6) 0-1
Israeli Ligat Ha’al: MS Ashdod vs Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv (6) 2-1 Hapoel Kfar Saba vs Maccabi Netanya (5) 1-1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Haifa (5) 2-1
Italian Serie B: Chievo Verona vs Cittadella (5) 1-1
Italian Coppa Italia: Atalanta Bergamo vs SS Lazio (6) over 2.5 goals Juventus vs SPAL (7) 2-0
Dutch Eredivisie: AZ Alkmaar vs FC Utrecht (6) over 2.5 goals RKC Waalwijk vs Fortuna Sittard (5) 2-1 VVV Venlo vs Vitesse Arnhem (6) 0-1 SC Heerenveen vs Feyenoord Rotterdam (5) 2-2
Portuguese Taca de Portugal: Maritimo Funchal vs Estoril (5) 2-1
Spanish Copa del Rey: Sevilla vs Valencia (5) 2-1 Almeria vs CA Osasuna (5) 1-0 Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Barcelona (6) over 2.5 goals
Swiss Super League: FC Zurich vs Vaduz (6) 1-0 Young Boys Bern vs Lausanne Sport (4) 0-0
Turkish Super Cup: Istanbul BB vs Trabzonspor (6)1-2
