Tulevik vs Flora Tallinn
KO: (UK time)
The quality gap should be too big here, basically.
Verdict: Flora Tallinn to win at 1/10.
TFT Issue 3405!
FreeBankers
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.
Suduva Marijampole vs Dainava
KO: (UK time)
Suduva are not firing on all cylinders just yet but should still be too good for lowly Dainava. Some A Lyga teams have made a bit of a splash this season, but not them. They’re not good enough, and Suduva are still very much in the hunt for the A Lyga title. Home win.
Verdict: Suduva Marijampole to win at 4/25.
Bayern Munich vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen
KO: (UK time)
Bayern are still without some key players but tend to perform really well at the business end of the season – and they are. I trust their half-injured team more than I trust the laziest, most utterly ineffectual Leverkusen team I’ve seen in a long time, especially with limp Leipzig displays to further encourage the reigning champions. Home win, but no handicaps.
Verdict: Bayern Munich to win at 2/5.
Additional games
Fatih Karagumruk vs Goztepe
KO: (UK time)
Apologies for the brief preview today, folks. I’ve simply not had the time to write them up as I’d like for various reasons.
Karagumruk have got Covid-19 in their camp right now. There may be more or less absentees than what I’ve listed below, but it goes without saying that they’re likely to be below full-strength. They do need to keep winning but I’m struggling to envision how if Roco etc. miss out here, and that’s despite their impressive displays of late. After all, facing Goztepe is always hard – it’ll be even harder with Covid-19 working against them.
Goztepe have done rather well lately too. This team has produced some good football for a good couple of years now, which I find to be really impressive anyway, considering that they don’t have the biggest of budgets in Turkey, and that they always have their best players poached from them. Players love to play for Goztepe because they do attack well, hence Jahovic’s return, and they’re very much a handful. Goztepe also have ambitions to play in Europe next season, and I doubt they’ll pass up on this ideal time to face Karagumruk.
For me, the value is on the visitors.
Verdict: Goztepe to win with draw no bet at evens.
Erzgebirge Aue vs Nurnberg
KO: (UK time)
Apologies for the brief preview today, folks. I’ve simply not had the time to write them up as I’d like for various reasons.
Nurnberg being favourites to win this game on paper makes sense. They’ve got a top six team, not that they show it. However, this is a very lazy team, and they seldom pass up on opportunities to showcase it. They’re likely to have done enough to avoid relegation this season, purely because Osnabruck are so bad, although they need to be wary of a Sandhausen resurgence – which they’re very capable of. Nurnberg just don’t give a shit, though – that’s all that I ever get from their matches. With star creator Hack now back but far from match ready, midfield engine Nurnberger in a similar position, and star striker Schaffler out, it’s hard to imagine who is going to make the different for this overly complacent team here.
Aue are not a good team, but they do work very hard. They’re a very predictable team, generally just having three or four target men to rotate, and one of them tends to shine more than the others. That person varies from season to season; this time around it’s Testroet, although Kruger has done well too, to be fair. Schuster is an experienced manager, he’s got regulars like Gnjatic and Fandrich back for this game, and Aue tend to be at their best against teams that underestimate them.
Therefore, although I don’t doubt that Nurnberg are a lot better than Aue, I think the value has to be on the home team here.
Verdict: Erzgebirge Aue to win with draw no bet at 6/5.
Würzburger Kickers vs Darmstadt 98
KO: (UK time)
Apologies for the brief preview today, folks. I’ve simply not had the time to write them up as I’d like for various reasons.
In essence, Darmstadt are better than Kickers. Even Seydel’s absence hasn’t derailed them as much as I thought it could. They look more comfortable in battling relegation than before, Darmstadt, because they’re a mentally strong team. They’ve played with a lot of balls lately, and that’s all but made relegation impossible for them now. They’re not the kind of team to simply switch off though; they’ll keep going.
Kickers need to win if they’re to keep their slim hopes of staying up alive. They’ve not got terrible remaining fixtures but they are running out, and they’re no closer to the teams above them. They’ve improved in 2021, as you’d expect with the signings they’ve made, but are still falling short. After chasing shadows against St. Pauli for ninety minutes on the weekend, I expect tired legs tonight. They’re still missing too many defenders, and now regular forward Baumann is out too. I just don’t see a happy conclusion for them here.
In-play may be the better option, but I still like the away win at 17/20 – you can’t give Darmstadt the kind of space that Kickers basically have to here.
Verdict: Darmstadt 98 to win at 17/20.
Chiasso vs Grasshopper Zurich
KO: (UK time)
Apologies for the brief preview today, folks. I’ve simply not had the time to write them up as I’d like for various reasons.
One of the unwritten rules of Challenge League football is that plucky minnows Chiasso always cause Grasshopper a lot of problems. Even when Grasshopper do beat them, it’s never done convincingly. Chiasso always work harder, want it more, and press harder than their more illustrious opposition – and I expect more of the same tonight. It takes an almighty fight to beat them nowadays, and Grasshopper never want to be involved in such; they just want to win games as if they’re superstars, which I suppose they technically are at this level. Chiasso have been good lately, factoring in that they’re not blessed with quality. I can see them causing issues for the visitors here.
The pressure is all on Grasshopper, and they tend to buckle under such nowadays. They’re truly Switzerland’s answer to Hamburger SV in Germany. They’re a good two or three levels above Chiasso when it comes to actual quality, but they’re a couple of levels beneath them when it comes to working hard and giving a shit. Grasshopper are very frustrating like that. They could win this game 5-0 – but I doubt it. I genuinely don’t remember the last time I watched them outplay Chiasso. Chiasso got a draw against them in Zurich last time around, and thoroughly deserved something from the meeting before that. There’s a reason Grasshopper almost never beat them by more than a single goal, and I expect them to showcase that reason tonight.
It may be a tad cheeky on my part, but laying Grasshopper makes the most sense to me today.
Verdict: Chiasso to win with a +0.5 Asian Handicap 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:
Hartberg – Lema and Schmerbock are absent. Horvath is a doubt.
St. Polten – Asadi and Tursch are absent. Muhamedbegovic is a doubt.
SCR Altach – Schreiner and Thurnwald are absent.
Admira Wacker – Tomic, Rath, Malicsek, and Babuscu are absent. Datkovic and Kadlec are doubts.
Austria Vienna – No absentees.
SV Ried – No absentees.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Sibenik – Pandza is absent. Matrin and Labovic are doubts.
Gorica – Kalik, Suk, and Lovric are absent. Steenvorden is a doubt.
Slaven Koprivnica – Bogojevic and Apau are absent.
Hajduk Split – Fossati, Vuskovic, Simic, Jradi, Caktas, and Nejamsic are absent.
Czechia Liga 1:
Banik Ostrava – Mena is a doubt.
Mlada Boleslav – Graiciar, Divis, Jirasek, Masek, Pech, and Tataev are absent. Simek is a doubt.
Ceske Budejovice – Ledecky and Skovajsa are absent.
Sigma Olomouc – Veprak, Nespor, Gressak, and Yunis are absent. Danek, Hala, Trefil, and Zahradnicek are doubts.
Baumit Jablonec – Haitl, Holik, and Martinec are absent.
Karvina – Neuman is absent.
English Premier League:
Chelsea – Silva, Kovacic, and Christensen are doubts.
Brighton & Hove Albion – Lamptey and March are absent. Andone, Connolly, and Tau are doubts.
German Bundesliga:
Koln – Andersson, Castrop, Cestic, Jakobs, Queiros, Krahl, Thielmann, and Voloder are absent. Duda returns.
RB Leipzig – Hartmann, Laimer, Novoa, and Szoboszlai are absent. Sabitzer and Poulsen are doubts.
Bayern Munich – Arp, Costa, Hoffmann, Gnabry, Sieb, Roca, Oberlin, Lewandowski, Tolisso, Sule, Stanisic, Vita, and Zaiser are absent.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen – Arias, Baumgartlinger, L. Bender, Fosu-Mensah, and Gedikli are absent. Wirtz is a doubt.
Eintracht Frankfurt – Ache, Bordner, Brugger, Hinteregger, Makanda, Fahrnberger, and Toure are absent.
Augsburg – Caligiuri and Khedira are absent. Gouweleeuw is a doubt.
Arminia Bielefeld – Cordova, Rehnen, and Schipplock are absent. Klos, Okugawa, and Maier are doubts.
Schalke 04 – Ahlers, Bentaleb, Boujellab, Flick, Langer, Ludewig, Maden, Mendyl, Nastasic, Pavlidis, Schuler, and Skrzybski are absent. Uth, Sane, and Paciencia return.
German Bundesliga 2:
Erzgebirge Aue – Cacutalua, Kalig, and Riese are absent. Fandrich, Gnjatic, and Zolinski return.
Nurnberg – Besong, Goden, Klandt, Knothe, Kopke, Lohkemper, Lukse, Schaffler, Sorg, and Suver are absent. Nurnberger returns. Muhl and Hack are doubts.
Greuther Furth – Berggreen and Kehr are absent.
Eintracht Braunschweig – Behrendt and Kijewski are absent.
Würzburger Kickers – Bonmann, Ewerton, Hansen, and Hammerich are absent.
Darmstadt 98 – Pfeiffer, Schuhen, Seydel, Stanilewicz, Wittek, and Zehnder are absent.
Italian Serie A:
Hellas Verona – Benassi, Veloso, and Vieira are absent. Cetin, Kalinic, and Magnani are doubts.
ACF Fiorentina – Kokorin and Milenkovic are absent.
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira – No absentees.
Farense – No absentees.
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso – Magnin, Pavlovic, Dixon, and Morganella are absent.
Grasshopper Zurich – Kalem, Cvetkovic, Nadjack, and Morandi are absent. Buur is a doubt.
Neuchatel Xamax – Saiz, A. Rodriguez, Pasche, Koura, and Kempter are absent. Ouattara is a doubt.
SC Kriens – Costa and Yesilcayir are absent. Luan and Aliu are doubts.
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy – Rufli, da Silva, Routis, Laugeois, Gazzetta, Perrier, and Dalvand are absent.
FC Schaffhausen – Paulinho and Sarr are absent.
FC Wil – Ismaili and Izmirlioglu are absent. Sauter is a doubt.
Aarau – Schindelholz, Gashi, Peralta, Qollaku, Thaler, and Verboom are absent.
Turkish Super Lig:
Kayserispor – Parlak, Uzun, Fernandes, Kanga, and Campanharo are absent.
Genclerbirligi – Johansson, Toure, Akbas, Artan, Yilmaz, and Kizildag are absent.
Rizespor – Pehlivan and Gorgen are absent. Donsah, Soderlund, and Erdogan are doubts.
Konyaspor – Bircan, Uludag, and Anicic are absent. Kravets, Findikli, Calik, and Eduok are doubts.
Fatih Karagumruk – Viviano, Colak, Roco, Erdem, Tatli, Campl, Bertolacci, Zukanovic, Altinay, and Durmaz are absent. Castro is a doubt.
Goztepe – Mihojevic and Ozturk are absent.
Sivasspor – Erdal, Arslan, Rybalka, and Appindangoye are absent.
Besiktas JK – Douglas, Ozyakup, Hasic, and Tosun are absent. Aboubakar is a slight doubt.
Hatayspor – Boyar and Ilgaz are absent. Ornek is a doubt.
Antalyaspor – Sari, Kudryashov, Sahin, Bayradkar, and Balci are absent. Fredy and Sam are doubts.
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.
Copa Libertadores:
Deportivo Tachira vs Olimpia Asuncion (5) 1-2
Always Ready vs Internacional (6) 0-1
Santos vs Barcelona Guayaquil (5) 2-1
Argentinos Juniors vs Club Nacional de Montevideo (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Sporting Cristal vs Sao Paulo (5) 0-0
Velez Sarsfield vs Flamengo (5) 0-1
Copa Sudamericana:
Metropolitanos vs Melgar FBC (5) 1-0
Atletico Goianiense vs Newell’s Old Boys (4) 2-1
12 de Octubre vs Rosario Central (6) 0-0
Aucas vs Athletico Paranaense (5) 1-1
Austrian Bundesliga:
Hartberg vs St. Polten (6) 2-1
SCR Altach vs Admira Wacker (5) 1-0
Austria Vienna vs SV Ried (5) 1-1
Bulgarian A PFG:
Slavia Sofia vs Botev Vratsa (5) 2-2
Arda vs Etar (5) 1-0
Cherno More Varna vs Botev Plovdiv (6) 2-1
Croatian Prva Liga:
Sibenik vs Gorica (5) 0-1
Slaven Koprivnica vs Hajduk Split (5) 2-1
Czechia Liga 1:
Banik Ostrava vs Mlada Boleslav (5) 2-1
Ceske Budejovice vs Sigma Olomouc (5) 0-1
Baumit Jablonec vs Karvina (6) 2-0
English Premier League:
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion (6) 1-0
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Tulevik vs Flora Tallinn (8) 0-2
Tammeka vs Legion (5) 1-2
French Coupe de France:
Canet Roussillon and Montpellier HSC (6) 1-2
German Bundesliga:
Koln vs RB Leipzig (5) 0-1
Bayern Munich vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen (7) over 2.5 goals
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Augsburg (5) 2-1
Arminia Bielefeld vs Schalke 04 (6) 0-0
German Bundesliga 2:
Erzgebirge Aue vs Nurnberg (5) 1-0
Greuther Furth vs Eintracht Braunschweig (6) 2-1
Würzburger Kickers vs Darmstadt 98 (6) 1-2
Hungarian Liga 1:
Zalaegerszegi TE vs Budafoki MTE (6) over 2.5 goals
Ferencvaros vs Ujpest (6) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Israeli State Cup:
Hapoel Kfar Shalem vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) 1-0
Italian Serie A:
Hellas Verona vs ACF Fiorentina (6) 1-1
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Zalgiris Vilnius vs Dziugas Telsiai (7) 2-1
Suduva Marijampole vs Dainava (7) 2-0
Riteriai vs FK Panevezys (6) 1-1
Portuguese Liga 1:
Pacos de Ferreira vs Farense (5) 2-2
Romanian Liga 1:
Viitorul Constanta vs Gaz Metan Medias (5) 0-1
Dinamo Bucharest vs UTA Arad (6) 0-0
Hermannstadt vs Astra Giurgiu (5) 0-1
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso vs Grasshopper Zurich (5) 2-1
Neuchatel Xamax vs SC Kriens (5) 0-0
Stade Lausanne-Ouchy vs FC Schaffhausen (6) 2-1
FC Wil vs Aarau (5) over 2.5 goals
Turkish Super Lig:
Kayserispor vs Genclerbirligi (4) 1-2
Rizespor vs Konyaspor (6) 2-1
Fatih Karagumruk vs Goztepe (5) 0-1
Sivasspor vs Besiktas JK (5) 2-1
Hatayspor vs Antalyaspor (6) 1-0