TFT Issue 3407!

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Bankers

General Information

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Banker

FC Porto vs Vitória Guimaraes

KO: (UK time)

I’d like to think Porto should win this one easily enough. I like Guimaraes, but they’re not in a great place right now, and they’ll find it even harder tonight if Quaresma is out. Guimaraes are good, but they’re giving far too many chances away, and they’re up against one of the best teams in Portugal. Not just that, but Porto need the points. Therefore, even if it’s not a comprehensive victory, I do expect a home win here.

Verdict: FC Porto to win at 33/100.

Featured game

Tondela vs CD Nacional de Madeira

KO: (UK time)

I’ve said all season long that the end of the campaign tends to showcase Tondela at their best. It’s generally just because they’re in a relegation battle at times like these – that’s what spurs them on. At this time of the season though, Tondela channel their inner Porto though, hence their wins away from home against Vitoria Guimaraes and Moreirense lately. They’re a bloody nightmare at times like these, Tondela. I’m utterly convinced that this team cannot be relegated, based on what they’ve endured over the years. 

They’re in a healthy enough position after their recent wins but the battle against the drop isn’t over yet. Ordinarily, I’d be a little fearful of backing them to win today as their island opponents would normally turn up and look to park the bus, given Tondela’s good counterattacks. That’s not a realistic possibility for Nacional here, though. They’re too far adrift at the foot of the table, and if they’ve any intentions of staying up, they have to win at least five of their remaining matches – probably all of them. 

They’re obviously not going to be able to keep hold of Spanish striker Mario Gonzalez, Tondela. They can’t keep players that enter double figures in a season for them. It’s fair to say that they’ve benefited significantly from Ayestaran being in charge though; his contacts in the game has brought them quality players with lots to offer, and also a good pedigree to boot. 

What never ceases to amaze me is how well Tondela move the ball though. For a limited squad with limited ambitions, they really do play some excellent football at times, particularly toward the end of a campaign. They usually have problems with finding the net but that’s not the case right now. They’re in a good place, Tondela, and I’m left wondering what could have been for them had they put this much effort in earlier in the campaign. Still, they are what they are.

I think that facing Nacional is good for Tondela. Tondela are in the better position; they can afford to sit and wait for the islanders to come at them – as they must – and that suits the home team. I always have a bit of a soft spot for the Madeira clubs but both of the big two have left me very cold this season. There’s just no fight in Nacional anymore, and I am really not used to seeing that. I remember watching them fold against Portimonense a few weeks back, and it was honestly like they’d already been relegated, such was their apathy.

It’s not like Nacional are short of good players either – that’s the kicker here. Thill, Micael, Gorre – they’re all good players, and Riascos/Rochez are handfuls. Alright, Koziello has been a disappointment but it’s not like they’re a bad team – on paper. In reality, they just don’t have anything for opponents to worry about nowadays. Even the arrival of Machado as boss in March hasn’t changed anything. Mentally, this team is not strong enough for a relegation battle – and they’re not good enough individually to get by without it.

I think Nacional are doomed, and if they want to prove me wrong, they’ve got to attack Tondela today. If that happens, the home team can have no excuses for failing to win it. Mentally, these two teams are poles apart, and I don’t remember Nacional ever winning against Tondela away from home.

Verdict: Tondela to win at 19/20.

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.

Australian A-League:

Western United – Wales, Pasquali, and Risdon return.
Wellington Phoenix – McGing and Hemed return. DeVere, Hudson-Wihongi, and Piscopo are absent.

Danish Superligaen:

AGF – Jorgensen, Duncan, Arzani, Tengstedt, and Tingager are absent.
Randers – Kamara, Hogh, Kopplin, and Lauridsen are absent.
FC Midtjylland – Hoegh is a doubt.
FC Copenhagen – Boilesen, Bjelland, and Zeca are absent.
Vejle – Faghir and Gundelund are absent. Briggs is a doubt.

AC Horsens – Pohl and Risgaard Jensen are absent. 

English Premier League:

Leicester City – Barnes and Justin are absent.
West Bromwich Albion – Ivanovic is absent.

Italian Serie A:

AS Roma – Spinazzola, Pedro, Diawara, El Shaarawy, Kumbulla, Zaniolo, and Smalling are absent.
Atalanta Bergamo – Hateboer is absent.
SSC Napoli – Ospina, Demme, and Ghoulam are absent.
SS Lazio – Felipe is absent. Escalante is a doubt.

Dutch Eredivisie:

AFC Ajax Amsterdam – Onana and Blind are absent.
FC Utrecht – Ramselaar, Bergstrom, Hoogma, Mahi, and St. Jago are absent. 

Portuguese Liga 1:

Tondela – No absentees.
CD Nacional de Madeira – Witi is absent.
Gil Vicente – No absentees,
Famalicao – No absentees.
Portimonense – Lucas is absent.
SL Benfica – Almeida and Araujo are absent.
FC Porto – Marcano, Mbaye, and Otavio are absent. Sanusi is a doubt.
Vitória Guimaraes – Amoah is absent. Quaresma is a doubt.

Romanian Liga 1:

Academica Clinceni – Pirvulescu is absent.
FCSB – Pantea, Ion, Coman, Olaru, and Morutan are absent.
Politehnica Iasi – Mihalache is absent.
Voluntari – No news.

Spanish Primera Liga:

Atletico Madrid – Felix and Suarez are absent.
Huesca – Maffeo, Ontiveros, Silva, and Valera are absent.
Granada – Duarte, Kenedy, Lozano, Milla, and L. Suarez are absent. Gonalons is a doubt.
Eibar – Bigas, Correa, Exposito, and Muto are absent. Gil is a doubt.
Real Sociedad – Illarramendi, Merquelanz, Moya, Munoz, Sangalli, and Silva are absent.
Celta de Vigo – Alvarez, Blanco, and Mina are absent. Araujo and Mor are doubts.
Barcelona Braithwaite and Neto are absent. Coutinho and Fati are doubts.
Getafe – Cabaco, Cucho, Nyom, and Poveda are absent. 

Swiss Super League:

Servette – Sauthier, Henchoz, and Antunes are absent. Clichy, Mendy, Severin, Cespedes, and Kiassumbua are doubts.
FC Sion – Araz, Abdellaoui, Doldur, Wesley, Kabashi, Serey Die, and J. Ruiz are absent. Clemenza is a doubt.
FC Zurich – Khelifi and Sobiech are absent. Schonbachler is a doubt.
Young Boys Bern – Lustenberger and Petignat are absent. 

Turkish Super Lig:

Alanyaspor – Acar is absent. Karaca is a doubt.
Gazisehir Gaziantep – Vural, Ceylan, Kana-Biyik, and Tosca are absent.
Kasimpasa – Jeanvier and Kara are absent. Erdogan, Hodzic, and Drinkwater are doubts.
Istanbul BB – Tekdemir, Caicara, Mbombo, and Turuc are absent. Kaldirim, Skrtel, and Ba 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:

Fluminense vs River Plate (ARG) (5) 1-2
Atletico Nacional de Medellin vs Universidad Catolica (CHI) (6) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Atletico Junior Barranquilla vs Independiente de Santa Fe Bogota (5) 1-1

Copa Sudamericana:

Bolivar La Paz vs Arsenal de Sarandi (5) 2-1
RB Bragantino vs Deportes Tolima (6) 1-1
Aragua vs Atletico Lanus (5) 0-1
Gremio vs La Equidad Bogota (5) 0-0, at least one red card in this game
River Plate (PAR) vs Corinthians (5) 0-1
Penarol Montevideo vs Sport Huancayo (6) over 2.5 goals
Libertad Asuncion vs Palestino (6) over 2.5 goals

Australian A-League:

Western United vs Wellington Phoenix (5) 1-1

Bulgarian A PFG:

Ludogorets Razgrad vs CSKA 1948 Sofia (6) 2-1

Danish Superligaen:

AGF vs Randers (6) 1-1
FC Midtjylland vs FC Copenhagen (5) over 2.5 goals
Vejle vs AC Horsens (5) 1-0

English Premier League:

Leicester City vs West Bromwich Albion (4) 0-1

German Bundesliga 2:

SV Sandhausen vs Hamburger SV (5) 2-2

Israeli State Cup:

Maccabi Haifa vs Hapoel Afula (6) 1-0

Italian Serie A:

AS Roma vs Atalanta Bergamo (5) 1-2
SSC Napoli vs SS Lazio (6) 2-2

Dutch Eredivisie:

AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs FC Utrecht (7) over 2.5 goals

Portuguese Liga 1:

Tondela vs CD Nacional de Madeira (6) 2-0
Gil Vicente vs Famalicao (4) 1-2
Portimonense vs SL Benfica (6) over 2.5 goals
FC Porto vs Vitória Guimaraes (7) over 2.5 goals

Romanian Liga 1:

Academica Clinceni vs FCSB (6) 0-2
Politehnica Iasi vs Voluntari (5) 1-1

Spanish Primera Liga:

Atletico Madrid vs Huesca (6) 1-0
Granada vs Eibar (5) 2-1
Real Sociedad vs Celta de Vigo (6) over 2.5 goals
Barcelona vs Getafe (5) 1-1

Swiss Super League:

Servette vs FC Sion (6) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
FC Zurich vs Young Boys Bern (6) over 2.5 goals

Turkish Super Lig:

Alanyaspor vs Gazisehir Gaziantep (5) 2-1
Kasimpasa vs Istanbul BB (6) 1-2

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