TFT Issue 347!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Sporting Gijon vs Real Zaragoza – home win at 6/5.
Today’s featured game is the Primera Liga game between Sporting Gijon and Real Zaragoza. With this game being a huge one in terms of deciding who goes down, I expect plenty of passion and cards in this one!
Sporting will do well to avoid relegation give their somewhat ineffectual attack. However, experienced boss Javier Clemente has really got them playing for him and I like to see that. With a side like Sporting, having the right manager there is half of the battle as sides like this battle continuously. Sporting know how to play football too, though, which has to be the frustrating part. They need a proper striker but the addition of Colunga to their team has increased their potency in front of goal and I think we’ve seen sufficient examples of that of late. Defensively speaking, Sporting are a little inconsistent but the quality is generally there on their home turf. For me, this is a must win game for Sporting and they’re fighting hard enough to win it, not to mention that they’re scoring enough goals to do so too.
Visitors Zaragoza can only accept a win or relegation is virtually at their doorstep. They’ve gained some excellent results lately and bring good momentum into this game as a result, albeit on the back of some very lucky games with a last gasp penalty winning it for them against Atletico Madrid and a dreadful home display by Valencia allowing them to win with just nine men. Today, Zaragoza face a side that want to win this just as much as they do and that’s not something that Zaragoza have had to face in their last few games, interestingly enough. The problem with Zaragoza is that if you apply the right amount of pressure then they’ll crumble with their ineffectual defence and that’s precisely what I expect to happen here. Gijon is not an easy place to play as an away side and I think Zaragoza are bad enough at the back to be punished here as a result.
It’s not a banker, really – not much is at this stage of the season. However, Sporting are more than capable of grabbing a much needed three points and they are facing a side that must attack them so the opportunities will be there. In my eyes, Sporting have displayed enough lately to convince me that they’ll win games like these so the home win interests me at 6/5.
Verdict: Sporting Gijon to win at 6/5.
Additional games
Stromsgodset vs Valerenga Oslo – home win at 7/5.
Stromsgodet’s first home game of the season is against heavyweights Valerenga Oslo and I think that the timing of the game will suit the hosts. The Marienlyst in Drammen is always a tough venue, not least for the tenacious hosts but also for the artificial turf. Over the years, Stromsgodset have been one of the strongest sides in Norway when it comes to winning at home and their admirable attacking football makes them easy-on-the-eye. They’re a side not to be underestimated at home, even with a rather youthful squad and naive defence, and I think Valerenga may fall into that trap today. Valerenga underestimated Haugesund in their opening game and struggled to even create a presentable chance in the first-half. However, a red card for their opponents saw Valerenga eventually secure three points thanks to two late goals. The visitors have a good squad of players but they aren’t convincing just yet whereas Stromsgodset always give a good game, just as they did at Molde on the opening day of the season. I think the hosts are a shade long here and thus the home win interests me a lot.
Verdict: Stromsgodset to win at 7/5.
Nafta Lendava vs Rudar Velenje – under 2.5 goals at evens.
It’s bold, but I like it. Rudar are a physical side and are hard to beat as a result. They may even nick this one if their long ball tactics continue to work as well as they did last match. However, given their safe status in the Prva Liga, they’ve elected to have some fun ahead of this game. Indeed, they’ve left top goalscorer Majcen behind purely because he said he wouldn’t shave until he scored twelve goals in a season and he’s already on eight goals so the club thought it would be amusing to do it this way. In addition to that, they miss regular midfielder Rotman through suspension so given the general mood and missing regulars, I don’t see Rudar being at 100% today. Nafta need the points more than their opponents but just don’t score goals. Rudar are physical enough to prevent them from doing so, too. I have little interest in the 1×2 market but under 2.5 goals looks an interesting bet at evens.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at evens.
Slaven Koprivnica vs Hajduk Split – away win at 8/5.
I don’t like the current Hajduk squad very much and there aren’t many tougher away games than Slaven Koprivnica for Croatian Prva Liga sides. However, the away win interests me a lot at such long odds today because Slaven are in a bad way ahead of this game. Goalkeeper Rodic is out, for starters. Additionally, most of the defence are out with Kokalovic joining Maras and Grgic on the sidelines. Forwards Busic and Vrucina also miss out so if Slaven get a result in this game today then fair play to them. Despite the absence of Sharbini, Hajduk must feel that this is a game that they can win by converting a chance or two, even with their dubious defence. Hajduk will almost never have a better chance to win this derby than they do today and thus the away win is on my radar today.
Verdict: Hajduk Split to win at 8/5.
Omonia Nicosia vs APOEL Nicosia – home win at 7/5.
I won’t often bet on this vicious local derby between Omonia and APOEL because Cyprus is a pretty corrupt place for football and APOEL are basically the darlings of the media and the FA. However, recent developments in Cyprus mean that the whole match-fixing arrangements etc. have been unearthed and there are a lot of investigations. Subsequently, referees are no longer in a position to favour clubs like APOEL as they always did or their job is actually on the line and thus you can see why APOEL’s results of late have faded away.
Don’t get me wrong – APOEL are still the best side in Cyprus. However, they’ve had a lot of assistance and it’s starting to show. Their European committments have really tired APOEL too, as their 0-3 drubbing against Real Madrid mid-week will surely testify today. Additionally, they’re not at all well prepared for their derby with Omonia with both centre-backs out injured, not to mention left-back Boaventura and forward Trickovski. With tiredness here to stay, no defence, and no officials on their side, I think that this may be a very unpleasant game for APOEL. Omonia are not the best side at capitalising on things in their favour this season. Indeed, they seem to prefer it when they’re underdogs as they’re not great with pressure. However, this is a huge game and they have to be up for it. They didn’t look out of their depth with ten men when these two sides met lately and I don’t expect them to here. Therefore, with all of the above in mind, Omonia winning this one looks interesting at long odds.
Verdict: Omonia Nicosia to win at 7/5.
Team news
Australian A-League:
Brisbane Roar – Donachie, Lambadaridis are absent. Nichols, Smith, Broich, Brattan, and Adnan return.
Central Coast Mariners – Sainsbury and McBreen return.
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AA Gent – M’Sila, Lepoint, and Soumahoro are absent.
Standard de Liege – Buzaglo, Cyriac, and Ciman are absent.
OH Leuven – Hayen and Ruytinx are absent.
Lierse SK – Mathisen, Thompson, de Wree, Claesen, Adesanya, Vandooren, and Goris are absent.
Mechelen – Vanloo, Vidarsson, and Diabang are absent.
Cercle Brugge – Verbist and Janssens are absent.
Lokeren – No absentees.
Zulte-Waregem – Matton and Sterckx are absent.
Mons – Mbow is absent.
Germinal Beerschot – Stijnen, van der Abeel, and van der Heyden are absent.
Westerlo – Hemmen, Deelkens, Owusu, Roef, Adams, Cabeke, Liliu, Marcao, and Arbeitman are absent.
Sint-Truiden – Van Crombrugge, Volders, Andrade, and Deferm are absent.
Bulgarian A PFG:
Montana – Avramov is absent.
Minior Pernik – No absentees.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica – Grgic, Vrucina, Busic, Maras, Rodic, and Kokalovic are absent.
Hajduk Split – Sharbini is absent.
Rijeka – Datkovic and Svrljuga are absent.
Lucko – Rogac is absent.
Lokomotiva Zagreb – Brozovic and Ademi are absent.
Inter Zapresic – Plazanic is absent.
Cypriot Division 1:
Omonia Nicosia – Avraam, Aguiar, and Aloneftis are absent.
APOEL Nicosia – Boaventura, Jorge, Oliveira, and Trickowski are absent. Alexandrou and Poursaitides are doubts.
Anorthosis Famagusta – Laban, Marquinhos, and Stachowiak are absent.
AEL Limassol – Enrique, Ouon, and Vouho are absent.
Danish Superligaen:
AC Horsens – Absalonsen and Kortegaard are absent.
Aalborg BK – No absentees.
English Championship:
Crystal Palace – Gardner, Jedinak, McShane, and Scannell are absent.
Nottingham Forest – McCleary is a doubt.
Hull City – Koren and Dudgeon are absent.
Coventry City – Bell, Baker, Hreidarsson, and Wood are absent. Cameron is a doubt.
Portsmouth – Mokoena and Kanu are absent.
Burnley – Rodriguez is a doubt.
West Ham United – Reid and Demel are absent. Faye is a doubt.
Reading – Connolly, Mills, and Anderson are absent.
Blackpool – Bednar is absent.
Southampton – Prado and Seaborne are absent.
Cardiff City – No absentees.
Millwall – Montgomery, Trotter, and Mkandawire are absent.
Brighton & Hove Albion – Sparrow and Reyes are absent.
Middlesbrough – Williams, McDonald, and Bates are absent.
Peterborough United – Zakuani is a doubt.
Leicester City – Vassell and King are absent.
Leeds United – Bromby and O’Dea are absent.
Watford – McGinn is absent.
Ipswich Town – No absentees.
Barnsley – Steele, Doyle, Preece, Hassell, Butterfield, Perkins, Edwards, and O’Brien are absent.
Bristol City – Fontaine, McGivern, Skuse, Nyatanga, and Wilson are absent.
Derby County – Ball, Ward, Baker, Brayford, O’Brien, and Doyle are absent.
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Flora Tallinn – No absentees.
Kuressaare – No absentees.
Sillamae Kalev – Jogiste is absent. Ratnikov in the stands today.
Tallinna Kalev – No news.
Nomme Kalju – No absentees.
Viljandi – No absentees.
Maag Tammeka Tartu – No news.
Levadia Tallinn – No absentees.
German Bundesliga:
Augsburg – de Jong, Bah, Gogia, and Oehrl are absent.
Koln – Jajalo, Uth, and Chihi are absent.
Werder Bremen – Borowski, Hunt, Stevanovic, Arnautovic, Ekici, and Prodl are absent.
Mainz 05 – Bell, Risse, Gopko, and Svensson are absent.
Kaiserslautern – Kouemaha, Knaller, Simunek, and Jorgensen are absent.
Hamburger SV – Castelen, Mickel, Tavares, and Guerrero are absent.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen – Adler, Sam, Ballack, Corluka, Bender, and Schwaab are absent.
SC Freiburg – Flum, Barth, Brandstetter, Hoehn, Putsila, and Dembele are absent.
Nurnberg – Klement, Rakovsky, Eigler, and Esswein are absent.
Bayern Munich – van Buyten and Breno are absent.
Hertha BSC Berlin – Franz, Lustenberger, Mijatovic, and Ronny are absent.
VfL Wolfsburg – Chris and Ochs are absent.
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Ferencvaros – Somalia and Otten are absent.
Vasas Budapest – No absentees.
Lombard Papa – Toth Bence and Seye return.
Pecsi MFC – No absentees.
Zalaegerszegi TE – No absentees.
Gyori ETO FC – Feher and Stanisic are absent.
Kecskemeti TE – No absentees.
Szombathelyi Haladas – No absentees.
Paksi SE – No absentees.
Kaposvari Rakoczi – Okuka, Fenyvesi, Major, and Pavlovics are absent.
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv – Edri is absent. Balili is a doubt.
Maccabi Netanya – Edri is absent.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv – Pavicevic and Medunjanin are absent.
Bnei Sakhnin – No absentees.
Hapoel Petah Tikva – Luzon and Zarfati are absent. Stoler returns.
Hapoel Be’er Sheva – Gavish returns.
Hapoel Acre – Fidelis and Gottlieb are absent.
Ironi Ramat Hasharon – Lavi and Lipenia are absent.
Maccabi Petah Tikva – Elbaz, Mashiach, and Goldenberg are absent. Ben-Haim is a doubt. Sansoni returns.
Hapoel Haifa – Maman is absent.
Hapoel Rishon Lezion – Avraham and Cohen are absent.
Beitar Jerusalem – Ikande, Rikan, and Pasos are absent.
Italian Serie A:
Catania – Rui Sampaio, Biagianti, and Potenza are absent.
AC Milan – Cassano, Flamini, Inzaghi, Mesbah, Muntari, Strasser, Pato, Van Bommel, and Thiago Silva are absent. Merkel and Abate are doubts.
Parma – Ferrario, Mariga, and Palladino are absent.
Lazio – Diakite, Klose, Lulic, and Stankevicius are absent.
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Siauliai – Galkevicius may debutise.
Ekranas Panevezys – Kavaliauskas is absent.
Vilnius – Jasaitis returns.
Tauras Taurage – No news.
Dutch Eredivisie:
Groningen – Johansson, Suk, Ivens, Kwakman, van de Laak, Kieftenbeld, Bakker, Pedersen, Sparv, and van Dijk are absent.
Heerenveen – Janmaat and Steppe are absent.
Twente Enschede – Rendla, Landzaat, and Wisgerhof are absent.
Roda JC Kerkrade – Staelens, Wielaert, and Pluim are absent.
PSV Eindhoven – Isaksson, Mertens, and Marcelo are absent.
VVV Venlo – Mei, de Regt, Leemans, Verbeek, and Molhoek are absent.
Feyenoord Rotterdam – Swerts, Fernandez, Ramsteijn, and Mokotjo are absent.
NAC Breda – Zonneveld, Boukhari, Janse, and Luijckx are absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Widzew Lodz – Abbes, Dudu, and Mielcarz are absent. Panka and Rybicki are doubts.
Ruch Chorzow – Grodzicki and Zienczuk are doubts.
Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala – No news.
LKS Lodz – Gancarczyk, Mieciel, Lajzans, and Wyparlo are absent. Saganowski may return.
Lech Poznan – Krivets and Stilic are absent. Wojtkowiak is a doubt.
Cracovia Krakow – Radomski, Zoladz, Szalachowski, and Budzinski are absent. Visnakovs, Nitbazonkiza, and Suvorov are doubts.
Polish Liga 1:
Wisla Plock – Goralski, David, Zagurskas, Nadolski, and Wyczalkowski are absent.
Ruch Radzionkow – No news.
Bogdanka Leczna – Nildo, Mateusz Pielach, Garcia Labrado, and El Medhi are absent.
Kolejarz Stroze – No news.
Arka Gdynia – Radzewicz, Krajanowski, Kuklis, Nwaogu, Benat, and Zolnierewicz are absent.
Olimpia Grudziadz – Kosciukiewicz and Kokoszka are absent.
Zawisza Bydgoszcz – Lipinski and Skowronski are absent. Witan and Jankowski are doubts. Skrzynski returns.
Flota Swinoujscie – No absentees.
Katowice – Sadowski, Goncerz, and Holota are absent. Pitry, Rzepka, and Beliancin return.
Dolcan Zabki – No news.
Pogon Szczecin – Nolla is a doubt. Lewandowski, Fraczcak, and Kolendowicz return.
Nieciecza – Jarecki and Biskup are absent. Baran returns.
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Porto – Rodriguez, Djalma, Danilo, and Mangala are absent. Maicon returns.
Olhanense – Andre Micael, Mexer, Luis Filipe, and Mauricio are absent. Wilson Eduardo, Caue, Ivanildo, and Andre Pinto return.
SL Benfica – Garay, Aimar, and Jardel are absent.
Sporting Braga – Baiano, Salino, Paulo Vinicius, and Ruben Amorim are absent. Ewerton returns.
Russian Premier League:
Volga Nizhnyi Novgorod – Maksimov is absent.
Rostov-na-Donu – Kalachev, Radic, Bracamonte, and Kocsis are absent.
Kuban’ Krasnodar – Sosnin is absent.
CSKA Moscow – Honda, Gonzalez, V.Berzeutskiy, and Dzagoev are absent.
Spartak Moscow – Kombarov, Parshivlyuk, Bilyaletdinov, Rodriguez, Welliton, Zotov, and Kayumov are absent.
Zenit St.Petersburg – Danny, Faizulin, and Arshavin are absent.
Krylya Sovetov Samara – Vorobiev and Chibamba are absent.
FK Krasnodar – Mikheev is absent.
Scottish Premier League:
Motherwell – Craigan and Saunders are absent.
Rangers – McCabe, Naismith, and Bocanegra are absent.
Dundee United – Watson and Lacny are absent. Severin has retired.
Dunfermline Athletic – Barrowman, Phinn, Bell, and Gallacher are absent.
Hearts – Templeton and Kyle are absent. McDonald is a doubt.
Aberdeen – Fyvie, Milsom, and Folly are absent.
St.Mirren – Barron and McLean are absent.
Kilmarnock – Heffernan, Kroca, Buijs, O’Leary, Silva, and Pascali are absent.
Serbian Super Liga:
Partizan Belgrade – Volkov and Vukic are doubts.
Rad Belgrade – Pajovic is absent. Neutral venue.
Hajduk Kula – Vasiljevic is absent.
Red Star Belgrade – Mikic, Evandro are absent. Milivojevic and Maksimovic are doubts.
Spartak Subotica – Covic is absent.
Radnicki 1923 – Lepivic and Milisevic are absent. Kistic is a doubt.
Borac Cacak – Jermic and Pridanovic are absent. Damjanovic has left.
Vojvodina Novi Sad – Brankovic is absent.
Slovenian Prva Liga:
Olimpija Ljubljana – Omladic is absent. Ranic is a doubt. Djermanovic returns.
Domzale – Knezevic, Zec, Balazic, and Hanzic are absent.
Celje – Romih, Kapic, and Bakaric are absent.
Mura 05 – No news.
Gorica – No absentees.
Triglav – Djurkovic is absent.
Nafta Lendava – No news.
Rudar Velenje – Rotman and Majcen are absent.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Sporting Gijon – Botia, Gregory, and Mendy are absent. Nacho Cases and Canella return.
Real Zaragoza – Alvarez and Lafita return.
Racing Santander – Christian and Acosta are absent. Tono and Mario are doubts. Gonzalez, Cisma, Francis, and Gullon return.
Granada – Nyom, Martins, Borja Gomez, Jose Juan, Yebda, Diakhate, and Fran Rico are absent.
Osasuna – Bertran, Balde, Sola, and Masoud are absent. Nekounam returns.
Real Madrid – Pepe, Di Maria are absent. Ramos and Ozil return.
Barcelona – Afellay, Villa, and Abidal are absent. Alves returns.
Athletic Club de Bilbao – Gurpegi, I.Martinez, Castillo, and Ocio are absent. San Jose returns.
Malaga – Juanmi, Bapstista, Toulalan, Joaquin, and Caballero are absent.
Real Betis Balompie – Iriney, Benat, Fabricio, and Paulao are doubts.
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Elfsborg Boras – Andersson, Augustsson, Mobaeck, and Stuhr-Ellergard are absent.
Djurgarden – Keene, Jarl, and Sparral-Mantilla are absent.
GAIS Goteborg – Celik has re-signed for GAIS on loan. May be able to feature.
BK Hacken Goteborg – No news.
GIF Sundsvall – Helg and Dos Santos are absent.
Kalmar FF – Solheim, Djordjevic, Carlsson, Eriksson, Diouf, and Andersson are absent.
Turkish Super Lig:
Genclerbirligi – Curri is absent.
Manisaspor – No news.
Kayserispor – Engin Bekdemir is absent.
Eskisehirspor – Sezgin Coskun is absent.
Sivasspor – Hayrettin is absent.
Istanbul BB – Zayatte, Efe Inanc, and Metin Depe are absent.
Galatasaray – Elmander is absent.
Orduspor – Stancu, Numan, and Culio are absent.