TFT Issue 418!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Hungary vs Republic of Ireland – away win with draw no bet at 3/4.
Today’s featured game is the International Friendly between Hungary and Republic of Ireland in Budapest.
Hungary enter this game on the back of a relatively surprisingly 1-2 win at Czech Republic. They weren’t especially good in the game but fortunately the Czechs are bloody awful nowadays. Hungary capitalised on Czech laxity by scoring a quickly-taken free-kick, courtesy of Dzsudzsak, and then eventually won the game with one of the few forays that they made into the Czech half as the game drew to a close. I thought the Hungarians would give the Czechs a good game but didn’t expect them to win it, to be honest – that surprised me. The win came at a cost, however, with star defender Juhasz ruled out for a few weeks due to injury. That basically means that Hungary’s defence is now a complete mess. There are some average players and some promising players in their backline but the two combined rarely result in a clean sheet. Hungary have some good attacking players but with the likes of Gera out and the news that their manager will be asking them to play a higher defensive line in this game, you have to wonder if Hungary can win this game today.
Indeed, there are few better organised sides than Ireland in Europe right now. I’ve never come across a side that works as hard as they do as consistently as they do. They’re a breath of fresh air on the International scene and I like that. There’s bags of experience in their side and a nice balance of skill and composure. I occasionally feel that they lack a finisher – beside Robbie Keane – and that underpins their overall displays. However, they’re a very solid unit and there are players that can turn it on so I fancy the Irish to do some damage against a makeshift Hungarian defence, especially givne Ireland’s very impressive record on the road over the past year or two.
I won’t often go to 3/4 for a tip but I am today as I don’t see Ireland losing this one unless they just give up, which isn’t in their nature. For me, there’s bags of value to be found in taking Ireland with draw no bet at 3/4.
Verdict: Republic of Ireland to win with draw no bet at 3/4.
Additional games
Lithuania U21 vs Ukraine U21 – away win with -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
These odds just look too sweet to ignore. Lithuania miss some key players for this game, the most notable of which is their captain and best player Tadas Eliosius of Suduva Marijampole. Joining him is Novikovas, Vilkaitis, Andriuskevicius, and Urbaitis. This basically means that impotent Lithuania U21 now miss half of their defence and half of their midfield. Considering that they’ve already lost six out of seven games in this group, not to mention their 2-0 defeat in the reversal of this fixture, it’s very hard to envision them doing anything against a vastly superior Ukraine U21 side today. Hope was kindled for Ukraine U21 with their 6-0 drubbing of Sweden U21 a few days ago and although that was partially due to Swedish heads dropping after falling behind so quickly, Ukraine U21 still deserve the plaudits for plugging away and taking their chances. They can now progress from the group but they need to keep winning games, starting here. They’ve got more than enough quality to make it happen and momentum is definitely on their side so backing Ukraine U21 to beat the -1 Asian Handicap appeals to me a lot at 4/5.
Verdict: Ukraine U21 to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
KooTeePee Kotka vs Jippo Joensuu – under 2 goals at 6/5.
I’m expecting one of the most boring and eventless Ykkonen games ever here, which means it’ll probably end 5-5 if my luck from yesterday is here to stay! In all seriousness, these two sides are very similar in the sense that they both defend very solidly and don’t attack freely. Both sides would be treated as aliens in Brazil, for example, as crossing the half-way line takes careful planning and plenty of caution. Jippo are especially defensive and you’ll rarely see anyone take them apart. They made some elementary mistakes against PK-35 Helsinki in their last away game and were duly punished for it. However, Jippo are consistently a very hard side to beat and a demoralised KooTeePee should find that all too evident today. KooTeePee are the better side here but you wouldn’t know it from their displays in recent weeks. Indeed, KooTeePee look laughably short to win this game with that in mind, especially with their players complaining of fatigue. Still, they need to enter the Summer break with three points and they’re good enough to get them so I’m not going to touch the 1×2 market. However, given as both sides prefer to keep clean sheets rather than score goals, I can’t help but feel that taking under 2 goals is well worth a punt at 6/5.
Verdict: Under 2 goals at 6/5.
Team news
International Friendly:
Hungary – Juhasz and Laczko are absent. Koman returns. Kadar and Gulasci have been added to the squad.
UEFA European U21 Championship Qualifier:
Lithuania – Novikovas, Tautvydas Eliosius, Vilkaitis, Urbaitis, Andriuskevicius, and Tadas Eliosius are absent.
Finnish Ykkonen:
KooTeePee Kotka – Yammeh and Lomidze are absent.
Jippo Joensuu – Korpela and Itala are doubts. Koivuranta returns.