TFT Issue 542!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
It’s time for another dreaded Friday – let’s see if we can escape this one unscathed, shall we?
Featured game
Newcastle Jets vs Melbourne Victory – over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Today’s featured game is the A-League game between Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory.
Newcastle Jets are very much the “home” team in their displays and in the ways that they get their points. They’re a rather physical side and are rarely easy to beat. However, a complete overhaul of their side pre-season due to a precarious financial position means that this side has adopted something of a fresh approach. They still play with a strong physical presence but there’s much more of a potency to their attacks with Emile Heskey leading the line as he’s simply too big, too strong, and too good for the A-League defenders to handle, in a nutshell! I never thought I’d be saying those words in my life but here we are! He inspires the team and with Wheelhouse pulling the strings in midfield, the Jets do have a rather dangerous attack, it has to be said. However, their defence suffered pre-season with all of their sales and they’re subsequently conceding a number of goals against able sides.
Melbourne Victory are very much an able side. Indeed, I’d not hesitate to say that they’ve got the best squad in Australia. However, whether they actually show it or not is another matter entirely. On paper, they should win this game all day long. In reality, beating Newcastle Jets in at the Hunter Stadium is much harder than it looks, especially with their hosts as dogged as they are. Melbourne Victory have the individual ability to win most games in the A-League but do they have the cohesion and willpower to get something from this game today? They don’t appear to have fully adjusted to Postecoglu’s tactical style yet, which is understandable, and I personally feel that causes them a big problem with trying to win this game. Don’t get me wrong – I still feel that the Victory will win the game – but I certainly wouldn’t be daft enough to take a punt on either side to win this one. Victory striker Allsopp hung up his boots prior to their last game so it’s all down to Thompson to score the goals now, although I’m sure he’ll have ample support from Flores when he adjusts. There’s more than enough firepower in this side to at least score today but their defending has looked particularly poor thus far and that makes me think that this trip will be very hard for them today.
With the above in mind, taking over 2.5 goals at 4/5 appeals to me a lot.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Team news
Australian A-League:
Newcastle Jets – Brown and Neville are doubts.
Melbourne Victory – Allsopp has retired. Dilevski and Nabbout are doubts. Coe may debutise.
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
Standard de Liege – Cisse, Bolat, and Ogunjimi are absent. Jans sacked; no replacement yet.
Cercle Brugge – Mertens is absent.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Slaven Koprivnica – Rak, Canadija, and Brlek are absent.
Osijek – No news.
NK Zagreb – Handzic, Bevab, and Sovsic are absent.
Lokomotiv Zagreb – Musa and Samateh are absent.
Istra 1961 – No news.
Inter Zapresic – No news.
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Dukla Prague – No absentees.
Vyoscina Jihlava – Kolousek, Tecl, Gavric, Mesanovic, Gabriel, and Rada are absent.
Mlada Boleslav – Chramosta, Rolko, Smejkal, and Zahustel are absent.
Zbrojovka Brno – Fall and Svancara are absent.
French Ligue 1:
Saint-Etienne – Zouma, Diomande, and Nicolita are absent. Mignot returns.
Stade Rennais – Sane, M’Vila, Mavinga, Apam, and Montano are absent. Boye and Pajot return.
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Utrecht – Ayoub and Duplan are absent.
Groningen – Johansson is absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala – Latka and Pietrasiak may return. New boss – Wyroba.
Lechia Gdansk – Wisniewski and Kacprzycki are absent. Frankowski may debutise.
Widzew Lodz – Bruno, Abbes, Radzio, and Dragojevic are absent.
Wisla Krakow – Burliga is absent. Sobolewski and Quioto return.
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Vitoria Guimaraes – Dinis and Amorim are absent.
Vitoria Setubal – No news.
Russian Premier League:
Lokomotiv Moscow – Zapater and Grigoriev are absent.
Amkar Perm’ – Popov, Belorukov, Miyaylovich, Rebko, Grishin, Peev, and Jakubko are absent.
Kuban Krasnodar’ – No absentees.
Rostov-na-Donu – Kalachev, Ksulu, and Okoronkwo are absent.
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Malmo FF – Andersson and Friberg are absent.
Djurgarden – No news.
Turkish Super Lig:
Kasimpasa – Coulibaly, Yaman, and Aygunes are absent.
Besiktas JK – Koybasi, Demirci, and Pektemek are absent.
Elazigspor – No news.
Eskisehirspor – No news.