TFT Issue 548!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Featured game
Porto vs Maritimo Funchal – home win with -1.5 handicap at 4/5.
Today’s featured game is the Liga Sagres game in Oporto between Porto and island-dwellers Maritimo Funchal.
I’ve sort of sat back for a while to see how Porto fare this season because I wasn’t sure how they’d cope without both Falcao and Hulk, especially whilst Jackson became used to their ways. I think that decision was vindicated too – Porto weren’t too convincing at the start of the season. Lately, though, they’ve rediscovered their old swagger and finesse, which has impressed me enough to get involved here. They’ve got three excellent playmakers in Defour, Moutinho, and Lucho Gonzalez and with red-hot Jackson leading the line with the intelligence of young superstar James Rodriguez and the raw pace of Varela, Porto have a very real and dangerous attack. I’m not a big fan of Varela as he seldom has anything at the end of his runs but as a whole, this Porto side attacks very well and scores goals. They don’t defend too well when pressurised but they don’t mind defending against pace as their defenders are predominantly quick and that’s precisely how Maritimo play so Porto should be able to keep a clean sheet here.
Maritimo’s record against Porto isn’t encouraging either, to be honest. They’ve only managed to score against Porto on three occasions in their last ten attempts and they’ve lost their last five meetings in a row with Porto, being beaten by two goals or more on each occasion. For quite a good side, that record is a bit surprising, really. Still, Maritimo rarely manage too convince me when playing away from Madeira and now that they’re juggling European competition too, they’re really starting to flounder. Braga found it far too easy in Madeira lately and I think Porto might find the same thing here. Maritimo are not a side I lightly oppose but they’re facing a side that is frankly too good for them and they’re struggling themselves. Their defenders are slow (against a very quick side) and their attacking methods shouldn’t be as effective here as they usually can be. Maritimo have only scored once in their last three Liga Sagres games and I think that the trip to the Estadio do Dragao has come at the wrong time for them. Well, not that there’s ever really a right time but they look especially unready for this game right now so I anticipate a long and ultimately disappointing night for the islanders.
For me, Porto should be comfortable enough in this game. They’ve eased into their groove lately and some key players have hit a strong vein of form already, especially in midfield. As long as they’re motivated and hard-working then taking Porto to beat the -1.5 handicap looks very appealing indeed at 4/5, especially with Maritimo number one Salin absent and with Maritimo having not been able to train on a pitch for four days due to torrential rain in Madeira.
Verdict: Porto to beat the -1.5 handicap at 4/5.
Additional game
Ekranas Panevezys vs Atlantas Klaipeda – home win with -2.5 handicap at 4/5.
Normally, I’d be able to write a substantial amount in a preview but I really struggle to elaborate beyond the fact that Ekranas are an awful lot better than Atlantas. I really respect that Atlantas have improved a lot in the second half of their A Lyga campaign under French boss Roques. They’re playing better football and with Lagator in fine form and Razulis alongside him, they do present a decent attack at this level. However, Ekranas are light years ahead of them, even having lost some experienced heads earlier this season. Ekranas have really demonstrated their experience and composure over the past few months, which is something that they’ve perfected over the past few years. Hell, only title rivals Zalgiris and rivals Suduva have even scored against Ekranas since August; nobody else has been able to! Ekranas have looked really motivated and composed lately, scoring goals for fun and beating sides without any difficulty at all. Two wins from their last two games sees Ekranas win the league and I think that they’ll do just that. Atlantas have been crushed by Suduva and Kruoja in their last two games, shipping five goals on each occasion. They look a bit disinterested now that Vilnius have been relegated and you can’t really blame them, I guess. I can’t see them being able to handle Ekranas here in any way, shape, or form, which is precisely why I expect a dominant home win.
I won’t often take the heavy handicaps but the -2.5 handicap at 4/5 appeals to me a lot in what should be a constant stream of one-way traffic.
Verdict: Ekranas Panevezys to beat the -2.5 handicap at 4/5.
Team news
Argentinian Primera Division:
Atletico Rafaela – Eluchans may return.
Belgrano de Cordoba – No absentees.
Australian A-League:
Western Sydney Wanderers – La Rocca and Kresinger are absent.
Melbourne Heart – Vrankovic and Garuccio are absent. Thompson, MacAllister, Fred, Mehbratu, Grella, and Germano are doubts.
Croatian Prva Liga:
Dinamo Zagreb – Krstanovic and Tomacek are absent. Sammir is a doubt.
Istra 1961 – No news.
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Vyoscina Jihlava – Karlik, Gavric, Gabriel, Kolousek, and Tecl are absent.
Jablonec – Kovarik is a doubt.
French Ligue 1:
Stade Brestois – Chafni, Alphonse, Ba, Khaled, Coulibaly, and Soumah are absent. Traore returns.
Lorient – Reale, Emeghara, L.Kone, Coutadeur, Ecuele Manga, and Mareque are absent. Autret and Le Lan return.
Hungarian Soproni Liga:
Kecskemeti TE – Mohl and Burgos are absent.
Diosgyori VTK – Rudolf is absent.
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Ekranas Panevezys – No absentees.
Atlantas Klaipeda – Begic, Basic, and Khadraoui are absent. Vilavicius returns.
Dutch Eredivisie:
Roda JC Kerkrade – Ramzi, Tamata, Djum, Delorge are absent. Nemeth and Hupperts are doubts.
ADO Den Haag – Coutinho is absent.
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Gornik Zabrze – Luczak is absent.
GKS Belchatow – Nowosielski and Mak brothers are absent. Baran, Wilusz, and Szmatiuk may return.
Wisla Krakow – Burliga is absent. Meliksson, Pareiko, Sobolewski, and Genkov are doubts.
Lech Poznan – Slusarski, Tralka, and Wolakiewicz are doubts.
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Porto – Alex Sandro, Kelvin, Rolando, and Iturbe are absent. Miguel Lopes, Abdoulaye, and Kleber return.
Maritimo Funchal – Salin is absent. No training for four days due to heavy rain in Madeira.
Romanian Liga:
Gloria Bistrita – No absentees.
Viitorul Constanta – Dica is absent.
CSMS Iasi – No absentees.
Universitatea Cluj – da Silva and Patrascu are absent.
Turkish Super Lig:
Istanbul BB – No absentees.
Galatasaray – Ujfalusi, Baytar, and Elmander are absent. Melo is a doubt.