Litex Lovech vs Dynamo Kiev
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Today’s secondary featured game is the UEFA Europa League game in Bulgaria between Eastern European rivals Litex Lovech and Dynamo Kiev.
I look at these two sides and see two sides whose respective successes stem from a solid defence. Neither side is particularly dangerous in front of goal and thus we have the foundation for this tip.
Litex won’t want to concede in this game because they’re not going to go to Kiev in the retun leg and win so they know they must be careful here. They may well get a sneaky draw too, especially with Dynamo’s glaring lack of a target man being even more apparent with the absence of Shevchenko tonight. They do have some talented players in their team, Dynamo, and new attacker Brown is bedding in well. However, this is not a goalscoring side and they’re experienced enough to approach this game with caution rather than flair so I expect a composed Dynamo display here. Litex will want to take a goal to the Ukraine but do they have the firepower to score? I’m not so sure. They have enough to do well in the A PFG but not on the European stage, in my view. They did well against Wisla Krakow over two legs but still failed to take their chances and I don’t see their fortunes improving against a better side.
You have to expect Dynamo to nick this one but I won’t be enterin the 1×2 market here. Instead, I’ll opt for under 2.5 goals as it looks a decent value bet at 5/6.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 5/6.
Thursday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Metalist Kharkiv vs Sochaux – home win at 6/5.
I have to fancy this one. Ukraine is never an easy place for away games and given that Sochaux are notoriously bad away from home in France, I can’t help but feel that the long journey east won’t have helped them one iota. Additionally, star attacker Maiga has refused to play for the club as he wants to force through a move to Newcastle United so this squad isn’t as galvanised as it could be right now. Metalist Kharkiv’s samba stars are finally start to get things together and although their backline looks troubed if a strong wind picks up, their attack is still very dangerous indeed and skillful Jose Sosa has only increased that danger. Cristalo is finally fulfilling his potential and with Blanco yet to come back and Torres in front of the back four, we could see Metalist improve further still. They’re what I would call an experienced European side nowadays – they’ve played a lot of European games over the past few years. They’ve beaten better sides than Sochaux, too. No Europa League game is a dead cert but Metalist at 6/5 is a bet that I will be taking a slice of here.
Verdict: Metalist Kharkiv to win at 6/5.
Accumulator fodder:
Lokomotiv Moscow, Paris Saint-Germain, Lazio, Atletico Madrid, Palmeiras, Flamengo, KR Reykjavik.
Recommended bets:
Metalist Kharkiv, Paris Saint-Germain, and Lazio at about 7/5.
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
UEFA Europa League:
Legia Warsaw vs Spartak Moscow (6) 1-1
Ekranas Panevezys vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (5) 0-0
Lokomotiv Moscow vs Spartak Trnava (8) 2-0
Vaslui vs Sparta Prague (5) 0-1
Zestafoni vs Club Brugge (5) 2-1
HJK Helsinki vs Schalke 04 (6) 1-2
Litex Lovech vs Dynamo Kiev (6) 0-1
Vorskla Poltava vs Dinamo Bucharest (5) 1-0
Aalesund FK vs AZ Alkmaar (4) 1-1
Omonia Nicosia vs Salzburg (5) 0-1
Austria Vienna vs Gaz Metan Medias (7) 2-0
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Panathinaikos (5) 1-1
Steaua Bucharest vs CSKA Sofia (6) 1-2
Thun vs Stoke City (5) 0-1
Bursaspor vs Anderlecht (6) 1-1
Besiktas JK vs Alaniya Vladikavkaz (7) 2-1
PAOK Salonika vs Karpaty Lviv (5) 1-1
Nordsjaelland vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (5) 1-2
Slask Wroclaw vs Rapid Bucharest (6) 0-0
Standard de Liege vs Helsingborg (4) 1-1
Metalist Kharkiv vs Sochaux (6) 2-1
Fulham vs Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk (6) 1-0
Hannover 96 vs Sevilla CF (5) 1-0
Red Star Belgrade vs Stade Rennais (5) 1-1
Shamrock Rovers vs Partizan Belgrade (5) 0-0
Slovan Bratislava vs AS Roma (4) 2-2
Differdange 03 vs Paris Saint-Germain (8) 0-2
Rosenborg BK vs AEK Larnaca (5) 2-1
Maribor vs Rangers (6) 0-0
Hearts vs Tottenham Hotspur (5) 1-1
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Birmingham City (6) 1-0
AEK Athens vs Dinamo Tbilisi (7) over 2.5 goals
Athletic Club de Bilbao vs Trabzonspor (7) 2-0
Lazio vs Rabotnicki Skopje (8) 2-0
Celtic vs Sion (6) 2-1
SV Ried vs PSV Eindhoven (6) 0-1
Atletico Madrid vs Vitoria Guimaraes (8) over 2.5 goals
Sporting Braga vs Young Boys Bern (6) 1-0
Copa Sudamericana:
Fenix vs Universidad de Chile (5) 1-1
La Equidad Bogota vs Juan Aurich (7) 2-0
Brazilian Serie A:
Palmeiras vs Bahia (8) 2-0
Flamengo vs Atletico Goianiense (8) 2-0
America Mineiro vs Sao Paulo (5) 1-2
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
Thor Akureyi vs KR Reykjavik (8) over 2.5 goals
Enjoy your free betting tips!