Torino vs Mantova
FreeToday’s featured game is the Italian Serie B encounter between Torino and Mantova. Torino were amongst the pre-season favourites to gain promotion to Serie A this season but have disappointed despite a good start to their campaign. Visitors Mantova have long been strugglers in this division and this season is no exception with Mantova currently occupying twenty-first place in the Serie B table.
Torino are currently tenth in the table with just one win in their last eight Serie B games. They’ve not won any of their last three home games, losing twice and drawing once. Torino have only won three out of nine home games this season as it is, which speaks volumes by itself. They don’t score enough goals and tend to concede a sufficient amount to fail to win the game. Torino should be higher up the table but they’re not playing well enough to merit that place, hence the reason that they’re not there now. As highly as I rate Torino, it’s beyond hard for me to envision them winning this game with their current lack of form and consistency.
Visitors Mantova are a side that are capable of being so much further up the Serie B table than they actually are. Their problem tends to be goalscoring as they don’t concede as many goals as you might think. Mantova have lost less games than Brescia, for instance, and Brescia are a good side. The fact that no side in Serie B has drawn more games than they have sums up perfectly my point; they’re good at keeping sides out but they don’t do enough damage themselves. However, Mantova have a couple of interesting statistics that it’s worth looking at ahead of this game. They’ve not lost an away game in their last four and although they’re winless in their last five league games in general, they’re still gaining some momentum from being hard to beat. Mantova have only lost four out of nine away games this season and only five sides have conceded less goals than they have on the road this season. To put it bluntly – Mantova are the kind of side that Torino will hate playing against.
Although Torino are definitely the better side here, you have to feel that there’s more than enough to go off to lay Torino today.
Verdict: Lay Torino at 11/10.
Tuesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Stoke City vs Fulham – away win at 17/10.
Hosts Stoke City are usually a personal favourite side to back at home because of how difficult they are to play against. However, Stoke have really struggled in recent times and haven’t won a Premier League game in their last six attempts. They’re the lowest scoring side in the Premier League, which is why they’re having so many problems. Four defeats in their last five Premier League games speaks volumes for their lack of momentum and confidence currently. They’re a physical side that are a hard test for any side but they’ve been looking very vulnerable lately and I think we’ll see more of the same tonight.
Visitors Fulham, on the other hand, are going from strength to strength. Not only do they consistently score goals in games but they rarely concede too. They’re tactically astute and have a big squad to choose from. Fulham’s only defeat in seven games came against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which is no shame. Fulham don’t have a good away record with just one win in nine games but they’re playing well and do tend to get at least a goal in their games. They’ve scored in both of their last two away games and with Stoke not scoring goals at the moment, you have to feel that a resilient and organised Fulham are worth a shot tonight.
Verdict: Fulham to win at 17/10.
Ancona vs Triestina – home win at 5/6.
Hosts Ancona have won three out of their last five games and are one of Serie B’s better home sides with seven wins in nine games, drawing the other two games. Ancona average scoring nearly two goals per home game and concede every 2.5 games approximately, making them the lowest conceding home side in Serie B. To put it bluntly, Ancona are a real force at home and they’ve got enough momentum to continue their happy trait of winning their home games and maintaining their promotion push.
Visitors Triestina are a good side although their league placing doesn’t reflect this at all. Sat fifteenth in the Serie B table, Triestina are without a win in three games now, losing twice and drawing once. Triestina are very much a home side and are one of just two sides that are yet to win an away game in Serie B this season. Triestina don’t tend to lose many away games with just four defeats in nine games but they do tend to fail to win, something I attribute to them being one of the lowest goalscoring sides on the road in Serie B. Triestina have mustered just six goals in nine away games but have managed to concede a hefty fourteen. Having already lost their last two away games in the division, you have to feel that Triestina are looking likely to lose yet another away game against one of the division’s better home sides – Ancona.
Verdict: Ancona to win at 5/6.
As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!
English Premier League:
Stoke City vs Fulham (7) 0-1
English League Cup:
Blackburn Rovers vs Aston Villa (6) 0-1
Greek Super League:
Larissa vs Asteras Tripolis (4) under 2.5 goals
Kavala vs Levadiakos (7) under 2.5 goals
Atromitos vs Aris Salonika (6) 0-0
International Friendly:
Ghana vs Malawi (8) 2-0
Italian Serie B:
Ancona vs Triestina (8)
Crotone vs Cittadella (7)
Empoli vs Sassuolo (5)
Frosinone vs Ascoli (6)
Lecce vs Vicenza (6)
Modena vs Cesena (6)
Padova vs Albinoleffe (6)
Piacenza vs Gallipolli (7)
Reggina vs Grosseto (4)
Torino vs Mantova (5)
Salernitana vs Brescia (6)
Enjoy your free betting tips!