Viktoria Plzen vs Rosenborg BK
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Today’s secondary featured game is the UEFA European Champions League game between Viktoria Plzen and Rosenborg BK in the Czech Republic. The first leg ended 0-1 in favour of the Czech champions; a result which stunned the Lerkendal crowd. A similar result today would not surprise me.
The sale of Jan Rezek to Anorthosis Famagusta pre-season concerned me a little because Plzen lack the same calibre of striker without him. However, I’m still a strong believer in them because their strength is – and always has been – midfield. They have tonnes of options when breaking forward with Kolar, Jiracek, Petrzela, Horvath, Fillo, Rajtoral etc. etc. It’s easily the best midfield in the Czech Republic and it wins Plzen games constantly. Their defence is still a tad vulnerable because they never really replaced their departed twosome that went to Sivasspor. However, in terms of dominating play and scoring goals, Plzen are very good indeed and they showed that by winning at a tough venue against an experienced host. The rumours are that Plzen will go defensive here on the basis that they fear losing more than they value winning. Some sides would do that but I genuinely don’t think Plzen are good enough defensively to do that and Vrba knows that. I think Plzen will attack in a composed manner or possibly even wait for counter-attacks but they’re strikingly good at both, to be honest – there’s plenty of pace in their attack. For me, they’re going to break through a frankly decadent Rosenborg defence tonight 4/5 on them winning the game is interesting with that in mind.
We all know the name Rosenborg – that’s how long they’ve been in European football for! They’ve been the cream of the crop in Norwegian football for a long time now and have produced some very good players. There’s plenty of tradition and support at this club and it’s one that will never die, in my view. However, putting the sentimental side of things to one side, they’re simply not a good team anymore. They do well in Norway more by experience and fortune than ability, to be honest. I can’t remember the last time that I watched them play a convincing game of football – they look pretty clueless most of the time when it comes to breaking sides down. They have some good players, of course – Skjelbred and Prica are arguably their best. However, playmaker Skjelbred is departing for Hamburger SV and hasn’t travelled so he won’t be playing tonight, which is a huge blow. Prica will but he’s a target man – he needs support. You look at the rest of Rosenborg’s team and they’re either too young – Bakenga, Svensson, Henriksen – or too old – Winsnes, Hoiland, Lago etc. They have a good record for producing local talent and some of those players have demonstrated promise this season but are they ready for a big UEFA Champions League night? I don’t think so. I think this side lacks creativity in a lot of ways and I find them very predictable. Maybe I’ll come to regret these words but I just don’t rate Rosenborg at this present time – they’re a shadow of what they were.
For me, there’s a lot of value on the home win at 4/5. Plzen don’t have to win the game, it’s true, but I think their attacking style will lead them to goals sooner or later and they definitely have the ability to take their chances too. Additionally, with Hoiland out, there’s a space at full-back for Plzen to break through with their pacey attackers. I can’t see anything other than a home win here, to be honest.
Team news – Rosenborg miss Skjelbred, Goa, Hoiland, and Issah.
Verdict: Viktoria Plzen to win at 4/5.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:
Wisla Krakow vs Litex Lovech – both sides to score at 3/4.
I’m still quite surprised that Wisla won the first leg 1-2 in Bulgaria when you consider that they didn’t really do much to Litex. You have to take your hat off to Wisla – after all, if you score goals then you win games. However, Litex were rather unfortunate in the sense that they dominated most of the game and were desperately unlucky at times. However, what’s done is done, and Litex must now attack Wisla in the famous Reymonta stadium – that’s never easy to do.
Wisla boss Maaskant has suggested that his side will adopt a defensive approach to nullify Litex and it wouldn’t be a great surprise if they did – he knows Litex were better in the first leg and we’ve seen Wisla deploy this tactic effectively before. It’s especially likely now that pacey Malecki is back in their ranks as he’s lethal on counter-attacks. However, I do think Litex will do damage in this game. Wisla demonstrated last season that their defence is not only vulnerable under pressure but also from set pieces, which the Bulgarians can be very dangerous with. Brazilian Tom had a great game in Bulgaria and he’ll be a potent threat tonight for the visitors too.
Will Litex progress? I really don’t know; this game is tighter than it looks and you’re a braver man than I am if you enter the 1×2 market here. Litex attacking and Wisla counter-attacking, though – that tells me there’ll be goals here. Therefore, taking both sides to score at 3/4 looks tempting today, especially after a rather open first leg.
Team news – Wisla Krakow miss Iliev and have doubts over Wilk whereas Litex Lovech miss Sandrinho and have doubts over Milanov.
Verdict: Both sides to score at 3/4.
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 Champions League:
Rubin Kazan’ vs Dynamo Kiev (6) 0-0
Malmo FF vs Rangers (5) 1-1
Vaslui vs Twente Enschede (7) 0-2
FC Zurich vs Standard de Liege (6) 1-1
Slovan Bratislava vs APOEL Nicosia (4) 0-1
Viktoria Plzen vs Rosenborg BK (7) 2-0
Wisla Krakow vs Litex Lovech (5) 1-1
Sturm Graz vs Zestafoni (8) over 2.5 goals
Trabzonspor vs SL Benfica (5) 0-1
Dinamo Zagreb vs HJK Helsinki (7) 2-0
Maribor vs Maccabi Haifa (5) 1-1
Partizan Belgrade vs Racing Genk (4) 1-2
Copa Sudamericana:
San Jose vs Nacional Asuncion (6) 1-0
Deportivo Quito vs Deportivo Anzoategui (7) 2-1
Olimpia Asuncion vs The Strongest (7) 1-0
Brazilian Serie A:
Corinthians vs America Mineiro (8) 2-0
Gremio vs Atletico Mineiro (5) 1-1
Figueirense vs Botafogo (6) 1-1
Ceara vs Avai (5) 2-1
Vasco da Gama vs Santos (6) 2-2
Cruzeiro vs Flamengo (7) 2-1
Coritiba vs Palmeiras (6) 2-1
Iceland Urvalsdeild:
Thor Akureyi vs Fram Reykjavik (5) 1-2
Fylkir Reykjavik vs IBV Vestmannaeyjar (6) 1-1
Breidablik Kopavogur vs FH Hafnarfjordur (5) 1-2
Valur Reykjavik vs UMF Grindavik (7) 2-0
Vikingur Reykjavik vs Stjarnan Gardabaer (5) 1-1
Mexican Primera Division:
America vs Estudiantes Tecos (7) 2-0
Pachuca vs Cruz Azul (5) 1-1
Tigres UANL vs Toluca (6) 0-0
Atlas vs Queretaro (6) 1-0
Atlante vs Puebla (5) 1-1
Pumas UNAM vs Monterrey (6) 1-1
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Haugesund vs Sogndal (7) 1-0
Lillestrom vs Tromso (6) 2-1
Brann Bergen vs Viking Stavanger (5) 1-2, at least one red card in this game
Swiss Super League:
Lausanne Sports vs Luzern (6) 1-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!