Wisla Krakow vs Twente Enschede
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Today’s secondary featured game is the UEFA Europa League game in Poland between Wisla Krakow and Twente Enschede.
Reymonta is never a friend of the visiting side but Wisla’s play at the moment couldn’t invite opponents more, in my view. They look devoid of any idea what to do under Moskal with composure something of the past. They were hopeless against Polonia Warsaw lately and generally look rather predictable, which is surprising considering the potent attack line that they boast with Melikson, Malecki etc. in it. Their big problems lie in defence right now, though. Moskal was a defender in his playing career and it shows in his managerial approach too. Wisla’s problem is that their defence is in tatters. Full-back Lamey, who has experience in the Eredivisie, is ruled out for this one. Joining him on the sidelines is fellow ex-Eredivisie defender Jaliens and Honduran defender Chavez, not to mention German midfielder Paljic. Wisla’s attack should be stronger for the returns of Malecki and Melikson but this defence couldn’t keep a cow out, in my view.
Twente Enschede are reportedly resting Douglas, Wisgerhof, Mihaylov, Rosales, and Brama for this game. That’s fair enough; they’ve already qualified for the next round whereas their hosts need to get as many points as they can from my game. However, let’s be realistic – Twente are the better of these two sides and the odds on them winning this game are ludicrously long. Douglas, Kuiper, Rosales, Wisgerhof – they’re all defenders and most of them are regulars so Twente conceding here would not be a great surprise. However, they’ve taken a first-rate attack out to Poland with towering Austrian hitman Janko, Dutch hotshot Luuk de Jong, and promising attacker Ola John all in the call. The experience of Landzaat should help Twente’s midfield out to no end and Twente do have options with Chadli and Bajrami supporting their strikers. So yeah – I do fancy Twente quite a lot here, to be honest!
As with all UEFA Europa League games, do approach this one with caution. However, I can’t lie – Twente losing this one would be a surprise to me. Again, Reymonta is not an easy venue for any away side to play at and Wisla need this more than Twente but this Twente side scores goals and I don’t see Wisla scoring enough to beat them so the away win with draw no bet at 7/5 really appeals to me tonight.
Verdict: Twente Enschede to win with draw no bet at 7/5.
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
As ever, please find my value tips listed below in no particular order:
Steaua Bucharest vs AEK Larnaca – away win with +1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
This bet is going to have a lot of opposition today and I expect it to be one of the games of the evening so do tune in if you can find a stream!
Ok, so let’s look at Steaua first. They’ve been woeful for the vast majority of this season due to a complete lack of quality throughout the squad (barring when Tanase feels the need to show up) and that hasn’t changed ahead of this game. However, they are playing with cohesion and tenacity, two things that they’ve just not had this season and that concerns me a little. They beat Dinamo Bucharest in one of their derbies before playing an impressive game of football but drawing 1-1 with a frankly superior CFR Cluj side so morale is high for the hosts right now. Their fans will turn out in their droves at the national stadium for this game and it takes a very good display to win in Bucharest but if we’re realistic, Steaua haven’t had such a weak side for a long time.
Now, the big question is whether AEK Larnaca can make it count today. You see, ever since they sacked Caanen (out of the blue!), they’ve actually looked really, really good. Vlemmings has steered his new club to a 0-1 win at Cypriot giants Anorthosis Famagusta, a 2-1 win under pressure against Maccabi Haifa to give the Cypriot side a hope of progressing to the latter stages of this competition, a 2-0 win against a poor Ermis side, and a dominant 0-3 win at Anagennisi Deryneia last time out. Morale is really high for AEK right now too and with only long-term absentee Mrdakovic and hit-and-miss Pavlou absent for the visitors, I give them a very real shout of causing an upset here. They’ve played very good football in their European games this season – let’s not forget how good they were against Roseborg BK and Mlada Boleslav respectively earlier this season – so the visitors are well worth some interest here, particularly with only a rather fortuitous Schalke 05 side having won against them by a heavy margin.
Giving AEK Larnaca a +1 Asian Handicap for all of their UEFA Europa League games this season would mean that they’ve lost just once this season, which I think is impressive. They’ve got bags of experience in their side and better players than they’re given credit for. This is a very tough game but it’s not an impossible one for the Cypriot side, not with Steaua possessing so many average/weak players. Supporters could steer Steaua to a win in this pivotal game but for me, the value is on giving AEK a +1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
Verdict: AEK Larnaca to win with a +1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
Universidad de Chile vs Liga de Quito – home win with -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
I went against Universidad de Chile in the first leg of this final as Liga de Quito are amazing at home without being a very good side. However Liga de Quito’s absentees led to them conceding and then not managing to score, which is a bit of a rarity for them in Quito. For me, that result means that this final is over. It’s famous last words, perhaps, but Liga de Quito are always, always woeful away from home and I expect that to shine through tonight.
To be fair, Universidad de Chile have been the best side in this tournament and they thoroughly deserve to win the Copa Sudamericana, in my view. They play superb football with great tenacity and that combination makes them very hard to compete with.
What makes them so good though? For me, it’s their ability to score goals. The options they have in attack can be quite frightening in South American competition with Eduardo Vargas in the best season of his career and Diego Rivarola, Gustavo Canales, Gabriel Vargas, and Francisco Castro all playing very well and scoring goals for fun. Add to that the brilliant playmaking of Aranguiz and Argentinian attacker Lorenzetti and you have a truly lethal attack. They have experience at the back and are basically a very, very strong side.
Liga de Quito struggle to deal with the lack of altitude at venues like this for obvious reasons and I expect that to play a key part here too. Liga de Quito are experienced in this competition, just like their hosts, but they have to attack here and that almost never fares well for them away from home on the continent. In my opinion, taking a -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5 for the talented Universidad de Chile really looks good tonight.
Verdict: Universidad de Chile to beat the -1 Asian Handicap at 4/5.
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!
FIFA World Club Cup:
Monterrey vs ES Tunis (7) 2-0
Kashiwa Reysol vs Santos (5) over 2.5 goals
UEFA Europa League:
FC Zurich vs Vaslui (4) 2-2
Lazio vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (7) 2-0
Besiktas JK vs Stoke City (5) 1-1
Dynamo Kiev vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (7) 2-1
Paris Saint-Germain vs Athletic Club de Bilbao (7) over 2.5 goals
Slovan Bratislava vs Salzburg (7) 1-2
Maccabi Haifa vs Schalke 04 (5) 1-1
Steaua Bucharest vs AEK Larnaca (4) 1-1
Wisla Krakow vs Twente Enschede (6) 1-2
Fulham vs OB Odense (8) 2-0
Sturm Graz vs AEK Athens (5) 2-1
Anderlecht vs Lokomotiv Moscow (7) 2-1
Copa Sudamericana:
Universidad de Chile vs Liga de Quito (8) 2-0
Australian A-League:
Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar (5) 0-1
Colombian Primera A:
Atletico Junior Barranquilla vs Millonarios Bogota (5) 2-1
Independiente de Santa Fe Bogota vs Once Caldas Manizales (6) 1-1
Greek Super League:
Levadiakos vs Olympiakos Piraeus (8) 0-2
Peruvian Primera Division:
Alianza Lima vs Juan Aurich (6) 1-0
Turkish Super Lig:
Trabzonspor vs Genclerbirligi (6) 1-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!