This encounter in Portugal sees lowly Rio Ave hosting Europa-League hopefuls Braga. Ordinarily, this game would be considered a whitewash away win, and rightfully so, but the hosts have now notched up two straight wins, albeit against opposition around them in the league. Those two wins have taken them out of the drop zone and they’ll be keen to stay there. Braga, by their own high standards, may be a little disappointed by the season so far to find themselves behind Nacional Funchal albeit only by a point and they’ll be keen to ensure they are playing European football again next year. Both sides will clearly be keen to win this game and on the tough pitch at Rio Ave, there should be a very fierce encounter in prospect. In my mind, I can’t see anything but an away win, providing Braga turn up for this game. If they don’t and allow the hosts to hustle and bustle them, this game could begin to lean towards a draw as Braga’s predominant weakness is goalscoring. However, I’m going to call a 1-2 victory for the visitors in hope that they get a goal in the first half and counter-attack the hosts when they attack them in the second half. Expect plenty of yellow cards in this game, although I find it unlikely there’ll be reds.

Friday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, utilise what you will, wherever you will. Below are the sides that I cannot explain not winning their respective games:

Cherno More Varna, Boulogne, Gyori ETO FC, Debrecen

The next group of sides are the sides that have a very good chance of being successful in their respective games:

Montpellier HSC, Tours, Kecskemeti TE, Szombathelyi Haladas, Bohemians, RKC Waalwijk, Go Ahead Eagles, GKS Belchatow, Wisla Krakow, Unirea Urziceni, Steaua Bucharest, Galatasaray SK, Metalist Kharkiv

This last group of three is my risky tip of the day – all have a decent chance of success and should bring you the best odds:

VFL Bochum, Fehervar, Dordrecht ’90

However, if this blatant listing of good tips isn’t enough for you, somehow, then I’ll list bets I find likely/intriguing/good value in order of likelihood:

Cherno More Varna, GKS Belchatow, Boulogne, Gyor ETO FC, Debrecen – Should be about 6/1
Galatasaray SK, Metalist Kharkiv, Tours – Should be 6/1 or 7/1
Wisla Krakow, Steau Bucharest, Unirea Urziceni, Bohemians, Kecskemeti TE – Should be 6/1 again

For the complete picks listing, see below!

Austrian Bundesliga:

Austria Vienna vs SV Mattersburg (7) 2-1

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Club Brugge vs Lokeren (7) 2-1

Bulgarian A PFG:

Cherno More Varna vs Belasitsa Petrich (9) 3-0

Faroese Meistaradeildin:

IF Fuglafjordur vs KI Klaksvik (6) 1-0

French Ligue 2:

Ameins SC vs Tours FC (8)
Bastia vs Vannes OC (6)
Boulogne vs AC Ajaccio (9)
Chateauroux vs Brest (6)
Dijon FCO vs Clermont Foot (5)
Stade de Reims vs Troyes (7)
En Avant Guingamp vs Strasbourg (6)
Metz vs Nimes (7)
Montpellier HSC vs Angers SCO (8)

German Bundesliga:

VFL Bochum vs Hannover 96 (6) 1-0

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Szombathelyi Haladas vs Budapest Honved (8) 2-1
Debrecen vs Kaposvari Rakoczi (9) 3-1
Kecskemeti TE vs Rakospalotai EAC (8) 2-0
Fehervar vs Zalaegerszegi TE (6) 2-1
Nyiregyhaza Spartacus vs Paksi SE (5) 1-1
Gyori ETO FC vs Vasas Budapest (9) 3-0

Irish Premier League:

Drogheda United vs Derry City (4) 1-1
Bohemians vs Dundalk (8) 2-1
Galway United vs St Patrick’s Athletic (6) 2-2
Cork City vs Sligo Rovers (7) 2-1

Italian Serie B:

Vicenza vs Rimini (7)

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

Haarlem vs FC Emmen (7)
Omniworld vs Stormvogels/Telstar (7)
Cambuur Leeuwarden vs FC Eindhoven (7)
FC Den Bosch vs Dordrecht ’90 (6)
AGOVV Appeldoorn vs VVV Venlo (7)
Fortuna Sittard vs MVV Maastricht (7)
RKC Waalwijk vs RBC Roosendaal (8)
Go Ahead Eagles vs Top OSS (8)
BV Veendam vs Excelsior (6)
Helmond Sport vs FC Zwolle (6)

Polish Ekstraklasa:

GKS Belchatow vs Polonia Bytom (8) 2-0
Piast Gliwice vs Wisla Krakow (8) 1-2

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Rio Ave vs Braga (8) 1-2

Romanian Liga:

Unirea Urziceni vs Gloria Bistrita (8) 2-0
Steaua Bucharest vs Otelul Galati (8) 2-1

Swedish Allsvenskan:

Kalmar vs Hacken Goteborg (6) 1-0
Trelleborgs vs Orgryte Goteborg (7) 2-0
Brommapojkarna vs Elfsborg Boras (5) 1-1

Turkish Super Lig:

Hacettepe SK vs Galatasaray SK (8) 1-2

Ukrainian Premier League:

Arsenal Kiev vs Metalist Kharkiv (8) 1-2

Enjoy your free betting tips!

This clash between the two biggest clubs in Ukraine proves to be a very exciting encounter. Both sides are in very good form, although Shakhtar Donetsk have only shown this in the second half of the season, whereas their hosts today have been consistently outstanding all season on all fronts. For me, this it the ultimate “the away goal will count” example. I expect both sides to win their respective legs but I don’t know who will triumph on away goals. In my eyes, Dynamo Kiev’s tenacity and experienced players in gritty encounters will see them win against the samba footballers of Shakhtar Donetsk. The visitors are no strangers to a physical game, but their large South American contingent shows they’re not the strongest of players. I expect a very fiery encounter and my call is 2-0, although that may be more wishful thinking than anything as I much prefer Dynamo Kiev on a personal level over Shakhtar Donetsk. 2-1 wouldn’t be out of the question if one of Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian footballers turn on the magic.

Thursday’s Picks

UEFA Cup:

Dynamo Kiev vs Shakhtar Donetsk (7) 2-0
Werder Bremen vs Hamburger SV (6) 1-0

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Diosgyori VTK vs Nyiregyhaza Spartacus (7) 2-1

Latvian Virsliga:

FK Ventspils vs Liepajas Metalurgs (7) 2-0
Daugava Riga vs Skonto Riga (7) 1-2

Norwegian Tippeligaen:

Brann Bergen vs Lillestrom (7) 2-0

Russian Division 1:

KamAZ Nab Chelny vs Vityaz Podolsk (6)
Volga Nzyhnyi Novgorod vs NoSta Novotroitsk (7)
Volgar Gazprom Astrakhan vs Cherno Novorosisk (7)
Anzhi Makhachkala vs FK Krasnodor (8)
FK Chita vs Shinnik Yaroslavl’ (7)
MVD Rossiya Moscow vs Baltika Kaliningrad (6)
Energiya Khabarovsk vs Salyut Belgorod (7)
Luch-Energiya Vladivostok vs Metallurg Lipetsk (6)
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs FK Nizhnyi Novgorod (6)
Sibir Novosibirsk vs Alaniya Vladikavkaz (6) under 2.5 goals

Enjoy your free betting tips!