Brest vs Vannes OC

Today’s featured games is the Ligue 2 encounter between Brest and Vannes OC. The hosts have been very impressive in Ligue 2 this year and currently find themselves in fourth place in the table. They’ve won three of their last five games and are unbeaten on that particular run. The main reason for their success has been their consistent home form which has seen them yield five wins from seven games, drawing once and losing just once. Brest are looking twice the side that they were last year and look one of the harder sides to beat currently. Vannes OC, by contrast, are not having a good season. They’re currently thirteenth in the Ligue 2 table with one win and four defeats from their last five games, which isn’t good enough. Whereas their away record isn’t exactly the worst in the league, it’s still poor with three defeats, two draws, and one defeat from their six away games played this year. Vannes OC basically are not looking good enough to take anything from this game so I’m going to call a home win at bargain odds of 5/6 for a very much in-form and reliable Brest.

Friday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Brest vs Vannes OC – home win at 5/6 – see introduction for full details.

Universidad de Chile vs Fluminense – home win at 11/10. I don’t know what it is about Chilean sides playing Brazilian sides but they seem to have more success in stopping their Brazilian counterparts playing football much better than any other South American nation does. Perhaps it’s their dogged style of football that really gets to the Brazilians – I’m not sure. This point was illustrated in the first leg of this game as Universidad de Chile drew 2-2 in Brazil against Fluminense. Universidad de Chile are one of the more experienced continental sides in South America, I think it’s fair to say, and stand a great chance of progressing to the Copa Nissan Sudamericana here tonight against a Fluminense side more focal upon avoiding relegation from Serie A. The hosts have a good enough squad to win this game and the home advantage against a potentially distracted Fluminense makes the home win at 11/10 look a good call tonight.

Liga de Quito vs Velez Sarsfeld – home win at evens. Copa Libertadores reigning champions Liga de Quito tonight host Velez Sarsfeld in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana quarter-final game. An impressive 1-1 draw in Argentina in the first leg leaves the Ecuadorians with the edge as the Argentinians vist their lofty fortress in Quito. Many sides have travelled here and failed so it will take a mighty display from Velez Sarsfeld to avoid falling to a similar fate. What convinces me of this outcome is not only that this is a nightmarish away game for any side and that Velez Sarsfeld have to come here and attack to have a chance of success but also that Velez Sarsfeld’s performances of late have been inconsistent at best. For instance – they’ve beaten lowly Godoy Cruz de Mendoza and newly-promoted Atletico Tucuman but have also lost at home to Newell’s Old Boys. When travelling to a good home side like Liga de Quito, you really need to be at your best. Basically, I don’t think Velez Sarsfeld are currently in a position to get a result here so I think the home win at evens for the Ecuadorians looks a good bet tonight.

Sedan-Ardennes vs Metz – away win at 15/8. I can’t quite fathom why these odds are so long! Visitors Metz are not the best travellers in Ligue 2 – far from it. However, they remain one of the best sides in the division, regardless of that point. Aside from that, Metz have really entered their stride lately with four wins from their last five games. If this statistic isn’t impressive enough for you then consider that all of the sides they have beaten/drawn with in those five games either are a very good side or showed that they can be a very good side last season. Metz have lately won away to Chateauroux and drew away to high-flying Nantes whilst beating Guingamp, Laval, and Strasbourg at home. This list of sides is very impressive, in my humble opinion, and a weak Sedan-Ardennes shouldn’t really pose a great threat here tonight, despite having a decent home record. Sedan-Ardennes have lost three of their last five games, including two embarassing defeats to Nimes and Istres. Therefore, to be frank, the away win at 15/8 could turn out to be a real bargain tonight.

Arles vs Le Havre – away win at 13/8. Although currently unbeaten at home in Ligue 2 this year, hosts Arles will face one of their toughest tests yet as they host a very much in-form Le Havre. The visitors have won three of their last five games, losing just once. Their most recent victory was a monday night 4-0 demolition of promotion rivals Nantes, which will have inspired Le Havre greatly. Arles are doing well with keeping sides out but that record simply has to end soon enough because Arles are punching above their weight. Visitors Le Havre certainly have a classier side and look far more capable of winning this game than the hosts do. For me, the away win at 13/8 could prove to be a great bet tonight, particularly as Le Havre have already won three from seven away games this season, losing just once along the way.

Empoli vs Reggina – home win at evens. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I love my Serie B home wins and Empoli are amongst my favourite sides to back for it, too! Although atrocious away from home, Empoli become a very different side when playing on their own turf as five wins from six home games indicates. Some poor form lately has cast a few doubts in my mind over the reliability of Empoli but they’re hosting a Reggina side tonight that have lost four of their last five games and look destined to fail in this division despite having only joined Serie B from Serie A this year. Comparing Empoli’s superb home record with an average of nearly three goals scored per home game to Reggina’s away record of four defeats from six away games, conceding nearly two goals per away game, you have to feel that there’s potentially a great deal of value in the home win at evens!

Groningen vs Heracles Almelo – away win at 9/5. I never thought I’d see the day that I backed Heracles Almelo to win an away game but here we are! Visitors Heracles Almelo are playing some of the best football that they’ve ever played, in my humble opinion, and have well-earned their current Eredivisie placing of sixth. They’ve won four of their last five games but their most impressive feature is the fact that they’ve won four from six away games this year with only FC Twente Enschede having won more away games this year. Heracles Almelo’s strength isn’t goalscoring; it’s keeping sides out. They’ve conceded just one goal away from home in six games this year, which is pretty damn impressive! Although I formerly rated Groningen as the better of these two sides, statistics for this year show otherwise in a big way. The hosts have lost so many home games that only bottom-placed RKC Waalwijk have lost more home games than they have. Groningen have lost four of their six home games this season and scored a feeble two goals. Considering the lax attack of Groningen and the watertight defence of Heracles Almelo makes me think an away win is very likely here, particularly with the sharp contrast in momentum and ability at the moment, particularly as Groningen are without a win in their past four games and have lost their last two consecutively. For me, there’s potentially some serious value in the away win at 9/5.

Lechia Gdansk vs Korona Kielce – home win at evens. Many people have dubbed Lechia Gdansk’s start to this Ekstraklasa campaign as “fortunate”; maybe they’re right. However, fortune has no place in what will surely be a home win against a weak, newly-promoted Korona Kielce as the visitors have now lost four games in a row. Korona Kielce looked to be playing ok but all of a sudden they’ve completely capitulated and the result is a sharp descent down the Ekstraklasa. The visitors have lost four from five away games in the Ekstraklasa this season and Lechia Gdansk are well-placed to take advantage of that fact. The hosts may have a somewhat impassive home record this year but they’re resilient, experienced in the Ekstraklasa dogfight and won their last game to give them momentum as they enter this game. With all of the above in mind, the home win at evens could be a real bargain today.

As ever, if there are any questions/explanations required then feel free to post a comment! For the complete picks listing, see below!

Copa Nissan Sudamericana:

Universidad de Chile vs Fluminense (7) under 2.5 goals
Liga de Quito vs Velez Sarsfeld (7) under 2.5 goals

Argentinian Primera Division:

Argentinos Juniors vs Rosario Central (5) 1-1
Independiente vs Gimnasia De La Plata (7) 2-0

Australian A-League:

Adelaide United vs Brisbane Roar (7) 2-1

Austrian Liga 1:

Austria Vienna II vs Wacker Innsbruck (8)
SCR Altach vs Gratkorn (8)
Hartberg vs Admira Wacker (8)
Lustenau vs Salzburg II (6)
First Vienna vs Dornbirn (5) over 2.5 goals

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Charleroi vs AA Gent (6) 1-2

Bulgarian A PFG:

Lokomotiv Mezdra vs Montana (7) 1-0

Danish 1st Division:

Viborg vs Skive (8)

English Championship:

Derby County vs Coventry City (4) draw no bet

English FA Cup:

Bristol Rovers vs Southampton (6) 1-1
Notts County vs Bradford City (8) 2-0
Huddersfield Town vs Dagenham & Redbridge (6) 2-1

French Ligue 2:

AC Ajaccio vs Dijon FCO (6)
Angers SCO vs Bastia (6)
Brest vs Vannes OC (8)
Clermont Foot vs Nimes (7)
Sedan-Ardennes vs Metz (6)
Strasbourg vs Istres (6)
Arles vs Le Havre (6)
Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Tours (8)
Chateauroux vs Laval (6)

German Bundesliga:

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Eintracht Frankfurt (8) 3-1

German Bundesliga 2:

Kaiserslautern vs Rot-Weiss Oberhausen (7)
St.Pauli vs Fortuna Dusseldorf (7)
Paderborn vs Koblenz (6)

Greek B Ethniki:

Ilioupoli vs Ethnikos Asteras (7)

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Ujpest vs Fehervar (6) 1-1

Italian Serie B:

Empoli vs Reggina (7)

Dutch Eredivisie:

Groningen vs Heracles Almelo (7) 0-1

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

Cambuur Leeuwarden vs Excelsior (7) over 2.5 goals
AGOVV Appeldoorn vs Volendam (6)
Den Bosch vs Dordrecht ’90 (6)
Eindhoven vs Veendam (7)
Fortuna Sittard vs RBC Roosendaal (7)
Go Ahead Eagles vs Haarlem (8)
Helmond Sport vs Top Oss (6)
MVV Maastricht vs Omniworld (8)
Stormvogels Telstar vs Zwolle (7)

Polish Ekstraklasa:

Odra Wodzislaw vs Zaglebie Lubin (5) 1-1
Lechia Gdansk vs Korona Kielce (8) 1-0
Wisla Krakow vs Legia Warsaw (7) 2-1

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Belenenses vs Pacos de Ferreira (6) under 2.5 goals

Romanian Liga:

Pandurii Targu Jiu vs Gloria Bistrita (7) 2-0
International vs Universitatea Craiova (8) 1-1

Singaporean S-League:

Sengkang Punggol vs Woodlands (5) 1-1

Turkish Super Lig:

Bursaspor vs Genclerbirligi (8) 2-0

Welsh Premier League:

Aberystwyth Town vs Bala Town (7) 2-1
Airbus vs Connah’s Quay Nomads (6) 1-0
Haverfordwest County vs Neath Athletic (6) 1-1
Prestatyn Town vs Newtown (7) 2-1
The New Saints vs Newi Cefn Druids (8) 2-0

Enjoy your free betting tips!

Ruch Chorzow vs Lechia Gdansk

Today’s featured game is the Ekstraklasa clash between Ruch Chorzow and Lechia Gdansk. I might have avoided this game had the horrific weather that hit south Poland a few days ago not moved on elsewhere – those were a joke! Did any of you watch Poland vs Slovakia? The game looked just like how I’d imagine a game in Greenland would look – lots of snow falling and virtually zero visibility of the ball. Anyway, with Poland’s disappointing and unfortunate defeat in the past, we now look at Ruch Chorzow’s chances of beating Lechia Gdansk, which I think are pretty high. Ruch Chorzow are now the only remaining side in the Ekstraklasa that has won all of their home games. Even more impressively, however, is the fact that they’ve done it without conceding a goal! I’ve yet to make up my mind whether this form of theirs is tempremental or if they’re actually pushing for a European place next year but regardless of that, Ruch Chorzow have the wind in their sails at the moment and look a force for just about any opponent in the Ekstraklasa. Visitors Lechia Gdansk have made an unprecedented good start to this campaign with limited resources in all areas of the field. However, they’ve suffered two defeats in their last four games and look to be struggling to maintain their good form, which is unfortunately something that has been expected by most people. Aside from encountering what is currently the best home side in the league, Lechia Gdansk enter this game without Captain Karol Piatek, midfielders Maciej Rogalski and Piotr Kasperkiewicz, defenders Jakub Kawa, Siergiejis Kozans, Arkadiusz Mysona, and striker Ivans Lukjanovs. To say that the already-stretched visitors are short on numbers is an understatement and their lack of their Captain could do them a lot of damage on the field. With the only definite absence for Ruch Chorzow being Martin Fabusz, the hosts have yet another advantage over Lechia Gdansk today. To put it bluntly, I’m expecting something of a comfortable home win today so odds of 3/4 are something of a gift. I’d even consider the -1.75 handicap for this game given the news above.

Friday’s Picks

My tips:

As ever, below are my recommended value tips for today in no particular order:

Ruch Chorzow vs Lechia Gdansk – home win at 3/4 – see introduction for full details.

Hartberg vs SCR Altach – away win at 3/4. Something funny is going on in Austria today with what looks to me like five away wins in the Liga 1! I’ll eat my hat if they all manage it but I can’t make a case for any of the home sides, I’m afraid! However, this one is one of my favourites because I rate SCR Altach as the best side in the division. After enduring some patchy form, SCR Altach have won three consecutive games and take their excellent momentum into this game with the additional bonus of knowing that they’re the better side out of these two. Three wins, one draw, and one defeat from their five away games this season says that they mean business and the tag of being the highest scoring side in the division is one that they are proud to bear. SCR Altach average over two goals per game and look a force for any side in this division currently. Hosts Hartberg enter the game with good momentum too, having won two consecutive games. Unimpressively, however, they have lost three of their five home games so far this season and are one of the highest conceding sides in the division currently. On paper, they’re not a match for SCR Altach and I think the above points to an away win so 3/4 looks good odds to me.

Salzburg II vs Wacker Innsbruck – away win at evens. Like most II teams that are in the division below their parent team, Salzburg II are struggling. They simply don’t have the quality to consistently challenge any side in the division and will be fortunate to avoid relegation this year, in my opinion. That said, Salzburg II are surprisingly one of the top goalscorers in the division – their downside is that only three sides have conceded more goals than they have. Salzburg II have lost three of their six home games and only won twice. Visitors Wacker Innsbruck aren’t always the most reliable of sides but three away wins from five games says they’ve got enough in the tank to do the job and three consecutive wins says they have the momentum to enforce it. For me, the away win looks good value at evens.

Liege vs Mons – away win at 10/11. Poor starters Liege enter this game with some momentum after claiming their first win of the campaign away to rapidly descending Brussels. Whereas this will have no doubt boosted them, you do have to bear in mind that they are where they are in the Tweede Klasse because they’ve lost six out of eight games i.e. they’re not really good enough to be in this division. Mons haven’t exactly set the division alight since relegation from the Eerste Klasse but they have been difficult to play against as is indicated by the fact that they’ve only lost two of the nine games they’ve played thus far. Mons’ problem so far has been drawing more games than they’re winning, which does concern me a little ahead of this game but not excessively. A win last game will give Mons the boost they need to overcome a much weaker Liege today so the away win at 10/11 looks inviting.

Deportivo Pasto vs Atletico Huila – home win at 5/6. Both of these sides have made very good starts to their respective campaigns. As with most Colombian sides, however, they’re both home sides. Deportivo Pasto are one of the best home sides in the league with five wins and one draw from six home games. They average nearly three goals per game at home and generally look very dangerous against most opponents. Visitors Atletico Huila boast a similar record but are slightly better away from home, hence them being a point ahead of Deportivo Pasto in the league. There’s really not very much between these two sides in terms of quality but the hosts do have the advantage of being at home, which counts for an awful lot in Colombia, as statistics have always indicated. For me, there could be value in the home win at 5/6 today.

Inter Zapresic vs Zadar – home win at 11/10. This is a very dubious call ineded when you consider that Inter Zapresic have now lost five consecutive games. However, all runs must end sometime and I think there’s a decent chance of that today. Zadar have played better than Inter Zapresic so far this season but they have one giant flaw; they’re very poor goalscorers, particularly on the road. In fact, in their four away games this season, they’ve lost three, drawn once and scored just one goal. Make no mistake, these two sides are as bad as each other. Whereas Inter Zapresic’s form of one win, one draw and three defeats at home this season far from inspires such a call, I am comforted by the fact that they’ve won this fixture for three seasons out of the last four, drawing the other.

Ilisiakos Zografou vs Kerkyra – away win at 7/5. Although having never been a convincing away side, Kerkyra’s form so far this season leads me to believe that this particular fact could change, even if only temporarily. Three wins and one draw from their opening four games says that they’re keen to atone for last season’s failure to reach the Super League. Averaging two goals per game currently, Kerkyra look their usual potent selves and will be hard to topple this season. Hosts Ilisiakos Zografou were as much a threat last season as Kerkyra were but how times change in the blink of an eye! The hosts are currently second bottom of the Ethniki B with two points from four games. Their goalscoring is a massive problem with just two goals scored in four games. Against an in-form Kerkyra, this could prove to be extremely harmful to the hosts so I think taking the away win at 7/5 holds some value today, particularly as the visitors have won this exact fixture for three seasons running without even conceding a goal…

As ever, any questions/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com. For the complete picks listing, see below!

Argentinian Primera Division:

San Lorenzo de Almagro vs Rosario Central (8) 2-1
Lanus vs Velez Sarsfeld (8) 1-1

Australian A-League:

Adelaide United vs Sydney FC (5) 1-2

Austrian Liga 1:

Austria Vienna II vs Austria Lustenau (7)
Hartberg vs SCR Altach (7)
Salzburg II vs Wacker Innsbruck (7)
First Vienna vs Gratkorn (6)
Dornbirn vs St.Polten (6)

Belgian Tweede Klasse:

Liege vs Mons (7)

Bulgarian A PFG:

Sliven vs Chernomorets Burgas (8) 1-3

Colombian Futbol Profesional:

Deportivo Pasto vs Atletico Huila (8) 2-1

Croatian Prva Liga:

Inter Zapresic vs Zadar (5) under 2.5 goals

Ecuadorian Primera A:

Liga de Quito vs Manta (8) 3-1

English League Two:

Cheltenham Town vs Macclesfield Town (6)

French Ligue 2:

AC Ajaccio vs Brest (7)
Angers SCO vs Istres (7)
Arles vs Bastia (6)
Chateauroux vs Nimes (7)
Guingamp vs Dijon FCO (5)
Sedan-Ardennes vs Tours (6) draw no bet
Clermont Foot vs Stade Malherbe de Caen (6)
Le Havre vs Laval (8)
Strasbourg vs Vannes OC (5)

German Bundesliga 2:

Arminia Bielefeld vs Alemannia Aachen (8)
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen vs St.Pauli (6)
Energie Cottbus vs Kaiserslautern (7)

Greek B Ethniki:

Ilisiakos Zografou vs Kerkyra (7)

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

Vasas Budapest vs Debreceni VSC (8) 1-2
Ferencvaros vs Gyori ETO FC (5) 1-1

Irish Premier League:

Cork City vs Bohemians (6) 1-2
St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bray Wanderers (7) 2-0
Galway United vs Derry City (5) 1-1
Dundalk vs Sligo Rovers (6) 1-1

Italian Serie B:

Lecce vs Salernitana (8)

Dutch Eerste Divisie:

Go Ahead Eagles vs Cambuur Leeuwarden (6)
AGOVV Appeldoorn vs FC Eindhoven (7)
Veendam vs De Graafschap (6) draw no bet
Excelsior vs Zwolle (5)
Omniworld vs RBC Roosendaal (6)
Top Oss vs Haarlem (6)
Fortuna Sittard vs Dordrecht ’90 (5)
MVV Maastricht vs Helmond Sport (5) draw no bet
Stormvogels Telstar vs FC Den Bosch (5)

Polish Ekstraklasa:

GKS Belchatow vs Slask Wroclaw (6) 0-0
Ruch Chorzow vs Lechia Gdansk (8) 2-0

Romanian Liga:

Unirea Alba Iulia vs International (5) 1-1
Unirea Urziceni vs Vaslui (8) 1-0

Singaporean S-League:

Sengkang Punggol vs Armed Forces (9) over 2.5 goals

Welsh Premier League:

Aberystwyth Town vs Newtown (6) 1-0
Carmarthen Town vs Port Talbot Town (6) 1-1
Prestatyn Town vs Connah’s Quay Nomads (7) 2-1

Enjoy your free betting tips!