Serie A: Sassuolo - Pescara
Sassuolo have been playing Europa League games and were in Serbia on Thursday for their second leg with Crvena Zvezda,which they drew 1-1, they could largely go through the motions there having won the home tie 3-0.
It will definitely not be advantage later in the campaign, but having played extra competitive games at this stage of the season, gives the hosts a significant edge IMO and after five very competitive fixture, Sassuolo will be very close to full fitness and looking to build on last week's opening day win at Palermo in front of their own supporters. Newly promoted Pescara are three games behind and would also have returned to pre season a litlle later, or with a shortened break, after their playoff win was not settled until June 9th, 25 days after Serie A ended. The visitors will be fairly pleased with a Matchday 1 draw (2-2) with Napoli, they started strongly there against a very passive opponent and led by two at the break, but tired/got sloppy afterwards and the visitors awoke from their slumber. At the end, Pescara were clinging on for dear life and they will have to save more energy for the second half exchanges today. Pescara have been quite adventurous in the transfer window, but are still getting some of those additions up to speed and today, I feel the hosts will be a little too far ahead in terms of prepardness and fitness levels and they will be very hungry for the points with a trip to Juventus immediately after the international break.
Sassuolo -1 ball 2.20 asian line/Sportmarket
from the Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.com
-
La Liga: Espanyol - Malaga
Malaga are in the Ajaccio mode and rarely cut loose on the road, however, Juande Ramos is back in charge and got them playing some attractive football in pre season, when they scored a lot of goals, they struggled to break down an Osasuna side who came with only a point in mind last week and had to settle for 1-1, but the overall performance certainly offered promise and I do expect to see a more adventurous approach from them this season. That will go double and treble for Espanyol who opened with a 6-4 loss (!) at Sevilla, tough to score four on the road and not get a point, but I doubt they will abandon their attacking principles and will instead take heart from their offensive performance. The signings of Leo Baptistao, Pablo Piatti, Jose Manuel Jurado and Jose Antonio Reyes hardly hinted at a team who were going to sit back in any game, they are looking to strengthen defensively before the window closes, but right now look full of goals at one end and leaky at the other, I suspect they will be fun to watch all season and odds for this to provide some of that entertainment look on the big side.
The first round of games saw 40 goals , there were only 32 on opening day in the previous two seasons combined, the increased and more equal distribution of television money in Spain has meant increased pressure on teams to entertain and I feel that last week might not just be a blip, but an ongoing trend. There could mean value for us in early season if that is the case and before the oddsmakers fully catch up.
over 2.5 goals 2.38 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.comLeave a comment:
-
UEFA Champions League: Hapoel Beer Sheva - Celtic FC
Celtic won the first leg 5-2 and looked out of sight at one stage at 3-0 early in that tie and on another night could have won by five, however and equally, they could have crumbled at 3-2 and again when the Israeli side were denied a penalty later in the game. We have seen them do so before and Brendan Rodgers, the head coach of the Scottish champions, said yesterday that those involved in last season's surrender to Malmo at this stage of the competition will not be unnerved by that disappointment. Adding:"I think a lot has been made of what's happened in the past and I've always said you have to embrace failure." He spent half the interview talking about this and for me,the loss in Sweden, and some other big collapses in the Champions League in recent campaigns, are clearly playing on his mind.
I think that this will be a very different game, Celtic were very fortunate not to lose at Astana, where they fought a rearguard action for most of the 90 minutes and they have won just 9 of 62 , including 2 of their last 14, away starts in Europe and have kept just two clean sheets in the last 20 ( in Azerbaijan and Iceland).Hapoel Beer Sheva have great confidence from their first domestic title in 40 years last season and head coach Barak Bakhar feels there is still life in this and rested key players for tonight in their league opener on Saturday.
HBS are a special team and have very much a them against us mentality domestically, Beersheba being in the "wilderness " of the South and their title win last season was described as "doing a Leicester City", which is a phrase we are going to hear far too much of ! Celtic can lose by 2 and still progress and I think they will look to keep this tight, which they are ill equipped and unused to doing and I expect the host to edge this narrowly and both teams to celebrate come the end of 90 minutes. The visitors also conceded two goals quickly from three up against St Johnstone at the weekend and sitting on a lead is not their forte.
Hapoel Beer Sheva -0.25 ball 2.07 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.comLeave a comment:
-
J League: Gamba Osaka - Vissel Kobe
Gamba posted a fine 2-0 win at Jubilo Iwata last week, the breakthrough and then second goal took a while to come, but they were well on top and could have won by at least two more goals and it feels like someone is in for a bit of a hiding soon.
My notes on last week's game can be read in full below the "good luck", Gamba have got a little swagger back and have been talking all week about their Stage 2 title "charge", they trail leaders Urawa by five points, which is very do-able with the pair due to meet on Matchday 14, but there can be no let up now. Vissel Kobe might argue that they are still in with a slim chance too , being four behind Gamba , but that is a little far fetched and despite me talking a lot about Kobe as a potential challenger for honours in the future, that is more likely to be in the cup(s) or next season in league terms and they need to pick up a little on the road. They will not lack for motivation in the Kansai derby, but Gamba have won 4 of five meetings in Osaka and the last three wins have all been by 2+ goals.
Kobe are a very offensive minded team and are a team full of goals on a going day, which is good for us, as they are unlikely to come and park the bus and they do like, so do Gamba for that matter, to make things difficult for themselves and Vissel have conceded first in three of their last four and conceded six without reply in their last 213 minutes on the road. They arrive without suspended central defender Masahiko Inoha and they will miss him with Gamba starting to fire.
Gamba -0.5 ball 2.05 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.comLeave a comment:
-
Spain Super Cup: Sevilla - Barcelona
We discussed Sevilla in midweek ahead of their UEFA Super Cup match up with Real Madrid, where they led 2-1, but lost 3-2 in extra time. That came at a cost and the entire three man backline of Timothee Kolodziejczak ,Daniel Carrico and Nicolas Pareja miss out through a combination of injury and suspension. There was already a lot of space in behind that trio at times in midweek and Real frequently broke the offside trap and Sevilla will be pushing forward a lot tonight in the first real home debut for the new coach. Barce have been very hit and miss in pre season and are only slowly re-introducing their star names into the squad after a busy summer, but Messi and Suarez definitely play tonight and the one constant in pre season has been goals and their four high profile warm up games have all produced at least four and Leicester City, Liverpool and Sampdoria all scored two or more against the Catalan giants. The 2.80-3.0 for Sevilla to score two or more goals (over 1.5) feels big and is very tempting, but I will opt for the easier to back ...........
Sevilla: Sergio Rico, JosLeave a comment:
-
France Ligue2: Clermont Foot - Sochaux
Clermont got back to goalscoring ways in midweek, scoring twice against Amiens in the cup after drawing blank in consecutive Ligue 2 games, ahead of the first a 2-0 loss at Valenciennes, I spoke about the open nature of their matches over the last 12 months ......
"Clermont were fun to watch last season, their fixtures produced a Ligue 2 high 109 goals and away starts averaged 2.95 per game. They finished 7th, seven points shy of a promotion spot, were in the mix most of the campaign and I doubt we will see too much difference in their approach, the six main "defensive" starters remain, are all in the squad and seem likely to start this evening, which kind of bears that out. They have lost two big offensive threats in top scorer Famara Diedhiou and Adrien Hunou, but winger Remy Dugimont had seven goals and three assists after the end of November and Corinne Diacre , who is in her third season in charge, believes in attacking football and has added a number of young strikers to the squad and to be honest, they have looked very similar to the Clermont of old in pre season, conceding and scoring freely."
They went into their shell a little at home to Red Star to steady the ship, but beat Amiens 2-1 even without Remy Dugimont (see above) who returns, with goals from Salze and Ajorque and I expect them to play their usual style today. They will be without midfielder Thomas Guerbert who cannot play under the terms of his transfer from Sochaux.
Sochaux have played one road game, a 3-1 win at Troyes and my notes on that are reproduced below the "good luck" sign off. They have struggled for goals in two home games, when teams went to Sochaux looking to sit back and frustrate, they meet a team with a similar approach to Troyes today and one who will look for three points having only taken one from two starts and facing a tough looking trip to Auxerre up next. Sochaux will freshen up with the return of Werner, Teikeu, Berenguer, Ramare and Andriatsima , who all sat out the cup game in midweek and all four will start, I favour Sochaux, but feel this time there is better value with ..............
over 2.25 goals 2.42 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.comLeave a comment:
-
UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid VS Sevilla
Sevilla are now Super Cup regulars and are appearing in this European football season "opener" for the 5th time in the last 11 seasons. The previous four have produced 17 goals, including a 4-4 draw with Barcelona in 90 minutes last year, Sevilla have scored eight of those goals and are certainly not afraid to take the game the Champions League winner. La Liga games between Real and Los Rojiblancos offer even more promise of goals, with the last ten h2h meetings producing 47 goals with five going "over" the 4.5 goal line. The two most recent (last season) saw four goals in the capital and five in Seville and draws are incredibly rare, none in the last 20, 15 wins for Real, 5 for Sevilla.
There is no Cristiano Ronaldo , Gareth Bale, Pepe or Toni Kroos in the Real squad (see below) , but Real have wins and goals in their absence in pre season with victories over Bayern Munich and Chelsea and three goals inside the opening 38 minutes in the latter and there are plenty of players looking to impress and showcase their talents in the absence of the two big offensive stars. Sevilla are much changed since winning the Europa League , head coach Unai Emery has moved on to PSG and been replaced by Copa America winner Jorge Sampaoli , top scorer KLeave a comment:
-
France Ligue 2: Le Havre - Nimes
I previewed Nimes home game with Laval last weekend .............
"I wrote a lengthy preview of Nimes' trip to then leaders Nancy, who went on to win Ligue 2 by four points, back in late January, in that I spoke about Nimes great goalscoring form and how they had made a habit of running into form through the second half of recent campaigns. They collected 34 points from 18 starts from the end of November, which is more or less top 3 shape for half a season , add in their 8 point deduction and they would have finished 9th and given all that the players had to deal with in early season ( confidence was shot from how the previous campaign ended and they took until October 23rd to get to +1 point !), that was a fantastic achievement. They got great support through this improved run, fans bought into the great escape/ them against us attitude and five figure crowds (big numbers for them and L2) were turning up and really getting behind the team. What could have been a disaster, actually turned into a campaign full of promise and hope for the future.
Head coach Bernard Blaquart has been busy over the summer and looks to have upgraded the backline and the addition of two experienced full backs in Gael Angoula and Zie Diabate looks good business. Up front, the signing of Rachid Alioui is promising, he was top scorer for Laval last season, which. additionally weakens the visitors, the striker hit the ground running this time last year, with five goals and two assists in the first 11 games and he was playing for a team who do not score many (just 12 in total through that sequence).
Laval just do not win enough games and are too timid at times, drawing 50% of all games in the last two seasons, averaging exactly one goal per game (less last season) and too often settling for one point, when, with a little more enterprise, three could have been there for the taking. In addition to Alioui, they have also lost playmaker playmaker Romain Habran and Anthony Goncalves, their two top assist makers, that is a lot of goal threat from a team who do not pose much ! The solid defence has been split up with two players leaving and three of those remaining are getting pretty long in the tooth now ( in their 33rd-38th years) and this could be a tough season for the visitors.
Nimes took a lot of confidence from a 1-0 pre season loss to Marseille, where they attracted a big crowd and dominated much of the play and were denined by the woodwork and some late ditch callenges/saves, they have low price admission deals to get as many people into the stadium tonight as possible and are targeting a fast start this time round and to continue where they left off last season. They have been away at a training centre all week to prepare for today and "bond" and I favour them to start with a win."
Like many games last weekend that was a largely uninspiring affair, but Nimes were the better side and not helped by a poor playing surface , or referee Florent Batta ,who gave up 105 yellow and five reds in 21 Ligue 2 games last season and started as he means to go on in his one man crusade to ruin second tier football, by producing 10 yellow and two red here, the Laval dismissal came late in injury time, Nimes played 40 minutes a man short and probably saw a draw as respectable at that stage. I will be doing my best to avoid any games where Batta is in charge in future. I have spoken many times previously about Nimes being very offensive minded, especially when facing an opponent with a similar mindset and I expect, Le Havre, who are amongst the title favourites and who were one of those teams (see above) to open with a win last week, to be all out guns blazing for three points today. The two teams played out a pair of wide open encounters last season, which both produced four goals and something along the same lines is expected today.
HAC came up a goal short of promotion last season and that, allied to just two automatic promotion spots, should ensure they will always be looking for maximum points. Nimes are without suspended left back (but has now been converted to left sided central defender) Fethi Harek, the 11 games he has missed in the last 12 months have averaged 2.91 goals. His absence will have got the attention of Le Havre new signing Algerian winger Zinedine Ferhat, who could go down the same route as HAC's last "name" Algerian signing Rihad Mahrez, Ferhat has every trick in the book and then some and there will be plenty of entertainment in watching him this season.
over 2.25 goals 2.11 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
http://www.clubgowi.comLeave a comment:
-
Champions League: Dundalk - BATE Borisov (0-1 first leg)
We have discussed BATE many times previously in Champions League qualification and they are probably the most experienced of all the non "elite" teams and have made the group stage of the competition five times since 2008-09, including the last two and in four of the last five seasons. They know how to work their way through these games and having won their domestic league for ten straight years and often easily, their whole season is usually planned and built around these games. They also have the advantage over most that, come early August, they are battle hardened and halfway through their league and at what should be peak fitness levels, they are currently heading for an 11th title and are 10 points clear after 13 rounds. This will not be a step into the unknown for them, last season they saw off Dundalk in Q2, winning 2-1 at home before drawing 0-0 in Ireland, now they arrive with another single goal lead, albeit this time with a clean sheet, to play in the Tallaght Stadium, the home of Shamrock Rovers, where this match will be held.
Dundalk are without the injured Brian Gartland and captain Stephen O’Donnell and midfielder Ronan Finn are doubtful and will face late tests. The hosts look on course for a third straight Premier Division title, but are novices at this level and were comprehensively outplayed in Borisov, despite holding out for 70 minutes. However, BATE barely do too much above the minimum and have drawn four of five qualification games after winning the home leg, they will be happy with 0-0 and if they score, will sit back for sure and that will give Dundalk a chance to equalise, maybe even edge to a win, as they would need three to progress, but a repeat of last year's 0-0 feels the most likely scoreline. Dundalk boss Stephen Kenny was in charge of Bohemians when they overturned a 1-0 first leg loss to beat BATE in 2003 and whilst that was a very long time ago and the Belarus giants are a completely different club nowadays, that will give him some belief and he will be trying to transmit that to his players, who are much improved in the last two years. Despite thir incredible achievements ,BATE have played 17 European away games without a win and although they have played a lot of big clubs in that sequence, there are more than a handful against minnows and as already outlined, they rarely do more than they need.
Dundalk +0.25 ball 2.44 asian line/Sportmarket or, +0.5 2.03 as an alternative
from Clubgowi newsletterLeave a comment:
-
Ligue 2: Valenciennes - Clermont
We had very few goals on opening day last season and also no home wins, that was a little odd of course, but the previous two campaigns had produced an average of 2.7 goals, so I will see the start of 15-16 as simply a blip. Clermont were fun to watch last season, they produced a Ligue 2 high 109 goals and away starts averaged 2.95 per game. They finished 7th, seven points shy of a promotion spot, were in the mix most of the campaign and I doubt we will see too much difference in their approach, the six main "defensive" starters remain, are all in the squad and seem likely to start this evening, which kind of bears that out. They have lost two big offensive threats in top scorer Famara Diedhiou and Adrien Hunou, but winger Remy Dugimont had seven goals and three assists after the end of November and Corinne Diacre , who is in her third season in charge, believes in attacking football and has added a number of young strikers to the squad and to be honest, they have looked very similar to the Clermont of old in pre season, conceding and scoring freely.
Valenciennes were wildly unpredictable last season, as highlighted by a 5-1 win at high flying Red Star being followed by a 3-1 home defeat. They earned 24 of 44 points on the road and with a home record of 3-11-5 , it is clear where their issues lie, they lost 2-1 and 3-1 to Clermont (league and cup), winger Wesley Jobello scored twice in the latter and given that Diacre opted to leave him out of squad which travelled, she must be reasonably confident about her team's offensive options. Gambling and winning half of those home darws would have taken Valenciennes into the top 8 (they were 12th) and that is the aim this season (to take a few more chances) and they have named an offensive looking group for this evening, with little defensive cover (18 yo Kyle Duncan has only ever played three games for the B team).
I expect both to score and each to press for a winner, so it has to be ......
over 2.25 goals 2.16 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
Leave a comment:
-
Club Friendly: MK Dons - Everton
New head coach Ronald Koeman will be very keen to get the supporters on his side, he has won his first two pre season games by a combined 4-0 and well over 2, 000 Evertonians travelled to watch the three goal win at Barnsley at the weekend and will be at Stadium MK in good numbers again this evening. They are a little restless at present as, whilst there has been plenty of talk about big name signings, none have yet to put pen to paper and the promisedLeave a comment:
-
MLS: Portland Timbers - LA Galaxy
Timbers are getting everything together for a big run at the MLS Cup which they won last year, a fantastic achievement for a club who only played their first MLS game in 2011. They came on strong after a slow start in 2015, 3 wins from their opening 12 starts, 12 from their final 22 and they are building up a head of steam currently, being unbeaten in nine and, after conceding far too freely early season, back to back road cleansheets at Rapids and New York Red Bulls have been hugely impressive. They are coming off a 3-1 home win over Seattle Sounders last Sunday and will have been thinking only about this game in the interim.
Galaxy are a very big player in MLS terms and expect to be involved at the business end of every season and they will be again this year, but they had a tough battle in a 4-2 cup win over Seattle in midweek, with the two winning goals coming in the final five minutes. That was their fifth straight win in all competions, but all have been hard won, they did rest some big names against Sounders, Gerrard and Keane did not feature, but eight played some part in that and the last MLS game. We saw last season, that when on a roll and close to full strength, Timbers are a match for anybody and then some, star players Fanendo Adi, Diego Valeri, Darlington Nagbe, Alvas Powell, Jermaine Taylor and Liam Ridgewell have only played together twice all season (both wins) the last time was last Sunday and all are expected to feature today. The last three give the backline a very solid look, the first three have 20 goals and eight assists between them, Valeri is, if not the most influential midfielder in the MLS, then very close to it and as the Portland head coach put it, he is the "straw that stirs the drinks". Adi scored a whopping 14 regular season goals last season from the end of July onwards and when then Portland are firing, it takes a very strong team to stop them and I am not sure that LAG are quite that team nowadays, despite recent form. Home win. Late edit: Ridgewell is set to miss out for Timbers, but that alone is not enough to sway me .
Portland Timbers -0.25 @ 1.97 at Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletter
Leave a comment:
-
US Open Cup: Chicago Fire - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Ahead of their home game with Columbus Crew in the previous round ,I spoke about how seriously Chicago Fire have always taken the US Open Cup...........
"We have a full midweek round in Brazil starting tomorrow and are at the last 16 stage of the US Open Cup, with two of those matches being played today, the rest on Wednesday. The Chicago Fire- Columbus Crew game being played tonight is not without interest, the host have always treated the competition with respect and were close to full strength against NASL opponents in the last round, whilst Crew made wholesale changes. Teams are playing things a little closer to their chest this time round, but visiting head coach Gregg Berhalter did at least state that back up goalkeeper Brad Stuver would start in all Open Cup games, they have not got past this round in six attempts, are 0-5 v Fire in this competition losing twice here in cup play in the last three years (once in extra time) and it is easy to see Chicago taking this the more seriously of the two, playing in front of their own supporters.
Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic said "This competition is very important. "We will go with our best possible team to start with the guys we believe can win the game." He then implied that the visitors were expected to rotate to some degree: " We want to stop them from progressing out of the back where they have quality players. "They have a very defined style and they perform very well. " We obviously, have to wait to see who is going to play but we know that they're style is consistent and they don't change even when the line-up changes."
On everything we know historically about how these two clubs approach US Open Cup play, that sounds about right and we can expect Fire to field the stronger team. However, and you probably knew that there was going to be a caveat of some sorts, Fire have a home MLS game on Friday and will be mindful of that, although Paunovic said he would not think about the visit of Earthquakes until tomorrow.
Fire are four time US Open Cup champions (but not for a decade) and have made it through to the semis in each of the last three years and they can edge this and continue their fine record in the competition."
They won that 2-1 after opening up an early 2-0 lead and the Crew goal came late, via a wrongly awarded spot kick and after Fire , who will tonight be looking to reach the last four for the fourth straight year, took off their two main offensive threats at around the hour mark.
Tonight they are three wins away from some silverware and a Champions League spot and that would salvage the campaign and give them something to build on for next season. FTL are the last NASL team left in the competition and Fire could not have asked for a better draw, with the lower league team struggling and having really ridden their luck to reach this stage (all three wins coming after extra time or penalties).
There is talk of money problems at Strikers, recent salaries have been paid late and are said (unofficially) to be behind the departures of Adrianinho and Matheus Carvalho, which, with the suspension to Maicon Santo, means that FTL have only one player available with more than one goal to his name (he has two !) and arrive with no target man and a midfielder in the "striker" position. They have had quite a lot of attempts on goal this season, but most from distance, a low on target percentage and most of those achieved by players who will not be in action this evening and against a superior opponent, who is hugely motivated to win. Fire have a league game on Saturday, so will want to avoid extra time and another early two goal lead will surely be their target.
Chicago Fire -1 ball 2.03 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletterLeave a comment:
-
MLS: LA Galaxy - Houston Dynamo
I previewed Houston's trip to Orlando last weekend when my notes included ..............
"Dynamo replaced Owen Coyle with Wade Barrett for the rest of this season at the end of May and he has quickly make tightening up what was a leaky defence a priority and with him at the helm Houston have conceded just six goals in seven starts, after allowing 1.62 per game under Coyle. They are coming off a 1-0 home win over highflying Philadelphia Union, who are in second place in the Eastern Conference and afterwards opposing head coach Jim Curtain said that Dynamo were "organized and difficult to break down." They are starting to really build some confidence and we had already seen glimpses of their offensive potential in early season when they put five unaswered goals past FC Dallas and three over Red Bulls on the road, teams who were the best in each Conference last year. Now they need to put that all together in road games and tonight looks a good time to be facing City, who parted ways with head coach Adrian Heath on Tuesday after eight years at the club, he oversaw the franchise expansion into the MLS and was a key figure at OCFC. His number two has also left and two assistant coaches will take charge on an interim basis.
City are in a tough period and are coming off an extra time loss to NASL team Fort Lauderdale in the US Open Cup last midweek and 4-0 defeat in Dallas on Monday, which means a lot of travel, quick turnaround all added to the disruption over Heath leaving."
That game was a bit of a bore fest to be honest, but Dynamo were again well organised and defended well and had the best chance of the game, being denied by the woodwork in the 90th minute. That was another clean sheet and they are far removed from the team who were conceding so freely in early season. They have already posted road draws at Western Conference leaders FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps (who are both very strong at home) under Barrett and Dynamo will travel in good heart to LA where they have had some titanic battles, including two MLS Cup finals with Galaxy in recent years. The only defeat under the new coach did come out here in the West, when they lost 3-2 to Portland, that looks a bit of a throw back to the Coyle era as they led 2-0 early and blew their lead late, but Dynamo were the better team there, both of those late goals came via penalties and the second in injury time should never have been given and that had already been forced to substitute their goalkeeper at half time when leading by two.
They make the trip West without veteran left back DaMarcus Beasley who underwent minor surgery this week and will be out for a month, that is not good news, but the loss of Ashley Cole and Nigel de Jong for Galaxy balances things out. The pair both sat out the 1-0 road win at Seattle last week and that was a great result under the circumstances, but Sounders were denied by some poor finishing, the woodwork and a whole host of desperate late blocks and challenges and should have got something from that, probably all three points. No issues with Galaxy as favourites, but Houston are priced too big for my money and I take the improving visitors to come away with yet another draw.......1-1.
Houston Dynamo +0.75 ball 2.09 asian line/Sportmarket
from Clubgowi newsletterLeave a comment:
Leave a comment: