Thought I'd start one seeing as the season's just getting underway.
23/7/2010:
Rep. of Ireland
Premier Division
Bray Wanderers v Bohemians
Bray are bottom of the league and Bohs are 3rd and unbeaten in 7. Bray have only managed 1 win in 20 matches and have conceded 47 goals in total. Bohs have 2 games in hand on leaders Shamrock and won't want to pass up the opportunity for some easy points.
First Division Derry City v Salthill Devon
Derry are 10 points clear at the top of the table and will be playing in the Premier Division next season. They've only lost once this season and are unbeaten at home. In contrast Salthill Devon are bottom of the table, this being their first season in the First Division. In 19 games they've conceded 50 goals, including a 0-7 home loss to Derry.
Good picks, I think u should change threads name - everybody thinks u r betting on International European Championship qualification matches during 2010/2011 years, BOL!
Anderlecht v Eupen - Anderlecht Half Time/Full Time
Anderlecht had a competitive warm up game in midweek in the Champions League qualifying, beating TNS 3-1 in Wales. They stormed the Pro League last season, winning the regular season by 12 points and they should be too strong for their opponents, who are newly promoted and were the lowest team in the Second Division play-offs last season. Anderlecht straight-up doesn't offer value so going for the Half Time/Full Time gives you more money if Anderlecht can find a way through in the first half.
Dinamo play a very free-flowing attacking game, especially at home. Anyone that saw them tear Koper apart in the last round in Zagreb would've seen this. However, this style of play does have it's drawbacks against tougher opposition. Despite dominating Koper and beating them 5-1 at home Dinamo looked vunerable on the counter-attack so it's likely that Sheriff, who scored in the first leg, will score again.
Sheriff are a better team than Koper were and are better than most in the 1.HNL (Croatian First Division), furthermore with Dinamo having an away goal from the first leg they have to score to progress, I expect that one team will need to go all-out to score in the second half and IMO goals will come from this.
PAOK Salonika v Ajax
I feel this one is simpler, Ajax are a better side than PAOK and will want to make amends after losing their lead late on in Amsterdam in the first leg. They have more Champions League experience and won't want to miss out on the biggest European competition this season. IMO their wake-up call was the late equaliser and they will get out of first gear for this game, and break down PAOK's defences.
Liverpool v Rabotnicki - Liverpool Half Time/Full Time
Roy Hodgson's first competitive home game, he'll want to impress the Anfield crowd with a few goals and get some momentum going into the start of the season.
Sporting v Nordsjaelland - Sporting Half Time/Full Time
After a tight away win in the first leg I think Sporting will show their class at home.
St. Pats are top of the league, unbeaten in 4 and have only lost twice at home all season, conceding only 8 goals in the process. Drogheda have lost 3 of their last 4 and have conceded an average of 2 goals a game this season. With 2nd placed Shamrock playing 3rd placed Bohemians on Sunday St. Pats have a chance to go 3 points clear for the moment and against poor opposition at home they should get the job done.
Bray Wanderers v Sligo Rovers
Bray were relegated from the Premier Division last season but were saved due to a team in the First Division not having the suitable criteria to get promoted. Since then they haven't improved and have lost 16 of 22 games. At home they've played 11, lost 9 and drawn 2. Furthermore they've only scored 5 goals in those games and conceded 29. They've conceded an average of 2.2 goals a game and have a goal difference of -36 and are certs for relegation.
Sligo in contrast, have won 4 of their last 5 including their last 2 matches. Their away from is mediocre with 3 wins and 6 draws in 12 games. However, they've managed to beat the bad teams like Drogheda and UCD away from home and a win tonight would see them go onto 39 points and possibly back into the title race. I was thinking of taking them on a handicap but away from home it's probably safer to go straight-up considering the odds aren't that bad at 1.6ish.
Now that QPR have finally got over their managerial merry-go-round that saw 3 changes last season I expect them to do quite well, assuming there's not board interference, which has happened before. Their manager Neil Warnock is a total c**t, however his record's rather good, he's had a summer to mould a squad of his choosing and he's had money to work with. Earlier today they confirmed the signing of Tottenham midfielder Adel Tarrabt, who was on loan at Loftus Road last season and was very good. Barnsley finished last season in 18th place and weren't very good, they'll probably struggle again and I wouldn't be surprised if they were relegated.
League Two
Gillingham v Cheltenham
Gillingham were relegated from League One last season on the final day after a loss at Wycombe, they actually didn't manage an away win all season, however their home record was very good, in 23 games they won 12, drew 8 and only lost 3 with a +20 goal difference. Despite selling star striker Simeon Jackson to Norwich in the summer they're an attacking team and will score goals during the season. Their opponents Cheltenham had a torrid season in League Two, finishing 22nd and just avoiding relegation. Their summer signings haven't been brilliant and they look like a club that would've been relegated ages ago if there were 3 relegation places in League Two.
Stevenage v Macclesfield
Stevenage were promoted from the Blue Square Premier last season as champions and they've kept most of the squad that won them the title. There's a trend of teams promoted from the BSP going on to great things in their first season in the Football League, mainly because with only 2 promotion spots in the BSP it takes a very good squad to go up. Exeter won the play-offs in 2008 and then went straight up in their first season in League Two and Carlisle did it a few seasons ago. Macclesfield are a 'meh' team, one of several that clog up the bottom half of League Two like Cheltenham and Accrington. While both teams will probably end up in mid-table Stevenage have confidence and momentum and they'll have a big crowd behind them. Evens is a good price for a home team like this.
Finland
Veikkausliiga
Oulu v HJK
Well after doing the above 3 games I can't be arsed to go in-depth about this one. It's not really a pick that needs explaining much though, HJK are top of the league after winning 11 of their first 16 games, Oulu are 2nd from bottom having lost 9 of their first 15. For some reason that I can't be bothered to research they've only played 6 of them at home, winning 2 and drawing 1. However you would expect a team with a +21 goal difference to beat a side who've lost their last 6 games on the trot, even if they're playing away from home.
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Mistical's Euro 2010/11 Thread.
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