Oh the joys of friendlies and one off Olympic games. Tight matches were not as tight as previous form would have it.
0-0 would have done it for Dinamo Kiev, indeed it was 0-0 to the 90th minute.
BATE surprised Debrecen.
Interesting that Brazil scored 3 again.
Today we have The Champions League 3rd qualifying round and a sumptuous Man Utd v Barcelona Friendly this evening.
4pm – F91 Dudelange v NK Maribor – 1.77 away – Luxembourg v Slovenia and this Champions League 3rd round match favours the away side . Luxembourg are usually opposable on the international stage. No draw in last 15 Champions League matches for Dudelange and when they have won, it seems to be against Andorran sides.
This relates the level Dudelange play at.
Maribor are 4-1 up from the first leg – Dudelange scored in the 90th minute.
Maribor’s 1.77 relates the fact that it is job done and this match is quite simply “avoid a 4-0 defeat!!”
In July last year, in this competition, Maribor won away after winning at home. This makes the 1.77 interesting, but remember that teams who don’t need to win rarely do.
If Maribor win this, they could easily score 2+ goals.
5pm – Helsingborgs v Slask Wroclaw – 1.77 home. Helsingsborgs have the same problem, if you call it that, as Maribor, only in this case they won 0-3 away from home. 3 away goals means qualifying round over for sure. 1.77 is interestingly the same price as Maribor under the same circumstances, and the market has factored in the “NOT a must win” attitude of the home side. Clearly dominant, job done, and tough to call.
Like Maribor, will Helsingsborgs rest players , or will they ensure safe passage as this is the Champions League?
A double is the value angle in for 2 teams clearly the best, but we don’t have to bet when there is nothing really to play for ( lack of motivation).
6pm – Ekranas v Anderlecht – 1.4 away. – Another Champions League match and 5-0 to Anderlecht from the first leg. A soltary away goal will kill any Ekranas enthusiasm for an unlikely comeback. Where’s the motivation for 1.4 Anderlecht backers? Awfully short for a side 5-0 up, but the fact it’s 5-0 tells us we have another clearly better side here.
6pm – HJK Helsinki v Celtic – 2.48 away.3 2nd half goals in the first leg, and Celtic came from a goal down to win 2-1. Celtic had trouble scoring against Aberdeen in the first match of the Scottish Premier League ( 79th minute) and may have trouble away tonight.
The majority of goals in Helsinki’s last 5 matches , scored and conceded, have come in the 2nd half, so perhaps wait for 2nd half action tonight?
So, Helsinki need a goal to go through on away goals -1-0 minimal scoreline.
Celtic need a 0-0 minimal scoreline to go through.
It all suggests a defensive effort from Celtic, 1 or 0 goals in the first half, and a chance on 0-0 back to lay trade?
7pm – Barcelona v Man Utd – 1.9 home – a friendly to watch with interest. No strong angles in although Barca at home, with THAT team, are always worth following. UNited pre season have focussed on defence, rarely conceding, and this could be a good exercise in defending capabilities for United against the best forward line in Europe ( apart from Wolves of course!).
1-2 to Man Utd in last year’s friendly. So perhaps expect goals and the unexpected?
Barca have scored in 5 of their last 6 friendlies.