Randers-Hobro preview

Saturday 3/10 15.00

Randers (4th) could not handle FC Midtjylland last weekend (lost 0-2), but it has been a decent season nevertheless. They have a fairly solid team with some skilled strikers and a solid defence. The defence is hurt by the absence of right back Johnny Thomsen, but loaned back Patrick da Silva is a good alternative. Especially for a match like this, where Randers will have the majority of possession. Randers tend to struggle against defensive minded teams, since they lack creative players to break up opposing defences. However, since last season Randers have two new players for the midfield, Amini and Masango, who have their main force in the creative part. Hobro (12th) are in an uncomfortable position. They got deducted three points for using a players incorrectly and to add further insult, they lost what look like three certain points in overtime against Esbjerg due to an incorrect penalty. Hobro are now 5 points behind the next team and situation is difficult. They have a number of injuries and two players are banned: strong central midfielder Jonas Damborg and central defender Thomas Hansen. Two players who are difficult to replace. Offensively, Hobro have really added some power with Pål Kirkevold and Jung-Bin Park.

Given the absences for Hobro, this really looks like a good opportunity for Randers. However, odds have already been slashed quite a bit, so not really much value in the current ~1.55. Over could be worth a shot, since Hobro have been looking much stronger offensively lately, while Randers have some solid strikers. Risk is that Randers take the lead in is satisfied with a slim win, so only an idea pick.

Idea: Over 2.5 goals – 2.12 at Unibet

UPDATE: The ban of Jonas Damborg has been cancelled (wrong yellow card admitted by referee). This is tremendous boost for Hobro and market has not reacted. Furthermore, Randers have been terrible when being big favourites at home. During the past two seasons, Randers have been priced below 1.70 for a home win on 3 occasions. The result: 1 draw and 2 losses and only 2 goals scored. They could face similar problems here since the formation and overall strategy is unchanged. Worth considering Hobro AH +1 at 2.10!