Randers-FC Nordsjælland preview

Sunday 26/7 14.00

Randers did not play in the first round due to their match being postponed. Therefore you should expect them to be fully fit for this match. This is not necessarily the case though. They played a Europa League match on Tuesday, where they lost 1-0 to Elfsborg after 120 minutes of football (last 40 minutes 10 against 11). It is still early in the season, so they should not be too affected, but perhaps the disappointment from an early exit in Europe might hurt mentally. Randers played fine matches against Elfsborg. They looked very solid at the back, but struggled in attack. The situation is not made easy by an injury to team top goalscorer Mikael Ishak, the departure of Djiby Fall (the second most scoring) and the injury of assist leader Kasper Fisker. Nevertheless, Randers should still have some offensive force with Nicolai Brock-Madsen, Viktor Lundberg and the new signing from Dortmund Mustafa Amini. Amini has been a creative force on the wing during the Europa League matches and seems to be a valuable signing. FC Nordsjælland (10th) got off to a terrible start with a 0-2 loss at home to SønderjyskE. They were very poor and the outlook for the season is bleak. FC Nordsjælland sold their best player last season, winger Uffe Bech, and right back Mario Ticinovic, and no replacements have been signed. Well, not until today, where Brazilian offensive player Bruninho was picked up in HB Køge. Despite of this signing, FC Nordsjælland seem to have a long way to go. They finished last season poorly, they lack leadership (very young team) and they seem to be (unsuccessfully) changing the way they are playing (not focusing as much on ball domination). FC Nordsjælland’s forces are on the wings, but neither Joshua John nor Daniel Moberg-Karlsson looked particularly determined in the opener.

Randers have the stronger team. They are typically fairly strong at home, while FC Nordsjælland often fail away from own artificial turf (only three wins last season). Despite of Randers’ exit from Europe we believe that they will come out with more energy than the pessimistic FC Nordsjælland side. The physical superiority of Randers’ players should hurt FC Nordsjælland.

Tip of the Week: 1 (AH -0.5) – 2.00 at Bet365