Brøndby-Esbjerg preview

Sunday 4/10 18.00

Brøndby (6th) took a huge gain for the morale by beating rivals FC Copenhagen last weekend (1-0). Brøndby have not had a terrific start to the season, but their fundamental stats are pretty solid. They rank first based on Total Shots Ratio and 3rd based Shots on Target Ratio. In other words, they should be able to advance in the table if they keep up the solid dominance in chances created. Brøndby have a fine team and seem to be improving with the return of talismanic players like Daniel Agger and Thomas Kahlenberg. Brøndby should have a full squad to choose from here. Esbjerg (11th) are not playing well at the moment. They were lucky not to lose at Hobro and before that they were knocked out of the cup and lost clearly to Randers. The performances have been really poor and make you wonder if Esbjerg have spent the transfer money wisely. You get the feeling that several players are mostly playing for themselves and not for the team, and with a temporary head coach in charge some players might be slacking. Esbjerg will surely enter this match with more focus, since Brøndby away in front of many fans always seem to boost the motivation. Esbjerg will see defender Michael Jakobsen return from ban, but he has been playing poorly as the rest of the Esbjerg defence. Esbjerg’s best player this season, winger Robin Söder, is doubtful. Esbjerg have some quality individuals offensively, but the question is whether they can unite and play as a team.

In past seasons you could claim that Esbjerg were unlucky with their below expected performance. This is not the case this season, where they simply have been poor. Therefore, I am also quite surprised to see the price offered for a home win here. Brøndby have strong home support, a significantly better team (especially defence) and a better morale. This should be a home win, although Esbjerg are likely to perform better than last weekend.

Recommendation: 1 – 1.91 at Sportingbet

Update: Esbjerg will be without Robin Söder and strong right back Ryan Johnson Laursen. Both players that could bring quality to the team, so only good news for the bet.