Hobro-Viborg preview

Saturday 8/8 16.00

Hobro (9th) met their favourite opponent last weekend. They impressively beat Brøndby for the 4th consecutive time without conceding. Hobro played remarkably well. They were defensively solid and used a lot of physique, something that Brøndby players do not like. Now they will face a team similar to themselves, which will makes things a bit more difficult. They lack some power in attack, and have to rely on long shots from Mads Jessen and Martin Mikkelsen and set pieces (but Viborg are very strong here). As long as key striker Quincy Antipas is injured, they should have problems creating major defensive worries for opponents. Viborg (6th) took a nice win against Esbjerg last weekend and are now in a good position. However, they know that this match is crucial, since these are the two main favourites to go down. Viborg have a team of physically strong players that work hard spiced with an exciting striker in the speedy Serge Deble that is bound to be a problem for most defences (earned a penalty against Esbjerg). They are really strong on set pieces and we expect the likes of central defenders Mikkel Rask and Jeroen Veldmate to make some goals on corners during the season.

This is a match between two similar teams that will really hate to lose this match. They look fairly even defensively, but Viborg just have some extra power in attack in the speedy Deble. Home advantage should not be a massive thing here, so we expect a very even match. Therefore the odds for a Viborg win are the most interesting, but not spectacular.

Idea: 2 (DNB) – 2.02 at Unibet

Esbjerg-SønderjyskE preview

Sunday 9/8 13.30

Esbjerg (11th) are thinking “not again”. They expected more from this season with the big signing of striker Nicki Bille. However, you could argue whether this was necessary for the team who were second on the goalscoring list last season. They had major problems defensively, but they have not done anything to improve this. After three matches, that looks to be a big mistake. Esbjerg have conceded goals mainly on defensive errors and set pieces. The defence is shockingly poor. The situation has not improved by selling strong left back Jonas Knudsen to Ipswich, while his back-up Leon Jessen is injured (very doubtful for the match). Right back Ryan Johnson Laursen is also injured, and Esbjerg have no direct replacement. The end result is likely to be Esbjerg fielding four (rather poor) central defenders in the starting line-up. In attack, they are strong with in-form Mohammed Fellah and Mick van Buren and they will surely be able to create some chances. SønderjyskE (8th) have received a lot of credit for their start to the season, where they won easily at FC Nordsjælland and put up good fights against FC Midtjylland and FC Copenhagen. They have a solid defence that is not giving away a lot of chances and they play with a lot of energy. They are a counter-attacking team and seem to prefer playing away from home (only won 2 home games last season). However, in our opinion they lack some offensive speed for really excelling in the counter-attacking approach. Striker Thomas Dalgaard is not very quick, but he is a great finisher. Look out for in-form midfielders Johan Absalonsen and Bjørn Paulsen.

This is likely to be a quite entertaining rival match due to the poor defence and strong attack of Esbjerg. This is a match really suited for SønderjyskE and they proved last season that they are problematic for Esbjerg (not losing any of the 3 H2H’s). SønderjyskE lack some speed in attack, but due to the poor defence of Esbjerg, Dalgaard should get his chances and this he is usually very efficient. Odds have already decreased, but we only expect it to go further down.

Tip of the Week: 2 – 3.70 at Tipico

UPDATE: Head coach Niels Frederiksen are set to make several changes to EfB's line-up. We don't like them! He is set to bench top goalscorer (and in-form) Mick van Buren, letting Robin Söder start instead. However, Söder has been playing without confidence for his entire period in Esbjerg, so this seems rather stupid. On the backs, new signing Leon Jessen is set to start on the left back despite of being injured for the last couple of weeks and not playing much in the past season. On the right back, winger Emil Lyng will be tried out of position. The only sensible decision, seems to be using the talented offensive player Mikkel Vestergaard on the left wing instead of Lyng. 3.40 is the price for SønderjyskE currently. That should still be value.

FC Copenhagen-FC Nordsjælland preview

Sunday 9/8 16.00

FC Copenhagen (3rd) are looking really strong at the moment. They have a team that seems without obvious weaknesses, and they have really made some quality summer signings. We are very impressed by the new striker Federico Santander who appears to be a strong and clever attacker. The only weakness appears to be the squad depth that is under pressure due to many injuries for the rotation players. Normally, injuries for rotation players are not that important, but FC Copenhagen are playing Europa League on Thursday night and are forced to use the same line-up on Sunday. However, it is still early in the season so they should manage. FC Nordsjælland (10th) were starting to become a media “failure” favourite, but they stroke back impressively with a 2-1 win against AaB. They looked strong offensively, where new striker Bruninho appears like one to keep an eye on in the future. He is strong and with great technical skills. He should make some goals during the season. FC Nordsjælland defence is not impressive though, and they really lack some physique in the central midfield. Against opponents who are good on the ball and play with physique, they will get problems.

FC Nordsjælland showed promising things last weekend, but against a physical team like FC Copenhagen, they simply lack the power to withstand. FC Copenhagen could suffer from fatigue, but should be able to take a rather secure win here.

Recommendation: 1 (AH -1) – 1.85 at Bet365

Randers-Brøndby preview

Sunday 9/8 18.00

Randers (7th) suffered a stupid defeat in Aarhus, where they were up 2-0 but lost 3-2. They were unfortunate as they had the match completely under control until the referee made a major impact with some doubtful decisions. Randers then lost control and conceded two red cards, and poor attitude has been a problem for them this season. Now they will have to do without the two wingers Kasper Fisker and Mustafa Amini. This will probably lead to a starting debut for Mikkel Thygesen against his former club. Despite of the bans, Randers have a strong team that has a good organisation and are very physical. They have not conceded many chances while playing 11 against 11. Brøndby (12th) are in a critical state at the moment. They are playing without confidence and the most influential players, central defender Daniel Agger and midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg are injured. They have a fairly good team with many technical players, but they tend to struggle against physical opponents. They have a difficult with an away match on Thursday in Cyprus in very hot conditions, so players are likely to be a bit drained here.

Randers should be favourites here. Their physical style is likely to cause problems for Brøndby that could be weakened from a difficult away match three days earlier. The absences of Randers are not that important given the physical style that Randers are likely to employ. Odds have already dropped to a level that seems more correct, so only an idea tip here.

Idea: 1 – 2.40 at Nordicbet

AaB-FC Midtjylland preview

Monday 10/8 19.00

AaB (5th) had a good chance of being a part of the top fight, but lost at FC Nordsjælland. The match proved that AaB are far from the wanted level. They struggle with a lack of confidence in attack, where the strikers Nicklas Helenius and Rasmus Jönsson have showed very poor finishing. A central midfielder has scored all AaB’s three goals (2xRisgård and Abildgaard). Defensively they are not impressive. They have had injuries in the central defence and on the left back that has made them vulnerable at the back, and they should probably have conceded more goal than the current three. AaB are likely to be without talismanic midfielder Rasmus Würtz who left the last match with an injury. He is very important for the balance of the AaB midfield. FC Midtjylland (1st) have three wins in just as many matches. A strong start, but it has not been pretty wins. They seem to lack some of the power from last season, and they are lacking some breakthrough strength due to the absence of Sylvester Igboun (left to FC Ufa) and Rilwan Hassan (injured). They still have Pione Sisto though, but they have become more one-dimensional. They do however have a very strong defence (only conceded one goal in first three league matches) and some strikers that are very efficient in Martin Pusic and Morten Duncan Rasmussen. FC Midtjylland played Champions League qualification on Cyprus on Tuesday, but the distance behind the matches is far, and they should be all fit for this match.

AaB are normally a fairly good home side, but they are currently a bit low on confidence and without captain Würtz they are significantly weaker. It will be difficult to dominate the midfield for AaB, and this will put more pressure on the unimpressive defence. FC Midtjylland are incredible difficult to beat at the moment; we would be surprised if they lose here.

Recommendation: 2 (+0 AH) - 2.00 at Bet365

Week 3 round-up

Another good round! Tip of the Week successful for the 3rd consecutive time! A good start to the season for our prime pick. Other picks were also good, giving us a solid yield of +59% for the round. We are now at a yield of +19% for the new season. We will try to keep it up. If your happy with our services, we hope you will share it with your friends!