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Czech are a big name in the world of hockey, and I think that's the only thing that works for them today. After six matches played against the same opponents, I can say the Czech didn't show they're better than France. They have even number of points, and the statistical comparisons show it's not just an impression. France have a better percent of realization of their hits, their goalies have more saves, they play better in powerplay, and in boxplay. Finally, they had less sending offs so far. Even though both of them did a big thing by coming to the quarterfinals, the stakes are huge today. The winner will avoid the Russians and have a realistic chance in the semifinals. The loser will probably say goodbye to the competition after the quarterfinals. Czech defeated Italy with two goals difference, and Norway with one. They were better than the Slovakians in the overtime. And that's it. The French had a bad luck when they lost against Italy with one point difference, and one from Sweden. At the same time, they defeated Canada and Norway after the penalty shots, and defeated Slovakia and Denmark with two and four goals difference. The Czech may come to their fourth win, but I don't think it will be the most convincing one so far. Details

Slovakia was once a hockey giant, but that is no longer the case. They are better than Italy, but not as much as the bookmakers suggest, I think. Especially now when half of the team is sick, three forwards are confined to their beds, and will almost definitely not play today. It seems like there's a bigger possibility for someone else to miss the game, than for those three to recover enough to play. They know that in case they lose, they could get knocked out from this Division, and I think they will not take the risk today. Even if the situation was ideal, they don't have the power in offense that could guarantee an easy win. I think the slower pace will suit them, and the Italians as well. Slovakia beat the opponent by more than 2 goals only once in the last 24 games. The Norwegians the other day were one of those two teams. Slovakia got lucky in the final moment and scored an empty-netter. The Italians didn't have good competition here, which makes their stats less relevant, but they have quite a good defense, and don't concede many goals. The option that Slovakia will score less than 4.5 goals is even better, but I will opt for handicap because it's easier to find that option. Slovaks will be happy with any kind of win, and I don't believe the Italian can just fall apart. Their defeat to Canada yesterday is completely irrelevant for this meeting. Details

Sweden scored 3, 3, and 2 goals on this tournament. They don't seem convincing forward, something like that was predicted even before they came here. If they couldn't score over 3 against the Danes and the Norwegians, I don't see why they would score five against France. They conceded 2, 2, and 3 goals here. They'll be very defensive today, minimize the risk and keep their net safe, and in the offense, what happens, happens. That's exactly how the French like it. The Swedes were left without two defenders, I doubt they'll force a "killer" rhythm because they don't need it, and it wouldn't work for them. No sense in analyzing the Swedish statistics' history further, because this is basically a new team; but in the eight preparatory matches, they went over this margin only three times. We can analyze the history of the French team because their team haven't changed much. On the last year's WC, they conceded over four goals only once in seven matches. In the last 25 matches (both official and friendly), only twice. True, there were often teams weaker than Sweden, but the French often stayed at 1-2 conceded goals. In the last 45 matches, they conceded 2.6 goals per match. Details

Hajduk are on a bad streak, they have failed to beat Osijek in any of the previous three games this season, and I still cant make sense of the odds on offer. Osijek are coming here without half their team, they will try to secure a point by putting up a bunker. I think they will fail this time, as the Split team are extremely motivated. It's hard to put in words how much the Hajduk supporters want this victory (not exactly in love with Osijek...). But this time, they not only want a win, they want a trashing, scoring as much as they can. Split finally has a spell of nice weather, no rain or wind, which should favor Hajduk's passing game. Apart from the injured goalies they are basically in full strength and I'm pretty certain they'll win. The first time Osijek came to Split the odds for a -1,5 handicap were 1.50-1.60. Back then they were too low, now they are far too high. Hajduk are on at same or similar strength, Osijek are missing 6-7 players. It is true the guests have a good streak going on, but personally I'd put aside their success against Rijeka, Dinamo and Lokomotiva, I hope their supporters won't be too angry with me. Details

I can't neglect the fact Dinamo are travelling to Pula not even with a B, but a C team. The visiting team think about the second leg game of the Cup final (I guess?!), which is why Mamic decided to give a chance to a few juniors who basically never played for the first team, and a few seniors who never played an important role on the team. Coach Jezina and right back Pinto are the only starting line up players in the line up today. Istra do miss a few players, but the whole first-choice team is available. The quality at Istra is not outstanding, but they should do just fine against Dinamo's 17-year-olds. The odds were only slightly higher when Dinamo needed the win at Drosina, and they had Cop, Soudani, Fernandes, Simunic, Ademi, Antolic, Cleyton, Addy, Halilovic, and Brozovic on the team. Capan, Pavicic, Brodic, Fiolic, Coric, Tibor Halilovic, Sunic, Knezevic are going to play today. If Pamic manages to lose this, he should quit this profession... Details

If they want to maintain their chances to avoid relegation, Nurnberg have to go for the win today. Considering their performances, I don't believe they will win by 1-0. Today's game doesn't mean too much for Hannover, in fact, perhaps some of their fans are hoping for a Nurnberg win as that would mean their rivals from B'schweig would probably be relegated. The hosts are very motivated and the visitors without any sort of motivation. When it mattered, Hannover conceded 8 goals in last 3 away games (and they didn't play against much better opponents). I doubt they will win today when they don't even need a win. Even though Nurnberg are closer to a win, I think this is a better option. I've seen too many games this season in which Nurnberg's defense has been very poor so scoring two goals doesn't necessarily mean a win for them. Details

Nurnberg's defense is poor, to say the least. How they will perform without two middle backs that were standard starters in those positions lately is hard to tell, but I don't think they'll do well. Verbeek would have made that change earlier if he thought that would improve things. Pogatetz is far from any decent shape, Stark is an 18-year-old midfielder. If they wish to win, they'll have to do it through good offense. On the other hand, Stuttgart are slowly waking up. They cannot lose here, and playing cautiously seems pointless. Nurnberg will surely create some chances, and perhaps even score. There is no point in defending against Drmić and company and chasing a 1-0 lag if you can attack this crumbling, weak defense and score 2-3 goals on them. Nurnberg matches have lots of chances on both sides, and nothing will change in that segment here. Details

Lokomotiva are on a four-game losing run. The losing run is happening just when the fixture schedule got more demanding and the sports inspection results came in. The rumors about Lokomotiva being relegated are no longer the main topic of conversations, but the tough schedule continues. They are meeting Split, who can count on all of their players, home. Split are very dangerous like that, especially now that they won the last two games. But, both coaches' statements are interesting; the home team's coach has been complaining about the defense problems, the visiting team's coach, on the other hand, said they will try their best to take advantage of those problems. Those are not just words, Lokomotiva conceded 2 or more goals in each of the last five games. Split can count on Erceg, Bella, Roco, Bilic, Vujinovic in offense today.
Ivkovic hasn't got only the well-experienced defender and captain Barbaric at his disposal. The center back due will therefore be juniors Prenga and Calusic, who have not had impressive performances so far. The home team have quite a good offense potential (Situm, Budimir, Pjaca), maybe not even two goals will be enough for Split to win. It is therefore better to chose the team over for the same/similar odds. The visiting team are a tougher, more experienced, and a better quality team, who are also in better form. The motivation in this battle for Europe is huge, and I'm sure the'll do anything they can to win And if they do, I doubt the final result will be 1-0... Details

Opting for an over in a game between two candidates for relegation might not be the best of ideas, but the teams are not only experiencing difficulties with offense, but with defense as well. If we take a look at the starting line up, we can see that HSV's defense consists of four players who have not been spending much time on the pitch this year - Mannciene (two games), Diekmeier (ten games), Djourou (16 games), and the only one who played more is Westermann (20 games). 24 rounds were played so far. Rajkovic and Jansen would have been on the team if they weren't injured, and Lam might be in as well. On the other hand, Pinola and Petrak will be in the center back positions as Nurnberg. The first one is the left back, the second one defensive midfielder. Coach Verbeek was forced to reshuffle the team is such a away due to Nilsson and Chandler's absences and Pogatetz's poor performances. HSV need this win, and I don't think they would play very patiently with this defense. Slomka did, however, make an improvement regrading that. On the other hand, Nurnberg simply can't play a defensive oriented game. They have a young team that will create opportunities no matter the opponent. But, defending with this center back duo will be very tough. There are too many absent players on both teams, which, when combined with the fact they both have to win, can cause a lot of attempts in the game. I believe at least three of them will be used. Details

I know that Rijeka under Kek is not a synonym for an attacking team but despite this fact, they often go over the 2.5 goal margin against weaker teams. Lokomotiva belong to this group at the moment. They have no power to stand up to the teams that are stronger than them, they try to outplay them and that doesn't always end well. The best thing that Ivković has at the moment is the trident Šitum-Budimir-Pjaca and they will be able to wreak havoc against any defense, including Rijeka's. All the more so as the home defense will be without several players (Marić in doubt, Leovc and Bertoša out) and with two wingers playing as ful-backs. Tomečak and Mujanović can be dangerous up front but they're not exactly the defensive types that could slow down Pjaca and Šitum. On the other hand, Lokomotiva's defense is very weak. Barbarić is not a great player and since Puljić and/or Mesrić are no longer there, he doesn't seem to self-assured. Dinamo's youth prospect Čalušić is his defensive partner and even he is not the first choice in Lokomotiva's weak defense (it's Perić, who is injured). In addition, their standard right-back Gorupec is out and even though he is not a great full-back, he at least has more experience than the not-so strong Bartolec (also Dinamo's youth prospect). As Kramarić is in good form, Lokomotiva's defense will struggle. The weather in Rijeka is decent, the pitch is finally good and this will help the quality of the game. Both sets of defenses are weakened, attacks are their stronger sides, the home team are chasing the win and the visitors are not prone to parking the bus. Enough for a game with 3 or more goals. Details

The 100th local derby is made even interesting with the fact that both teams are fighting to avoid relegation. Referee Meyer has given out more than 3 yellow cards in last 8 out of 12 games. Out of four games that he went "under", one was a Bayern's 5-0 win and one was Borussia's 6-1 win, where there weren't too many tensions. Werder and HSV are among the rougher teams in the league. In last 9 league games, Werder got 2 or more yellow cards (26 altogether) while HSV have a slightly lower average. However, HSV's lackluster spirit and lack of aggression under van Marwijk should be factored in into that. Slomka announced fighting football with lots of aggression. This will certainly be a feisty game and Meyer is not a ref who will just warn players. Details

There probably isn't any other club in the Croatian football league that's been more harmed because of the referees' mistakes than Istra against Lokomotiva. I simply don't believe it can happen again. Especially not after the news that Lokomotiva will be kicked out of the league in 15 days. It's questionable whether that will really happen, but it should have an impact on the players nevertheless. And as it goes in Croatia, when someone is drowning, everyone else join up to push them even deeper. I don't think the referees will do that, actually, a complete turn over wouldn't surprise me. Even when you take a look at the state on the pitch, I don't see this as an even match. Lokomotiva lost a lot during the winter, especially in the defense. They were lost against Belupo, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were losing with two goals or more at the halftime. Later, they pulled themselves together and turned the result over. Radonjic will probably stick to the young Peric and I doubt he'll be able to respond to the Istra's forward's strength. Jo should go to the left a lot and charge against Gorupec or Barbaric, face turned towards the goal, where they can hardly keep him. Trebotic and Begonja can hardly impose themselves in the midfield, next to the "workers" Batarelo and Obsivac. Lokomotiva's offense is perhaps their best weapon, but Istra's defense isn't bat, quite the contrary. A bad pitch is expected, and since Lokomotiva's game is mostly based on passing the ball on the ground, that could be a handicap. All in all, I think Pamic will turn his players on, and they'll play aggressively and try to trick young Lokomotiva players who can give 100% in this match. Details

HSV feel fire under their feet. The fans visited them during the practice this week and asked for their maximum effort in the following matches. Captain Van der Vaart announced they're ready to pay back for the support today, and I trust him. HSV aren't as bad as the results might suggest, especially not in the forward game. Their problem is the defense, and nothing important will change there, so I think they'll go after the win with their offensive game. They score over 1,5 goals per game in the championship, so I believe they can go over that margin today, as well. Since they concede over 2 goals, that doesn't guarantee their win. The guests' problem will definitely be their captain and the defense leader Lustenberger's absence - he didn't miss one minute of the championship this season so far. With a few other injured players, the 36 year old back Kobiashvili is announced for the center back position. I believe that those kinds of rotations in the Hertha defense have to be used. Even though the guests are still hoping to go to Wurope, I think their motive is significantly smaller today. Details

The situation in the group secures Zimbabwe advancement if they win. In case they play a tied game, Morocco need to lose to Uganda or their tie needs to have more goals than the tie of the other game. Burkina Faso on the other hand can advance only if they manage to win and Morocco don't win their match. Zimbabwe have given much better performances in their first two matches, but their players missed everything humanly possible. Selector Ian Gorowa announced their tactic for this game saying 'full out attack for as many goals possible and three points'. Burkina Faso have not exactly displayed an iron curtain in their defense. They conceded two goals vs Uganda, and the only reason Morocco didn't score 4-5 goals vs them is they missed at least seven chances that were easier to score than miss. On the other hand, they've also shown they can score a goal. In a situation when victory is the only option for both teams (Zimbabwe cannot rely on the tied game variant), I rather doubt we will see a game with few chances. They don't have Ronaldo or Messi on their offenses, true, and misses can still happen, but their defenders/goalies don't instill much confidence either. Details

Congo are a weak team in African terms and they have a completely new team here. They are lead by their assistant coach Le Roay who admitted not knowing the players very well. And how could he when the team that played against Ghana did not have any player that started the last WC qualification match against Niger. Congo used 11 "legionnaires" then. In these circumstances, I just don't see them as the favorites against Ethiopia. OK, they are not a football super-power but are practically complete here. It's worth noting that Kabede, Said, and Bekele wil be out, the the rest of the squad is there. In all fairness, those three are the best Ethiopian players, but as I said earlier, Congo are missing their best 11. Details

I don't understand why Ghana are playing the role of favorite here, they won't be participating in the World Cup. This is a team made up almost entirely of players who are playing only Ghanaian championship and have never played any national team games. I'm not saying they're not talented, it's just that they're not even close to being the best Ghana can offer. Some of them might turn out to be great players, but the first game in which they struggled with Congo wasn't too reassuring for me. On the other hand, Libya are investing a lot into their team, coach Javie Clemente being one of those investments. They did impressively in the opening game against Ethiopia. It might as well be the best performance by any team in the championship. They were superior in mid-field, and if they do the same today and stop Ghana from taking the initiative over through possession, they will be making big steps towards success. Even one point would be a good thing because they're playing Congo in the last round (probably the worst team in the group), and one point against Congo would do. These teams played a friendly match this August with players from the Libyan league only (as a preparation for this competition) and won 1-0. I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened today. Still, I'm opting for a more conservative +0,75 choice on Libya. Libya scoring one goal is not a bad option either, you can find odds of 1,60 for it. Details

The national team of DR Congo deserves respect within Africa. They are, naturally, not at the very top, but what they do have is a very solid national championship, which is the source of most of their players. Their champions TP Mazembe have been the best in the continent for years now, and several players are coming from there. It's a shame that their (perhaps) best offender Mputu is injured, but they are still a very good team that won this competition in 2009. and played in the quarterfinal in 2011. Mauretania are a first-timer here, they went past the disinterested Senegal in the qualifiers, but I don't think they have it in them to do much more. Their media are talking about how they came here to improve the image of the nation, present themselves to the public and prove how much they can achieve, but that all this will still be an education for them and that the result is not their primary concern. We know how that ends usually... Selector Neveu has an anonymous team at his disposal,and the one piece of information worth noting is that he lost what was probably the best player of the national championship, forward Diakite, who moved to Tunisia. All this points towards a victory for DR Congo. Details

Mons might not be one of the best European teams, but the Belgian first league club are still at least equal to the average German third league. Belgians finally started playing by the end of the season and connected two championship wins. They reinforced their lines for the rest of the season, and are getting ready. They lost 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar, but they conceded the goal at the very end when the coaches replaced almost all the players. They expect a decent opponent today, and they'll play a lot more competitively today, and strive to organize their game. It's reasonable, this is their final check before the season goes on. Munster played two games in the last four days, and defeated the Dutch first league clubs twice. The coach gave each team one half-time to play in both games, and it wouldn't be surprising if he did the same today. They're only half way through their training, and they'll have a final rehearsal the next weekend before the championship continues. Mons don't have too many issues with the injuries. The defender Lorezni is out, and the forward Munuga could get a few minutes today after he missed the last match. All things considered, I think the Belgians are favorites at least a little bit. Add to that the odds over 1,8 for the bet that covers two out of three possible outcomes, I think it's worth playing. Details

Van Basten's Heernveen are a fun team to watch. They're currently holding the fifth position in the Dutch championship. They've scored staggering 42 goals in 18 games. The not so good defense (32 goals conceded) and a very young team are stopping them from doing even better. They played a double friendly game against Bayer Leverkusen three days ago (two games 2X30 minutes). Van Basten played the first game with his best line up and lost 4-3, and the substitutes played the other one that had no importance whatsoever, and lost 2-0. What makes today's game important is van Basten's claim it will be the last preparation game before the season is resumed. That means we can expect the best possible line up to play. Lierse are an average Belgian club who are not doing particularly good. They also played a few days ago and lost to Cambuur easily (the penultimate club in the Dutch championship) 4-1. The reason for such a defeat was not the fact coach Menzo substituted 9 players after an hour. Lierse are simply not playing well, especially defense vise. If Cambuur (16 goals in 18 championship rounds) managed to score 4 goals, things aren't looking up for them today either. Coach Menzo has to deal with quite a few defense problems. First choice goal keeper Goris is injured, as well as defenders Swinkel and Said, and their best scorer, midfielder Bourabia, is having some problems too. Menzo gave the chance to both younger and older players against Cambuur, but no one proved to be the right choice. He probably won't be experimenting as much today, but regardless of that, they don't seem like a team that could stop Finnbogason, Ziyech and the others. Since this is a friendly game, the stake is slightly lower, but the bet still has value. I believe van Basten when he says they'll do this as best as possible, and the question of who will win is in that case already answered. Details

The Granatkin Tournament got to the play off stage with Iran and Slovenia meeting to decide who finishes as the fifth-placed theam. Iran are here because they didn't have enough luck in the last game against Slovakia. The Slovenians are here because they managed to be better than the 'ridiculous' Estonia and Moldova in their group. Iran were one of the favorites for winning the title. Their record in the initial two games was spotless - two easy wins, a 8-0 goal difference, with possession over 60% on average, 20 shots on goal, and plenty of substitutions to prevent fatigue. They needed to get only one point against Slovakia for the first position, but conceded two goals early in the game. They couldn't get the point despite having 71% possession and 25 shots on goal. After the game, Slovakia's coach said his side's goal was not to be defending themselves for 90 minutes, but they just couldn't keep possession because the Iranians are both technically and physically superior. In the end, even the refereeing was a bit biased (a dubious penalty for Slovakia, two or three penalties were not awarded to Iran), which is what some see as a way of 'clearing' the draw for the host Russia. Slovenia played Estonia 1-1 in the beginning, with one of their players being sent off in the process. Russia destroyed them after that game (6-0), one of their players was sent off again, but the game was already settled at that point. Moldova, the team everyone is beating easily, proved to be a tough but to crack - the win was not easy. Slovenia's coach Gliha is constantly complaining about fatigue, refereeing, injuries...They are not looking good at all, they seem slow, which is why I think this game will go only one way. I expect Iran to have a possession of more than 60%, and at least 15-20 shots on goal. Hopefully, this game won't be filled with another string of misses for them. They showed they know how to play in the first two games (scored 8 goals). Iran did good in the last WC with this team, Slovenia failed to qualify for the EC. They didn't win a single point in their qualifying group (England, Russia, Portugal). Details