Going to continue on my most successful country in terms of generating units since I started. It's about time for a sweep-attempt, where I turn to my usual comfort-zone, Portugal.
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Portuguese picks 2013/2014 season
19-7-1
Portuguese picks in new season
0-0-1 (-1.00)
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Beira Mar - Trofense: Pick: Trofense @ 2.40 (1/10)
Alright, the odds have already dropped on Trofense from 4.00 to 2.40, this is because they actually play at home, no matter if Beira Mar are listed at the home team, the truth is that the game will be played on the home stadium of Trofense, so we suddenly have a reasonable price to grab. Why play on Trofense? Firstly, they are fielding a competitive squad for this match even though it is a league cup, where majority of the team use the competition to use their reserves etc. However, Trofense were a pretty good home team last year as they only lost 5 out of 21 home matches, but tied in 10 of them (which costed some points) but regardless of the draws, they are a hard-to-beat host team. Beira Mar on the other hand were a mid-table road team, and they are one of those teams who uses the competition to explore, even so in this game. They have some interesting names in the team but I would give the advantage to Trofense in this encounter due to their called squad which is pretty much all regular and Beira Mar a little more of a mixed lineup. One thing I have learnedby following Portuguese football is that home factors in Portugal are usually 'bigger' than in several other European countries, never underestimating that.
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Covilha - Portimonense: Pick. Covilha @ 2.10 (1/10)
Portimonense just missed promotion last season where they were brilliant as a home team (14-4-3) but lost nearly half of their road games (10 of 21), and they are particularly vulnerable when facing comfortable hosting teams which was visible on their previous match when they faced Viseu and lost 4-1. Covilha is a team on the upswing and have had a great pre-season by beating some solid teams such as Viseu 2-0 and the top-league team Setubal with 3-1 and have lined up victories and confidence as they prepare to be a side to count on. Although Portimonense only had 16 players available last time, they now have two more who got registred, but they are both likely to start on the bench (defenders). The defensive line of Portimonense is very old in average, so they're quite slow which is why Viseu managed to use thier pace to score easily, and their attack is young (not one single pure attacker is decent enough to compete in the league) for now, perhaps only the Brazilian Fidélis is an ok addition up front. It is also worth to note that Portimonense have a new coach, so he is not shy to experiement with the lineups, thereof I like the currently more stable team Covilha to win this.
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Freamunde - Academico Viseu: Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 2.25 (1/10)
One thing that always comes to mind when Viseu plays is "offense" and "goals". Those are two words I associate the team with. They recently played 4-1 against Portimonense at home and showed the same kind of offensive power as they did towards the second half of last season. Freamunde are a newly promoted team with an average age of the squad at above 27 years, which is quite old - but it is also one of the least market valued team (player by player - total squad value) which is understandable. It's a smaller club, but they tend to take these competitions more serious than established sides due to the possibility to gain finances. However, I do believe Viseu will win even if they do not have their full team, but goals in this game should not be unlikely, especially after what Viseu showed in the 4-1 victory, it's an offensive team during 90 minutes, that's why I like them. Freamunde, not any defensive experts either, so goals are to be counted here.. at least I hope so.
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As always, play responsibly lads best of luck