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It feels like Christmas Day having a bunch of the major soccer leagues starting up again. I know I’m posting a lot of plays here today, but it is ultimately up to you what you want to follow. Personally, I’m betting on all of these and quite like today’s offerings. Mind you, that hasn’t always been indicative of a good day. So, take what you want from my plays, pick ones that suit you, or follow all of them and hold on for the ride! Heck, even if you don’t like some of my plays, there must be some knowledge in them that you can take for your own use. I’m excited for, what I deem, the first day of a new soccer betting year. Best of luck to everyone on this sub-reddit, and let’s line our pockets this season. Cheers everyone!
*Portugal Liga de Honra: Tondela vs. Braga B*
**Tondela finished in ninth position in the Segunda Liga, whilst Braga B finished in 20th. The only reason we are getting the odds on offer here today is because this is the first match of the season. In fact, many books have caught onto the quality gap here and have dropped their odds, so you may have to shop around. Tondela are an ambitious side and will be harboring hopes of promotion. They have a good manager in Carlos Pinto, and have one of the better squads in the Segunda Liga. Tondela win the majority of their home games and are a nightmare to face when playing in Tondela. Helpfully, they have also looked quite good in pre-season. Quality wise, their starting XI is far better than what Braga B has to offer. Braga B just does not have the quality. Every now and then they can put together a quality performance, but for the most part they are poor. **My Pick of The Day is Tondela to win @ 1.83**
The most important factor in this wager, for me, is my respect and admiration for the playing and managerial style of new Bastia manager Claude Makelele. In fact, this is his Managerial debut. He was a combative player who never gave up. I expect his charges to play in a similar style. Of course, he is an ex-Marseille player, so motivation should be high. Marseille were quite disappointing last season and slumped to a 6th place finish. This caused them to miss out on European competition, but they have a squad good enough to challenge for the top 3. Of course, they sold influential attacker Mathieu Valbuena to Dynamo Moscow last week, so we will have to see how they adapt to this loss. The only reason I’m willing to take this wager is because I don’t think Marseille are going to be in top rhythm. Taking a critical look at their squad leaves me with the impression that they need better attacking midfielders. I think they will rely heavily on young Thauvin, but they could use reinforcements. I’m going to take Under 2.5 Goals @ 1.72
Caen are newly promoted to Ligue 1 and will be hoping to gain points against a lower team like Evian. Evian are always thought to be amongst the relegation candidates, but they have been able to stave off relegation. Something going against Evian is that in their three Ligue 1 seasons to date, they have never won the first game. Evian have an experienced back line and some exciting forward prospects like Bruno. I expect them to record their first victory in the first match of a Ligue 1 season. I’m backing Evian PK (Draw No Bet, AH 0.0) @ 1.71
Toulouse have two underrated strikers in Braithwaite and Ben Yedder that are going to be a real handful in Ligue 1 this season. Ben Yedder, in particular, has impressed in pre-season. Nice had a poor Ligue 1 campaign last season and finished only two points above the relegation zone, and only had one win in their last nine games. Toulouse were also not impressive in the closing of the season, but were an upper half side last year. Helpfully, they are pretty much the same team as last season. The familiarity already exists. Nice have lost some players and have had quite a few injuries in pre-season. I like the idea of backing a Toulouse side that has kept their core players, has more quality than Nice, and have two deadly strikers. I’m taking Toulouse PK (Draw No Bet, AH 0.0) @ 1.96
These two sides could be amongst the relegation contenders in the Eredivisie as Excelsior are newly promoted from the Jupiler League and NAC Breda finished one spot above the relegation zone last season. However, NAC Breda, whether they have the quality personnel or not, just know how to avoid relegation every year. I would not back them on the road, but at home they can be horrendous to play against. They are an experienced side and will overcome a youthful Excelsior side who are a little naïve due to their tendency to attack too often. Excelsior’s attacking style was impressive in the Jupiler League, but they just do not have the quality and experience to compete in the Eredivisie. Like I said, Breda is a brutal place to play, and I don’t like Excelsior’s chances. The other issue for Excelsior is that they are essentially a feeder club to Feyenoord. This means that any players of real quality are snapped up right away by Feyenoord. I’m going to back the experienced NAC Breda to win @ 2.06