This weekend's football action takes us on a global tour, with thrilling encounters lined up in South Korea's K1 League, Sweden's top flight, and the Danish Superliga.
Jeonbuk Motors look to extend their winning streak at home against Suwon Bluewings, while AIK aim to turn their season around under new management against Brommapojkarna. Meanwhile, an attack-minded clash awaits as Randers face Nordsjaelland in what promises to be a goal-laden affair.
Here are our detailed preview and betting tips for these exciting matches.
Jeonbuk Motors v Suwon Bluewings Saturday, 11am
Before the hustle and bustle of all the European leagues kicking into action later in the day, there is a South Korean K1 League encounter between Jeonbuk Motors v Suwon Bluewings that catches my eye. Jeonbuk are the form team in the league, sitting top of the last ten games tally, but they are third in the real standings, some 17 points behind top-of-the-table Ulsan Hyundai. Suwon Bluewings are second from bottom, with only Gangwon having a worse record. They’ve only got four league wins to their name, but three did come on the road.
The bookies made the hosts an odds-on shot to come away with the three points here, which is understandable. They are unbeaten at home since the end of April, winning their last seven league clashes at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in succession. Under the management of former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu, this team have certainly made up for an uncharacteristic sluggish start to the season, but perhaps not enough to contest for the title. Nevertheless, recent form makes it hard to back against them at present.
The big problem for Suwon Bluewings is their attacking output, with only two teams possessing a worse xG (Expected Goals) figure. Combine this with the fact that they sit rock bottom of the league tally in relation to number of clean sheets, then it is a pretty bad combination to be associated with. They’ve only not scored once on the road, however, so they do generally bag. However, they face a Jeonbuk side with ten clean sheets to their name; ranked joint-first in the division, so this will be one of their tougher tests.
Jeonbuk were scheduled to play a big cup game during the week, but that was postponed, meaning they can arguably field a stronger team than they may have intended, with some players likely to have originally be rested. Even so, they have a deep squad and it isn’t effecting them at this moment. The bet recommendation is Jeonbuk Win and Over 1 Goal, which is priced 2.10 on the Bet365 bet-builder. Only three Jeonbuk home matches haven’t seen at least two goals scored, and they’re not facing a team that’ll just sit back. Therefore this could be fairly open, handing more opportunities to Jeonbuk; the superior of the two teams.
AIK v Brommapojkarna Saturday, 2pm
AIK have not had the start to the season that they had intended. As things stand, they sit only one point above the bottom three, and we’re 18 games into the campaign. Pre-season hopes of competing near the top are probably unrealistic now, but the recent managerial change of hiring Henning Berg has given the club a boost. Therefore, they had into Saturday’s home encounter with Brommapojkarna, who sit one place above them in the table, in fairly decent spirits. The visitors aren’t in the best of shakes at present, but as things stand they are achieving their pre-season aim of avoiding relegation.
As mentioned, AIK are under new management in the form of Berg, the former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers defender, and who has managed clubs such as Legia Warsaw, Lillestrom and Omonia. He is five games into his tenure coaching the Swedish side, and a record of two wins, two draws and a defeat is a big improvement on the team form beforehand. That one defeat came against title chasing Hacken, in what was his first match at the helm and also a tight encounter, too. Defensively they’ve tightened up, keeping two clean sheets in three, so he is installed some good foundations.
Brommapojkarna did start the season in excellent form, maintaining the momentum they gained after winning promotion last season. Although they lost their first three, they then went on an excellent run of six without defeat and also only two losses in ten. They’ve since returned to their very early wobbles of unwanted losing runs, as they enter Saturday’s battle losing five of their past six. That run started with a 2-0 home setback against AIK, prior to Berg coming into the club. It also included defeats, home and away, to Degerfors. No doubt they’re struggling right now, and it is a good time to play them.
The approach to this has to be getting the home team on side in some capacity. Whilst AIK only have one home victory to their name this season, it is best to judge them since Berg took charge, where they have a slender loss to Hacken and draw to Malmo under him playing at Friends Arena. They now have a perfect type of game to get on track in front of their passionate supporters. The recommendation is a AIK Win and Under 5 Goals, which pays 1.83 with Bet365. Not one AIK game this season has featured five or more goals, and only twice has this happened in a Brommapojkarna match.
Randers v Nordsjaelland Sunday, 1pm
Our only look at the Sunday card saw my eyes immediately drawn to Randers versus Nordsjaelland in the Danish Superliga. This presents a match between two attack-minded outfits that will certainly go all-out for victory. It is a fixture that promises so much, and should hopefully deliver the goods on an entertainment level. The away side already have ten goals to their name, whilst Randers possess the third-worst xGA (Expected Goals Against) figure, so it’s no shock an away victory is rated the most likely outcome.
Goals have generally followed Randers around for quite a while now, certainly last season and spilling over into the early stages of the current campaign. They’ve started this year winless in three, although it does include two draws. Extending from the end of last season, Randers are actually nine without a victory in league action. Of those nine, only two haven’t seen both teams scoring and they’ve averaged just over 3.50 goals per game. As I said, goals follow them. They play an aggressive and open style which leads to these entertaining renewals.
Nordsjaelland are similar in the sense that they are very much a front-foot type of team that plays an attractive style, get bodies into attack and can be got at defensively. They finished second last season, earning many plaudits for the way that they play. The year before they finished third, and it is safe to say they’ve now made a leap forward onto the next level in this league. With them sitting this season with three wins from three, they’ve made their intentions clear that they want a first league title since 2011/12.
When I first saw this game I immediately looked towards the prospect of goals and there is no reason to back away from that. Only these two teams have started the campaign with all three matches going over 3.5 goals. It would be typical for this to now end 0-0 but I just don’t see it now being open and end-to-end with chances on both goals. LiveScoreBet have offered 2.00 on Over 3.00 goals, meaning we get our stake back if the matches ends on three goals exact.
Tips
- Jeonbuk Motors v Suwon Bluewings – Jeonbuk Win and Over 1 Goal (2.10 Bet365)
- AIK v Brommapojkarna – AIK Win and Under 5 Goals (1.83 Bet365)
- Randers v Nordsjaelland – Over 3.00 (2.00 LiveScoreBet)
