Zlin vs Bohemians
Wednesday, 4.30 pm
We are only a few games away from the Czech Republic 1. Liga separating into three as the end of the regulation season approaches. Just two matches remain for all 16 teams to either strengthen their place in the Championship Group, get out of the Relegation Group, or either break out of or into the middle 7th-10th mini-league. Mathematically, Bohemians can secure their spot in the top-six with a victory here, but even a defeat could confirm it depending on other results. As for Zlin, they sit bottom of the standings and will definitely be participating in the dreaded bottom group, meaning relegation remains a possibility.
Bohemians have been the surprise package in this division this season and are currently occupying 4th spot, sitting behind the big three of Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague and Plzen. They finished as low as 14th last season, so for them to be doing as well as they are is a testament to Manager, Jaroslav Veselý, and his squad. A 3-0 loss to city rivals and top-of-the-table Slavia Prague at the weekend was no disgrace, and they’ll certainly relish the opportunity to bounce back against a struggling Zlin team.
It is now three defeats in succession for Zlin, the most recent being an expected 4-0 setback to Plzen away from home. Travelling away from home is a massive problem for this team, so much so they have yet to win on the road in 14 attempts. 16 of their 22 points have been accumulated at their Letná Stadion base, but even then it is still the second-worst home record in the league. Still, they much prefer it at home than away!
On the flip side, Bohemians much enjoy it on their travels. Only Sparta Prague has a strong record on the road in the Czech top flight, and their home record is actually bottom-half standard in we put all the respective home results for every team together. There is plenty to suggest an away win is likely here, even more so knowing Bohemians have won the last four head-to-head meetings, and last suffered defeat to this opposition in September 2018.
However, with Zlin being so poor away, you just know they save their best for home fixtures. Whether that is good enough to win here or not remains to be seen, but I still want the visitors on side. Rather than going for the outright win, I’ll play it safe and go Bohemians Over 1.5 Team Total Goals at 11/10 with Bet365. This team has won 13 matches this season and have managed to net two or more goals in ten of those. Zlin have scored two or more in eight of their home battles, so that puts me off the away win. This is a safer call and should give us a good run for our money.
Nordsjaelland vs Copenhagen
Wednesday, 5.00 pm
The Danish Cup has reached the business end of the competition this midweek with the semi-finals now at our disposal. The last four comprises of Silkeborg and Aalborg, who face in the other two-legged contest, whilst Nordsjaelland and Copenhagen complete the foursome. These are the current top-two in the Superliga table and look the most likely duo to fight it out for the league title. Winners in this semi would also be big favourites to win the final, no matter who they face, so a potential domestic double could be achievable for one of these two Danish clubs.
For context, these semi-finals are over two legs, and with this being the first leg, the usual footballing clichés are very much applicable here. Nothing is likely to be won in this first leg, but it can very much be lost, and you just wonder if plenty of respect will be on show. That has been the general theme across all the recent head-to-head meetings. The three clashes from earlier this season finished with Nordsjaelland winning 3-1 at home, Copenhagen drawing at home, and the most recent encounter earlier this month saw Copenhagen emerge 2-1 winners at home. It is no surprise to see these were all tight matches, and with this being a semi-final first leg, it is bound to be close once more. Naturally, the slight onus will be on Nordsjaelland to take some kind of lead into the away second leg, but Copenhagen are more than capable of grinding out a draw.
Copenhagen’s last four games have ended 0-0, 1-0, 2-1 and 0-0, three of those being away from home. Only six times this season have they managed to score two or more goals in an away match inside 90 minutes. Three of those came within their first three away battles of the campaign all the way back in August. They are certainly more reserved than at home, like most clubs, but they know this Nordsjaelland team are capable of free-scoring if they are on their game, and they won’t want to lose this tie after the first 90 minutes.
Nordsjaelland play a very attractive and exciting brand of football. It can cost them defensively at times, and they aren’t one for keeping too many clean sheets, but they do possess the joint-strongest home record in Superliga, alongside Copenhagen. They’ve scored an average of 2.17 home league goals in this campaign and Copenhagen will know that, so expect them to be a little more reserved, as they normally are, in this away fixture to avoid having to produce a big turnaround in the home tie.
A tight match is likely here, but you would suspect Nordsjaelland will be the team doing most of the attacking in this one, with Copenhagen likely to pick and choose their moments to really break forward. The home team are the ones that need to be that little bolder, but I can just picture this being a bit of a chess match, knowing there is still a second leg to come.
A bet-builder of Nordsjaelland Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals is available at 23/20 with Unibet, and this looks like a decent play considering the expected tactics in this one. I would not be completely surprised if this one finished 0-0, as both know how costly conceding the first goal in this one could be.
Tips
- Zlin v Bohemians – Bohemians Over 1.5 Team Total Goals (11/10 Bet365)
- Nordsjaelland v Copenhagen – Nordsjaelland Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals (23/20 Unibet)
In December 2020 we sadly 
