Thomas Giles (@Thomas_Giles_UK):
Bet One: €5 Rostov - Krylya Sovetov: Rostov to win to nil @2.37 at Bet365
Although two teams who are not famed for goalscoring go head-to-head here, there is likely only to be one winner on Friday night.
It can be argued that the international break came at both a good and bad time for Rostov. Of course they would have liked to have recovered quickly from their 2-1 loss away at Terek but, on the other hand, perhaps the extended break after a glut of games will come in handy later down the line.
Krylia have had a rather concerning start to the season, sitting bottom as well as having failed to notch a win despite being over a month into the 2016/17 campaign. Going away to Rostov is hardly the ideal place to fix this poor run of results.
Rostov to win is not too bad at 7/10 but there is much better value on the ‘to win to nil’ market at 7/5. Krylia have failed to score away from home this season and, as a team that generally do not get many goals, this is hardly likely to change against the best defence in the league. Rostov are masters of the ‘victory to nil’ particularly at home and they should be able to get you a profit here.
Bet Two: €10 Ufa - Krasnodar: Fyodor Smolov to score anytime @1.9 at Bet365
Most people tipped Ufa to struggle this campaign and are generally being tipped right with the team currently embroiled in an early-season relegation battle. However, they secured an incredibly valuable win away at rivals Krylia last time out and the international break arguably came at a bad time for them as it put a roadblock in the way of their momentum.
Unfortunately for them, they face Krasnodar in a difficult match this weekend. The Bulls started the season emphatically and found themselves top of the league. However, consecutive defeats to Spartak and Lokomotiv Moscow means Oleg Kononov’s side have dropped down to fifth and outside the European spots. It is of course still early days but those claims (including mine) that Krasnodar could seriously challenge for the league this season now look a bit less realistic as they find themselves six points behind.
I am once again going to be incredibly boring and tip Fedor Smolov to score anytime. He scored the only goal in Russia’s 1-0 win over Ghana and has carried on his amazing RPL form from last season and currently tops the goalscoring charts with six goals. Unfortunately for us, it seems the bookies have finally caught up with the former Ural man’s form and shortened the odds. 1.9 is still worth a shot though.
Bet Three: €5 Rubin - Ural: Ural win draw-no-bet @3.4 at Bet365
Despite splashing the cash this summer, Rubin have had a rather rocky start to the season and currently find themselves 14th in the league without a victory to their name. Whilst this may be surprising to some, many actually predicted this due to the time it takes for so many new signings and egos to bond and create a team spirit.
Despite being banished to the reserves since the start of the season, Yann M’Vila has suddenly been registered to Rubin’s first team squad. The former France international had an interesting transfer deadline day as he flew all the way over to England to sort a deal with a former loan club Sunderland, however, the deal eventually collapsed. His contract runs out in January so speculation surrounding his future will only heighten. Defender Chris Mavinga is in a similar situation, he looked certain to join Sheffield Wednesday in the summer but has now be included in Rubin’s RPL roster.
Ural are unfortunate not to be higher up in the table. They may not have won since their opening day fixture against Ufa but they have put in some great performances. Most notably managing to draw away at Rostov before nearly taking a point from big boys CSKA where they were robbed by a last minute winner from Georgi Milanov.
This match represents a good chance for Vadim Skripchenko’s side to get back on track.
Whilst Rubin are the favourites on paper I am not confident enough to back them against a good looking Ural side. I would go for an ‘Ural win draw no bet’ at 3.4.
RFN Total: +€81.74
Vincent Tanguy: +€146.85 (hit rate: 6/15 – 40.0%)
Ben Clark: +€85.5 (hit rate: 10/24 – 41.66%)
David Sansun: +€68.25 (hit rate: 8/30 – 26.66 %)
Thomas Giles: +€69.2 (hit rate 14/24 – 59.33 %)
Jack Beresford: +€42 (hit rate 2/6 – 33.33 %)
Toke Theilade: +€11.89 (hit rate: 6/12 – 50 %)
Danny Armstrong: -€8 (hit rate: 2/6 – 33.33 %)
Stefano Conforti: -€36 (hit rate: 1/6 – 16.66 %)
Andrew Flint: -€60 (hit rate: 5/27 – 18.51 %)
Ilya Sokolov: -€99,6 (hit rate: 5/25 – 20.00%)
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