Austrian, Greek, Italian and Danish Cups : 9th -11th May

[daikoku]

Tuesday 9th May

19:30

Austria Vienna - Mattersburg

1.50

4.00

7.20

Wednesday 10th May

15:30

Olympiakos - AEK Athens

2.10

3.45

4.35

Thursday 11th May

18:00

Esbjerg v Randers FC

1.60

3.50

5.50

20:45

Inter - Roma

1.82

3.10

5.00

[IsovitisGR]

It's a little bit early to talk about the Greek Cup final but my first thoughts about this game are that Olympiakos' 2.1 is a value bet.

The REDs are the best team in Greece this time (and don't forget that I am Panathinaikos' fan...) and have the quality to do the double this year after winning the Championship easily.

On the other side, AEK's big problem is the injury of their best player Lyberopoulos. Lybe had a fracture of his big toe the previous week. The last news say that he is going to play but I don't think he will be fully ready for a match he sould give his 100%. And don't forget that AEK's performance on the pitch is very much connected with Lybe's performance. He is kind of a key player for AEK...

It's surely gonna be a tough match but I think Olympiakos will be the final winner.

So Olympiakos @ 2.1 for me in this match

[fdl68]

19:30

Austria Vienna - Mattersburg

1.50

4.00

7.20

1 or X

austria was partying 2 days, they want to win the cup, it will be the last match for a few players, austria played a few times in this stadium this season, they won there the derby and the cup (last year)

the last match of mattersburg was horrible, 2 chances for both teams in 90 minutes (0-0)

[kompressaur]

Thanks fdl and Isovitis. I think i'll sit these games out but thanks for the info. Amyone else indulging in these games?

[Silke]

quite a big difference in how big a fav the books make Esbjerg. Some go as low as 1.6 while we have the highest at 1.85 (nordicbet, Centrebet). I think I'll go for Esbjerg at that price allthough finals can be unpredictable I guess. I would like for Esbjerg to have a full squad for this before plunging in though. Captain & stopper Ander M. Cristensen have been injured for a couple of weeks but I hope he will be fit to play. Important player for Esbjerg. For Randers their fine brazilian striker Fabinho, have been injured for quite some time but will probably be in the squad, though I presume he will be fit for the bench only.

The one thing I do not like abt Esbjerg is that they lost on sunday to AGF (1-3) as they could have lost a bit of selfbelief on that account even though the match was pretty meaningless. Randers on the other hand recorded a nice 3-0 win over poor Brønshøj. Cheap background, but a wins a win.

[nikolinis]

Hello once again from Greece!I'll have to disagree with Isovitis point of view cause(A)Lymperopoulos will play no matter what and even though he wont be fully fit he can make the diffrence in this final by keeping the ball and passing it timely and accurately to his team's wingers.He is a player that won nothing in his 10 years as a player in Panathinaikos(Pao won the double after Lymperopoulos left for Aek!!)and he also missed Euro where we became Europian champs so he is considered to be very unlucky as he's is considered to be one of Greece best attackers(he plays behind the striker) and technical players.He sees this final as maybe a last(?)chance to win a trophy and thats the reason he overcame his injury(fractured pelvis)in such a short timetable!!!(B)Olympiakos squad is playing horrible the past 1/2 month cause his players after winning the championship are more concerned in where they ll spent their vacations then how to win a game.What i mean to say is Oly 's dullness the past month might play its part in this game.Oly players were playing like they had nothing to play for and his players were forced to make statements such as ""We ll play in the final the way we know and we ll present a team that knows how to get a result" etc...cause had to say smth to ease the fans!!!Add Rivaldo absence due to a virus that kept him out for over a month(and in my opinion a huge reason why Oly is playin horrible from there on)and u have a derby in your hands!!Aek will propably finish 2nd in Greek league(needs a draw or win in home vs Scoda fc)so if they ll win the final it will be a super duper year for them?(lets not forget that last summer before the championship begun Aek faced relegation due to millions of Euro owed to the state but former Aek captain and now owner of the team Nikolaidis(remember him from Euro?)managed to make a use of a goverment article 44(an article used to save companies from bankruptcy) and they detuction of the amount owned to the state detucted to minimum and Aek was saved!My guess is that we ll see a tight match with lots of cards,tacles,power and no technique due to the loss of Ribo.Aek midfielders and defenders are powerful but their lack of finesse and creativety leads the match to an under 2.5 goals final and i think that Aek can get smth from this match(possibly in overtime).Thanks for having the patience to read the entire post lol

[nasos]

hey from Greece again. First thoughts from me too.i have to agree with nikolinis, i don't see any value in 2.1 for Olympiakos. i think that AEK is much more motivated for this game and for me it's a X2 (i think that we will have an extra time in that game).Olympiakos has more quality as a team but AEK needs a trophy cause is a big team and they have a few years to win one. Their main target to qualify in CL is almost done, so their psychology is up.Probably is an under 2.5 goals match, but i'm not going to take any risk with that because an early goal will change a lot the rythm of the game. So lay Olympiakos for me.

[censor]

At first glance the Greek Cup final looks a no bet.
All the facts for the game are analysed very well here. I will add Djorjevits injury for Olympiakos. He is a key player for the team, he will probably play but is not completely fit.
I will collect some more info, and come later with a preview. Still this is not a game to have much money involved in my opinion.
GL2A

[fdl68]

Originally Posted by fdl68

1 or X

austria was partying 2 days, they want to win the cup, it will be the last match for a few players, austria played a few times in this stadium this season, they won there the derby and the cup (last year)

the last match of mattersburg was horrible, 2 chances for both teams in 90 minutes (0-0)

FT Austria 3-0 M'burg

[censor]

My view for the Greek Cup final.
As mentioned is a single game at neutral venue.
Olympiakos - AEK
Olympiakos are first in the table and the Champions for the season. In the previous round they eliminated Larisa with two wins 3-1 and 1-0 away. They come from a loss away 3-2 to Levadiakos, in a game they were unmotivated whereas the game was crucial for the home team. A team with good offensive line. They will play with 4-3-3 formation. Olympiakos beat AEK 2 times this season, 3-1 away in a balanced game with 2 late goals, and 3-0 at home in a game they were the better side. The Cup is a target of the team, and they are motivated for the double this season. Also this was the statement of coach Solid. This weekend Olympiakos face Ionikos at home, in a game the fans and the board hope to celebrate the double. In this game they will miss Rivaldo that missed the previous games as well, and also regular Pantos (D). Influential regular Djorjevits will play after an injury. On the contrary influential regular Toure (M) returns in the team.
AEK are 2nd in the table, and the big favourites for a Champions League spot. For this to happen they need a draw, or a win, this weekend at home vs Xanthi. In the previous round they eliminated Agrotikos Asteras, a Third Division team, with good chances of promotion anyway. AEK come from an important away win vs Kalamaria, against an unmotivated opponent anyway. 1 day before the Cup final coach Santos announced he will leave the team at the end of the season. Santos came to AEK, for second time, last year in a difficult time for the team, as AEK had big financial problems. Still the last two seasons with him as a coach were succesfull for the team as last year they finished close 3rd, and this season they will probably earn a Champions League spot. Still he hasn't win a title with the team. Probably the players want to play for their coach as well in this game. A team with good defense usually, however in the games vs Olympiakos this season their defense was not succesfull against Olympiakos good offensive line. AEK will play with 4-3-3 formation in this game. Influential regular Liberopoulos (F), will play in this game, but he comes from an injury and is not completely fit.
Past results
This season Olympiakos - AEK 3-0, AEK - Olympiakos 1-3
2005 Olympiakos - AEK 0-0, AEK - Olympiakos 1-1,
Olympiakos - AEK 0-1 (Cup), AEK - Olympiakos 0-1 (Cup)
2004 Olympiakos - AEK 0-1, AEK - Olympiakos 0-1
2003 Olympiakos - AEK 1-2, AEK - Olympiakos 1-1
2002 AEK - Olympiakos 2-1 (Cup Final).
Olympiakos have won the Cup 21 times, whereas AEK 13 times.
A hard call as a Cup final between two very important teams in Greek football. A close game is expected that will be decided in the details. Olympiakos beat AEK two times this season but this is a different game. Both teams are motivated for the Cup. AEK looks in better form, still Olympiakos play better at the derbies this season. Rivaldo absence is important for Olympiakos, and also key factor for the game will be the situation of the key players for both teams, Liberopoulos and Djorjevic that come from injuries. Also its difficult to evaluate the effects of AEK coach anouncement he will leave the team at the end of the season. Both teams will play with 4-3-3 formation, so a game mainly in the midfield is expected. So the game is a possible under, still AEK defense faced some difficulties vs Olympiakos this season, and also Olympiakos defense is not in very good form. Olympiakos are the favourites, still the game is open to every result, and the value at these odds is on AEK. Extra time is possible in this game.
My bet will be AEK +0.25 now in the Asian, 2.23 at Pointbet, stakes 3/10.
GL2A

[gogos7]

Olympiacos didn’t play well in the last matches. The players own to the fans/supporters a very good performance, the last one for this year. I think that this (a superb performance) will come in this match.

Also, it is better (for Olympiacos), that Lymberopoulos will play in the match.

When Olympiacos was playing in the Cup Finals as a favorite and had a good form, had bad results (PAOK F.C.). But I think that this match will be an easy win.

PS. AEK’s coach Fernando Santos will quit from his job after the two remaining matches!! At the press conference (for the cup event) he said that this cup match and the last one in the championship will be last for him. Players (Katsouranis) then said that they will play for their coach also.

I have the feeling that Olympiacos will have a clear win.

[nikolinis]

Breaking news as Aek.F.c coach Fernando Santos announced his resignation yesterday at the press conference!!Aek players,the fans and the press were stunned(even Santos translator stop the translation as she thought she missheard what the coach said -and had to ask him if she heard well- in order to translate it to the reporters!!!!!It seems that Aek owner Nikolaidis was in quest of a new coach scouting Europe the past 2 months without anyone knowing smth about it!!!!!!!!!Santos was the first to hear about it 20 days ago but said nothing till yesterday as he feels that Nikolaidis(his most beloved player when he coached him-and the love was mutual-)mistreated him in both personal and proffesional level...This puts the game in a whole new perspective as Aek players will be more emmotionaly charged as they know they'll be playing one of the last 2 matches under the wing of their favourite coach and they'll give their 110% to please him as a farewell goodbye!On the other hand maybe these last news will have a negative effect on the players and they wont be as concentrated as they would have been if none of this would have happened!!Despite all that I'll stick to my original punt under 2.5 goals and Aek -0.5 Asian handicap

[GMX]

Olympiacos VS AEK

Before every big match of Olympiacos the owner of the club goes to the training and gives the captain of the team an envelope (which has a large amount of money written in) and sais that they will open it after the game is over. If they win they get the amount of money that is written inside the envelope. If they draw they will pay the owner 10% of it and if they lose they will pay the owner 100% of it. I didnt see him doing the same again but i am sure that the players know that if they win they will be well payed. The only thing that bothers me is that all the previous week no one was talking about the game. But i have a feeling that Olympiacos will win today.
Rivaldo will be missing for Olympiacos but this is a long time absent. I think that we will have a big score. Over for me also. Good luck to all guys!

[Silke]

The Esbjerg squad has been announced & Anders Møller Cristensen is in it (aswell as Mickael Murcy..) so thats good news. I have to correct that I said that AMC is the captain of Esbjerg; hes not, but is vicecaptain. Captain is their goalie lars Winde.


Esbjerg @1.85 to bt Randers is my choice..

Anybody betting on the danish cupfinal ?

[jetpilot]

Originally Posted by Silke

The Esbjerg squad has been announced & Anders Møller Cristensen is in it (aswell as Mickael Murcy..) so thats good news. I have to correct that I said that AMC is the captain of Esbjerg; hes not, but is vicecaptain. Captain is their goalie lars Winde.


Esbjerg @1.85 to bt Randers is my choice..

Anybody betting on the danish cupfinal ?

i'm on Esbjerg too,go Esbjerg