Yesterday this team series opened with Samsung winning 8-2 against Peru, it was a strange game as Samsung was already winning 8-2 after 4 and a half innings, the second half of the match ended up with a tie. Today, both teams will play with weak pitchers, Samsung with a 4.75 ERA and Kiwoom with a 5.26 ERA, which should bring runs from the beginning of the match.
With all due respect to Augsburg, it is by no means the same level when compared to Freiburg. Schuster, as one of the best league coaches, did a remarkable job with Freiburg last season and did not suffer major losses during the off-season - he sold Ritsu to Frankfurt and continues to strengthen with talented players who will likely thrive under Freiburg's dynamic style of football. At home, they are quite strong, although their opponents may be average in the league, they should not be underestimated as they are skilled at tripping up their opponents through their defensive schemes. However, I still believe that Freiburg was not just an average team last year, as they were just one step away from the Champions League and with an unimpressive budget, Schuster was able to achieve impressive results. Therefore, I do not think their game will suddenly decline, even though they may feel the absence of some key players. They will have to rely on the initiative of Holer, who is currently in top form and at the peak of his career. He is an expressive striker who is fed a lot of balls.
With all due respect to Augsburg, they are far from the level of Freiburg. Schuster, as one of the league's better coaches, did impressive work with Freiburg last season and didn't have any major losses during the off-season - selling Ritsu to Frankfurt and strengthening their team with talented players who will likely thrive in Freiburg's dynamic style of play. At home, they are quite strong, even though their opponents may be average in the league. It should not be underestimated that they can defend well against their opponents, but I remain of the opinion that Freiburg narrowly missed qualifying for the Champions League last year and, despite their modest budget, Schuster managed to produce impressive results. Therefore, I don't think they will suddenly lose form, even though they may be without some key players, as Holer, who is currently in excellent form and at the peak of his career, will take the lead as their prolific striker who is well-fed with balls.
With all due respect to Augsburg, they are far from the level of Freiburg. Schuster, one of the better coaches in the league, did a great job last season with Freiburg and didn't have any major losses during the off-season - selling Ritsu to Frankfurt and strengthening the team with underperforming players who will likely thrive in Freiburg's dynamic style of football, leading to my belief that the game will be an exciting one with at least 1.5 goals from Freiburg. They are strong at home, even against average opponents, as they are able to disrupt their rivals with their defense schemes. However, I still maintain my opinion that Freiburg, despite narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification last year, was able to achieve impressive results with a modest budget under Schuster. I don't think their performance will suddenly decline, even with some key players missing, as Holer, who has been in excellent form lately and is in his prime, will take the lead as a well-supported striker.
Pauli was not an overpowering team last season, but today they might score a few goals against them. As Dortmund showed in their friendly matches, their defense simply does not exist. Their team has always been focused on the offense. At home, Pauli must score at least one goal against such a weak defense. However, Dortmund's players are more experienced in scoring over goals, so they will likely see themselves as the winners of the match. Prediction: 1:3, 2:3.
The first two rounds from the Sporting side showed that the sale of Gyokeres did not cause any problems for the club. 2 wins and 8 goals scored with 0 conceded is the form with which the team can continue. The opponents are one of the weakest teams in the league, which Sporting has beaten 8 times in a row since 2017. In just one of those 8 games, Sporting won with only 1 goal, so it seems to be a suitable option to once again take advantage of the Sporting team's superiority. With a good formation and everything else in place, we hope that the score will reflect this.
The new season, but the usual pattern in Germany, top clubs start the championship with solid performances. There may not have been major differences in the cup, but now the teams are playing with a competitive lineup, and Bayern has already proven its superiority yesterday. Now it's Dortmund's turn and this team has to win the match against Pauli. Last season, Dortmund won twice, and they should do the same this year. It must be admitted that Pauli is weak and will probably have a tough time resisting Dortmund, even at the start of the new season.
Aston Villa, the Champions League team, once again appears to be fighting hard this year, in the first games they even managed to avoid conceding any goals from the Newcastle team. This was not a winning game, but their stable and good composition leads to hope for success this season. Their opponents, Brentford, may be interesting, but weaker. This team has had better times in the past, but now their abilities have declined. Their weak performance in friendly games and in the first league round allows us to hope that Aston Villa will continue to play successfully against this club, just like in the previous season when they achieved two victories against them.
Most often, everything starts with an attack, and in defense, it's all about how it goes. Both teams like to run, often one team makes more than 20 attacks towards the goal. In the game, there are many corners. I am looking forward to an open football game with many goals.
Marseille started the season with losses and should retaliate. Favorable opponent, newly promoted Paris FC club should be an easy target for one of the better teams in the league, I believe the handicap will also be covered, as the offensive potential of Marseille is high and if they play to their abilities, I doubt the home team will have a chance. Paris team did not have a good start to the season and it is hard to believe that they will achieve something here.
Iceland is a normal team, with a good atmosphere, so they should not allow themselves to be pushed around. They have disciplined players in all positions. Lithuania should put up some resistance against the champions in order to start the official games more energetically.
Two attacking style teams with strong offenses, Arabi managed to attract players such as the top scorer of the league in recent years, Olunga, and also brought in Pabro Sarabia and Veretout from Europe during the summer. Gharafa kept their offensive leaders from last season, including Joselu and Brahimi. In the first round, the full potential of their offense was shown as both teams looked good attacking and scored goals. However, there are still defensive issues and it will likely be a challenge throughout the season, as both teams have a high level of offense. I believe that in this match, the outcome will be determined by the offense.
The tournament is at home, playing the tournament after an injury, he almost didn't play for almost three months, but it seems that Ghana is doing well. Kecmanovic served 14 aces. Just a couple of months ago, Korda made it to the semifinals in this tournament, and his last H2H match at the US Open was lost in five sets to a Hungarian, so I think Korda's motivation will be high. Fucsovics Marton, 33 years old, is already considered a veteran, but he has been in good form lately, having defeated Griekspoor and Munar. In any case, it is the semifinal and fifth match, while Korda is in fourth place, so it may be somewhat advantageous for him.
The new season of the same teams, Groningen just like last season (9 away points, 30 at home) started with a 4-1 loss away from AZ, and a 2-1 win at home against Heerenven. PSV, just like last season, enjoys scoring goals and has a 6-0 win against Sparta and a 2-0 win away from home against Twente. PSV will be hosting Groningen, so if everything goes according to normal tendencies, they should win easily. In the last season, both at home and away, PSV had a great record against this club, with an overall score of 8-1 (5-0 at home).
The athletics lost in the first round and I am waiting for a reaction. It was a difficult first round, away with Espanyol, whose field is very small and few teams have won there this season, so it's not surprising that the result was not in their favor, even though they were the favorites. Taking into account the fact that the athletics are usually unstable away, while they rarely drop points at their own stadium, it is not likely that anything will change this year. Elche is a newly promoted club, and although they dominated the first match against Betis, they only managed to get a draw in front of their fans. I don't think they will have the same luck in this round, the Madrid club should win with at least 2 goals, they have a better team.
The Como club will be a tough nut to crack this year, after a great first season in Serie A where the team improved greatly on their performance and now have the possibility to compete for European spots after a significant investment in the summer. We will prepare for Como like we did against Lille, Ajax, and Betis, although we did suffer a defeat against Barcelona, but as we know, Barcelona is Barcelona. In the first round, we will face Lazio at home, who are always a tough opponent, but they are a team that has always been and still is a contender for European spots. However, this year's team has a similar composition to last season's team, which was not very stable. I believe Como should take this opportunity.
This group should be decided between the 2 teams, Slovenia and France, not paying much attention to other teams because this group is really weak without these two teams. Israel, Poland, Iceland and Belgium are left in this group, but the only team that can surprise is probably Israel. Slovenia has a good coefficient and their team could be even better, especially with Doncic, you can always expect good results. Especially now with him having a break after the tough NBA season. With France, their main core is missing this year, there won't be Fournier, Gobert, or Wembanyamos, and I think this summer will be difficult for them even though they have a lot of talent. They lack a true leader, unlike Slovenia. In my opinion, in a match between Slovenia and France, Slovenia would play the key moments more confidently and they wouldn't need to overcome many lower level teams.
I really want to give it a try, because in my opinion, Raphinha had a very underrated season. He achieved:
59 goals/assists this season (22 goals/assists in the UCL alone)
La Liga player of the season
(In my opinion, he was robbed of the UCL player of the season, he had the most goals and assists, as well as the most chances created, what more does an attacking player need?)
La Liga
Supercopa
Copa del Rey
He was a very clutch player throughout the season, rarely having a bad game. He often carried Barcelona forward and showed up against big teams.
I think Dembele is the favorite here, but only because he won the Champions League, his numbers are not as impressive when you consider he played in Ligue 1, while Raphinha had an amazing season, better than any other attacker this season, but because of stupid standards, he may not win, because nowadays trophies are everything.