Tips 21-10-05

Tips 21-10-05

Well, well, well ladies and gentlemen. Today I come to you with a smile on my face. We’ll see if that smile lasts until after this weekend is over…

Before we get into the tips, I’d like to mention that another volleyball blog has sprung up on the net. Anders Aarkrog (you might recognize him as SK Aarhus’ libero) has entered the blogosphere at: http://volleyballreflektioner.blogspot.com/. The tag line is volleyball from a rookie’s point of view. Should be interesting to see how it develops…

Now on to the tips in no particular order:

Sk Aarhus – Gentofte (1.50 H): For those few who didn’t get in on this when Gentofte still had 1.60 odds…I’m sorry. It’s now down to 1.45 which is, in my opinion, still pretty nice. I don’t think that SK is a bad team; but, in their own words, they haven’t been playing well enough to be considered a top team. Gentofte has proven that they are playing well at the moment. Even though Santos played his first match last weekend, it can’t hurt that he has had some more time to work back into the game. Aarhus, on the other hand, hasn’t been tested at all this year. True, they haven’t lost a set yet, but they haven’t played anyone in the top six yet either. Gentofte should be too much to handle for them this weekend, and with a set already in the bag I like this bet for Gentofte.

DHG (2.50 H) – Middelfart: Odds are only 1.30 for Middelfart and they have to win 3-0, but I wouldn’t necessarily discard this bet. This is a meeting of the deepest team and the least deep team in the league. DHG has seven players, Middelfart goes about fourteen deep. Middelfart has also proven that they can use almost anyone on their bench positively. Middelfart also showed that their blocking has improved quite a bit and this should cause quite a few problems for a DHG team that relies heavily on two outside hitters. DHG still has not won a set this year. I’m surprised actually that the odds aren’t much worse. Don’t be afraid of this bet.

HIK Aalborg (1.50 H) – Marienlyst: Marienlyst wins this one!

Now we’re looking into murkier waters, I don’t feel strongly about either of the next two matches but lets try to break them down and see what we can find:

Hvidovre (1.50 H) – PVC Lyngby: I’ve got to be honest; I don’t see any reason why Hvidovre should have a 1.5 set advantage here. PVC has one win on the season over a DHG team that has had its own problems otherwise they have lost fairly convincingly. Hvidovre hasn’t been spectacular either but generally I would say this one is fairly even. I haven’t seen either team play yet during the regular season so I’m going to cop out and take the odds/handicap. Hvidovre wins this one, or at least takes it to five sets…

Lyngby (1.50 H) – Holte: This one should be interesting. Both teams should consider this a must win if they have any ambition of being in the top six. We’ve just played both of these teams in the last week and they both bring different things to the table. I would also expect to see two different rosters, Holte will probably have more of their older players, Lyngby will probably have more as well considering this one is in Copenhagen. Holte plays a cleaner style than Lyngby, but Lyngby has a way of making a match ugly. I think a lot of this match depends on who shows up to play for each team, therefore I’m taking the scared money again. Lyngby wins this one, or at least takes it to five.

I know, I know, a weak way to decide the last two. Stay away from the last two anyway. The money is in the top three bets. I hope everyone has a good weekend, good luck to everybody! Hopefully we’ll all be smiling after this weekend is over…