Conference League league phase, matchday 6, Thursday, 19.12.2024 at 21:00
Whoever is in the top eight after five matchdays will naturally not want to give it up for the group final! In the Conference League, it’s all to play for on Saturday, with all teams being sent out at 9pm.
I can now look to the Belgian capital, where everything is set for a big cheer. The opponents are traveling from Turkey and are in danger of making the playoffs. In my Cercle Brugge Basaksehir betting tip, I’ll tell you why I’d back a classic home win here
It’s a very tight affair behind Chelsea and Guimaraes! It’s still completely unclear which teams will ultimately make up the top eight, but Cercle Brugge are right in the thick of the draw. The goal: simply win on Thursday and leave the slide rules in the drawer.
With ten points to their name, four other clubs have exactly the same tally at the start. Cercle kicked off the competition with a spectacular 6-2 win over St. Gallen
A little later, they lost 3-1 to Vikingur before drawing 0-0 with LASK. You’re right to wonder: 6:2, 1:3, 0:0? How can it be that three completely different performances are delivered!
It was all the more exciting when Bruges took on Hearts on matchday four. A solid 2:0 was brought home, followed by a 4:1 against Olimpija Ljubljana. The big question now is: in which category do I put the club?
If the offense has a good day, there’s no stopping it. Kevin Denkey, Kazeem Olaigbe and Gary Mgnee have scored ten goals between them in the current competition and the trio can hardly be stopped by opposing defenses.
In the three games that Cercle have won, they have taken a lead into half-time. Not an uninteresting fact, quite the opposite. I took a look at Bwin to see what the bet “Bruges leads at half-time” would bring in for you:
The odds make it to 2.40, a very profitable value. It is also possible to play the Bwin voucher here. At the same time, the team has never fallen behind and has scored 1:0 in four out of five games – which was extremely difficult to achieve in the 0:0 draw against LASK.
At Interwetten, it is possible to bet on the Belgians scoring the first goal of the game. Speaking of odds, there are also some interesting predictions for the first direct clash between Cercle Brugge and Basaksehir:
Our bookmakers generally see the home side ahead, with odds averaging 1.95 to 3.95, which also shows that a three-goal win is likely to be a tough task.
And that’s despite the fact that Basaksehir really aren’t one of the top teams in the Conference League. The Turks have five points on their account, which keeps them just above the line.
The play-offs are far from certain, as there are a number of clubs who are scrapping with their hooves. Basaksehir only secured their first win in the competition last matchday, beating Heidenheim 3-1 at home.
An improvement can certainly be seen, as Basaksehir had previously drawn 1-1 against Petrocub and 2-2 against Copenhagen. The team has now taken the lead three times in a row and finally managed to hold on to it.
At the start of the Conference League, they had lost to Rapid Vienna (1-2) and Celje (1-5), so the gap to the top eight quickly became too big. Unfortunately, they lost their national dress rehearsal at the weekend
The derby against Fenerbahce ended in a 3:1 defeat, which was somehow to be expected given the opposition. With eleven goals conceded, the defense also looks anything but secure in the Conference League.
Cercle Brugge snatch one of the eight tickets that entitle them to direct participation in the knockout round? The Belgians have only failed to score once and also boast three powerful attackers.
What has struck me about Basaksehir is how big their defensive problems are. The Turks will probably need a win to avoid elimination – that will be anything but easy in Bruges.
I think the hosts are much stronger, and I was particularly impressed by the clarity of their three wins. If the team gets on a roll, it could end badly for their opponents. My tip is therefore:
Bruges win against Basaksehir!
