MARK STINCHCOMBE (@markstinchcombe) picks out his best anytime goalscorer bets from matchday eight of the Belarus Premier League campaign.
Slutsk v Energetik | Friday 8th May 2020, 15:00
League leaders take on fourth in this unlikely top-of-the-table clash.
Slutsk are the form team in Belarus having won seven of their last nine games including beating Dinamo Minsk, Shakhtyor and Isloch, even more impressively all away from home. Energetik are also seemingly carrying on where they left off from last season but the loss of hot prospect Ilya Shkurin in the post season to CSKA Moscow will be a huge loss for them having scored 19 goals in just 22 starts last season.
The player I like in this is recent signing in midfielder Umar Mohammed Bala for Slutsk. He’s got three goals in five starts yet is 5/1 (Sport Nation) to score anytime. Slutsk are 6/5 favourites so for a goalscoring midfielder the max price he should be is no bigger than 3/1, indeed he’s 23/10 in places.
Neman Grodno v Ruh Brest | Saturday 9th May 2020, 15:00
A basement battle here as third-from-bottom Neman Grodno host Ruh Brest who sit just one point above them. In the 14 games between them this season their matches have averaged just 1.43 goals-per-game (20 goals) so don’t expect a goalfest. Indeed. the goal expectancy is only 2.0. Ruh Brest came up through the play-offs last season so it’s no surprise to see them adopt a defence-first strategy.
The guy I like in this one is another summer signing who’s hit the ground running. Neman picked up attacking midfielder Gegam Kadimyan in the winter and he’s already bagged four in his last five games. The home side are 11/8 faves yet Kadimyan is available at 16/5 (Betfair). As short as 9/4, that’s more likely his true price.
Isloch v Belshina Bobruisk | Sunday 10th May 2020, 12:00
Top five Isloch welcome rock bottom and newly promoted Belshina; the visitors already look out of their depth since promotion. No wins, five defeats and 13 goals conceded don’t make for pretty reading.
It’s no surprise Isloch are 8/13 here. They have a fearsome frontline in Momo Yansane, Aleksandr Makas, Nikolay Yanush and Dmitri Komarovskiy. When you’ve got such quality sometimes the goals can be spread around and it’s hard to land a winner. However, Komarovskiy has 16 goals in his last 31 games and is on penalties so looks a great price at 12/5 (Betfair) here. Based on the data I make him 13/10.
Komarovskiy has scored in eight of his last 15 matches (53%) so is far from just a flat track bully yet has hat-tricks in each of the last two seasons. There’s 16/1 (BetVictor) available on him getting a brace and that’s also a great bet here.
Dinamo Brest v Dinamo Minsk | Sunday 10th May 2020, 18:00
The big game on Sunday night is between two of the sides that finished in the top four last season, including champions Dinamo Brest. In fact Brest only lost one match in their success last season and that was this fixture.
Things haven’t gone to plan so far in 2020 for either side but there is only six points separating second and third bottom in this tight league. Minsk are going through a tough time at the moment having lost seven of their last 11 and recently fired their manager. However, there’s been 40 goals in their last 13 matches – 3.08 per-game – well above the league average of just 2.29. This could be a blockbuster to end the weekend.
In order for Minsk to return to former glories – they won six of the first seven leagues after the formation of the Belarus Premier League in the 1990s but have tasted success just once since then all the way back in 2004 – they’ve invested in striker Yevgeniy Shikavka from the Greece Super League in the winter and made him the focal point of their attack.
That side of things have worked well with Shikavka grabbing four goals in his five starts including two penalties. Minsk are 5/2 here meaning Shikavka shouldn’t be any bigger than 9/4. He’s 16/5 (Betfair) to score anytime.
Best Bets
Slutsk v Energetik – Umar Mohammed Bala to score at anytime (5/1 Sport Nation)
Neman Grodno v Ruh Brest – Gegam Kadimyan to score at anytime (16/5 Betfair)
Isloch v Belshina Bobruisk – Dmitri Komarovskiy to score at anytime (12/5 Betfair)
Isloch v Belshina Bobruisk – Dmitri Komarovskiy to score 2+ goals (16/1 BetVictor)
Dinamo Brest v Dinamo Minsk – Yevgeniy Shikavka to score at anytime (16/5 Betfair)
