WORLD football fanatic James O'Rourke (@JamesOR1) looks to continue his fabulous form with a selection of hand-picked best bets from across the planet on Sunday.
Horsens v Midtjylland | Sunday 16th December 2018, 13:00
On Sunday, Midtjylland will attempt to close the three-point gap to top of the table Copenhagen when they encounter a fairly tricky away trip to Horsens. Midtjylland, known as FCM for short, might be 14 points better off than their weekend opponents, but Horsens are fifth in the table and certainly no pushovers.
A lack of consistency has been the main issue for Horsens this season – their 19 league matches this season has yielded a return of W7-D6-L6. This consistently inconsistent run of results can make them something of an unpredictable force. However, they do generally come unstuck when facing the better sides in the league. They have only won back-to-back league games on one occasion, and they head into this on the back of a 4-2 away win over Aalborg.
As for FCM, besides a narrow away defeat to Copenhagen a few weeks ago, they have enjoyed a terrific run of form. That remains only one of two domestic defeats for them this season, and although that is the case, they can’t afford to drop too many more points given the terrific form Copenhagen are on themselves. FCM therefore need the win on Sunday.
The good thing for FCM is that they, like Basel over Sion, have had the better in this fixture for some time now. They have won the last nine competitive meetings between the pair. Only twice have Horsens ever won a home meeting in this encounter, in 2007 and 2012. You only have to have a glance at the record and notice Midtjylland winning very, very frequently.
FCM are one of the form teams at the moment, and they’re ultimately one of the top two best in the league at least. They won the division last season and won’t want to give that up without a fight. They beat fourth in the table Odense convincingly 3-0 last time out, and they should relish this game. However, we cannot deny that they aren’t as prolific away as they are at home.
Only 16 of their 47 goals have come on the road, whilst 12 of the 18 goals conceded have appeared away too. They don’t tend to keep clean sheets away either, with 89% of their league encounters having both teams scoring. Each side has netted 78% of the time in Horsens’ home clashes as well, so goals could very well be the name of the game this weekend.
FCM are the highest-scorers in the league, whilst Horsens have the second-worst defensive record, which is quite remarkable considering they sit quite high up the standings. That suggests they play quite an open style, which is why we’re going for the selection we are.
Just like in our Saturday game, we’re back the favourite to win, but the opposition to score as well. Midtjylland to win and Both Teams To Score is available at 9/4 (Bet365).
Best Bets
Horsens v Midtjylland – Midtjylland to win and Both Teams To Score (9/4 Bet365)
