ICELANDIC FOOTBALL BETTING PICK - FH HAFNARFJORDUR V GRINDAVIK

Icelandic Football

2011-07-06 - FH Hafnarfjordur vs Grindavik

A Sports Betting Pick by Cornholio

FH Hafnarfjordur vs Grindavik
Football : Icelandic top league : Round 9
Wednesday July 6 2011, 19:15 (GMT)

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Here we have a game where the home team was predicted to be in the title battle and the away team was predicted to be close to the relegation zone.

At the moment FH Hafnarfjordur is not in the title battle, trailing 8 points behind KR. On the other hand, Grindavik really is close to the relegation zone, being the third lowest.

FH Hafnarfjordur (5th 3-3-2 13:9)

This game is by no means one of the biggest of the season but it's big for FH Hafnarfjordur. If they do not use this moment to start a winning streak they can start to say goodbye to their title hopes since they currently sit in 5th place with 12 points, 8 points less than leaders KR.

The tournament is nearing it's halfway point and FH Hafnarfjordur still haven't resolved their instability problems. This factor can best be seen in the fact that they haven't won two league games in a row for all of the season, something not acceptable for a side normally in the top battle.

Although their run hasn't been too good FH Hafnarfjordur have only lost two games, winning three and drawing three. The fact they haven't lost more games places them still in reach of the top places.

Their offense has been critisised but it seems a bit unfair since they have scored 13 goals, the most in the league along with Fylkir and KR, who have scored the most. FH's problem is more their defense as they have conceded 9 goals while the top three have conceded 6, 4 and 6 respectevely. Also keep in mind that they have scored 4 goals in last two games and both of them were away from home.

FH Hafnarfjordur's home record is 2 1 0, scoring 8 goals and conceding 2 while away they are worse with 1 2 2 and scoreline of 5:7. The fact they have only played three games at home makes these info a little hard to assess. However, against a side in the relegation battle losing their last two games with a scoreline of 5-1 this will be a great oportunity for FH Hafnarfjordur to show if they are going to be title candidates for the whole of the season.

Grindavik (10th 2-1-5 9:14)

The arrival of the Scottish striker, Robbie Winters, has been somewhat of a disappointment for Grindavik since he still hasn't clicked into place.

Grindavik played a very tough game against Thor Akureyri in the quarterfinal of the Cup last Saturday where they lost 2-1 when the deciding goal came in the last minute of the extra time. This means they have now lost three games in a row, two in the league and one in the Cup.

Grindavik's place in the table isn't really surprising. It's where they've been in recent years and some might argue that it's time for them to go down to shake them up a little. Grindavik currently sits in 10th place only one point ahead of Vikingur.

Grindavik keep their trend in being a bit better on the road than at home since they are 1 0 3 at home and 1 1 2 away. Keep in mind that their only away win came in that strange indoor game against Fylkir in the first round. The game was played on neutral grounds so it wasn't even a real away win.

They scored 3 goals in that game but in the other three away games they have only scored 2 more. They lost away to Stjarnan and Breidablik but drawed 0-0 against a weak Vikingur team. The game against FH Hafnarfjordur will most certainly be their toughest one on the road.

With only 9 goals scored and 14 conceded, the most along with Thor and Breidablik something extraordinary has to happen if they are to take anything with them from Hafnarfjordur.

Head to head

2011: Grindavik - FH 1-2 (pre-season cup, neutral grounds)
2010: FH - Grindavik 2-1
2010: Grindavik - FH 3-1
2009: FH - Grindavik 0-3
2009: Grindavik - FH 0-3
2008: FH - Grindavik 0-1
2008: Grindavik - FH 0-3
2007: FH - Grindavik 5-0 (pre-season cup, neutral grounds)
2006: Grindavik - FH 1-1
2006: FH - Grindavik 2-0

The Betting Verdict

This game should be looked at as a home win banker. But bankers don't always come through, one must evaluate the odds on offer. FH Hafnarfjordur won their last match and I think this will be the first time they will produce a second win in a row this season and I think they will do so in style winning with at least a two goal margin.

The reason for me saying that is that FH Hafnarfjordur have scored 2 goals in their last two games while Grindavik have only scored 1 but conceded 5 in last two.

FH's defense has been a bit dodgy so it wouldn't surprise me to see Grindavik sneak in a goal but it won't matter too much since I see a 4-1 scoreline in the cards.

Even with a banker in hand I feel that the bookies are coming way to short on FH Hafnarfjordur offering them at around 1.35, which is way too short for my likings. I would be more interested in the handicap.