Greek League
2007-09-01 - Xanthi vs PAOK
A Sports Betting Pick by Dimitris
XANTHI
I have to admit, i look at the Xanthi possible lineup and i hardly know about half of the squad. Xanthi have repeated their usual strategy of bringing in lots of unknown players, which has proven successful in the past but almost got them destroyed last season.
They also brought in former Everton player Tomas Radzinski, who will be ineligible for this match, as well as regular central defender Vallas. Xanthi have a strong home ground, as they lost only in the last game of the previous season against Iraklis who was fighting against relegation.
PAOK
PAOK is a really troubled team, facing the verge of bankruptcy for 2 or 3 seasons now. A ray of hope has shone this summer when ex Greece captain Zagorakis accepted an offer for handling the administration of the whole club.
Despite the economic difficulties, PAOK have managed to bring in some experienced players suck as Lakis,Vryzas and Knoll. For this match, coach Paraschos will miss Nigerian left back Udeze and left winger Lakis
HEAD TO HEAD
A quick look at past meetings will show a tendency for home wins the last years, and a tremendous tendency for unders, as from the 18 last league meetings, 15 were unders!
PAOK - Xanthi 1:0 15.04.2007
Xanthi - PAOK 1:0 26.11.2006
PAOK - Xanthi 1:0 15.01.2006
Xanthi - PAOK 1:0 27.08.2005
PAOK - Xanthi 1:0 02.04.2005
Xanthi - PAOK 0:2 28.11.2004
Xanthi - PAOK 0:0 21.02.2004
PAOK - Xanthi 1:1 04.10.2003
PAOK - Xanthi 1:0 01.02.2003
Xanthi - PAOK 1:1 01.09.2002
PAOK - Xanthi 1:0 17.03.2002
Xanthi - PAOK 1:0 25.11.2001
PAOK - Xanthi 3:0 01.04.2001
Xanthi - PAOK 0:2 03.12.2000
Xanthi - PAOK 1:2 17.04.2000
PAOK - Xanthi 5:0 12.12.1999
PAOK - Xanthi 0:0 21.03.1999
Xanthi - PAOK 0:1 25.10.1998
VERDICT
It is the beggining of the season and i would be lying if i said i was confident for a match betting on that match, as i have not watched any pre-season friendlies of the 2 clubs. But i believe a bet on the UNDERS, generally available at 1.55 has a decent shot, and even though it may seem low, it's correctly priced. Paired with another similarly priced bet, will make a good combo.
Purely intuitively, i believe this can be a home win for Xanthi, but in such a close game, and given that it's the first game of the season, it might be a good idea to have a small bet on the draw, at prices of 2.90
The Pick :
UNDER 2.5 goals,at 1.55,maybe part of a combo
