Hamburg vs Slavia Prague

Tom Allen redeemed himself with a good tip on Martin Jol’s Hamburg to beat Slavia Prague, at the grand price of 2.50. A 2-0 victory away from home saw us in good profit heading into the weekend

To start with I must offer my first apology in over three years of writing this column. The tip of unders in the eight goal thriller at Old Trafford last night was truly wretched but, although I can’t promise it will never happen again, if you are to bust your bank then you may as well do it in style.

To Thursday’s Uefa Cup action and if there is anybody left with any faith in my predictive abilities then Hamburg must be supported to get the better of Slavia Prague. Martin Jol’s side are a cut above their Czech opponents and I think they should be shorter than the 2.50 on offer in a place to claim maximum points.

Jol left Spurs under a cloud following a disastrous start to last season but he has proved himself, once again, to be a top manager in the Bundesliga and Hamburg are more than a match for anybody in this competition. Aston Villa await in their final group game but the Germans will be keen to all but secure qualification to the knockout stages before their meeting with the Premier League side and Slavia shouldn’t stand in their way.

Czech football continues to thrive at international level but if truth be told their club sides have fallen some way short of the required standard in the past few years and Slavia, despite currently topping the domestic standings, are no exception. They have yet to score in this season’s Uefa Cup and face a team packed with top internationals.

While Hamburg were beaten on home soil by Ajax last time out they did secure a crucial away victory against Zilina on opening night, when the Croatian duo of Mladen Petric and Ivica Olic bagged a goal each, and that experience can help them overcome a somewhat mediocre Slavia outfit. Villa were far too good for the Gambinus liga side and there is an interesting subplot to this fixture too.

Karel Jarolim, the coach of Slavia, has sons playing on either side with the more established offspring David, a Czech international, wearing the Hamburg shirt and it is sure to be fiercely contested. I’m hoping David, an excellent midfielder, has been picking his father’s brain but even if he hasn’t it shouldn’t matter too much and the price should be snapped up.

Hamburg currently sit fifth in Germany’s top division, perhaps slightly disappointingly given their excellent start when they topped the standings, and it is hard to ignore their undoubted qualities. Joris Mathijsen, capped 40 for Holland, organises a more than able defence with the help of German international Marcell Jansen and that pair are excellently shielded by Nigel de Jong. The ex-Ajax star has established himself as a top quality player and he’ll be looking to feed the likes of Jarolim and Piotr Trochowski to create enough chances for the Croatian attacking duo.

In virtually a must-win game I make Hamburg clear favourites in what should be an entertaining game and even their less than fantastic record on the road in the Bundesliga isn’t enough to put me off a decent wager.