Belenenses vs SCR Altach Betting Tips

It wasn’t a highlight reel show, but Belenenses took care of business in a quiet and highly effective manner in the first leg of their Europa League contest. They scored a goal against Austrian side Altach and had the better chances and best of the overall play. They have a one-goal advantage and are just one game away from a Europa League group stage place – something that would be a positive achievement for this club.

This is definitely a side that is on the up and they have a group of high-skilled young footballers. The likes of Sturgeon, Pinto, Dalcio and Nunes are all, or will all, have the quality to make things happen in football matches. They’ve drawn each of their opening two Primeira Liga games, the first was a slightly sloppy 3-3 tie against Rio Ave, but last weekend’s 1-1 away draw against Guimaraes was well-deserved.

Guimaraes are a mutual opponent for these two sides in 2015-16. Altach dispensed of them in the previous round of this competition, eventually winning 6-2 on aggregate. Still, that performance is looking more and more like an outlier in what is fast becoming a very disappointing season for Altach. They’ve won just one and lost five of their opening Austrian Bundesliga games and they struggled to establish much of anything in the 1-0 first leg defeat against Belenenses.

Perhaps this club lost just a few too many players during the course of the summer. Either way, players and manager might already have one eye on their worrying league form and the threat of getting dragged into a relegation battle.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Belenenses’ defence

Setting aside the Primeira Liga opener, when they got involved in a wild 3-3 shootout against Rio Ave, there are signs that Belenenses once again have an organised and effective defensive structure. They keep the ball well too, which stifles opponents’ attacking flow. We expect manager Ricardo Sa Pinto to ask his side for a disciplined game and we expect them to deliver.

2. The tie won’t be an open game

The first leg was a fairly dogged and determined affair. We expect the two styles to match-up in a similar way once again with Altach looking to steal a victory, rather than travelling with out and out attack in mind. The expected speed of play and level of intent from each side should mean that this is not a goal-fest.

3. Altach’s form has been poor

We can keep referring to their impressive play against Guimaraes all we want, the fact is that Altach has lost five of six in the Austrian Bundesliga and there are signs that after a rapid rise through the professional ranks, perhaps the club’s success has just caught up with them.

Belenenses 1-0 Altach

It won’t be a wide open game and Belenenses won’t “go for the kill”, but this will still be a relatively assured progression for the Primeira Liga outfit.