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2011-05-11 - Valur Reykjavik vs IBV Vestmannaeyjar
A Sports Betting Pick by Cornholio
Icelandic top league - Round 3
Wednesday May 11 2011, 20:00 (GMT)
With a perfect start and a clean sheet Valur will entertain IBV from the volcanic islands, Vestmannaeyjar, just south of the mainland of Iceland.
IBV has 3 points after winning one at home and losing their second. In 1973 the famous eruption in Heimaey, the largest of the islands, started. In the end the lava flow was halted by pumping sea water against it. Tommy Lee Jones used that trick in the movie we all know.
On to the match...
Valur Reykjavik
Second most victorius club in Iceland, second to only KR. In 2007 they were crowned champions after having some tough years before. Since that they have been quite unstable and pretty much always produced a disapointment for their fans.
Finishing in 5th, 8th and 7th place in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectevely they have changed managers on a regular basis. Last season was unusually bad with a lot of negative relationships between the board, manager and the players.
Now, however there seems to be a turning point in their camp. An extreamly importan win against FH in the first round followed by a good 0-2 victory at Grindavik it surely looks like it. This is their best start since 2005 and has placed them on the top, the only team winning both of their matches.
In 2010 and 2009 they were bad at home with a record of 3 4 4 and 3 3 5 respectevely. In 2008 they were a bit better with a 6 1 4 record. This simply represents their disapointment in recent years.
Ahead of this season they have a new manager, K. Gudmundsson, who got Keflavik very high up when he was there. The group has changed a lot were younger players have been given more chances, which seems a good mixture with the more experienced players. With many good players to choose from, a strong midfield and fast playmaking they surely are able to go very far this season.
Maybe the one minus for them is a lack of a pure goalscorer.
IBV Vestmannaeyjar
In the late 90´s IBV Vestmannaeyjar were dominant and produced one great player after the other who then went on abroad to professional football. Since then the club has been going up and down between the top league and league one.
However, in recent years they have been slowly progressing and are now playing in the top league for the third year in a row. Last season was their best in years where they surprised the lot by ending up in 3rd place only two points behind the champions. They had been known to be pretty much unstopable at home and this was true last year. A great 7 1 3 record helped produce their awsome run.
This was a complete u-turn from the previous season were they finished 10th and a much worse home record of 4 3 4. Away they were terrible with 2 1 8 compared to 6 2 3 last year.
Their main target man and known national player, T. Gudmundsson, doesnt get any younger by the years and its a real question if he can keep on producing the goals up front.
IBV start to the season is dodgy. Beating Fram in their first home match with a stoppish time goal and then losing their second home match 1-2 to Fylkir isnt really too reasuring ahead of their toughest match still, away against Valur.
HEAD TO HEAD
2010 Valur - IBV 1-1
2009 Valur - IBV 2-0
2006 Valur - IBV 5-0
2005 Valur - IBV 1-1
So Valur has the upper hand and actually haven't lost at home to IBV since 2001.
The Betting Verdict
With Valurs awsome start one has to think they will press hard to keep their flawless record. IBV is known to be dodgy on the road and Valur's new grounds might be starting to become a lions nest producing a great victory against FH.
Valur has a much stronger group of players and with all this in mind they are very much the favorites here.
