Home and Away: Back visitors to complete the hard Graaft

17Dec 2012

Jonno Turner kicks off a new week by selecting two picks from the continent for his Home and Away column.

We're off to Italy for our first pick of the week - and focusing on Lega Pro 1, as in-form Sudtirol welcome Portosummaga to Stadio Marco Druso, looking to extend the form which has lifted them to fourth in the table.

Stefano Vecchi's side go into this clash having won three of their last four, and three clean sheets in that time suggests that the Bolzano side are more than capable of holding out their visitors here.

And just one loss in 14 on their own patch indicates that the hosts will be looking to chalk up another three points against their out of sorts opponents here.

Portosummaga travel to South Tyrol having won just once in 11 outings - and their away form isn't much healthier, as they have failed to taste victory in 16 of their last 18.

Armando Madonna's side will be desperate to correct that slide here, and just 16 points from their opening 14 encounters of the campaign leaves them in the relegation play-off places.

The Stadio Pier Giovanni Mecchia side have shipped half a dozen goals in their last three on the road, and there is no doubt that their travel sickness could cost them dearly unless they can engineer a turnaround in form over the next couple of weeks.

Unfortunately for the visitors, I have this one down as a home win - and fully expect a Sudtirol side full of momentum to take maximum points in this clash.

Bet 1: FC Sudtirol (HOME) @ 1.79

Turning our attentions to the Netherlands now - and the second tier, as De Graafschap travel to Telstar in the Eerste Divisie.

The visitors have been outstanding on the road in recent weeks, and a win here could make it six wins from seven away from De Vijverberg.

Pieter Huistra's side have smashed nine goals in their last five on their travels, and that will give them a huge confidence boost as they aim to chalk up another three points towards securing their place back in the top tier.

In the bigger picture, the Superboeren are unbeaten in three - and a 3-0 thrashing of Den Bosch on Friday underlined just how dominant they have looked in recent weeks.

Telstar line up in front of their own fans having won just once in their last eight, and home boss Marcel Keizer will be keen to arrest that slump at the TATA Stadion tonight.

But a single win in five at home suggests that their are major issues within this Witte Leeuwen side, and they now sit in 14th place in the table - just four points from the bottom.

What will be most worrying to Keizer is the amount of goals shipped by his charges, and six in four at the TATA points to the likelihood that their guests will be presented with at least a couple of decent chances.

That could be the undoing of the home side, and I fancy the visitors to take three points back to Doetinchem this evening.

Bet 2: De Graafschap (AWAY) @ 2.36