GOALKEEPER
Sondre Rossbach (ODD – 5.5mNOK, 10.7%) vs. Sandefjord (H)
• Sandefjord (H) = Potentially easiest fixture of season
• High clean sheet probability
• Only the relegated Aalesunds (313) attempted fewer shots than Sandefjord (344) in the 2020 season
• Sandefjord’s goal threat has significantly diminished after losing creative players Deyvr Vega and Rufo
DEFENCE
Marcus Holmgren Pedersen (MOL – 6.5mNOK, 10.7%) vs. Kristiansund (H)
• Kristiansund (H) = Winnable fixture with high clean sheet potential
• A dangerous right-back with bags of potential
• Last season over 30% of his accurate passes were in the final 1/3 – only Rosenborg’s Erlend Dahl Reitan (6.0mNOK) and Kristiansund’s Christoffer Aasbak (5.5mNOK) could do better. (30.19% & 35.10%)
• Kristiansund have failed to replace Amahl Pellegrino and could really struggle in front of goal (Pellegrino scored almost 50% of Kristiansund’s 2020 league goals)
Fredrik Andre Bjorkan (B/G – 6.0mNOK, 45.0%) vs. Tromso (H)
• Tromso (H) = Opening game of season versus newly promoted opposition
• 6.0m feels cheap for one of the best attacking defenders in the league
• Last time out no other defender attempted and completed as many dribbles (45/76), played as many accurate passes in the final 1/3 (376) and boasted an overall passing accuracy of over 87% (56% of those passes = opposition half)
• Glimt’s average possession was 60%+ in 2020
• In best defence in the league + high attacking threat
Odin Luras Bjortuft (ODD – 5.0mNOK, 5.9%) vs. Sandefjord (H)
• Good with the ball and a great all-round centre back
• Cheap route into the Odd defence for one of the games they should definitely be looking to not concede
• Attempted and played more passes than any other defender last season
• Good differential pick for opening game
Viljar Helland Vevatne (VIK – 5.0mNOK, 5.0%) vs. Brann (H)
• Brann (H) = Viking strong favourites
• The only defender to score more goals than Vevatne (3) last season was Espen Ruud (7.0mNOK) with 6
• Last time these two sides faced each other at the SR-Bank Arena, the home side won 2-0
• Vevatne is the same price as teammate Henrik Heggheim (5.0mNOK) but in less than half the number of teams – same defence, more goal threat, bigger differential
MIDFIELD
Aron Donnum (VIF – 10.0mNOK, 30.1%) vs. Rosenborg (H)
• Rosenborg (H) = Not an easy game but he’s one of the most fixture-proof players in the game
• Best dribbler in the league (70 successful dribbles in the league last season – 19 more than anyone else)
• Created 9 big chances last year – more than any other Valerenga player and his only teammate to play more key passes (36) was Christian Dahle Borchgrevink (6.0mNOK) with 44
• This is a huge game. Rosenborg are huge rivals – non-geographical – and an opening day win, at home, would be the perfect start for ‘The Bohemians.’
Sondre Sorli (V) (B/G – 9.5mNOK, 9.4%) vs. Tromso (H)
• He’s the main man on the right side of Glimt’s front line and their cheapest attacking option
• Good opening fixture for him to open his account with the Champions
• Has looked lively in pre-season and strong chance is on penalties
• Is a better player than his stats would suggest – being surrounded by quality players I think we’ll see the best of him this season
Eirik Hestad (MOL – 8.5mNOK, 5.1%) vs. Kristiansund (H)
• Molde have a big squad but Hestad is still arguably one of their best players
• Good chance Magnus Wolff Eikrem (12.5mNOK) won’t be fit for this game which means it would take a miracle for him not to feature
• A versatile and dynamic player, he can play on the wing or in the middle
• Eikrem was the only Molde player to produce more accurate passes in the final 1/3 or big chances per 90 minutes than Hestad last season (19.93 – 18.58 & 0.97 – 0.32)
Joe Bell (VIK – 5.0mNOK, 2.9%) vs. Brann (H)
• Might have only created one big chance last season but played as many key passes (37) as Johan Hove (8.0mNOK) and more than Aron Donnum, Kristoffer Velde (8.5mNOK) and new teammate Kevin Kabran (8.5mNOK) (all 36) to name a few
• His price belies how important he is to this Viking team and he’s surrounded by better players than he was last season
• Huge differential option and would still be a player I’d have in my team if he was 0.5-1.0m more expensive
• Creative, hard-working and never loses the ball – in fact he was dispossessed a mere 8 times in the whole of last season
FORWARDS
Veton Berisha (K) (VIK – 10.5mNOK, 38.3%) vs. Brann
• 2020 Stats: 16G, 7A, 29 BFP = 163pts
• Main man at Viking and the best goal scorer in the league – should be in everyone’s team
• Great team player – wants to provide for his teammates as well as score
• He’s an obvious pick especially for this week – no need to overthink it, just bring him in and keep him in – forever
Tobias Lauritsen (ODD – 8.0mNOK, 6.8%) vs. Sandefjord (H)
• Has looked good in pre-season and looked fantastic before his injury last season
• Will be Odds’ main attacking outlet and offers assist potential as well as goals
• A full 1.5m cheaper than Mushaga Bakenga (9.5mNOK)
• He’s very tall (1.94m)
• A relatively cheap option for a player with a very high likelihood of scoring this week
2 years, 11 months agoBest website for early team news: https://www.fotball.no/turneringer/nffdirekte/