FC Copenhagen – Odense
Danish Superliga Round 4
Copenhagen, August 11, 19:00 CET
FC Copenhagen has no plans to stop, after a perfect start of the season in three rounds of Danish Superliga. The champions at home, against Odense on Friday, will have a great motive to show that they will not allow stumbles in the opening part of the season.
The team from the capital of Denmark is undefeated in six official matches played since the start of the season in all competitions, and they have won five games. Earlier this week, against an excellent and organized Czech side Sparta Prague, FC Copenhagen were held to a goalless draw in the Champions League qualifiers. However, even in that game, the Danish team had a large number of chances and dominated, especially in the first half. One got the impression that the young team lacked the experience to better withstand the pressure of a big game.
Odense, however, is a much worse and defensively less solid and organised team than Sparta Prague. So far in the domestic championship, FC Copenhagen have scored at least two goals in every game - and they will have a good chance to do so in this game as well. The home team will not want to allow any mishaps, since their great rival Nordsjaelland also has the maximum performance after three rounds.
On the other hand, Odense has a win and a loss after three rounds, is currently in sixth place in the table and it seems that the middle of the table is a realistic range for this team. What is important to note is that in each of the three matches that Odense played since the start of the Super League, at least three goals were scored. Also, this is a team that gives opponents chances to attack, so that they can attack themselves. In the last season, the most matches in which both teams managed to score a goal - were precisely the games in which the Odense team played.
The impression is that for FC Copenhagen this is an ideal opponent at this moment, to restore confidence when it comes to attacking efficiency. Last season, Odense conceded as many as 53 goals - so it is a team that had the second worst defense in the Superliga.
Last season, in a match played on March 5, FC Copenhagen beat Odense even 7:0! During that period, the team from the capital reached championship winning form. Previously, Odense, as the host, won 2:1 in the duel played on September 10 last year. And now it is certain that three or more goals will again be scored in this match.
In this match, Odense is not burdened by injuries to important players. FC Copenhagen will play without Senegalese forward Babacar and Nigerian midfielder Amoo. Even without them, the team showed that they are extremely effective, and the key stars are teenagers Oskarsson and Bardghji. Since the middle of July, they have been in an excellent rhythm of scoring goals, and this match is an ideal opportunity to continue that.
It is expected that the home team will spare some important players when it comes to minutes, especially in the second half - because already in the middle of next week, FC Copenhagen will play against Sparta in Prague. FC Copenhagen will be looking for early goals to settle the duel against Odense as soon as possible. If that happens, the match is expected to have a more relaxed rhythm in the 2nd half - and a large number of goals, of course with the triumph of the favourites and the home team.