PSIM Yogyakarta (home)
- PSIM Yogyakarta are slight favorites to beat Persita Tangerang at 1.86 when two mid-table teams clash at the Sultan Agung Stadium in Bantul on Thursday.
- PSIM, on 38 points, have been less consistent than Persita (41) of late, and their form has been patchy with two draws and three defeats in their last five.
- PSIM have conceded late goals and goals from set pieces so they have not been very clinical or strong enough to keep the ball in the back of the net.
- Cahya Supriadi has pulled off some crucial saves to keep them in matches and they have received a great service from striker Zé Valente, who is the team’s leading scorer.
- Jean-Paul van Gastel’s Dutch coaching style has made the Purple Warriors more compact and disciplined, but the results haven’t quite come yet.
- PSIM play a flexible style, using flexible formations with the wingers providing the width, but the aim is always to dominate possession, press well and play vertical football.
Persita Tangerang (away)
- Unfortunately for the visitors, they have not been in the best of form lately, losing four straight league matches after starting the month with a 4-1 win.
- Igor Carreira Rodrigues has been their defensive anchor and a big reason why they haven’t conceded more than they have during this difficult spell, but they are in desperate need of a win to end the slide.
- Peña’s philosophy has certainly added flair and a good structure to Persita’s play with Rayco Rodríguez Medina setting up more goals than any other player in the league and Aleksa Andrejić’s scoring touch.
- Persita will be compact and will press when they can, but their aim will be to frustrate the possession-based team and hit them on the break.
Head-to-Head
Persita have dominated this fixture since 2012 , winning all three meetings since and winning October’s return clash 4-0 .
PSIM
- Cahya Supriadi has pulled off some crucial saves to keep them in matches.
- Zé Valente is the team’s leading scorer and has provided excellent service up front.
Persita
- Igor Carreira Rodrigues has been the defensive anchor during a difficult run.
- Aleksa Andrejić has been Persita’s main goal scorer this season.
- Rayco Rodríguez Medina has been creating chances and setting up goals.
Betting Insights
- Persita, who have a strong recent record against PSIM, are the long shots at 3.63 which seems excessive given Persita are in slightly better form despite the hosts having home-field advantage.
- Our belief that this will be a low-scoring game is based on the bookmaker’s odds for the Under 2.5 line, which looks like good value at 1.89 with both teams to score also coming in at 1.68.
Prediction
A PSIM win would leapfrog them over Persita in the mid-table race, but we feel a draw or a narrow home win is the most likely outcome given the recent form of both clubs.
