Crystal Palace

The Red Devils made eight changes for the clash with the Eagles but Sir Alex Ferguson could not be accused of putting out a weak team as it still contained eight full internationals.

The simple fact is that Palace wanted it more and deservedly came away with the extra-time win at Old Trafford.

How boss Dougie Freedman would have loved his charges to put in the same kind of performance in the Championship over the past few weeks, as he has watched his men struggle and fail to win in five attempts (Palace 16/1 To Be Promoted).

The south Londoners’ last league victory was a 1-0 success away at Ipswich and they have since played out goalless draws with Reading, Portsmouth and Millwall, while suffering defeats to Leicester and Cardiff.

Scoring goals has clearly been the problem, especially at home, as the Palace faithful have witnessed the opposition net rippling on just eight occasions on their own patch, while they have scored 10 goals on their travels en route to 26 points and 12th place in the table.

Freedman has made his side hard to beat and the five goals they have conceded at home is second only to Birmingham in that category in the division.

But you have to score to win and that is something that needs to be addressed, otherwise a few 0-0 scorelines will start changing to 1-0 losses as the season progresses with the inevitable slide down the table.

Darren Ambrose and Glenn Murray scored the goals that dumped United out of the competition and the challenge now is for the pair to replicate that from in the league, to help out their team-mates at the back who have done such a stellar job this term.

The victory came at a cost however, as Dean Moxey (knee) and winger Sean Scannell (thigh) will both miss Friday’s encounter, while Wilfried Zaha was limping at the end of a gruelling 120 minutes and is rated as doubtful with just a 48-hour turnaround.

Derby had high hopes of either automatic promotion or a play-off place at least this term but the early-season optimism when they won four straight games to kick off their campaign has long since evaporated.

The Rams have lost six out of seven Championship games and five in a row and will travel to London desperate to halt their plunge down the standings.

They have conceded three goals in three of their past five games and it is obvious that they have serous problems with their defence.

Nigel Clough’s side has conceded 17 goals on the road this term and scored just nine and the statistics for both outfits suggest that a single goal might win this one.

John Brayford remains a fitness doubt for the visitors after sitting out Tuesday’s defeat to Brighton, having recently returned from a five-week lay-off.

Clough may opt for an unchanged side after admitting that he was pleased with the performance against the Seagulls despite the defeat.

With pressure mounting on the boss and the drop zone now just four points away, the former Liverpool striker would take a dismal display in the capital as long as he came away with there points.

Both sides are desperate for a win but Palace are tipped to sneak it by the odd goal to begin their climb up the table.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

Macclesfield v Swindon (7.45pm)
Swindon are one of the bets of the weekend at 5/4, as Paulo Di Canio takes his side to the North West to take on a Macclesfield side who prefer to be playing their football away from their beloved Moss Road.

The Robins will be buoyed by their recent 4-0 win over Barnet and seem to have got their season back on track with four wins coming from their last five league games.

The Italian, given his first shot at management at Swindon, had made a slow start to his campaign as boss at the County Ground, however, things seem to be moving in the right direction for the club now, and they are be expected to be in the mix come the end of the season.

Their 3-0 win over league favourites Crawley at the Broadfield Stadium proved they are capable of beating anyone in this league on their day.

Macclesfield on the other hand are going to struggle to progress further than the bottom quarter of the table this season. They were the first side to lose to a struggling Plymouth side last weekend and have only had one win in their last five games.

Macc will struggle to match the class of Di Canio’s side and may just suffer another embarrassing defeat, this time on their home turf, as they go may go down 3-0 to the Robins, the correct score can be backed at 9/1.

Southend v Shrewsbury (7.45pm)
Second takes on third on Friday evening at Roots Hall, as two of the league’s early season fliers have the opportunity of moving up to first place in the league, until Saturday at the least.

There is not much to separate these two sides, and both managers will settle for a draw that can be backed at 12/5.

The Shrimpers have lost just one game at Roots Hall so far this season, after making an unexpected flying start to their campaign.

Shrewsbury travel down to the south coast on the back of their 2-0 win over Torquay.  The Shrews have been pushing for promotion in the past 2-3 seasons now and must have every opportunity of doing so this season. They have experienced the disappointment of the play-offs, therefore the aim for Graham Turner’s side this season is automatic promotion into League One.

The Shropshire side will be boosted by the news that defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff is fit to return to the side. The Australian has a wealth of experience at this level and will offer support at the back, following his hamstring injury.

However, Reuben Hazel is out of the side and must visit a specialist to find out the extent of his knee injury.

If this fixture was played last season, the visitors would be warm favourites, but Southend are playing with confidence, and manager Paul Sturrock has made a remarkable turnaround with the club.

Both teams will probably find the scoresheet in a 1-1 draw which is a price of 6/1.

Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.

German champions Bayern Munich lock horns with their Italian counterparts Inter in the first UEFA Champions League final to be played on a Saturday and both sides are eagerly anticipating the biggest game of the season excluding the World Cup.

Dutch wizard Arjen Robben has stated he expects Inter to start the game with attacking intentions, but pointed out that Bayern have to play their own game if they are to be successful at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I don’t expect Inter to defend as much as they did against Barcelona, though of course they also had a player sent off,” Robben was quoted as saying by the official UEFA website.

You Can Bet On This Outcome Now: Inter v Bayern Champions League Final

“We have to play our own game. We can’t change our tactics. We’ve played the whole season the same way and that’s what we will do in the final as well. On the day you have to sometimes be a bit lucky, but at least you have to be sharp in front of goal and the chances you get you have to take.

“The main goal for Bayern was to win the league and that’s what we did. But now we’re in the final of the Champions League and you have to try to win it. You have to give all on this day and I think we will see 22 players who will play for their lives.”

Meanwhile the speculation regarding Joes Mourinho’s future after the Champions League final has hit override with reports of Inter Milan lining up Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez to replace the ‘Special One’ should he depart for Real Madrid. Mourinho has poured more fuel on the fire by once again stating his dislike for Italian football and his desire to have two-to-three days to think about his future after the Champions League final. So as Inter fans brace themselves for life without Mourinho they can take comfort in the fact that Frank Ribbery will definitely be suspended for the final after UEFA upheld his ban

You can bet on the Champions League final with PartyBets.com, Inter Milan are favourites at 2.30 with the Germans available at 3.20.

Related posts:

1. Bayern Munich Bag Champions League Final Berth
2. Inter Milan v Barcelona Champions League Semi Final
3. No Real Surprises in Champions League Openers

ToteSport bookmaker will give you £60 in Free Bets. Click here to check them out.