Tag Archives: clubs

Easy does it for English clubs

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The Europa League group stages get underway on Thursday with a number of enticing matches involving English clubs, as Liverpool travel to Switzerland to face Young Boys, Newcastle meet Maritimo and Tottenham (14/1 third favourite Europa League outright) take on Lazio.

All three sides have been mentioned as possible winners of the tournament and it’ll certainly be interesting to see how they get on following fairly mediocre starts to their league campaigns.

In one of the early kick-offs, out-of-form Liverpool face perhaps the toughest test of the three sides when they take on Young Boys in Bern (Match Betting – Young Boys 2/1, draw 9/4, Liverpool 11/8).

Much has been made of Brendan Rodgers men’s poor form at the start of the season and the Northern Irish boss still has plenty of questions to answer before proving he’s the right man for the job.

Rodgers will see the Europa League as a chance to relax and will be urging his players to relax during the match at the Stade de Suisse.

However, they definitely won’t have it all their own way and despite their diminishing fortunes at home, the Reds are still seen as a massive draw in Europe and Young Boys will certainly be up for the game.

They also have plenty of experience, having beaten Tottenham on home turf in 2010, and will fancy their chances of getting the campaign off to a winning start.

Despite this Liverpool do still have a lot of class in their ranks and should just sneak it, possibly by a single goal.

The other six o’clock kick-off involving an English side sees Newcastle face Maritimo in Funchal (Match Betting – Maritimo 5/4, draw 11/5, Newcastle 9/4).

This is the first time the Magpies have appeared in Europe for the best part of a decade and it’ll be interesting to see how their relatively small squad can deal with the demands of competing both at home and abroad.

Maritimo should provide the perfect opposition to ease them into the tournament, as although it won’t be easy for Alan Pardew’s men, they should come through with the win.

Expect this one to be cagey affair early doors but for Newcastle’s extra class to eventually shine through and see them claim the three points.

The final English side in action on Thursday is Tottenham who take on Italian side Lazio (Match Betting – Spurs 5/6, draw 5/2, Lazio 10/3).

Despite only being in charge for a few months, Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is already under pressure but having won this tournament with Porto in 2010, the young coach knows exactly what it takes.

His side will also be full of confidence after claiming their first league win of the campaign against Reading on Sunday and although AVB may opt to rest some of his stars, they will still field a strong team to lift the trophy.

After a few barren seasons, their opponents Lazio are currently enjoying somewhat of a resurgence and finished an impressive fourth in Serie A last term.

They currently have a number of top players in their squad, most notably striker Miroslav Klose, who was recently linked with a move to White Hart Lane and will be looking to prove he can still perform at the top level, despite his advancing years.

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British clubs eye Europa progress

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Six British clubs feature in Thursday night’s second leg Europa League play-off clashes and all, except for Hearts, have a great chance of making the group stages of the competition.

Dnipro (0) vs Fulham (3)

The Cottagers look set to make it through to the group stages after a convincing performance at Craven Cottage last week, where they overcame Ukrainian side Dnipro 3-0.

The west London club will struggle not to repeat a victory tomorrow night, although Martin Jol’s side may take their foot of the gas slightly. However, new boss Jol will be keen that his side get back to winning ways after a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Wolves at the weekend.

A 2-1 Fulham victory can be backed at 10/1, with last week’s double-goal hero Clint Dempsey 15/8 to score at anytime in the fixture.

Tottenham (5) vs Hearts (0)

One could be forgiven for declaring this game a dead-rubber due to the huge five-goal advantage that Spurs take into this second leg.

However, with so much transfer speculation around White Hart Lane at the moment, many of the players set to be in action for the north London club will have a point to prove to manager Harry Redknapp.

Peter Crouch, who may be surplus to requirements if Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan deal is secured, is 4/1 to score first while fellow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko – who has been linked with a switch to Sunderland – is also 4/1 to grab the first goal of the evening.

A Hearts comeback is out of the question, especially away from home, but the Scottish outfit can be backed at an appealing 21/5 to score first.

Birmingham (0) vs Nacional (0)

In perhaps the most intriguing tie of the night, Blues face a tricky task at home against Portuguese side Nacional as the Championship outfit aim for the Europa League group stages.

Birmingham were unlucky not to grab an away goal last week, after Steven Caldwell and Chris Wood both rattled the woodwork on three separate occasions between them.

Wood, who is on-loan from West Brom, is yet to score this season but can be backed at a tempting 6/1 to score first tomorrow evening, while Caldwell is 40/1 to achieve the same feat.

Nacional, however, will be scenting a chance to progress into the group stages and know how vital an away goal could be at St Andrew’s.

The Portuguese outfit are 5/1 to grab a 1-1 draw and break Birmingham hearts courtesy of the away goal rule -  a result that would put an end to the club’s first foray into Europe for 49 years.

Rangers (1) vs NK Maribor (2)

Rangers appear to face the toughest task of all the British clubs on Thursday – barring Hearts of course – as they seek to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Slovenian champions NK Maribor.

The Scottish champions will hope that their away goal proves vital, but the fact that they threw away a 1-0 lead in Slovenia could prey heavily on their minds in the return game.

Ally McCoist’s men are 5/1 to claim a 1-0 victory at Ibrox, which would be enough to see them through to the group stages.

Nikicka Jelavic and Steven Naismith, who have both bagged three goals already this season for the Glasgow side, are 7/2 and 9/2 respectively to score first.

FC Sion (0) vs Celtic (0)

Celtic will hope to get their season back on track when they travel to Switzerland to try and complete a victory over FC Sion.

Last week’s contest saw a stalemate in which Neil Lennon’s men looked unimpressive in front of goal.  And, after a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to St Johnstone on Sunday, Lennon will be desperate to get a victory.

The Hoops are 7/4 to claim a victory and Kris Commons can be backed at 13/2 to score first.

Lennon will be pleased that his men did not concede an away goal during the first leg, but that could be scant consolation if they fail to progress to the group stages of the competition.

It could well be a nervy affair at Parkhead but the Bhoys are bound to go for goals early on in a bid to secure a group-stage place. However, Sion will be a threat on the break so Celtic to be leading at half-time and losing at full-time can be backed at an attractive 25/1.

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Deals hot up as clubs chase the dream

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The transfer window closes in 12 days’ time and with several big moves already sealed but plenty more expected – including the eagerly-awaited next destination of Robbie Keane – we assess how January’s dealings may help – or hinder – Premier League teams in the second half of the season.

The shock move of the month so far was completed on Tuesday when Darren Bent joined Aston Villa in a record £18million switch from Sunderland as Gerard Houllier attempts to put the brakes on his side’s slide into a relegation battle.

No doubt Bent will find the goals Villa have been missing and, although he is possibly a tad over-priced, it seems like good business by Randy Lerner.

Villa’s aim will not only be to avoid the drop but to also push on and look for European qualification now that Bent is on board. They are a much better side than their current position of 17th suggests and don’t bet against them securing a top-six finish (16/1) if the likes of Marc Albrighton, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor all gel in what’s left of the campaign.

Man City’s huge £27m purchase of Edin Dzeko should again ensure the Eastlands outfit are the biggest spenders of the month. No surprise there, then.

But what may come as a surprise to some is just how well-placed Roberto Mancini’s side are in the title race heading into February. City are level on points with local rivals United at the top – albeit after playing two games more – but may just have the squad now to go on and win the Premier League (6/1), with a fearsome collection of attacking talent that includes David Silva, Mario Balotelli, Dzeko, James Milner, Adam Johnson and Carlos Tevez.

Spurs fans will be looking forward to the rest of the season, too, following the capture of Steven Pienaar from Everton – an astute £3million purchase by Harry Redknapp as he looks to keep his squad ticking over into the final months of the season.

A second-successive top-four finish looks nigh-on nailed on (13/8) for the north Londoners now, with the possibility of a few more quality arrivals, knowing Harry, in the days that remain this month that would surely only add to their chances of sneaking into the title race.

Liverpool interim boss Kenny Dalglish has identified targets to bolster his underperforming squad this month but time appears to be running out at Anfield as the Reds seem no closer to tying up any deals of note this month.

A serious injection of top-class talent is required at Anfield and, if Kenny can lure striker Luis Suarez from Ajax, a decent winger and a couple of defenders, then maybe Liverpool can push for a Euro berth as well (Top 6 Finish – 2/1). If not, a top-ten finish  is about the best Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and co can hope for.

Elsewhere, there have been some minor, if no less astute, deals done by clubs hoping to preserve their top-flight status in 2011. Birmingham are no strangers to splashing the cash and expect Alex McLeish to bring in at least one major signing to add to the loan capture of David Bentley from Spurs, while Stoke and Newcastle have tied up permanent deals for impressive on-loan pair Jermain Pennant and Hatem Ben Arfa respectively.

Blackburn have money to spend as their ambitious owners want to lure more big names, to follow Roque Santa Cruz, over to Ewood Park while Fulham boss Mark Hughes believes winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is the man to get the Cottagers moving up the table.

The speculation rumour mill is gearing itself up for overdrive in the next fortnight so expect more deals, some shocks and some wholly predicted transfers to keep you ‘entertained’ throughout the rest of the month as teams look for that added bit of spark or quality to give them a chance to dream of fourth – or maybe just 17th – in the Premier League. Just don’t expect too much from Keane, wherever he goes!

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