Tag Archives: European

Festive European Football

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The Spainsh La Liga and Italian Serie A are getting close to their winter breaks now.  In Spain the top flight will resume on January 8 after this weekend’s round of fixtures, while Italy takes a break after a full programme on December 21.

Fortunately there are plenty of games this weekend and here are a couple of matches for your consideration, before the two top European leagues take their annual winter breaks.

Spanish league leaders Barcelona don’t have a fixture this weekend due to their involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan so third-placed Valencia have a chance to close the gap at the top of the table.

Los Che host Malaga on Sunday evening in what could well be an entertaining affair. Only Real Madrid have come away from the Mestalla this season with all three points and the hosts should be too strong for Malaga, with a Valencia victory priced at 4/5.  Malaga are 10/3 to take all three points, while the draw can be backed at 13/5.

Villarreal are struggling at the wrong end of the La Liga table after a nightmare start to the campaign and the Champions League regulars are still seeking their first victory on the road.

The Yellow Submarine travel to the Reyno de Navarra on Sunday where they will face an Osasuna side who are yet to be beaten on home soil this season.  Villarreal’s away-day blues look set to continue against an in-form Osasuna outfit, the hosts are priced at 11/10 to secure the win, the draw is available at 9/4 and a Villarreal victory is 12/5.

In Italy Juventus have a fantastic opportunity to head into the winter break as the league leaders – and expect the Old Lady to grab the chance with both hands.

The Turin club are yet to taste defeat at home this season and it is highly unlikely that minnows Novara will inflict a first home Serie A loss on Juve.  A Juventus victory is priced at 2/9, while Novara are a massive 14/1 to take all three points and secure their first win on the road of the season. The draw is 9/2.

Parma host bottom-of-the-league Lecce in what should be another fairly straightforward home win.  A Parma win is priced at 4/6, or if paired with a Juve victory the double is priced at evens – which seems like a bet worth placing in this weekend’s Serie A.

Napoli’s Serie A form has been hit by their involvement in the Champions League but they can get another win under their belts when they host an out-of-sorts Roma on Sunday.

Roma are only three points behind fifth-placed Napoli but they have struggled on the road this season with four losses from their seven games to date, while Napoli are a formidable outfit at home and should seal the win on Sunday night, with a Napoli victory priced at 10/11.

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Top five European games on Sunday

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Bet on footballThe FA Cup has taken centre-stage in England this weekend but the battle for supremacy goes on across the European leagues.

Here are the top five games on Sunday.

Inter Milan v Palermo (2pm)

Inter will be hoping their rivals and Serie A leaders AC Milan slip up on Saturday evening when they travel to face Catania as they bid to make up more ground on them in the race for the Scudetto (Inter 11/4 Serie A Outright).

Leonardo’s side have won four league games on the bounce to move to fourth in Serie A and are nine points behind AC with a game in hand.

New striker Giampaolo Pazzini could start if he overcomes an ankle injury, while Inter will be without Sunderland-bound Sulley Muntari. Cristian Chivu, Dejan Stankovic and Ivan Cordoba will all serve one-match bans while Julio Cesar, Milito and Wesley Sneijder are all injured.

Palermo will be no pushovers having moved up to seventh in the table with a 1-0 win against Brescia, but Inter should have too much at the San Siro.

Prediction: Inter To Win 2-1 @ 7/1

Osasuna v Real Madrid (6pm)

Jose Mourinho’s men could be seven points behind Spanish Primera Liga leaders Barcelona by the time this game gets underway should the Catalan giants see off Hercules on Saturday evening.

Madrid have struggled of late after drawing at lowly Almeria and scraping past Mallorca 1-0 on home soil last weekend. Therefore a win at struggling Osasuna could be imperative on Sunday evening.

Karim Benzema (9/2 2 Or More Goals) will look to make it as difficult as possible for new signing Emmanuel Adebayor to secure a regular starting place after he joined from Manchester City this week.

Osasuna are just a point clear of the bottom three at the time of typing and could do with some points for survival purposes.

However, with the heat well and truly on Real Madrid, surely they must win this one.

Prediction: Real To Win 2-0 @ 5/1

Espanyol v Villarreal (8pm)

These two sides have enjoyed successful La Liga seasons in their own right as they head into this match at the Cornella well placed in fifth and third position respectively.

Espanyol have been hit by the sale of full-back Didac Vila to AC Milan, while central defender Victor Ruiz joined Napoli earlier this week.

How this will impact on the home team remains to be seen given that they have won all but one of their home games so far this term.

Villarreal (21/20 La Liga W/O Barcelona & Real Madrid) have won their last two fixtures and will be brimming with confidence going into this one.

Prediction: Draw @ 12/5

Monaco v Marseille (8pm)

Defending champions Marseille (12/5 French Ligue 1 Outright) travel to the Stade Louis II boosted by their first win in six to see off Bordeaux last time out. This put them in fifth position and six points behind current leaders Lille.

On paper, it looks a banker away-win given that Monaco are struggling in second-bottom position with just three wins from their 20 Ligue 1 games this season.

However, the hosts will hope Mahamadou Diarra’s arrival from Real Madrid and the loan signing of Gregory Lacombe from Montpellier will start to pay off immediately.

Prediction: 1-1 Draw @ 5/1

Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (4.30pm)

The action in Germany’s Bundesliga on Sunday centres around the battle to avoid relegation as bottom club Borussia Monchengladbach travel to mid-table Frankfurt aiming to stay in touch with the teams immediately above them.

The game takes on extra significance as Michael Fink could make his Borussia debut against his former club after arriving at the Bundesliga strugglers from Turkish side Besiktas.

And he will be desperately hoping to get his career with the basement boys off to a flying start on his old stamping ground.

Borussia’s problems have been at home this season, where they have yet to register a win, while they have picked up maximum points three times on the road.

Frankfurt have lost four at home so it would not be a surprise if an away win popped up in this fixture.

Prediction: Draw/B Monchengladbach @ 15/2

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Wengers warns European rivals

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Arsenal (12/1 to win the Champions League) boss Arsene Wenger has warned other side’s in the Champions League that his squad are full of confidence as they once again begin their campaign in Europe.

The North London club play Braga in the opening Group H game on Wednesday with the Gunners hoping to get off to a flying start in the competition (Arsenal 1/4, draw 9/2, Braga 11/1).

Arsenal have had a strong start to the Premier League season picking up 10 points from a possible 12. The Gunners scored late on against Liverpool in the opening match of the season to come away from Anfield with a draw but since then the side have won three consecutive matches.

Wenger will be hoping that his squad will take their excellent domestic form into the Champions League and the Frenchman has warned his team?s potential opponents that his team are ready.

He said: “For us the confidence is high enough. We have to show we can focus every three or four days now, keep our flow going.

“To play well, you need to be happy and enthusiastic.”

“Normally if you love football you enjoy to play with a lot of drive going forwards and we always try to cultivate that,” he added.

Arsenal are one of only three teams that have consecutively come through the group stages in the last decade despite spending far less than many big clubs from across Europe.

Wenger knows what has to be done to progress in the Champions League and he will be hoping his side can go at least a step further than the quarter-final stages that they reached last year before being dumped out of the tournament by Barcelona thanks to an outstanding display from Lionel Messi.

He said: “The mental side is the issue of everybody.

“The problem as well is that the level of competition is high and in the second part of the tournament, it becomes a real cup game, when it is knockout it becomes a different competition.”

“You have to have your best players available, the decisions to go for you and all that,” he added.

The Gunners look like favourites to qualify from their group as they face Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk and Partizan Belgrade.

However Wenger will be hoping the long distances his side will have to travel for away fixtures will not affect their main focus which will be the Premier League.

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Ancelotti targets European challenge

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Chelsea manager Carlo AncelottiCarlo Ancelotti believes his Chelsea players can bounce back from World Cup disappointment to win this season’s Champions League (Chelsea 6/1 to win 2010/2011 Champions League Outright).

A whole host of Blues stars endured tough times in South Africa, despite expecting to have big tournaments with their countries.

Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry suffered an early exit with England, while French duo Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda, and Ivory Coast frontman Didier Drogba, crashed out in the group stages.

But Ancelotti feels his stars have the mental steel to respond in the right fashion, as Chelsea look to build on last season’s Premier League and FA Cup double.

Speaking to the Sun, the Italian admitted: “All my Musketeers, including Drogba, Malouda, Lampard and Terry, have played in a World Cup, which has lowered their profile.”

Ancelotti has made no secret of the fact that, following his domestic success last season, his main target in the new campaign will be the Champions League.

Having won the tournament with AC Milan (4/1 to win 2010/2011 Serie A title) as a player and a coach, Ancelotti knows exactly what is needed to lift club football’s biggest trophy.

He added: “In my first season with Chelsea, we won the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield. But I missed out on the Champions League, so that is now my dream.

“At the moment everything here in London is good. But I know if we do not keep winning that things will soon change for me.”

Chelsea will start the new season with a clash against rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield at Wembley next Sunday.

They then kick-off the new Premier League campaign with a home game against newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion on August 14 (Chelsea 1/7, West Brom 11/1, Draw 11/2 – Match Betting).

With the English top-flight looking a more open league this campaign, Ancelotti is well aware how important it will be to get off to a good start.

The ex-AC Milan boss concluded: “We must quickly rediscover the enthusiasm we had last season and the same good football.”

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