Tag Archives: Face

Spurs to face champions Inter

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Tottenham have been drawn with defending champions Inter Milan (14/1 in 2010-11 Champions Outright) in the group stages of the 2010-11 Champions League.

Harry Redknapp’s men were rewarded for their aggregate win over Young Boys by being drawn in Group A along with Inter, Werder Bremen and FC Twente.

Spurs club secretary Darren Eales told Sky Sports: “They say there are no easy games and it’s certainly true of the group we’ve got.

“We’re certainly not looking too far ahead, we’re just looking to give a good account of ourselves and we’re looking at getting into the knockout stage first, that’s our first aim.”

There is also a ‘Battle of Britain’ clash to look forward to in the first round, with Manchester United drawn to face SPL champions Rangers in Group C.

Sir Alex Ferguson will come up against his former assistant Walter Smith, while Spanish side Valencia and Turkish debutants Buraspor make up the group.

Reacting to the draw, United chief executive David Gill admitted: “There is the Rangers connection, we played them back in 2003/04 and Alex and Walter Smith go back a long way.

“It will be a great occasion, I’ve spoken to Sir Alex and he’s looking forward to it.”

Premier League (England 7/4 Champions League Winning Nation) champions Chelsea will start their bid for a first European Cup success in Group F, where they will face Marseille, Spartak Moscow and MSK Zilina.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have a tough looking group, with Arsene Wenger’s men paired with Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan in Group H.

This year’s ‘Group of Death’ appears to be Group G, where three previous winners will go head-to-head.

AC Milan will come up against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid (9/2 to win 2010-11 Champions League), while Ajax and Auxerre make up the four-team group.

2008-09 winners Barcelona are in Group D along with Panathinakos of Greece, Danish outfit Copenhagen and Russians Rubin Kazan.

Last year’s runners-up Bayern Munich will be confident of their prospects, with Roma, Basel and CFR Cluj making up Group E.

Group B looks the weakest of the eight groups, with former semi-finalists Lyon paired with Benfica, Schalke and Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

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Hodgson – Torres could face Gunners

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Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has revealed star striker Fernando Torres could yet be fit to play against Arsenal on Sunday as the Reds aim to kick off their season with an important win at Anfield (Liverpool 11/8, Arsenal 9/5, Draw 23/10 – match betting).

Spain international Torres has been carrying an abductor injury he sustained in the World Cup final and has only just made a return to training ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

However, despite a summer of disruption caused by injury and speculation that he would leave the club, Torres could feature against the Gunners.

He committed his future to Hodgson’s side a few weeks ago and will hope to have an injury-free campaign to help Liverpool get back amongst the top four and into the Champions League.

When asked if Torres could play on Sunday, Hodgson said: “Yes, there’s a chance he could play. He’s made a remarkable effort to get himself fit and ready for Premiership football.

“He’s worked extremely hard in the two and a half weeks he’s been back. I haven’t ruled him out but I haven’t ruled him in either.

“His chances were rightly being played down by the sports science people. They said, quite rightly, that in an ideal world he’d have a longer preparation period.

“It’s quite simply a balancing job. Do we take the risk of putting him in early or do we hold him back and put him through a more strenuous pre-season programme?”

He added: “The player’s feelings also have to be taken into account, so it’s a delicate mixture. But the bottom line is yes, he could be considered for Sunday.”

Liverpool follow up their season-opener against Arsenal with a home Europa League play-off first leg clash against Turkish side Trabzonspor on Thursday (Reds 9/1 to win the Europa League outright).

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Real Madrid Face La Liga Challange at Mallorca

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Ronaldo Kaka Real Madrid 300x218 Real Madrid Face La Liga Challange at Mallorca It took a goal in the 89th minute on Sunday night from Ronaldo to edge Real Madrid past an Osasuna side they were expected to beat comfortably. After that scare the trip to Mallorca is now looking an even more difficult obstacle in the way of los Blanco’s La Liga quest.

Mallorca have enjoyed a stunning campaign so far this season. They were tipped to be battling relegation at this point in the season, but currently remain in contention for a Champions League place as they continue to hold onto fourth spot with only three rounds of fixtures remaining.

  • You can bet on this match: Mallorca v Real Madrid

Mallorca’s success has been built on a solid home form, which has seen them win 14 out of their 17 previous matches at the ONO Estadi. Only Sevilla, Villarreal and Barcelona have left Mallorca empty handed this season, and Real Madrid will not take anything for granted as they prepare for what could be the toughest remaining fixture of their season.

Mallorca seem to have hit a rich vein of form in the run up to the conclusion of the season, which is worrying news for Real Madrid.

You can bet on this match: Mallorca v Real Madrid

After Sunday’s result there is the feeling that nothing can stop los Blancos from keeping the pressure on Barcelona until the season is finally over. Mallorca might be at the top of their game, but Madrid are a mission.

It seems Mallorca only relinquish any points at home to the big boys, so Real Madrid should be leaving with all three points and pressure re-applied on Barca in the title race. With no significant injuries for Madrid to worry about, an assured performance should see an away win for the Galacticos.

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Roma face tough Sampdoria Serie A Title Test

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Roma De Rossi 226x300 Roma face tough Sampdoria Serie A Title TestIn what is turning out to be an exciting race for this season’s Scudetto, Roma currently leads Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan by just one point at the top of Serie A.

After coming from a goal down at half-time to defeat their fierce city rivals Lazio 2-1 in the ‘Eternal City Derby’ last Sunday Roma (1.45) once again will be playing with the pressure on them against another tough opponent. Sampdoria (7.00) are expected to provide a hard test for their title hopes this weekend as the fourth-placed Doriani are in the thick of the battle for the final Champions League place.

Sampdoria are currently in great form and looking good for a fourth place finish, they are certainly good value at 7.00 to win this match. They have a tremendous talent and former Roma player in their ranks in Antonio Cassano. The hitman has been on target in the last three matches and will pose a real threat on Sunday.

Roma skipper Francesco Totti knows the threat Cassano poses when he told press: “He is a player who can make the difference whenever he wants to. He can do incredible tricks. But let’s hope he leaves them at home on Sunday.”
Antonio Cassano is 10.00 to score the first goal which looks too good value to turn down.

Roma have a good record against Sampdoria though and are unbeaten in their last nine league meetings against the Blucerchiati (5W 4D).

At the Olimpico, Roma are unbeaten against Sampdoria in their last eight games (6W 2D), with the hosts having the better in the last three fixtures without conceding a single goal.

Last Sunday’s win in the derby against Lazio extended Roma’s unbeaten run to 24 league games (18W 6D).

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Liverpool Face Unpredictable Athlético Madrid

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Liverpool FC Liverpool Face Unpredictable Athlético MadridLike Liverpool, their semi-final opponents in the Europa League, Athlético Madrid, have also been having a disappointing domestic season.

At the moment they are as far down as tenth position in La Liga.

Athlético have lost a massive fifteen league games- an astonishing figure for a club of their stature. It’s not what was expected when Quique Sanchez Flores was appointed coach back in October, to replace Abel Resino.

Athlético were fourth last year, winning a place in the Champions League; but the team performed poorly in that competition which resulted in their demotion to the Europa League like Liverpool- which cost Resino his job.

What will worry Rafa Benitez though, is the way the Spanish club have come through to the semi-finals of this competition. Sanchez Flores’s squad still haven’t played well but have found a way to win ties despite their indifferent form.

Bet on this match: Athlético Madrid v Liverpool

The team from the Spanish capital have come through three ties and in those six matches they have only won once. In their last two ties against Sporting Lisbon and Valencia they have progressed on away goals on each occasion.

In the powerhouse quarter-final with La Liga rivals Valencia, the ‘Rojiblancos’ played out a tense goalless affair on their own pitch after grabbing two away goals. The star forward pairing of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero couldn’t find a way through to give their fans an easier night.

Forlan and Aguero are perhaps more dangerous away from the Vicente Calderon Stadium when they can play on the counter-attack, The same thing happened against Sporting in the last 16- Athlético forced a 2-2 result in Portugal and then held the Lisbon team at home

Everything points to a cautious approach by Athletico in Thursday’s first leg as they are confident in their ability to give Liverpool problems at Anfield- not conceding an away goal is likely to be their priority.

With Liverpool forced to go into the tie without former Madrid hero Fernando Torres, Athlético may have the edge and the incentive to aim for a victory by any margin, so long as the English team don’t score. 1-0 would satisfy Sanchez Flores.

The hope for Liverpool is that Athlético revert to their domestic form- the ‘Rojiblancos’ have lost their last three La Liga matches and leaked seven goals in the process. Even without Torres and Ryan Babel, Benitez will fancy the chances of scoring at the Calderon.

Though the home team might play it tight, keeping the Reds at bay could be beyond them. The form of both teams points to a possible 1-1 (6.50 at PartyBets.com) result and the tie left in the balance for the second leg.

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