Tag Archives: grabs

Group stage spots up for grabs

Posted on by
Reply

Celtic and Dynamo Kiev will look to protect commanding first-leg leads when the Champions League resumes on Wednesday ahead of the group stage draw for Europe’s premier club competition – which includes holders Chelsea as one of 22 automatic entrants – on August 30 in Monaco.

Celtic v Helsingborgs

Celtic 1/2 draw 3/1 Helsingborgs 6/1 – 90 minutes

Neil Lennon’s men have already chalked up two wins on the road in Europe this season to improve on an otherwise shambolic away record and must feel they have excellent claims of sending Helsingborgs packing.

The Hoops have lost only one of their last eight European games in Glasgow, winning six of them, and at the weekend continued their impressive start to the season with a 4-2 win at Inverness.

Wins are rare for the Allsvenskan side in the Champions League, although a 12-year absence from the competition offers little by way of a form guide, but a 3-1 weekend defeat by Djurgaden, for whom Erton Fejzullahu scored a hat-trick, will not have raised morale.

The Swedish side will have the edge in terms of match sharpness but Celtic have goals in them and the likes of Kris Commons (13/8), Victor Wanyama (9/2) and Anthony Watt (11/8) all appeal in the anytime scorer market for what should be a home win.

Dynamo Kiev v Borussia Monchengladbach

Dynamo Kiev 5/6 draw 12/5 Borussia Monchengladbach 10/3 – 90 minutes

Dynamo were runners-up in Ukraine last season and beat Feyenoord 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round, so it comes as no shock to see them priced up at odds on because of a two-goal cushion from the first leg in Germany last week.

The home side looked under the pump when falling behind at Stadion im Borussia-Park but a goal from Andriy Yarmolenko put them in front before an own goal late on gave them a deserved win.

The is the first taste of European football for Monchengladbach since the 1996/97 Uefa Cup campaign, when they eliminated Arsenal before losing to AS Monaco in the second round.

A 2-1 win at home to Hoffenheim on the opening day of the new German domestic season will have lifted spirits but Dynamo have dropped just three points from a possible 21 in Ukraine and can brag about an incredibly strong home record which has seen them go 21 months without being beaten.

Nigeria striker Brown Ideye has started the season like a runaway train and the Dynamo Kiev/Dynamo Kiev double result could have legs here at 15/8.

In Wednesday’s other games, CFR Cluj take on FC Basel having become the first Romanian club to have won in Switzerland in Uefa competition, Spartak Moscow beat Fenerbahce 2-1 last week and are looking to advance to an 11th group stage campaign and Lille must overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat by FC Copenhagen but have not won in their last four home European games.

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

Europa semi spots up for grabs

Posted on by
Reply

Bet on La LigaAttention turns to the Europa League on Thursday and, after four superb first legs, it could be yet another great evening of football, with the likes of Athletic Bilbao (15/8 favourites Europa League outright) and Atletico Madrid (11/4 outright) looking to seal their place in the semi-finals. Here we preview the return games (First leg scores in brackets).

Athletic Bilbao v Schalke (4-2)

The aforementioned Athletic are involved in what could turn out to be the most exciting game of the night when they take on Schalke at the San Mames (Bilbao 10/11, draw 11/4, Schalke 11/4).

The two sides played out one of the most entertaining games of the campaign last week, with Marcelo Bielsa’s men claiming a 4-2 victory in Gelsenkirchen. Bilbao are undoubtedly the favourites to go through and, with the likes of Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain likely to be in their line-up, they will be confident of their chances of continuing their run.

However, it won’t be easy and Schalke certainly come with European pedigree, having reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season. They also have European football’s highest scorer in Raul and he will be relishing the prospect of playing in his homeland again.

Despite this, Bilbao should have enough and expect them to win in another high-scoring match.

Hannover v Atletico Madrid (1-2)

The second of the three Spanish sides still left in the competition are Atletico, who travel to Germany to face Hannover 96 (Hannover 15/8, draw 13/5, Atletico 13/10).

Diego Simeone’s men grabbed a 2-1 win in the first leg at the Vicente Calderon but, with the German side scoring a crucial away goal, there’s still plenty to play for. Both teams are in good form in their respective domestic leagues and this promises to be an open and exciting game.

However, Madrid have previous experience of winning this competition, having defeated Fulham in the final in 2010, and this extra know-how should see them through by a single goal.

Valencia v AZ Alkmaar (1-2)

The third Spanish team still in the tournament are Valencia, who are currently 2-1 down to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the first leg (Valencia 4/9, draw 10/3, AZ 13/2).

‘Los Che’ are currently on a poor run of form which has led to a number of fans calling for boss Unai Emery to be sacked from his job. However, with the likes of Roberto Soldado in their squad they are always dangerous and Alkmaar will need to be on their guard.

AZ have also slumped in the league recently and now sit second in the Eredivisie table behind Ajax. Despite this, they will not be afraid of going to the Mestalla and look out for Swedish international Rasmus Elm to make an impact.

With the tie so evenly balanced, it is hard to pick a winner in this one, but with Valencia’s current form they will not be confident and AZ could just nick it with an away draw.

Metalist v Sporting (1-2)

The final game sees another intriguing clash with Metalist Kharkiv hosting Sporting Lisbon in a tie which, like two of the other matches, is currently separated by a single goal following Sa Pinto’s men sneaking the first match at home (Metalist evens, draw 12/5, Sporting 11/4).

Kharkiv have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament but don’t be fooled by their lack of experience as, on home soil, they can beat anyone and their away goal in Portugal could make all the difference in this one.

Sporting overcame Man City in the last round and impressed with their stylish attacking play but it is their defending that seems to constantly cause them problems. They can be brilliant going forward and the combination of Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and Matias Fernandez could prove vital.

However, home advantage should  end up proving to the difference in this one and the Ukrainian side will be confident of progressing to their first European semi-final.

Prediction: Bilbao, Athletico, AZ and Metalist all to go through to semis.

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

Premier spot still up for grabs

Posted on by
Reply

Bet on the ChampionshipAs we enter a two-week break in the Championship, there appears to be a straight scrap between up to five clubs to see who will join Neil Warnock’s QPR (1/8 Outright) in the Premier League next season.

Here we will take a look at the teams we feel are in the running for the second automatic promotion place and assess their chances of making it to the top flight in the final nine matches.

NORWICH

Paul Lambert’s Canaries (11/8 promotion) remain in second spot – nine points behind runaway leaders and champions-elect QPR – thanks to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Hull City on Saturday.

They are unbeaten in eight league games now and sit one point ahead of Swansea in third spot.

Norwich have a winnable game against struggling Scunthorpe after the international break, before a six-pointer against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on April 9.

That match could go a long way to deciding which of these sides will be mixing it with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal next season.

SWANSEA

Brendan Rodgers’s men (6/5 Promotion) were the in-form team going into March but, like many of the teams around them, they have stuttered their way through this month.

The Swans had only managed one point from a possible nine before getting back to winning ways courtesy of a crucial 3-2 win against promotion rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

In addition to the home clash against Norwich next month, they have trips to relegation-haunted Preston and Sheffield United still to play, which they will no doubt pin-point for maximum points.

CARDIFF

Dave Jones’s Bluebirds (9/5 Promotion) are stuck in a sticky patch at the moment having secured just two points from their last four league games.

Their defensive frailties were exploited in the last two games as Barnsley and Millwall both grabbed late equalisers to deny them maximum hauls which would have put them level on points with Norwich in second spot.

If the south Wales side can rediscover their form after the international break they have arguably one of the best run-ins, with games against five of the current bottom eight sides to play plus a mouth-watering home clash against QPR.

LEEDS UNITED

Simon Grayson’s men (4/1 Promotion) were ticking along nicely until Saturday as they went into the Yorkshire derby at relegation battlers Sheffield United with seven points from a possible nine in the bag. However, a 2-0 defeat at Bramall Lane and a straight red card for Billy Paynter capped a miserable afternoon for the Whites and left them six points off an automatic promotion spot.

Leeds require maximum points at the expense of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest, who they face at Elland Road in a massive game on April 2.

They also face tricky away games at Millwall, Crystal Palace and a final day trip to QPR which could bog them down.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Billy Davies’s side will probably be more concerned with securing a play-off place as opposed to winning promotion automatically (7/2 Promotion).

Forest were looking favourites to go up with QPR before embarking on a seven-match winless run which included a costly first home defeat of the season against Hull and a defeat at struggling Sheffield United.

Saturday’s 3-2 reverse at Swansea compounded their misery and has left in-form Reading just three points behind in seventh with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.

Defeat at Leeds in their next game will virtually end any lingering promotion aspirations and leave their hopes of a top-six spot hanging in the balance as they face Reading and eighth-placed Burnley in the following matches.

Prediction: Norwich to go up with QPR automatically.

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

Champions League up for grabs

Posted on by
Reply

The majority of the heavyweights have already successfully navigated the Champions League group stages with one game to spare but who will eventually be crowned European champions next May?

Spanish giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia are already thorugh to the knock-out rounds, Italian duo Inter and AC Milan have also progressed, Roma look well placed to go through, while last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich will compete in the knock-out stages as well (Barcelona 13/5f to win the Champions League).

The Premier League is also set to be well represented in the last 16, with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea already through, while Arsenal need to beat Partizan Belgrade in their final match to guarantee progress.

So who looks the most likely to take the top title at the end of the campaign? Inter Milan (16/1) won it last time out under the guidance of Jose Mourinho but the self proclaimed ’special one’ has now jumped ship to Real Madrid and the Nerazzurri now have Rafael Benitez at the helm.

Benitez has an impressive pedigree in Europe’s top competition, having won the title with Liverpool in 2005.  The Spaniard managed to secure Champions League success with a Liverpool team that included Djimi Traoré in the starting line-up in the final, while Vladimir Smicer and Djibril Cisse made appearances as substitutes – this is certainly no mean feat and the Inter team at his disposal is considerably stronger than the Liverpool team of 2005.

However, back-to-back successes in the competition are rare, the last time a side managed to defend their title was back in 1990 when AC Milan made a successful defence and it may be just too much to ask for Inter to win the competition again.

What about Italy’s other contenders, Roma and AC Milan? Despite Roma’s (40/1) impressive form at this stage of the season, the team have relied on the now-ageing Francesco Totti for too long and, despite the considerable talents they have amongst their ranks, the squad at the Stadio Olimpico seems to lack the quality in depth to secure Champions League glory.

However, AC Milan (20/1) could well be among the contenders to take the top prize.  The Rossoneri have a wealth of attacking talent to call upon, including former world player of the year Ronaldinho and Swedish hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.  Milan are the current league-leaders in Serie A and, after watching bitter rivals Inter pick up an unprecedented treble last season, they will be desperate for success – making them perhaps the most likely of the Italian sides to take the title.

German giants Bayern (18/1) are a strong team in Europe but domestically they have shown indifferent form this season and are currently 14 points adrift of top spot in the Bundesliga table, after just 14 games.  Bayern’s troubles have largely come away from the Allianz Arena and for European success it is crucial to pick up results away from home – this is why Bayern could be found wanting in the Champions League this season.

Manchester United (17/2) and Chelsea (9/2) have both struggled for form at times this season and, to add to Chelsea’s problems, they seem to be suffering in terms of injuries. John Terry, Didier Drogba, Alex and Frank Lampard have had prolonged spells out and if Chelsea are to stand any chance of taking the title, they will need their key men fit.

Manchester United, although unbeaten in the Premier League, have been inconsistent over the course of the campaign so far and if they are to get the better of Europe’s other big guns they will need to hit their stride sooner rather than later. Wayne Rooney has now returned from injury and if the England international can find his form then United could be a force to be reckoned with, otherwise Champions League glory could well be out of their reach again.

Tottenham (20/1) have shown real spirit in Europe so far and have already booked their last 16 spot with a game to spare and the north Londoners could be a surprise winner with players such as Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart to call upon but it would take a massive effort and a huge slice of luck for Harry Redknapp’s stars to lift the famous trophy in May.

Arsenal (12/1) are the only English side yet to qualify but they are well placed and should make the last 16.  Arsene Wenger’s youngsters have finally started to justify the faith shown in them by the French manager, who has avoided big money transfer targets in recent seasons. But like Chelsea, the Gunners could do with their injured stars returning to the fold. Key defender Thomas Vermaelen is still sidelined, as is captain Cesc Fabregas, and if Wenger is to become the first Arsenal boss to lift the trophy he will need a squad that is as close to full fitness as possible.

Finally, the Spanish sides. Valencia (40/1) lost star men David Villa and David Silva in the summer and will struggle to make an impact in the last 16. Real Madrid (10/3) have begun to show signs of improvement under Mourinho’s guidance but they were humiliated with a 5-0 defeat at Barcelona in the league last time out and that showed the gulf in class between the two sides, especially when the Catalan giants are in top form.

Barcelona won the competition in 2009 and came close again in 2010, reaching the semi-finals before being dumped out following a fantastic tactical display by eventual champions Inter. The Catalan club are the current favourites, and rightly so as judging by the performance of Barca in their demolition of Real last week – Pep Guardiola’s men will take some beating.

Bet on the World Cup and get £200. Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.