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Reds look set for Euro progress

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Liverpool are in Europa League third qualifying round second leg action against Gomel on Thursday at Anfield as they look set to seal their place in the play-off round of the tournament.

Stewart Downing’s goal in Belarus last week handed Brendan Rodgers a winning start to life in charge of the Merseysiders after he took over from Kenny Dalglish this summer.

And, with a 1-0 lead to defend on home soil, it seems unlikely that Gomel (10/1 Away Win 90 Minutes) will have enough to overturn the deficit and dump the Reds out of Europe at this early stage.

Rodgers is likely to name a similar side to the one which triumphed in the away leg so Daniel Agger is again set to miss out as he is still building up his fitness levels for the new Premier League campaign.

Luis Suarez, fresh from signing a new contract at Anfield, is back from the Olympic Games with Uruguay and could be on the bench with Andy Carroll pushing summer signing Fabio Borini for a starting role.

Gomel manager Oleg Kubarev is not expected to make wholesale changes from the first leg with danger man Aleksandr Alumona set to lead the attack, while Nikolay Lipatkin could be handed a start after a 15-minute substitute display last week.

Despite Liverpool’s first-leg win, it was Gomel who dominated large spells of the game as they are six weeks into their league season.

Match-winner Downing is hoping the Reds will not be as lacklustre this time around following another week of pre-season work and use their quality to seal a safe passage into the next round (11/2 Liverpool to win 2-0).

He said: “Obviously I can understand fans who want us to be fast out of the blocks but we had only been back 10 days so for me, it was a good result, maybe not the best performance but with a week’s training behind us we’ll put a better performance in at Anfield.”

Another notable second leg fixture sees Scottish Premier League outfit Dundee United travelling to Russia to face Dinamo Moscow hoping to snatch a win (15/2 Away Win 90 Minutes) which would send them through.

Moscow have two away goals after last week’s 2-2 draw at Tannadice and are 3/10 favourites to progress, although Peter Houston’s men could go for the draw after 90 minutes (10/3) and try and take the tie all the way to progress.

The 2010 Champions League winners Inter Milan thrashed Croatian outfit Hadjuk Split 3-0 in last week’s away first leg so not surprisingly are 1/7 to win the home tie at the San Siro.

Last season’s Europa League finalists, Athletic Bilbao, travel to Croatia for their second-leg tie against NK Slaven Belupo.

The Spanish outfit, who comfortably dismissed Manchester United over two legs last term, managed a 3-1 home-leg win and will look to ease their way through (2/1 Away Win 90 Minutes).

However, the away goal could be the key if the hosts can grab an early goal (Slaven 9/2 Home Win 90 Minutes), but Bilbao should have too much firepower to be really troubled.

A closer tie involves Marseille, who were held 1-1 in Turkey by Eskisehirspor last week.

The French Ligue 1 outfit should have enough to progress on home soil and that is reflected by the fact they are 4/11 to win the game, but a draw at 90 minutes is worth noting at 16/5.

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First look at Hodgson’s squad

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Now that the hullabaloo of the club season is finally over, England can begin their preparations for Euro 2012 in earnest, starting with Saturday’s trip to Oslo to take on Norway in their first of two warm-up games for the showpiece tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

It seems crazy that England are going into a major championships with a new manager who has had little time to prepare, given the fact that he only finished with his responsibilities at West Brom on May 13 – and the Three Lions are still fourth favourites at 10/1 to lift a trophy they have never won.

There have been a few talking points raised by the squad he named last Wednesday but the proof is in the pudding, and Hodgson – like the rest of us – will have a better idea of his starting XI following the warm-up games.

The first of two fixtures has been one that has caused England problems in the past with the team, which has had the better of the head-to-head record, not having beaten Norway since 1980 – albeit just five games ago.

Although there are one or two names recognisable to Premier League watchers, this Norway side does not look the strongest on paper – made evident by a 4-1 drubbing against Wales just last November.

England have been installed as the 11/10 favourites in the match betting, despite playing away, which is perhaps not surprising given Norway’s current resources with Fulham’s Brede Hangeland and John Arne Riise as well as Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen the better known faces in the squad.

It will be interesting to see the make-up of Hodgson’s first team selection for his country, particularly with just one other friendly (against Belgium at Wembley on June 2) to come before the tournament gets underway, but there are sure to be a host of substitutions as the former Switzerland and Finland boss tests his charges on the international stage.

That could give ammunition for those looking to oppose Hodgson’s men at the prices and Norway should not be under-estimated at 5/2 with the draw 23/10, given the fact that they only missed out on the play-offs for Euro 2012 due to a worse goal difference behind Portugal.

In fact, Egil Olsen’s men beat the Portuguese 1-0 on home territory in qualification, while they also held Group H winners Denmark 1-1 in an unbeaten campaign on home soil, suffering two defeats on their travels.

However, that recent defeat to Wales still leaves doubt in the mind with their goal coming from a horrendous gaffe from goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy.

The Norwegians did bounce back with a 3-0 defeat of Northern Ireland in a friendly but England are a much tougher proposition and should have the tools to pick up a morale-boosting win – even with Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing in the squad.

It would be prudent to wait for team news, given the nature of the clash – a friendly ahead of a major tournament with a new manager’s first squad – before jumping in to the goal scorer markets, although Hodgson’s options up front are somewhat limited.

Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck have been struggling with niggling injuries so could miss out, particularly with the former suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012.

That could see Carroll indeed start up front with Jermain Defoe, seemingly a substitute at Spurs, and both are available at 11/2 First/Last and 3/2 Anytime Goalscorer, with Welbeck also priced up at those odds.

Whatever side England put out on Saturday night should be good enough to come away with the win but of course whether it is good enough to go all the way in Poland and Ukraine remains to be seen.

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Blades look bound for Wembley

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The League One play-offs continue on Monday and Sheffield United are strong 10/11 favourites to beat Stevenage and book a place at Wembley, as Danny Wilson’s men look to follow city rivals Wednesday into the Championship.

After a goalless draw in the first leg at Broadhall Way, the Blades – backed by a big home crowd at Bramall Lane – will be confident of beating a team that finished 17 points behind them in the table.

Sheffield United collected 90 points in the regular season, which would in any other year would have seen them gain automatic promotion, but the form of the top two condemed them to the lottery of the play-offs.

The loss of leading scorer Ched Evans has been a major blow to their hopes of clinching the third promotion place, but they have been boosted by the return to fitness of Richard Cresswell (5/1 – First Goalscorer), who made a late appearance off the bench in the first match.

Cresswell, who has 10 goals this term, has the experience as well as the quality at League One level to cause plenty of problems for the Stevenage backline, with the former Wednesday striker expected to partner Chris Porter up front.

The Blades have lost just three times at home this season – the last of those a 3-2 reverse to Oldham at the start of March – but there are some reasons for the visitors to be optimistic of pulling off a shock.

Gary Smith’s side drew 2-2 at Bramall Lane and were a matter of moments away from three points before a late equaliser from United (4/6 – To Score The First Goal).

Wilson’s men have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last seven home games and although Stevenage drew a blank in the first leg, there will be more gaps on Monday as the Blades go for goals.

The Boro (16/1 – To Win From Behind) have have lost just one of their last five away games, and their last two results away from Broadhall Way have seen them draw at Bramall Lane and win 6-0 at Yeovil.

Sheffield United, though, have both the physical presence and overall ability to see off their opponents and, if so, take their place at Wembley as favourites to secure a place in the Championship next season.

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Liverpool look for revenge

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Liverpool will look for revenge their FA Cup final defeat by Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday when the two sides meet again in the Premier League at Anfield on Tuesday night (Liverpool 11/8, draw 12/5, Chelsea 15/8 – 90 minutes).

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish and his side will still be hurting after they failed to show up for the first hour of the showpiece of the famous old cup competition in the capital.

The impact of striker Andy Carroll (13/2 first goalscorer) was a big boost to his side when he came on against the Blues and he may well have earned himself a place in the starting line-up for Tuesdays rematch.

With his ability to unsettle defenders and at last, signs of quality in front of goal after a barren spell for the Merseyside outfit, Carroll looked more like the player Liverpool invested so much money in over a year ago.

The former Newcastle frontman was unlucky not to score the equaliser at Wembley, with his header in the dying stages of the game cleared off the line by Petr Cech, who has been superb between the sticks in recent months.

With the likes of David Luiz and Gary Cahill still out of action through injury, Carroll should be able to produce another dominant performance if he can recreate that same energy as he did for the cameras at Wembley.

Luis Suarez (11/2 first goalscorer) failed to make a real impact in the cup final but he has looked in good form of late and the makeshift Chelsea backline will be fully aware what the Uruguayan international is capable of.

As for Chelsea they go into this game on a high after their first trophy of the season and they will be looking to make it a historic double if they can overcome Bayern Munich in their own back yard in the Champions League final on May 19.

Following their defeat to Newcastle last week, Chelseas chances of finishing in the top four took a serious blow and now their best chance of playing Champions League football next season, is by winning the prestigious tournament this term.

For this reason we may well see a much-changed Chelsea outfit fielded by interim manager Roberto di Matteo, who will certainly have one eye on their showdown in Munich less than two weeks away.

Fernando Torres, who started the FA Cup final on the bench, could be given a starting role against the club he left for a British transfer record of £50m.

The former Reds striker has started to show glimpses of the form that made him an exciting prospect on Merseyside and having scored the goal that seal Chelsea’s place in the Champions League final after a torrid season, it would be no surprise to see Torres (13/2 first goalscorer) pop up with a goal against his former employers.

Recent games between these two teams would suggest this match is bound to be another exciting encounter but with Chelsea distracted by European matters, Liverpool might just get the revenge they want after a disappointing weekend.

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Lions look bet of the weekend

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It looks like being another unpredictable weekend of Championship football as punters study the form book before it traditionally gets thrown out of the window come Saturday afternoon. However, with some shrewd selections, profit really can be achieved from this notoriously tough to call division.

Coventry v Birmingham City (12.30pm)

Birmingham have scored 13 goals in their last three away games in the league, winning all three  but Coventry are tough to beat at the Ricoh Arena, winning five and losing just one of their last seven home games in the league.

However, the most telling statistic lies in their head-to-head results, which have seen four of the last five encounters finish in 1-0 scorelines. Expect this to be another tight encounter with a solitary goal deciding it in favour of Birmingham – who can freshen up their line-up significantly from the midweek FA Cup defeat to Chelsea.

Birmingham to win 1-0 is 6/1.

Brighton and Hove Albion v Portsmouth (3pm)

The Seagulls are unbeaten in their last six Championship games on home soil and should easily overcome a Pompey side that have won just one of their last eight on the road, losing three of the last four and scoring just one goal in the last four away trips.

The 4/6 about a Brighton win is certainly backable but go for Craig Mackail-Smith (4/1 in the First Goalscorer market) to net first – 90 per cent of the goals he has scored since his move from Peterborough have been the first in the match.

Burnley v Crystal Palace (3pm)

Burnley have lost four of their last five Championship games while Palace arrive on an unbeaten run of seven league matches. The Clarets have lacked a killer instinct of late and rely heavily on Jay Rodriguez (8 in 10) to get them their goals.

For this reason, it is tempting to back Rodriguez at 15/8, but why not double it up with the 1-1  draw as a 25/1 Scorecast.

Derby County v Watford (3pm)

Watford have kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 league matches so don’t expect them to shut Derby out, but they can grab a half-time lead at Pride Park.

The Rams ability to storm back into matches was shown again in midweek when they turned around a half-time deficit against Blackpool, a few days after they grabbed a point from 2-0 down at Birmingham.

Nigel Clough’s side may have to do it the hard way again on Saturday so back Watford/Draw at 12/1 and Watford/Derby at 25/1 in the HT/FT market.

Hull City v Ipswich Town (3pm)

The Tigers have failed to score in seven of their last 11 league games, but Ipswich have been conceding goals away from Portman Road.

Hull have drawn four of their last six matches and that may be the result that they can best hope for against an improving Ipswich.

This looks like a tight game to call so go for the draw at 23/10 or take Draw/Draw in the HT/FT for a 4/1 payout.


Nottingham Forest v Millwall (3pm)

Forest have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 Championship matches and face a Millwall side who have just won their last two on the road, beating Burnley 3-1 and Peterborough 3-0.

The 5/2 about a Millwall win is the standout price on the Totesport Championship football coupon and ought to be backed with confidence.

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Three already look doomed

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With 20 games now gone in the Premier League this season for all clubs apart from Tottenham and Everton, there are five sides who need to start winning now if they are to escape the drama of the relegation dogfight sooner rather than later.

Just three points separate rock-bottom Blackburn and fifth-from-bottom Wolves, with QPR, Bolton and Wigan sandwiched between the Ewood Park and Molineux outfits, although there is every chance teams higher in the table could plummet in the second half of the season.

However, for now the alarms bells will be ringing at the current bottom five, with transfer-window dealings and managerial changes very much on the footballing agenda.

WOLVES

Mick McCarthy’s men are in trouble largely because of a terrible away record which shows they have won just once in ten games and have scored just eight times on the road.

But they have already been to the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, so surely things will only get better.

Time will tell but a trip to Tottenham this weekend is unlikely to see them start edging their way up the table.

Drop odds: 6/4

Verdict: DOWN

QPR

The Loftus Road outfit have ‘blinked first’ after sacking Neil Warnock on Sunday and now it seems Mark Hughes will succeed him in the W12 hot seat.

‘Sparky’ will need to hit the ground running to halt the Hoops’ alarming run of bad form – especially at home – although his record will command instant respect in the dressing room.

QPR need a striker, centre-half and midfielder as a bare minimum in January to give the squad a boost, while Hughes must get the best out of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Adel Taarabt to name just two players.

Drop odds: 15/8

Verdict: SAFE

BOLTON

The Trotters thumped QPR on the opening day in London but it has been downhill all the way ever since and it looks like star defender Gary Cahill will be on his way this month.

Boss Owen Coyle has a lot of players out of contract in the summer and has already told many of them they are playing for their futures.

But their chance to sign pre-contract agreements elsewhere from January 1 might just backfire on the club and make the slide into the Championship a very possible outcome.

Drop odds: 4/6

Verdict: DOWN

WIGAN

Roberto Martinez seems to enjoy a close relationship with chairman Dave Whelan and it has already survived more than one brush with the drop out of the Premier League.

Somehow Latics seems to carve out results when they need them and it would be a foolish man to doubt the talents of the Spaniard to motivate his men.

Wigan only really get by thanks to Whelan and the fact they have sold on players for big profits and that brings its own problems, but relegation can be staved off again this time around.

Drop odds: 1/2

Verdict: SAFE

BLACKBURN

The fact Warnock went before unpopular Scot Steve Kean is a fact many football fans will be struggling to get their heads around this week.

Add into the mix the fact Rovers have  beaten Arsenal and Manchester United in just three Premier League wins all season and the head scratching could lead to borderline insanity.

However, Kean, who also got a pay rise at the end of 2011, remains in a job and would surely have gone before now if owners Venky’s did not think he was the right man.

Drop odds: 1/2

Verdict: DOWN

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Saints look for Rams raid

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Bet on the ChampionshipThe Championship returns following a two-week international break with a new man at the helm of Nottingham Forest and a big game just across the East Midlands as third-placed Derby County entertain table-topping Southampton at Pride Park.

Derby v Southampton (3pm)

There is only one place to start when previewing the big games in the Championship as the Rams look to halt the Saints’ march and bounce back from the 4-0 drubbing at rivals Leicester last time out.

A win for Nigel Clough’s men will move them level on points with the visitors and, as only Burnley have picked up three points at Pride Park this term; they will hope to come out on top.

However, Nigel Adkins’ side have taken to life back in the Championship like a duck to water and they will be confident of defeating the Rams.

But looking at the Saints’ form, it is St Mary’s where they have secured most of their 22 points with no away win in the league – two defeats and a draw – since putting five past Ipswich on August 16.

It is set to be a tight game and it is difficult to see either coming out on top here.

Prediction: Draw @ 12/5
Value Bet: Derby/ Draw HT/FT @ 12/1.

Middlesbrough v Millwall (3pm)

Second-placed Boro remain unbeaten from their opening 10 league matches this season, albeit they have drawn their last three matches 0-0, which suggests that the efforts of their defence is not being reciprocated by the strikers.

However, Boro did face big-spending Ipswich and Leicester at the Riverside and travelled to Reading in those matches and should have at least come away with three points against the Royals.

Tony Mowbray picked up the manager of the month award for September for his impressive work on a shoe-string budget at Boro so he will hope the jinx does not strike when Kenny Jackett’s second-bottom Lions arrive on Saturday.

Millwall are stuck in a rut at the moment and arrive looking to prevent a fourth straight defeat.

It looks like a home banker on paper, especially as Millwall have only scored seven goals all season and they are up against the stingiest defence in the league, Boro, who have only let in five.

But Boro have only scored once in four matches and have only one win from five at the Riverside so far. And, with Patrick Agyemang arriving on loan from QPR to boost Millwall’s forward line, the outcome might not be a foregone conclusion.

Prediction: Draw @ 5/2
Value Bet: 1-1 Correct Score @ 6/1.

West Ham v Blackpool (3pm)

Sam Allardyce’s Hammers will be looking to get back to winning ways at Upton Park after a point from their last two games and they face a Blackpool side that dropped out of the Premier League with them at the end of last season.

It has not been plain-sailing for the Hammers on home soil as they have only managed two wins from five and suffered two defeats.

Ian Holloway’s Tangerines have not won on the road since the opening match of the season at Hull, but come into this one boosted by a 5-0 home win against Bristol City.

Another game between two decent sides and, again, it is hard to pick a winner but the Hammers should just have the edge.

Prediction: Home Win @ 5/6
Value Bet: Carew 1st Goal West Ham 2-1 Scorecast @ 28/1.

Brighton v Hull (5.30pm)

If this fixture had popped up just over a fortnight ago you would have put your hat on a home win for the Seagulls who were flying at their new Amex Stadium.

However, Gus Poyet’s men have since suffered a bout of stage fright in front of their own fans with Leeds snatching a last-gasp equaliser in a 3-3 thriller before rivals Crystal Palace romped to a 3-1 win a few days later.

They then lost 3-1 at Ipswich and the signs are that the wheels have come off Albion’s bandwagon which looked set to roll on in the Championship following promotion from League One.

Hull, on the other hand, are now level on points with Brighton in sixth spot after accruing 13 points from a six-match unbeaten run and Nigel Pearson’s men will look to make it a magnificent seven this weekend.

Prediction: Away Win @ 5/2
Value Bet: Draw/ Hull HT/FT @ 13/2.

Coventry v Nottingham Forest (3pm)

All eyes will be on the Ricoh Arena on Saturday as Steve Cotterill will take command of Nottingham Forest following his Friday morning defection from Championship rivals Portsmouth.

Cotterill replaces Steve McClaren after the former England boss? dismal spell at the City Ground ended after a 3-1 home defeat against Birmingham on October 2.

Forest conceded eight goals in two matches before the break and they have won just twice all season so Cotterill has his work cut out to turn things around.

Coventry are also struggling this season and sit one point and one place below Forest ahead of this game. With no wins in five, the Sky Blues have drawn most of their home games so far this season and it looks like a fourth stale-mate is on the cards on Saturday.

Prediction: Draw @ 9/4
Value Bet: Draw 2-2 Correct Score @ 14/10/11.

In Saturday’s other games, Cotterill’s former club Pompey host a Barnsley side that has yet to lose on the road so far this season.

However, it would not be a surprise if caretakers Stuart Gray and Guy Whittingham guide the south coast side to three points (Evens Home Win) in the 5.20pm kick-off.

Cardiff and Ipswich, who are just outside the play-off places at this moment in time, meet at the Cardiff City Stadium. The South Wales side are strong at home while Paul Jewell’s Tractor Boys have improved dramatically in recent weeks so expect a close-fought battle (12/5 Draw) in that one.

Burnley and Reading are stuck together in mid-table after inconsistent starts to the campaign and another draw (23/10) is on the cards at Turf Moor, while Watford, with new loan signing Michael Kightly on board, should just edge out (5/4 Home Win) a much-improved Crystal Palace side at Vicarage Road.

Finally, it would not be a surprise if managerless bottom club Bristol City, who sacked boss Keith Millen over the international break following a 5-0 defeat at Blackpool, pick up a first home win (6/4) of the season against Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough.

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British trio look good for Europa progress

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The domestic season is still to begin in England but the preliminary rounds of the Europa League are well underway as Stoke, Fulham and Hearts all hope to book their place in the final play-off stage of the competition on Thursday.

All three British sides left in have a realistic chance of going through and here we preview their respective third-round, second-leg ties.

Hajduk Split v Stoke (agg 0-1)

The Potters’ first foray into Europe for 37 years ended in a narrow win in the first leg against the Croatian outfit thanks to Jon Walters’ early goal at what was a rocking Britannia Stadium last week.

Tony Pulis’ side wasted several good chances to extend their lead in the tie and, while they would have wanted more goals to take to Split, Stoke remain in pole position to make it through.

However, they are sure to be tested by their opponents on Thursday in front of what is expected to be a hostile home following. Pulis is likely to go with a defensive-minded formation but if any side can go and shut up shop and kill a game then it’s the Potters.

Go with 0-0 at 7/1 – just enough to extend their European adventure for at least two more games.

Fulham v RNK Split (agg 0-0)

Fulham have had it relatively easy in the Europa League so far but will have been disappointed to have come away from Croatia – against the lesser-known Split outfit – without a victory.

A goalless draw away in Europe is always viewed as a decent result, however, and, like Stoke, the Cottagers are in a good position to advance into the play-offs ahead of the second leg in London.

Martin Jol set his stall out in this competition in the early qualifying round against Northern Irish minnows Crusaders when he named a surprisingly strong side – despite the fact it was mid-July – and he is obviously keen to do well in the tournament after taking over from Mark Hughes this summer.

The likes of Danny Murphy, Bobby Zamora and recent signing John Arne Riise all started in the first leg and they will again be charged with disposing of RNK this time around. Expect a fairly comfortable home win here with 4-0 to the Cottagers at 15/2 representing good value.

Hearts v Paksi (agg 1-1)

Hearts gave themselves every chance of securing a play-off spot with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Hungary last week against the relatively unknown Paksi, who certainly punched above their weight last season when finishing second in the Hungarian league to earn a shot at the Europa League.

The first leg was generally controlled by the Jambos but, after falling behind against the run of play, they failed to find enough to come back and win. However, an away goal and a score-draw is always welcome in Europe so expect the SPL side to have too much for Paksi in Edinburgh.

Hearts have been in the news this week when Jim Jefferies became the latest managerial casualty of controversial ‘hands-on’ owner Vladimir Romanov. And, despite the off-field shenanigans proving to be a distraction in the past, these latest developments are unlikely to affect them too much for the second leg and a handsome Hearts win looks on the cards for new man in charge Paulo Sergio (Hearts 23/20 – HT/FT).

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Swiss look to roll over Czechs

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Stuart Pearce’s Young Lions crashed out of the European Under-21 Championship on Sunday evening but the show must go on in Denmark, and there are two semi-final encounters on Wednesday as the much-fancied Spanish face Belarus while a closer contest is anticipated with Switzerland up against the Czech Republic.

Switzerland v Czech Republic (8pm)

The Swiss (4/1 Outright) have stormed to the last four of the tournament this year after winning Group A with a 100% record, while they are also yet to concede a goal so far – only the second side to get this far without conceding after France in 2007.

Pierluigi Tami’s side have not only been strong defensively, but they have also improved at the opposite end of the field after starting with a 1-0 win against the hosts Denmark, before beating Iceland 2-0 and finishing in style with a 3-0 victory against fellow semi-finalists Belarus.

The likes of Xerdhan Shaqiri and Innocent Emeghara, who featured in a recent Euro 2012 qualifier against England at Wembley, have stood out in the Swiss ranks.

However FC Zurich defender Philippe Koch has highlighted the side’s excellent team spirit and quality from goalkeeper Yans Sommer right through to the forwards.

He said: “At the start of the tournament, no one would have counted on us qualifying with such style. We’re not surprised.

“We knew before the tournament that we had quality. So far, we’ve been able to show that quality in our matches.”

Granit Xhaka is suspended for the Swiss as they look to reach their first final at Under-21 level having lost to France on home soil at this stage in 2002, but they will take heart that they kept clean sheets in the group phase of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2009 and the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2002 and went on to win both tournaments.

The Czech Republic will feel they have their name on the trophy this year (6/1 Outright) as they were on the verge of going out at the group stage on Sunday when trailing England 1-0 with just two minutes remaining.

But goals from substitutes Jan Chramosta and Tomas Pekhart sent them through in second place behind Spain and condemned England to an early flight home.

The omens are on the Czechs’ side too as the only other time the Swiss reached the semi-finals, in 2002, they went on to win the tournament at the expense of France on penalties, ironically in Switzerland.

The Czech Republic bounced back from an opening game defeat against Spain to see off Ukraine and England and will hope to continue their momentum in the Swiss encounter.

However, they have been practising penalties and could be preparing for a long night.

Looking at the form of the two sides going into the clash it is hard to see past the Swiss to edge into the final for the first time, although it could be a close affair.

Prediction: Swiss To Win 1-0 Correct Score @ 11/2

Spain v Belarus (6pm)

On paper this clash in Viborg looks a foregone conclusion as Group B winners Spain are odds-on 2/5 favourites for the tournament, while Belarus scraped through to the semi-finals behind Switzerland on just three points ahead of Iceland and hosts Denmark.

The Spanish did drop points against England, but defeated the Czech Republic and Ukraine in the group stages, while Belarus go into the match on Wednesday on the back of a 3-0 thumping against the Swiss.

Spain have Adrian Lopez leading the way for the Golden Boot on three goals, Juan Mata is one behind, while coach Luis Milla is poised to name another unchanged line-up as Cesar Azpilicueta is set to shake off a thigh injury suffered in training.

Belarus, who are the first team since Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 to progress to the semi-finals with three points, are boosted by the return of Sergei Politevich and Nikita Bukatkin after they served suspensions against Switzerland. But Sergei Matveychik will miss the semi-final after his dismissal in the final Group A game.

Belarus did hold Spain to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in March, but with a place in the final up for grabs on this occasion it would be a real shock if the Spanish do not win handsomely.

Prediction: Spain To Win 3-0 @ 5/1

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Gers look to break Hearts

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Following Celtic’s surprise defeat at the hands of Inverness Caledonian Thistle in midweek, Rangers have the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the SPL table, when they face Hearts on Saturday.

Gers can go four points clear of their arch rivals before Celtic make their trip to Kilmarnock in Sunday’s only game in the SPL.

The Ibrox club are on an unbeaten run of seven games in the league and go into Saturday’s game against Hearts (Match Betting – Rangers 1/3, draw 7/2, Hearts 8/1) on the back of a 5-0 thrashing of Motherwell last weekend.

Kyle Lafferty, Steven Naismith and Nikica Jelavic were all amongst the goals against ‘Well, as the trio continue to cause problems for defences north of the border.

As for Hearts, they have struggled to pick up wins in recent weeks as they have drawn their last five games in the SPL.

The Edinburgh club have had an impressive season, and have looked like the only side that can really challenge the Old Firm.

Manager Jim Jeffries has worked wonders at Tynecastle and his side will have a big say in where the SPL title will be heading, as they face both the Glasgow giants before the end of the campaign.

Despite the great strides Hearts have made this season, Rangers are full of confidence and should pick up all three points at Ibrox this weekend.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen have endured a disappointing season and they will want to end with a flourish, starting with their game against St Johnstone (Match Betting – Aberdeen 23/20, draw 9/4, St Johnstone 9/4).

The Dons pulled off a narrow 1-0 victory over Inverness in their last outing, which has eased and worries of being drawn into a relegation battle.

Saints sit just two points above Aberdeen in the table and they were relieved to finally break their goal drought in the 2-1 win over Hibernian last Saturday. The Perth side had failed to score since early March but goals from Liam Craig and Kevin Moon against Hibs put an end to the embarrassing goalless streak.

This should be a fairly even game between these two sides and a draw would not be a surprise result.

Dundee United host Motherwell on Saturday as the visitors look to bounce back from that heavy defeat to Rangers (Match Betting – Dundee Utd 4/5, draw 13/5, Motherwell 3/1).

Motherwell came out 2-1 victors in this fixture at Fir Park back in April and look like they will complete a quick-fire double over United, who have been inconsistent in recent weeks.

Hamilton will be looking to keep their slight hopes of avoiding the drop alive, when they host Hibernian on Saturday (Match Betting – Hamilton 17/10, draw 12/5, Hibernian 6/4).

The Accies are making a good fight of it at the bottom of the table, with Hamilton currently on a three-game unbeaten run. With Hibs struggling for results in recent weeks, Hamilton could bag another three points and keep their hopes of survival alive.

Finally, Inverness will still be on a high after their victory over the Bhoys in the week, as they look towards their clash with St Mirren (Match Betting – Inverness 10/11, draw 12/5, St Mirren 11/4).

Saints have not won in their last four games and will find life difficult at the gateway to the Highlands, with Inverness strong favourites to collect maximum points.

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