The Braga coach has announced that this will be his last game in charge and, while he is not expected to be short of job offers for next season, it will be a huge feather in his cap if he can mastermind an upset.

However, his only chance of stifling a Porto side (4/9 Match Betting) that smashed 17 goals past Spartak Moscow and Villarreal in the quarter-final and semi-final ties, is to instruct his players to defend deep and hit the Portuguese champions on the counter-attack.

It is a tactic which Braga have utilised well in matches where they have been underdogs this season, notably in the Champions League play-off round against Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan (4-3) and in the Group H home clash with Arsenal (2-0).

Paciencia’s approach to getting Braga through the knockout rounds was similar, although less spectacular, as the Minho men recorded narrow 2-1 and 1-0 aggregate victories over Lech Poznan and Liverpool to reach the last eight.

They then relied on the away goals rule to get past Dynamo Kiev (1-1) and Benfica (2-2), but that cannot come to their rescue in the winner takes all Dublin clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Paciencia cannot afford to let Porto’s pacy, creative players cause havoc by running at his back four and in order to shackle Hulk, Varela and Cristian Rodriguez he will deploy a 4-5-1 formation with Alan (11/1 First Goalscorer) or Lima (9/1) the likely lone frontman.

Braga fans have seen the goals dry up since Matheus, scorer of both goals against Arsenal, was sold to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in January.

They have managed to find the net only 20 times in 21 domestic league and Europa League matches since the start of February, while Porto by contrast have scored 55 in that same period  – Porto 11/10 in Handicap (-1).

While stopping the service to Colombian hitman Radomel Falcao (7/2 First Goalscorer) will be key, Braga must also maintain their discipline and defend any set pieces they will inevitably give away resolutely.

It is a lot to ask with the amount of attacking talent in the Porto ranks and, should they concede an early goal, it will need a Plan B from the coach to get back into the match.

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If City don’t secure Champions League football it could be a false dawn and this puts a lot of importance on Monday’s match at Blackburn.

However, if you are Rovers boss Steve Kean, Easter Monday might be your last chance to save your job. Blackburn are two points outside the relegation zone and have been in freefall since Kean took over. The fans are calling for his head, but will they be singing a different tune if they cause an unlikely upset?

Life for a Blackburn fan couldn’t get much worse at the moment. They have won just three times since Sam Allardyce was given his marching orders under bizarre circumstances last December.

Alarm bells were probably tinkling in the distance when Big Sam went, given that Rovers were comfortably in mid-table and looking set for another solid season. Those bells can probably now be heard loud and clear after recent struggles. Kean has vowed not to quit but will surely have to produce a miracle if he is to hold on to his job.

His cause won’t be made any easier by losing his main goal threat, Roque Santa Cruz, who is ineligible to face City.

A potentially bigger miss for Rovers is Junior Hoilett, who has been the only bright spark in a very benign midfield in recent weeks. However, Blackburn are confident the young forward will be fit after missing the 2-0 defeat to Everton and he can be backed at 3/1 to score anytime.

Looking elsewhere for a potential Rovers goalscorer doesn’t bring much joy for punters, with the goal shy Jason Roberts, Nikola Kalinic and Benjani the other targetmen. If Hoilett doesn’t play then City to win to nil at 11/5 might be worth a look.

City’s defence stood firm against a Wayne Rooney-less United last week and in theory should have no problem against Blackburn. However, this is City and they don’t always like their trips to the less desirable parts of England.

Surely the win at Wembley will have galvanised Roberto Mancini’s squad into making that final push for a top four finish though. Tottenham are hot on City’s heels, although Saturday’s draw with West Brom has somewhat dented their European dreams. Whether City will choke like they did last season remains to be seen but for the time being they hold their destiny in their own hands.

Much like Blackburn, goals could prove to be a problem for City, with Carlos Tevez facing another three weeks on the sidelines. A lot of the responsibility will now fall on David Silva and Adam Johnson to create the opportunities – and to take them based on how poor Edin Dzeko has been since his big money move.

Whether Mario Balotelli finds the back of the net is a lottery – he showed his good and bad sides against United so you take your life in your hands by backing the fiery Italian.

City are 21/20 to win on Monday night and that seems like the bet to go for if recent form is anything to go by.

Rovers have only won one of their last seven meetings against City and are priced at 13/5 to end that long wait.

It is a must win game for both teams but on the day you’d expect the extra quality of City to shine through.

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Bayer Leverkusen’s

The Yellow Submarine hold a narrow 3-2 advantage from last week’s first leg in Germany but they cannot rest on their laurels as Bayer’s record on the road this season is phenomenal.

In the Bundesliga, they have won nine of their 13 away matches while in Europe they have also impressed. Josef Heynckes’ team are unbeaten in their last six European away matches and, prior to the first leg, were unbeaten in ten Europa League matches this season.

A 2-0 win for Bayer (14/1) would send them through and certainly shock Juan Carlos Garrido’s team.

Elsewhere, Portugal should be well represented in the last eight as both Benfica and FC Porto are in pole position in their respective ties.

Porto are the runaway Primeira Liga leaders and seem certain to clinch their 25th title as they are currently 13 points clear of second-placed Benfica with only seven games of the campaign remaining.

They secured a superb 1-0 win in Moscow against CSKA last week thanks to Fredy Guarin’s goal but need to be wary as the Russian side, winners of the 2005 UEFA Cup, have already won three times away from home in this season’s competition.

However, such is Porto’s recent form that they could go all the way in the Europa League this season, and they are currently 10/3 to win the competition.

Benfica’s progress is less certain as they travel to the French capital for their second leg holding a narrow 2-1 advantage against Paris St Germain after the first encounter between the two teams at the Stadium of Light.

However, they could hold the psychological advantage as they had to come from behind in Lisbon after Peguy Luyindula had given PSG the lead. Goals by Maxi Pereira and Franco Jara turned the tie around and Benfica have the attacking prowess to score in Paris and clinch their place in the quarter-finals.

As well as CSKA, Zenit St Petersburg also lost their first leg but the 2008 winners of the competition have a massive task ahead of them as they crashed 3-0 to FC Twente last week.

Last season’s Dutch champions have already knocked out another Russian side in Rubin Kazan after moving into the Europa League from the Champions League and have the expertise to finish the job off in Thursday’s second leg.

With Zenit forced on to the attack, Twente seem certain to have the capabilites to score at least one goal on the counter-attack (7/1 for Zenit to win 2-1).

Spartak Moscow are the best-placed of the Russian sides to progress as they pulled off a fine 1-0 first-leg victory against Ajax in the Amsterdam ArenA.

Valeri Karpin’s team will be only too aware though that in the last round they struggled to draw 1-1 with Basle in Moscow after earning a fine 3-2 first-leg win in Switzerland (Spartak Moscow 13/8, Draw 23/10, Ajax 13/8).

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West Ham must hope that feat is repeated as they will prop up the table when they sit down to their Christmas dinners on Saturday.

A point was a creditable result from their last match at Blackburn, especially considering the Hammers have not broken their duck on their travels this season. But all the same, they will feel it was two points dropped against a team without a manager (West Ham 4/9 to be relegated).

In the end, it took a late equaliser from Junior Stanislas to even give them a point after Ryan Nelsen had bundled home Blackburn’s opening goal.

With all teams facing three games between now and January 2, all a club could really want at this time of year is for two of them to be at home. And that is the Hammers’ situation, as they face vital back-to-back games at Upton Park against fellow strugglers Everton and Wolves.

Avram Grant has denied having been told by the board that he had to win one of his next three games – including the Blackburn match – but if it is true then he must target a maximum return against Everton who are the draw specialists on their travels. The Goodison Park side have drawn five of their nine away games, losing just two.

The Hammers will be glad all three of their games are against teams in the bottom seven – their away match comes next, at Craven Cottage, where Fulham are battling for their lives, outside the drop zone on goal difference.

Going into the Boxing Day fixture, West Ham are three points away from safety, but the bottom half of the table is the tightest it has been for years and from Wigan – third from bottom on 16 points – there are only six points up to eighth-placed Newcastle.

Few teams can hope to survive without picking up at least a couple of away wins, and there are three others besides the Hammers who have drawn a blank on their travels so far. Christmas would be the perfect time for Wolves, Fulham and Birmingham to win away from home for the first time.

After such an impressive season last time, it is surprising to see Birmingham flirting with the relegation zone, but they have only won three times all season. Despite only losing once at St Andrews, the Blues are failing to kill teams off and have drawn four home games.

Birmingham’s festive programme is not what they would have wanted. They go to Everton on Boxing Day, then have to host Manchester United and Arsenal in successive matches (Birmingham 7/2 to be relegated).

Fulham could be forgiven for being distracted in the league last season while they progressed in the Europa League, but they have no such excuses this time. The Cottagers’ problem has been failing to get over the finishing line – they have drawn 10 Premier League games and only won twice (Fulham 7/2 to be relegated).

There is no escaping it, the Boxing Day clash between Wolves and Wigan at Molineux is a relegation six-pointer and neither side wants a draw from the fixture.

Latics have bounced back after the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal to draw 2-2 at home to Stoke and hold Everton to a goalless draw at Goodison Park. Wolves’ good work in the 3-2 home win over Sunderland in late November was undone in their only game since, a 3-0 defeat at Blackburn (Wigan 8/11 to be relegated, Wolves 5/6).

Of all the clubs at the bottom, Aston Villa arguably have most reason to feel confident going towards the turn of the year.

Villa are five places from the bottom and not entirely free of rumours that Gerard Houllier’s stay at the club will be a short one, but owner Randy Lerner is ready to splash the cash in January to try and help the club climb up the table (Aston Villa 10/1 to be relegated).

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Roy Hodgson

The Reds have suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign and currently sit in 18th place in the table with just nine points from their first nine games played.

The boardroom battle for ownership of the club has hardly helped matters but, with John Henry now in charge, the financial side of affairs at Anfield appear to be sorting themselves out (Liverpool 11/1 to win Europa League).

The low point came in the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat to Everton, which left Liverpool staring up at all but two teams in the top-flight table, while last Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers gave the club a boost and ensured that they are now only in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Such is the current state of the standings that one win from a team in the lower reaches could propel them into the top half and Hodgson’s men will have a chance at moving in the right direction when they face Owen Coyle’s side at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The former Fulham tactician admits that the early part of the campaign has been one to forget but believes that it is how the players react to adversity that will ultimately determine if they come out of the season with any credit.

“It is quite easy to kick people when they are down,” he said. “We are down at the moment so the kicks are going to rain down on us. We just have to deal with it.

“The first quarter of the season has not been a good one for us in terms of league form. The next three quarters is going to be very important.

“At the moment we are still in a poor position as far as our league position is concerned. We need to get a result in every game to get out of it.”

The 63-year-old is determined not to get carried away with things, after the successful takeover and the Blackburn victory, but he is confident that there is enough quality in his squad to improve their league position over the next couple of months.

“I am a bit wary of saying the problems are over, we have turned the corner, but I believe in the team and I believe we are capable of doing a lot better in the next quarter of the season than we have in the first quarter,” he added.

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England

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the friendly, the Liverpool skipper believes that there will be a mixed reception for the players.

England drew plenty of criticism after the squad failed to live up to the high expectations placed upon them ahead of the World Cup in South Africa this summer.

The Three Lions drew their opening game with the USA after a Robert Green error gifted the underdogs the equaliser.

England then went on to draw with Algeria in an extremely disappointing performance before they scraped past Slovenia 1-0.

The 1966 World Cup winners were then beaten convincingly by Germany in the knockout stages and since that game, the side has come under heavy criticism.

Gerrard has stated that England will have to accept the boos on Wednesday night after a poor World Cup.

He said: “I’m sure there will be boos at times tomorrow night but we have to deal with that, we have to be men and take it on the chin.

“We deserve it. We let them (the fans) down in the summer. So we have to get on with that and hopefully in time we can show them we are a good team, there is a togetherness there and hopefully we can make them happy in the future,” he added.

England boss Fabio Capello was blamed by the media and the fans for not doing better in South Africa.

The Italian was criticised for not playing players like Gerrard in the positions in which they regularly feature for their clubs.

Capello wanted to continue working with the national side and is now looking to build towards the European Championships in 2012 (England 9/1 to win the 2012 European Championships).

Gerrard has stated that he still believes in the manager despite the poor World Cup tournament.

He said: “I’ve got big faith in this manager as I’ve said all along.

“I think it would be very stupid and naïve not to still have that confidence in him moving forward. He’s a fantastic manager.”

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Tottenham

Woodgate has not featured for Spurs since November last year and is looking likely to miss out on the 25-man squad that Redknapp will need to select ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

The squad must be selected by the end of August, according to the new guidelines, and the defender is on the verge of missing the cut.

The 30-year-old has had a career which has been marred by injury, which also affected the amount of appearances he has made at international level with England.

Woodgate’s current contract at White Hart Lane is due to run out at the end of this season and Redknapp believes that he may have to look for a replacement central defender, if the former Leeds and Middlesbrough player cannot recover in time.

The Spurs boss admitted: “Woody’s nowhere near at the moment. Nowhere near. It must be really hard for him. He’s nowhere near kicking a ball.

“He’s been out for a year, been in America and Australia, but he’s still nowhere near. I just couldn’t put him in my 25. It’s impossible at the moment.”

Woodgate’s groin injury meant he only featured on three occasions for Spurs last season and was forced to miss the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.

Redknapp, who also has doubts over the fitness of Ledley King, insists the ex-Newcastle man is facing a race against time to make the Spurs squad.

The manager added: “If he doesn’t start playing before the start of the season he’s got no chance.

“You can’t have somebody in who’s never going to play. He’s got to really prove it (that he will be fit) between now and the start of the season.”

Spurs (9/1 to be the highest finishing London club in the Premier League) will look to continue their strong form from last season, which saw them finish fourth in Premier League and secure them a place in the Champions League qualifying stages.

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Fabio Capello

Lampard was also quick to quieten the storm created by Chelsea colleague John Terry’s comments regarding Capello’s tactics.

The midfielder tried to play down the impact of Terry’s outburst as the thoughts of a player who has the passion to play for his country and who does not want to make an early exit from the tournament.

Lampard said: “I saw some of his comments and John is very passionate, as are all 23 members of this squad. He has been here a long time and is an experienced player.

“He was talking about being 100% behind the manager, that the team wanted to turn it around.

“One of us gets put up every day to speak and John was trying to convey the message that we are going to fight and try and turn things around.”

Lampard added: “I don’t like talking about meetings because the reason we have meetings together is so they can stay in-house.

“But it certainly wasn’t a crisis meeting. The manager spoke, we watched some of the Algerian game, which wasn’t the best.

“We had a look at things that we need to put right – and that was it.

“On the other hand, if the players do want to speak to the manager or (general manager) Franco Baldini, the door is always open for them to speak to them.

“I think people have jumped on things, saying it was a huge crisis meeting with people having it out. But at the meeting yesterday, we just dealt with the Algerian game.

“In terms of team selections and tactics, I’ve always grown up in football where the manager dictates those sort of things.

“If you want to speak to him, that’s fair enough, but it is the manager’s responsibility to get the best out of his players and pick the team.”

Lampard stressed the need to focus on Wednesday’s game.

“We are footballers and when the politics and the off-the-pitch stuff start taking over everything then there is something a little bit wrong.

“We have to be concentrated now on the game and what we do on the pitch.

“I try not to pay too much attention to what is written or said.

“I don’t know how everyone deals with it but as a group we have to stay strong and try not to let outside influences affect how you perform.”

Lampard has immense respect for Capello and would like him to remain in charge whatever England achieve in South Africa.

He said: “The manager did not have to reaffirm his authority at the meeting.

“He got authority from the moment he walked into this job two years ago and continues to have that.

“Everyone can see that in his manner, in his record, and the players have complete respect for him.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with him, I’ve respected everything about him and yes, I would like him to stay.

“It’s a question for him and the FA but I’ve been lucky enough to work with some fantastic managers and Fabio Capello is right up there.”

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A surprise defeat at home to Sampdoria last weekend saw Roma hand Inter Milan the initiative in the title race and nothing but a win will do the Roman side this Saturday against Parma ahead of next week’s crunch showdown with Inter at the San Siro.

Jose Mourinho’s troops are two points ahead of Roma at the top of Serie A and must travel to Rome on Sunday to take on an improved Lazio side still fighting for survival. Roma will be hoping their city rivals can do them a favour but they know first they must leave Parma with three points.

Parma currently lie 10th in mid-table mediocrity with nothing left to play for and have not beaten Roma since 2005. When these two sides last met just before Christmas, Roma ran out 2-0 winners.

This match will be a typically tight Italian affair with Roma not being a prolific goal scoring side and Parma averaging only 1.09 goals per home match this season, so the 2.10 on offer for under 2.5 goals with PartyBets looks a good value bet.

The incentive for Roma to win here will ensure they leave with all three points so expect Roma to shut up shop and nick a goal or two at the other end through the attacking threat of Totti, Rossi, or leading scorer Vucinic.

Back Roma to win to nil at a decent priced 2.51 or go with a 2-0 victory for the title contenders at 6.50 with PartyBets.com.

Related posts:

1. Roma Stay Top After Derby Win Over Rivals Lazio
2. Serie A Predictions: Home Wins For Inter And Roma
3. Fiorentina V Roma Will Be Too Close To Call

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Sunday’s game at Hillsborough still has real significance for Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls are still in the bottom three and stand in real need of three points. United’s chance of reaching the play-offs has all but slipped away but their supporters could take some satisfaction from adding to the problems of their city rivals.

If this game wasn’t a derby, Sheffield United would be the ideal opponents for Wednesday. The Blades’ away form has collapsed dramatically and they have been beaten twelve times away from Bramhall Lane. Their record is actually worse that the Owls, who have lost eleven games on the road.

Confidence is low in both dressing rooms though Sheffield United did win last Saturday- however, they have plunged to tenth place after a season when they were expected to be a top six side with some ease. Two points from their last four games has dragged Sheffield Wednesday back into the relegation mire after a relatively good run of results.

Head-to-Head from 124 competitive games:

• Sheffield United 45 Wins
• Sheffield Wednesday 41 Wins
• Plus 38 Draws

You can bet on Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield Untied Now

The importance of this game to the Owls can’t be overstated because next week they have to travel to in-form Cardiff City. Their final game sees them host fellow strugglers Crystal Palace in what would be a nerve-shredding ‘winner take all’ encounter.

The Owls have lost their last two matches by a single, late goal and manager Alan Irvine will not want to go into the last day having to beat Palace to stay up. The team aren’t playing badly but the rub of the green has been missing.

The visit of the Blades could be the moment to pull off a win. Though Kevin Blackwell’s team should be highly motivated for a derby, they will also be suffering some deflation after their steep decline.

In the past two campaigns Wednesday have had the edge, unbeaten in four fixtures before this season’s first game. Sheffield United squeaked through 3-2 back in September after going in three goals to the good at half-time.

The Owls look ready to overturn that result. Irvine will point out that only a deflected strike denied them a point at Middlesbrough last week. Sheffield United have only a mathematical chance of reaching the top six and with their Championship status on the line, Wednesday should be able to win a battling encounter.

Related posts:

1. The Sheffield Shield Returns
2. Derby Day Despair For Arsenal and Everton
3. Cardiff Chasing First Welsh Heineken Cup Triumph

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