Tag Archives: quarters

Home rule in Europa quarters

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Following the drama of the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday and Wednesday, it’s the Europa League last eight ties that take centre stage on Thursday. Here we preview the four first-leg matches.
Despite no English involvement, there is still plenty for punters to consider in Europe’s second tier competition as it nears its conclusion, with veteran European campaigners Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Schalke and Sporting all still involved, while Manchester United’s conquerors Athletic Bilbao will be hoping to build on that famous triumph at Old Trafford.

AZ Alkmaar v Valencia

AZ remain, along with German underdogs Hannover, the outsiders to go on and win the Europa League (both 16/1 outright) but they will fancy their chances of at least holding Spanish giants Valencia at home in the first leg.

The in-form Dutch side are an attractive 13/8 to come out on top on Thursday, with Los Che available at 17/10 and the draw 9/4. That maybe just the astute bet here but a home win is the prediction.
AZ have had a superb season so far, and are currently top of the Eredivisie, losing just five league games all season, while they are unbeaten in six domestically. Add to that the fact they saw off a talented Udinese side in the last round and Valencia have plenty to fear ahead of this intriguing clash.

Prediction – Home win.

Atletico Madrid v Hannover

This is the home banker of the four games on Thursday and it’s hard to look past a comfortable win for the Spanish side (take 2-0 at 11/2).

The German outfit have exceeded expectations to get this far in the tournament and are a creditable eighth in the Bundesliga but will surely find it tough going in the intimidating Vicente Calderon.

Atletico are odds-on (1/2) to win the first leg while Hannover (6/1) are rightly the outsiders. However, recent form has been good with two impressive wins over Cologne and Standard Liege (4-1 and 4-0) before a narrow 2-1 defeat at in-form Bayern Munich last time out.

That will give the visitors hope of causing an upset on Thursday and it’s likely to be tight in the first half but Atletico should ultimately prevail (HT/FT – Draw/Atletico – 10/3).

Prediction – Home win.

Schalke v Athletic Bilbao

Bilbao will be bouyant following the superb deserved two-leg triumph over United and will rightly now fancy their chances of progressing even further in the competition. They can be backed at a value 10/3 to win the Europa League outright and they have the talent to go to Schalke and win this week (Bilbao 23/10, Schalke 23/20, draw 12/5).

The Gelsenkirchen-based side emphatically beat FC Twente 4-1 last time out in the competition to book their last-eight place so will again be difficult to beat in front of a passionate home support and they go into the game on the back of a three-game winning in the Bundesliga. However, we fancy an away win here to keep the Bilbao bandwagon on course.

Prediction – Away win.

Sporting Lisbon v Metalist

Another home win looks on the cards in this one as Portuguese giants Sporting host the Ukrainian underdogs (Sporting EVENS, Metalist 11/4, draw 12/5).

Sporting produced their best performances of the season to see off Manchester City in the last round and they now take on a weaker Metalist for a place in the semi-finals. They will not underestimate their opponents and a disappointing domestic campaign to date, which has left them fifth in the table, points to the fact all is not well at the club, but don’t be surprised to see a comfortable home win here.

Metalist are third in the up-and-coming Ukraine league (behind the traditional big two of Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk) and were extremely impressive when seeing off Salzburg 8-1 on aggregate in the last round but this is another test completely and first-leg disappointment looms for the visitors.

Prediction – Home win.

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Copa quarters shake-up

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The quarter-finalists are now all in place in the Copa America and finally, after a slow start, the tournament should come alive with some eagerly-awaited games to come this weekend. But who is going to go all the way in 2011?

Argentina

After a disappointing start to the tournament, when the hosts were jeered by their own fans in dull draws against Bolivia and Colombia, Argentina came to life in their final group game, albeit against a weak Costa Rica outfit.

Nevertheless the 3-0 victory, inspired by Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, has given the locals hope that they can fulfil their pre-tournament favourites’ tag and go on to lift the trophy.

They come up against a talented Uruguay outfit in the last eight (Argentina 8/15, Uruguay 5/1, the draw 13/5 – match prices) so progress is by no means guaranteed but any side with Messi, Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain in it should be feared and, as long as they now click into gear, the competition is still theirs to lose.

Uruguay

The quarter-final showdown against the hosts is Uruguay’s ‘punishment’ for also beginning the competition slowly, as draws against Peru and Chile were eventually followed up with a slender 1-0 victory over Mexico – who themselves struggled badly in Group B to finish bottom of the pile with no points.

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has failed to show the sort of form that, at times, lit up the Premier League in the second half of last season and he has managed just one goal so far, in the opening draw with Peru.

Equally, Diego Forlan – who was voted the best player at last summer’s World Cup – has been strangely subdued and has yet to find the back of the net.

However, they possess some real talent in the squad, not least in the aforementioned duo, and also with the likes of Alvaro Gonzalez, Sebastián Eguren and experienced defender Maxi Periera so, like Argentina, they can be a real force if they play to their potential.

Sadly for Uruguay it looks as though their tournament is about to come to an end, though, as the hosts will probably have a little too much for them in the big clash between the two on Saturday.

Chile

Chile topped their group, ahead of Uruguay, and are showing in Argentina that their impressive performance in South Africa 12 months ago was no fluke (Chile 4/7, Venezuela 9/2, the draw 9/2 – match prices).

In Alexis Sanchez they have one of the most coveted forwards in world football with all the top sides throughout Europe, including Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea, clamouring for his signature.

And his performances so far prove he does have the talent to match the hype.

Sanchez has bagged one goal but has caught the eye for Chile, with much of their best attacking play going through the Udinese star, and he will be vital for them if they are to progress further.

A last-eight clash against Venezuela awaits for Claudio Borghi’s side, so a place in the semis is there for the taking in San Juan on Sunday.

Brazil

In a spooky coincidence, Brazil began the tournament in similar fashion to the way great rivals Argentina started.

The second favourites struggled early on and were stung with criticism from back home with two lethargic draws in their first two games – the second only secured thanks to a last-minute equaliser by Fred against Paraguay.

But the five-times world champions managed to get past Ecuador 4-2 in their final group game to ensure progress into the last eight and now face Paraguay for a place in the semi-finals (Brazil 4/7, Paraguay 9/2, draw 5/2 – match prices).

Despite failing to sparkle so far, the mere fact they are Brazil means they have a chance of winning the tournament and, of course, they have plenty of talent in their side with Dani Alves, Neymar – who scored twice against Paraguay – Lucio, Ramires and Alexandre Pato to name just five.

However, Brazil do appear to lack the star-studded line-up of tournaments gone by this year and winning the Copa America looks like being a tall order for Mano Menezes’ side such is the quality of other sides.

Expect them to make it into the last four but, beyond that, it looks like being a struggle.

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