Football Betting Previews

Champions League Quarter Finals Betting Preview by Matthew Chapple (8-9 April 2009) (Monday, April 06, 2009)

Champions League - Quarter-Finals April 8th - 9th Manchester United v FC Porto - Tuesday 19:45 ITV1 Two old foes meet again in the Champions League as United host the first of a two legged tie against Portuguese giants, FC Porto. The last time these two met was back in May 2004 when Porto scored a last gasp equaliser at Old Trafford to send the Portuguese side through to the next round and leave United pondering on what could of been. That result was one of Sir Alex Ferguson's worst in his 17 year reign at the club and he will be desperate to avenge that surprise defeat by emphatically knocking Porto out of the Champions League. Playing in Portugal is always tough and none more so then in the Estádio do Dragão stadium, the home of FC Porto. Ferguson will have that in mind so he will pick a side that can potentially end this tie as a contest at Old Trafford. However, United have been stuttering at home of late in the league but The Red Devil's did knock the current runaway leaders of Serie A in Inter Milan out of the competition with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the previous round. Inter are a much better side then their quarter-final opponents and United will have every confidence of progressing into the Semi's. United left it late to see off an out-of-form Aston Villa side at the weekend but that win did end a run of two consecutive defeats in the league and that will only boost the spirit in the United dressing room. That was just the result they needed going into this Champions League tie and we fancy United to be far too strong for Porto, especially at Old Trafford. A stadium where United have been prolific this season winning thirtenn of their fifth-teen home fixtures in the league and are undefeated at home in this competition, drawing twice in the group stages to Aalborg and Villarreal, but they did notch up two comfortable wins against Inter Milan (2-0) and Celtic (3-0). Aalborg are also the only side this season to have scored at Old Trafford in this competition so Porto have it all to do if they are to break through the United rearguard although Ferguson will have to field a side without influential defender Rio Ferdinand, as he is suffering from a groin injury. John O'Shea could form a make shift centre back partnership with Nemanja Vidic with Gary Neville occupying the right full back position. Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney are available for United though after they missed the weekend clash with Aston Villa through suspensions. Portugal was left red faced after Sporting Lisbon were emphatically knocked out at the last sixteen stage by Bayern Munich by an aggregate score of 12-1. FC Porto will now be playing for Portuguese pride and we don't expect them to go out of this years competition in such a convincing fashion then their Portuguese counter parts but they certainly have their work cut out against the current English Champions. Porto are the Champions of Portugal though so they will undoubtedly feel they are in with every chance of springing a surprise and knocking the favourites out at the Quart-Final stage. Porto do head the table in Portugal and go into this game off the back of three comfortable victory's in the league. Wins over Leixoes, Naval and Guimaraes has seen them regain their place at the top of the pile with two those of those wins coming away from home which will only boost their confidence when they head to Old Trafford tomorrow night. They have also notched up nine goals in their last three league games and haven't lost in the league for sixteen straight games so United cannot underestimate their Portuguese opponents despite the apparent gulf in class between the two sides. Porto manager Jesualdo Ferreira will be boosted by the news that star striker Lisandro Lopez is available after returning from injury while Freddy Guarin is also fit for selection. Despite Porto being in a rich vein form in front of goal, Lopez has been missed as the pressure of scoring has been solely put onto the shoulders of Porto's club captain Lucho Gonzalez, who has scored eight goals in the league and is Porto's top goalscorer. He will be their biggest danger man as everything goes through him and he will be key to Porto's slim chances of going through to the Semi's. Match Odds: Manchester United 2/5 Bet365 Draw 7/2 Centrebet FC Porto 9/1 Boylesports Prediction: Manchester United Villarreal V Arsenal - Tuesday 19:45 ITV4 Yet another tie which sees two sides go at it for the second time in as many years as Arsenal take on Spanish side Villarreal for a place in the Semi-Final where the reward will be a two legged tie with Manchester United of FC Porto. The Gunners are the favourites to progress but Villarreal have already shown us that they are no pushovers after they held United to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in the group stages and were slightly unfortunate not to win that game. Arsene Wenger will have done his homework though and we give Arsenal the nod to pip Villarreal in what should be a very close tie over two legs. Arsenal will feel the Gods are looking down on them after they scraped past Roma in the previous round via a nervy penalty shoot-out. Over the two legs, Roma should have won as Arsenal were very poor, especially in Italy. Their big players were very disappointing and making it through was the only positive to take from the two games with Roma. If this was solely based on the two sides performances in the Champions League then i think Villarreal would get the tentative vote but Arsenal have shown improved form back in the league and that is why we have sided with Arsene's kids. After drawing five matches in a row, Arsenal were starting to look at the possibility of actually finishing the season out of the top four. Four wins on the bounce has changed all that with The Gunners now going six points clear of their nearest pursuer in fourth position. Those wins were over some average sides though in West Brom, Blackburn, Newcastle United and Man City but you can only beat what is put in front of you as Arsenal have learnt in recent weeks. It was crucial that Arsenal won at the weekend over Man City in order to keep up the momentum ahead of their trip to Spain. Their 2-0 win over a poor travelling Mn City was just what the doctored orderer and Arsenal have now scored 12 goals in their last four league games. Arsene Wenger's side are also undefeated in eight away games in the league and he will have every confidence in his players to get a positive result against Villarreal tomorrow night. They will have to do without one of their key players in Robin Van Persie, who has been ruled out with a groin injury but spirits will be high with Adebayor returning from injury and scoring two at the weekend. Samir Nasri and pacey winger Theo Walcott have also been passed fit so Wenger does have enough quality in his squad to pick a side capable of winning in Spain. Villarreal warmed up for this tough game in unconvincing fashion when they were thumped 3-0 by an average Almeria side on Saturday. That was their second away defeat on the bounce and luckily for them, their best form has come at home at the El Madrigal stadium. The ever improving Spanish side have only lost twice at home all season and have yet to suffer defeat at home in 2009. They have also won their previous four home fixtures in the league, conceding just two goals in the process. Defending is Villarreal's biggest asset and if they are to win tomorrow night, you can only see it being a 1-0 scoreline. Just two of Villarreal's nine home wins have been by a two goal margin so we wouldn't recommended lumping on a Villarreal rout. While we're speaking about their defence it is also worth noting that former Arsenal centre-back Pascal Cygan will feature for Villarreal against Arsenal tomorrow night along with former fan favourite Robert Pires. The latter enjoyed a successful spell at Arsenal while the same couldn't be said for Cygan who was often slated for his unorthodox style of defending at times. Villarreal will need to win the first leg at home if they are to have a realistic chance of qualifying. We really can't see them outscoring the Gunners back at The Emirates so all the hard work will need to come at El Madrigal tomorrow evening. They have no fresh injury problems so will field their strongest possible side. Robert Pires will be a constant threat down the wing while former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi will be a danger in the Arsenal penalty area. Should be a close encounter and we can't see this producing many goals. Possibly 1-0 to either side although a 0-0 draw has the most appeal. Arsenal will be content with keeping a clean sheet so the pressure will be on Villarreal to ask all the questions. Match Odds: Villarreal 19/10 VCBet Draw 11/5 Bet365 Arsenal 7/4 Ladbrokes Prediction: Draw Barcelona V Bayern Munich - Wednesday 19:45 Sky Sports Arguably the two best teams in their country's go head-to-head for a place in the Semi-Final's of the Champions League where an English opponents lye's in waiting. Both teams are crammed full of quality and this tie does look the most attractive on paper. We hope it lives up to all the hype with the first leg live on SkySports at the famous Nou Camp stadium in Spain. Barcelona head into this game fresh off a 1-0 away victory against Valladolid at the weekend. They did it by the skin of their teeth though with Valladolid having several decent chances to level the game but some last gasp tackles from substitute Dani Alves and a few fine saves from Victor Valdes ensured that the points would leave with Barcelona. It wasn't one of Barca's finest performances but that won't bother manager Josep Guardiola who has now seen his side go six points clear at the top of La Liga. Since the date of the draw for the Quarter-Finals, Barcelona have won two successive league games including a 6-0 mauling of Malaga at the Nou Camp. Their narrow 1-0 win away at Valladolid may not have set the world a lite but when you take into consideration that the likes of Dani Alves and Lionel Messi only arrived back in Spain a day or so earlier after a hefty travel back from South America, then that result does merit a lot of respect as it showed us that Barcelona have what it takes to grind out a positive result, even without some of their more influential players. Bayern Munich on the other don't boast a respectable win at the weekend. In fact, it's far from it as they were thumped 5-1 by new league leaders Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena last Saturday. A game we had tipped Bayern to come a cropper in on our other website - http://www.online-betting.me.uk, and they certainly did that in fine fashion. The two sides went in on level terms at half-time at 1-1 but the second half saw Bayern capitulate and concede four goals in the remaining 30 minutes of the game. Bayern Munich manager and former German great; Jurgen Klinsman, will now be looking for answers to their 5-1 mauling and he will need to work fast in order to get his side in the right shape of mind to make a match of this as Barcelona could run rings around them were they put in a similar display on Wednesday night. Their defence simply disappeared in that game and conceding four second half goals will seriously dent their confidence. That was their heaviest defeat of the season and it will be interesting to see how Bayern respond against Spanish giants Barcelona. The pressure will firmly be on Bayern now to bring a positive result back to Germany ahead of the second leg at the Olympic stadium. They have already shown us that they can't defend on the road so we expect them to play for the away goal. This has all the makings of an open game which should produce several goals. If Bayern Munich do open themselves up in a bid to get an away goal then Barca should profit as they are lethal on the counter attack. Let's hope both give us a match to remember at The Nou Camp this Wednesday. Match Odds: Barcelona 4/9 Coral Draw 7/2 SkyBet Bayern Munich 15/2 Bet365 Prediction: Barcelona Liverpool V Chelsea - Wednesday 19:45 Sky Sports This is certainly one of the more eye catching ties but possibly a fixture which many are getting tired off as Liverpool take on Chelsea for the fifth time in succession in the Champions League in what looks a very hard tie to predict. Both are getting the right results in the league so it really is anyone's guess as to who holds their nerve and goes through to the Semi's. Liverpool will be fully aware that the last time these two met in the competition was last season where Chelsea got the better of the reds to book a place in the final at Moscow. A result which dashed Liverpool's bid of making a third Champions League final in four years. However, Chelsea may have got the better of the two in the Champions League last season but it is Liverpool who completed a league double over the blues this season with wins home and away, so you would feel Liverpool have the edge going into the first leg at Anfield. For the first time in a long while, Liverpool do not have any huge injury concerns ahead of a Champions League tie. Both Gerrard and Torres were major doubts against Real Madrid in the previous round but both are fit for first leg match against Chelsea. Steven Gerrard did come off late on against Fulham on Saturday after he complained about a tight groin but Benitez has stated that the talisman should start on Wednesday along with Spanish forward Fernando Torres. Javier Mascherano was left on the bench against Fulham at the weekend after returning from South America but he is expected to start in the centre of Midfield to form a partnership with Xabi Alonso. That will allow Gerrard to take up his free role in midfield and that is a big concern for Chelsea as the English International has been lethal in that position throughout the season. Chelsea manager Guss Hiddink has already commented on his sides chances against Liverpool and stated that Liverpool have no secrets ahead of their trip to Anfield on Wednesday. He feels he has the perfect formula to end Liverpool's Champions League hopes but their recent performances in the league would indicate that it is Chelsea who have their work cut out and not the other way around. Their 2-0 win over Newcastle at St. James Park was hardly a glittering performance from the blues but the result was all that mattered as they bid to keep their slim title chances alive. Goals from Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda were enough to see off a hapless Newcastle side but they will need to show a lot more endeavour if they are to beat Liverpool over two legs. That was Chelsea's eleventh away win of the season but before that win was a poor 1-0 loss to local rivals Tottenham, so they hardly go into this game with superb form. They will also know that they lost 2-0 at Anfield at the beginning of February this year and that was one of Chelsea's poorest performances for some time. They showed very little in terms of goal scoring chances and they allowed Liverpool to dictate the game. They are doomed if they allow the same to happen this time around as Liverpool are more then capable of punishing them. Games betweens these two have always been tight affairs whether it has been in the Champions League or back in the Premiership but Liverpool have got the better of Chelsea twice this season and they are certainly our favourites to go through although a big positive for Chelsea is the fact that the second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge. That is a good omen for the blues after they beat Liverpool 4-2 in the second leg at the Bridge last season in the Champions League, after extra-time. This could very well go into extra-time once more as it has done in the previous two seasons. Match Odds: Liverpool 38/29 CanBet Draw 11/5 Boylesports Chelsea 11/4 Boylesports Prediction: Liverpool Labels: Champions League, champions league betting, champions league preview Posted by soccerbetting.info @ 8:08 PM << Home