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Tues April 3rd 2007 PSV v Liverpool |
FREE £10 BET on this
game with Paddy Power! |
Pick:
Liverpool @ 6/4 with
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[£100 Free Bet] |
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PSV sit at the top of the
Eredivisie but have not won
in the last 4 games,
including the 1-1 at Arsenal
which saw the Dutch side
progress to the Champions
League quarter finals. Their
last home game was a
fortnight ago where there
were convincingly beaten 5-1
at home by title challengers
Ajax. PSV top scorer
Jefferson Farfan is set to
start the game but they are
plagued by injury worries
that could provide Liverpool
with the opportunity to
snatch a precious victory.
Star defender Alex, joins
striker Arouna Kone, Ibrahim
Afellay and Michael Reiziger
on the injury list. This
will be the third meeting
between these two clubs
featuring a draw and a
Liverpool victory, and the
Red's have yet to concede a
goal against this Dutch
side. Liverpool's emphatic
win againsts Arsenal at the
weekend will see them enter
this fixture with deserved
confidence. Craig Bellamy
looks unlikely to make the
trip to Holland as he
struggles to shake off a rib
injury, but Dirk Kuyt and
last weekend's hat-trick
hero Peter Crouch look set
to start up front. Steve
Finnan and Sami Hyypia were
rested against Arsenal but
should start against PSV.
Gerrard was suffering was a
slight calf problem but
should start on the right of
midfield alongside Alonso
and Mascherano who looks set
to replace the suspended
Mohamed Sissoko. Liverpool
fans will be bouyed of news
that Benitez will have over
£40 million to spend on
transfers over the summer,
with talk of the likes of
Eto'o, Torres or David Villa
making their way to Anfield.
Liverpool, however, still
have a great chance to
qualify for the semi finals
with their current squad and
a low scoring draw or narrow
away win here looks likely.
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Wed April 4th 2007
Chelsea v Valencia |
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FREE £10 BET on this
game with Paddy Power! |
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Pick:
Chelsea to win 1-0 @ 5/1 with
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[£100 Free Bet] |
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After struggling to beat
Watford on the weekend with
almost a full strength side
and with Valencia having the
benefit of the home return
leg in this quarter final,
Chelsea have it all to do.
Joe Cole is included in the
squad and if fit could be a
huge boost for Mourinho's
winger crisis, with Robben
out injured and
Wright-Phillips struggling
to find form. Michael Essien
and Wayne Bridge are the
only other injury worries
leaving Ashley Cole, Terry,
Carvalho and Ferreira set to
start at the back. Lampard
and Ballack will partner in
midfield with either Mikel,
Joe Cole, Wright Phillips or
Diarra completing some form
of a midfield formation.
Shevchenko looks set to
partner Drogba up front in a
pairing that has yet to show
any consistent form.
Stamford Bridge, however, is
still a very hard place to
get any points from and
Barcelona were the last team
to win there a season ago. A
solid defense and an in-form
Petr Cech will hopefully see
away goals kept to a minimum
but Chelsea will need to
work hard to get a result
against a confident Spanish
side.
Valencia's form in the
Primera Division has been
varied with only 1 win from
the last 3 games, but a 3-2
home win against Espanyol at
the weekend have kept their
title dreams alive. Having
only narrowly beaten Inter
Milan to get to this stage
they will need to improve
upon a relatively poor away
record if they are going to
cause Chelsea any problems.
David Navarro and Carlos
Marchena both miss this game
through suspension following
the brawl in their last
Champions League fixture.
Valencia's top scorer
Morientes was injured during
International duty and will
miss both fixtures, but
David Villa is fit and eager
to make an impact and live
up to his repuation as one
of the most exciting players
around. Valencia's midfield
makes up most of the Spanish
National side, which
includes Angulo and the
dangerous winger Vicente.
Valencia's strength lies in
their teamwork and
coordinated attacks which
could be affected by the
loss of Morientes, but Villa
has shown on many occaisons
that his ability to create
goals from nothing based on
individual skill mean he
will be the player to watch
at Stamford Bridge. A narrow
home win looks like a good
bet here.
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Wed April 4th 2007 Roma v
Man Utd |
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FREE £10 BET on this
game with Paddy Power! |
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Pick:
Man Utd @ 17/10 with
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[£100 Free Bet] |
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Roma have a fantastic home
record with their last
defeat at the Stadio
Olympico being dealt by the
league leaders Inter Milan
over 6 months ago. Their
formation often lacks any
clear strikers and the vast
majority of their goals come
from the midfield or from
their attacking wizard,
Francesco Totti who leads
their top scorer charts by
over 12 goals. Totti is
certainly the clear danger
in their team but if
Manchester United can
contain his impact on the
game they should limit their
attacking options. Their
home defensive record is
also very good and they keep
many clean sheets thanks to
defenders such as Cristian
Chivu and Philippe Mexes.
What Roma lack in
out-and-out strikers they
make up for in talented
midfielders. Brazilian pair
Mancini and Taddei both made
a name for themselves in
previous Champions League
encounters as extremely
dangerous attacking
midfielders which often act
as wingers supporting the
lone striker Totti. This
home fixture though could
see Roma play more
defensively, but without
recently capped Italian left
back Tonetto, Cristiano
Ronaldo may prove to be a
handful. Manchester United
have been enjoying a run of
brilliant form recently,
marked most recently by a
4-1 defeat of Blackburn at
the weekend. That game saw
star defender Vidic pick up
a dislocated shoulder and so
he will join Park, Neville
and Silvestre on the
sidelines. Recently fit Saha
has travelled with the squad
to Rome and could feature at
some point, joining an
otherwise strong Manchester
United side. Ronaldo is the
in form player and just as
the Reds will need to keep
tabs on Totti, Roma have
already identified Ronaldo
as the danger man down the
wing. Roma will most likely
look to counter-attack and
so Heinze, Brown or O'Shea
will need to replace Vidic
successfully in order to
deal with this threat. Both
sides will look to keep
things tight which could
mean a very low scoring
game, with Man United
particularly keen to keep a
clean sheet. A stalemate
could play into Manchester
United's hands as a goalless
draw would be a good result
to bring home, but also
having Solskjaer and Saha
available on the bench means
a narrow win might be a good
bet.
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