UEFA Cup quarters Thu 5/4

[DJ]

Originally Posted by Nade

I'm having 2/3 goals in the AZ and Espanyol matches @ 3/1 because all the teams tend to have goals in their matches and with it being Europe it will tend to keep a little tighter, so i'll take 2/3 goals in these.

Also I have a feeling for Malbranque to score for Spurs anytime because he will be one of the key men running off Berbatov as usual and was unlucky not to score v Reading at the weekend, he seems hungry for a goal and @ 5/1 i'll take a punt and look to make it a hat-trick for scorers in 3days.

I will go for my hat-trick too after Riise and Drogba and suggest that Jenas will score tonight. Jenas had a goal disallowed against Reading and has been a prolific rate of scoring when he plays. I can see him coming up from midfield and netting. Alternatively he could take a free kick and score from that instead as he has scored some before including a good one against Manchester United.

Oh and Galagie... how can a team that have won every game in Europe and won the last 5 games in Premiership not be scary! I know they are my team but still I don't see how you can write off Spurs with that much ease. Maybe they will lose but as I said before I think the odds offered are too long for the Spurs win.

[blackcrow]

Bayer Leverkusen win

Leverkusen come into this game with alot of confidence after winning 4 of their 5 home games in this comeptition and also with their recent performances in the Bundesliga. They are playing extremely well from the defence to their strikers and will be looking to go to Spain in the return leg with a lead, especially against a side that has quite a few of its leading players out injured. With the very good form of Schnieder and Barbarez leading the way, Leverkusen should win this one

Sevilla over 2.5

Both teams are playing well and especially love to attack. Both sides have scored quite few goals in this competition (Kanoute, Chevanton for Sevilla and Berbatove and Keane foe Spurs) while looking quite shaky at the back. Both teams are two of the better sides left in this cup so they would consider themselves unlucky to be drawn together and would be confident of going on to win it if they get past this round. So i would expect both teams to go for it to build up an advantage over the other as they head into the second leg.

[fat]

I don't know why you guys can be so optimistic about Spurs. If you see how Chelsea struggled against Valencia yesterday then you may need to be careful with your picks. Valencia gave Chelsea a good fight and created a host of chances. It's hard to say Chelsea is any better Valencia if you look at the performance on the field. That's Chelsea and Valencia, in London. Tonight, the venue is Sanchez Pijuan, one of the hottest grounds in Spain (and probably in the world) and it's Tottenham against Sevilla. Do you think Sevilla is inferior to Valencia and Tottenham is equal to Chelsea? On the Spaniards' hunting ground? You must be kidding, aren't you? I know football is not math, but that comparison can give you at least a thorough estimation of how they are weighted. I think Sevilla is better as a team, individuals' quality is by no means less than that of Spurs and they do have big names in the squad. Spanish teams usually cause more trouble to English teams than any others do. Arsenal should give you some fine examples for that.

Another factor is that Spurs are riding their luck, having cleared the handicap in 7 out of 8 outings. Wins versus Braga (2), WestHam, and Reading are pretty much lucky and those teams can't come any close to the opponent tonight. The trend will stop somewhere and this match is a perfect chance.

Sevilla's win in Ukraina should consolidate their confidence and they have the quality to turn confidence into something measurable. Of course, I won't write off Spurs (who can?) but to bet they'll win in Seville is a little adventurous. The best result for the visitors is a draw and they have to perform better than ever to earn that. I'll stake heavily on Sevilla's win tonight.

[fat]

Another good bet for me today is Leverkusen. They have been very strong at home throughout the European campaign and are in very good shape at the moment. They beat Blackburn and Lens in the previous rounds. Ossasuna can be better than Rangers but they are of the same level as the above 2. Leverkusen also won at Mainz last Saturday for the 1st time in about 10 years, this win should boost their morale massively. Leverkusen are not great travellers, so they have to take full advantage at home. A typical strong home team against a slightly less quality team, it's a classic home win though may not be easy.

AZ will host an out of form Bremen tonight. Rampant AZ with a great coach and lethal attacking power will enjoy the Bremen musicians' style of play. Bremen can be better than Newcastle, but I'll be astonished to see them win here. AZ level ball is my choice.

So, I'll put my money on a treble to night: Sevilla (HW), Leverkusen (HW) and AZ (0 AH).

Espanyol is rightly the favourite tonight but I doubt they can crack the Portuguese defense. Benfica on the other hand are not so great away from home. They lost to the shitty PSG last round. I may try small stake on HW with the -1/4 AH.

[Nade]

Personally i think it's a wrong move to compare clubs from different countries who are playing in totally different matches and pin your hopes on this. Just one example could be my team Sheff Utd, we beat Arsenal at home in the Premiership, so by your method we are better than the Gunners because of that one match basis. Football is about a lot more than comparing results and in my opinion is more to do with the state of mind of the players going into the match. i.e. if the team is winning, no matter who they come up against and where they stand a good chance of getting a positive result. For the record i don't think Sevilla are miles better than Spurs, but i doubt Tottenham will win, and it looks as if people are not only over-stating Sevilla in this match, but under-estimating Spurs.

[fenlandtiger]

I can see why Spurs are outsiders here, but I think a lot will depend on which Spurs we see tonight. On their day they breach the gap to the big four in the premiership, and the incisiveness and speed of their attacking play when they are on song is a joy to watch. Also their away form, which had been very poor earlier in the season, has picked up recently, seeing them win in their last 2 domestic fixtures away to the defensively strong Everton (1-2), and outscoring a spirited West Ham (3-4).

Added to that Seville did not exactly coast past Shakhtar Donetsk in their previous UEFA cup home fixture which ended 2-2, though domestically they have beaten Barcelona recently, and drawn 0-0 away to Ossasuna, and lie second in Le Liga behind Barcelona. Obviously an impressive outfit, but I haven't seen them enough to get a good overview.

Because of deficiencies in knowledge about Sevilla, I'll be keeping a watching brief for the first few minutes of this game. If it looks like Spurs are taking the game to Sevilla at speed, I'll lay the home team, and also back the over 1.5 and maybe over 2.5. Over 2.5 looks like a good possibility here (current Betfair 2.1), and is an outcome favoured by the RAFO publication, who note that Sevilla and Spurs were each involved in high scoring games in the last round.

Good luck to all

[Cristiano7®]

Originally Posted by blackcrow

Bayer Leverkusen win

Leverkusen come into this game with alot of confidence after winning 4 of their 5 home games in this comeptition and also with their recent performances in the Bundesliga. They are playing extremely well from the defence to their strikers and will be looking to go to Spain in the return leg with a lead, especially against a side that has quite a few of its leading players out injured. With the very good form of Schnieder and Barbarez leading the way, Leverkusen should win this one

Sevilla over 2.5

Both teams are playing well and especially love to attack. Both sides have scored quite few goals in this competition (Kanoute, Chevanton for Sevilla and Berbatove and Keane foe Spurs) while looking quite shaky at the back. Both teams are two of the better sides left in this cup so they would consider themselves unlucky to be drawn together and would be confident of going on to win it if they get past this round. So i would expect both teams to go for it to build up an advantage over the other as they head into the second leg.

Sevilla @ 1
Bayer Leverkusen @ X

[Nade]

Ok, Sorry i take it all back, after seeing Jermaine Defoe on Ready Steady Cook just now i feel Spurs have no chance of winning. I mean what are Footballers doing on shows like this? LOL.

[Charlie Wong]

Fancy Sevilla tonight purely because of their home advantage, if this was the final played at a neutral ground i would n't want to call it, but Sevilla will be a tough place for spurs to get a result, they've beaten Real Madrid and Barca in their own backyard and spurs away form of 3-5-7 is hardly inspiring. Spurs are no mugs and Sevilla realise its vital to take a lead to WHL for the second second leg, if they intend on holding onto the UEFA Cup.

pick : Sevilla win @ 1.84 betfair

gl, everyone,

should be decent game anyway.

[kamei34]

Sevilla hosting Tottenham.
Big clash today, it could be easily final this one.
Spurs are having good moment in PL, winning their last 5 games.
Sevilla is winning only at home in Primera, and for this game they rested Kanute, Palop and Alves in their last domestic game with Osasuna away.
I see home team having more chances to snatch a win tonight. Spurs are a bit shaky in defence and Sevilla should take advantage of it and win in the end. They are more compact as a team while Spurs relay most on their scoring ability.
Sevilla at home is one of the best sides in the world and in this game I'm with them.
Will LAY Spurs +0.5AH, betfair @2.2. GL~

[Piranha]

Bear in mind the spurs centre halves tonight will be Dawson and Chimbonda and that will make us vulnerable. I will be delighted if we can come away with a 1-2 as I don't think a clean sheet is an option against the quality of Sevilla on their own patch. Fingers crossed for an attack-minded approach to make the most of our forwards' qualities rather than an attempt to smother them as that is dangerous and wont work.

[Unbelievable]

Originally Posted by Nade

Ok, Sorry i take it all back, after seeing Jermaine Defoe on Ready Steady Cook just now i feel Spurs have no chance of winning. I mean what are Footballers doing on shows like this? LOL.

Martin Jol didn't pay him well enough..

[Unbelievable]

I see many people are picking either Sevilla win or Spurs win because of value. At this stage of the competition all teams are strong and have potential to win this cup. I'm picking draw in each games tonight. 1 Draw result will cancel out the loss. 2 Draws will result in profit
Good luck

[Unbelievable]

Leverkursen down to a goal 0-1 as early as 1st minute.
Its 25th minute now and they seem to have regain composure and are starting to control the match with 76% possesion.

I'll take Leverkursen -0.5:-1 at odds 2.11 to at least force a draw when Osasuna is leading 1 goal now

[DJ]

Originally Posted by fat

Another factor is that Spurs are riding their luck, having cleared the handicap in 7 out of 8 outings. Wins versus Braga (2), WestHam, and Reading are pretty much lucky and those teams can't come any close to the opponent tonight. The trend will stop somewhere and this match is a perfect chance.

Sevilla's win in Ukraina should consolidate their confidence and they have the quality to turn confidence into something measurable. Of course, I won't write off Spurs (who can?) but to bet they'll win in Seville is a little adventurous. The best result for the visitors is a draw and they have to perform better than ever to earn that. I'll stake heavily on Sevilla's win tonight.

Can we pretend that Spurs didnt dominate both Braga games and the Reading game? If so then yep your theory makes total sense but the truth is that but for poor finishing Spurs could have done better results!

Spurs are capable of getting a result but depends what Sevilla they face and how the first 20 minutes pans out.

[gerrie26681]

It never ceases to amaze me how people over estimate the performance of English/Scottish teams in Europe. In terms of football skill, ability to create chances, open up teams, La Liga is the best.

Sevilla are one of the top 4 teams in Spain. Tottenham are not one of the top teams in England. Tottenham have a very good attack, however in Salteri and Young I doubt the full backs ability to withstand the Sevilla attacks.

Personally, I'd be very very surprised if Tottenham won this match. To be honest, I'd be genuinely shocked. I expect Seville to win, and I think Jol will be intent on scoring at least one away goal. This will be an open game I feel but I think everything points to Tottenham losing this match.

My tips are:

Lay Tottenham
3 goals of more
First goal before 27minutes
Seville to Qualify for Semi

[fenlandtiger]

Hmm... Malbranque not starting for Spurs. Chimbonda playing at centre back.

[gerrie26681]

2 goals inside the first 20minutes! Super!

[888]

Did any1 watch the Leverkusen match ? What happen to them ? They just got totally whooped in their own turf.

[gerrie26681]

Well, two of the bets in already! 3 goals & first goal before 27th minute. Also the lay of Tottenham is looking good!