UEFA matches 14 - 15/3 - return leg

[etcho01]

Backing Shakhtar Donetsk on Double Chance(Bet 365) is quite safe.They only need a draw to go through and I think Sevilla are more concerned with wining La Liga.

Accum

Double Chance(Shakhtar or Draw)-1.57
Benfica-1.55

It may be my lucky day

[profeta]

Thinking about Benfica tomorrow
Paris in some kind of crisis.... I bet on them against Auxere but they disappointed me... I was thinkig they want to stay in 1. league but.... obviously dont
Benfica is pretty good at home and I think they will win by 2 goals margin
Their (home)score in bwin league is 10 9 1 0

I will back tomorrow with some team news
Cheers

[[Loki]]

I need some info on Espanyol and if there good enough for a win or qualification. I don't know much about Maccabi.

[B-busta]

AZ Alkmaar - Newcastle United FC
AZ with a wonderful record in europe and its hard to see Newcastle of all teams win there and they will be satisfied with a draw. I have a form of DC 1X on all the uefa games except for Sevilia.
Im inclined to think AZ are worth 2 goles and cant see a way where Newcaslte wouldnt score so 2-2 or 2-1
So ill go with a small bet on a 2-1 for AZ 8.5 @ bet365 3/10


Espanyol - M. Haifa
Nobody is gonna bet on this Iknow, even Israely punters most evenopt for the AH with Espanyol but im firm with my choice, Its Espanyol that didnt take the game at Haifa and they wont take it in Barcelona. Thats me bet @ 4.2 bet365 7/10

[888]

Sport	Football (Euro Cups)
Event	Espanyol vs Maccabi Haifa
Selection	Espanyol -1 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	8/10
Date	15/03/2007
Bookmaker/Price	Betfair @ 1.78 (Back)
Reasoning	Espanyol drew 0-0 on the first leg, however they weren't playing full team with captain Raul Tamudo rested. Today I expect that Espanyol are more than willing to qualify and will hopefully field their best possible players. On the other hand, Maccabi will miss their two importand defensive midfielders in Dirceu Xavir and Abas Suan because of suspension and this certainly wouldn't help their cause. News also have it that the coach have some personal problem in his life with the passing away of one of his relatives/family. I'm not sure how accurate it is thou, this is simply a news that I can't confirm but I just heard. Anyway if its true, this will certainly affect the coach and Maccabi's performance tonight. I think Espanyol should be able to win this clash at least by 1 goal but I predict this will be 2-0 Espanyol's way. They are the clear favourite to goes through and I think Maccabi's good run will end here I should say.

[reyna12]

Hopefully benfica can win this time and recover the losses from the 1st leg, won't be touching sevilla, really thought they'd win in the other leg. Gone for Espanyol as well, it's 0-0 and i really can't see past a decent win from them.

Fingers crossed

[popay]

Nice post man....I`m with you....Home win

[popay]

Originally Posted by 888

Nice post man...I`m with you...I think home win for Espanyol too

[Charlie Wong]

Originally Posted by Djlion

Well done!

Somehow still up and looking at prices and just backed Monets Garden as my first bet of the day tomorrow. I know it's totally the wrong section but could earn me money to back the football tomorrow! I've just heard a lot of good things about that horse and I think it will be one of the favourites to actually win this week!

Monets Garden should go close, will be a very good horse that beats him.

I fancy MG to score.

tonight im on a

AZ Alkmaar/Espanyol double

[888]

Sport	Football (Euro Cups)
Event	Benfica vs PSG
Selection	Benfica -0.75 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	8/10
Date	15/03/2007
Bookmaker/Price	canbet @ 1.81 (Back)
Reasoning	Benfica will be without Silva Quim and Luisao today and it is a big blow for them I'm sure. However, they should have the quality and motivation still to win this match. Benfica is also very strong at Estádio da Luz. And I think with the return of Karagounis today it will certainly influence the team attacking power and to note, Karagounis didn't feature last time against PSG. Furthermore, PSG will miss Rodriguez today which will reduce their attacking threat. I can see PSG will be defending and counter attacking this match to protect their lead, however Benfica will be attackin hard and furious. I don't expect a big win but a win is inevitable in my oppinion. PSG will also have a match againts Rennes on Sunday and in their website, in an interview with the coach, he stated that he would choose staying in Ligue 1 rather than staying in the UEFA Cup. This is interesting, might be an indication that he will not prioritize this game as important as it look. But of course there is no official line-up release yet from PSG so this yet to be seen. In conclusion, Benfica win looks promising, best PSG could do is probably score an away goal, stay around 2 - 1 and go to penalty. But I think Benfica should be able to do the job long before that.

[_badboy_]

Match: Benfica - PSG
Pick: Benfica
Odds: 1.66 betfair

PSG are exausted from the game with Auxere. They have another though game on the weekend. Although Guen says they will give their best for uefa cup, I really really doubt that. The mood in the team is down. Benfica will crash them.

Some news from the PSG site (the translation not very good but readable):

“I believe in our chances”

Paul Guen (PSG coach)
“The players want to go through, have C the staff and President. We cuts to give our best one both faces: in League 1 and in the UEFA Cup. We' Re away to Benfica, we' Re going to play in A very gravitational stadium and we hope to seal our qualification there. I believe in our chances and the players need to have well. They cuts to C everything they edge to make it happen. We' Re really hoping to causes them problems! We' ll need to mental Be strong tactically and technically because strength alone is not going to Be enough. One the other hand, I' m unquestionable we' ll cuts to Be mentally tough in the league. The match against Auxerre one Sunday evening was draining, and now it' S up to the players to show they cuts something in reserve. There' S No not being pessimistic butt everything, because we' ll never get out of disorder like that. Competing in Europe edge help custom top spin our heads in the championship, and qualifying for quarter-final the UEFA Cup would could custom in A good mindset before we take one Rennes this Sunday. ”

Pedro Pauleta (PSG captain)
“Every defeat hurts, especially the one against Auxerre. We were hoping to win the game in face of our fans. In football, people often say the next important match is the most one, so now we' Re fully focused one our UEFA Cup meeting with Benfica. Given the result in the first leg, it' S clear the TEAM cuts enough quality to go through. I think that could Be useful to our league campaign, because League 1 remains the signal priority for PSG. I hope this won' T Be my last match in Europe. Going out would Be hardware to take, even yew the club' S league situation means it would Be easy to could it behind custom quickly and switch our attention to Rennes. The stadium itself doesn' T necessarily hold good memories for me, because final Portugal lost the of the European Championship to Greece there. We' Re up against has big TEAM, with great players, in A fantastic stadium. I edge' T wait for kick-off. ”

Good luck

[Vagus_]

I will just reminde you about Strazbour UEFA Cup last year appearance.

They also was involved in relagnation fight and keep lossing in La Ligue and winning in UEFA, and eventuly slip into lower ligue.

I will also take Benfica, but in -1AH with low stakes. That game may end up in two ways (imo). One is that PSG get destroyed with 3:0 or 4:0, and second is low scoring draw 0:0 or 1:1 with PSG first goal.

GL!

[888]

Sport	Football (Euro Cups)
Event	AZ Alkmaar vs Newcastle U.
Selection	AZ Alkmaar -0.5 (Asian Handicap)
Strength	8/10
Date	15/03/2007
Bookmaker/Price	canbet @ 2.01 (Back)
Reasoning	I think tonight AZ wouldn't make same mistake again, they realized that they give too much space to Obafemi Martins last time. Today I expect it would be harder for Newcastle in general. Moreover, the fact that AZ Alkmaar is now currently 28-match unbeaten at home in UEFA Competition is a pretty jaw dropping records. I dont think Newcastle will be the one that break this record. Team and line-up should be the same like last week, no new injuries or no new players returning from injury / suspension etc. Beware thou that Newcastle is fresher than AZ since they dont have any game in the weekend. It is hard to say if AZ will be able to qualify or not, but I know for sure even thou they might not qualify, they will be desperate to win this match. I predict it would be a goal fest tonight, however Van Gaal is a good coach and he knows football. I think he will come up with some solution for sure against Newcastle dangerous attack. And Newcastle defensive line isn't impressive either, if AZ keep bombarding them with attacks, mistakes would most likely be made and AZ will capitalize on it.

[ruudje]

Originally Posted by 888

Some great write-ups 888

Might just add that for AZ defender Opdam is doubtful. If he can't play he will be substituted by Luirink. Seeing the difficulties Opdam had with Martins I don't know if it would be a big loss for AZ. Opdam has the important experience that most other players lack, but on the other hand he's also quite slow.

[Punto83]

Originally Posted by Djlion

I will go here with a repeat 3-2 win due to our defensive instability. So over 4.5 goals @ 6.4, 3-2 win @ 32, the Spurs win @ 1.45

Brilliant tip there mate

[B-busta]

Originally Posted by Punto83

Brilliant tip there mate

[kamei34]

I'm gona try these odds on Newcastle to win Uefa Cup in the end.
But it's not just taking a wild shot. Newcastle indeed was very good and constant in all of their games till now, very solid and confident.
They won first leg with AZ 4:2 and shouldn't find it dificoult to go in 1/4 finals, when odds will drop for sure.
Final is in Glasgow which is good thing for them and their fans.
Definetely value in Newcastle, Centrebet @13. GL~

[kamei34]

So return leg of the clash between AZ Alkmaar and Newcastle. First game was 4:2 for side from England.

Dutch team had nice and very convincing Uefa campaign till now, with great displays and many goals scored. Still I see them lately in some kind of downtrend and they don't look capable to me of winning over Newcastle. With Fenerbahce they almost got kicked out loosing 2:0 at home at one point. That says something...

Newcastle on the other hand is much more reliable team nowdays and for me they were the most stable unit in Uefa Cup this year. All other teams had ups and down more or less, but they were always performing solid in every match.

Now, they already have 4:2 lead after the first game so why to win again? Well I say why not... If they are better on the field and right now are superior to Dutch team I don't see a reason for them not to win again.

I'll try Newcastle to win again, Pinnacle @4.01. GL~

[kamei34]

Espanyol hosting Maccabi.
First game ended 0:0. In round of 32 Maccabi eilminated CSKA Moscow beating them at home 1:0 and playing away 0:0.
Espanyol was one of the best teams till now in this competition. But still this year is strange in Uefa Cup and I wuoldn't be surprised to see them kicked out from Maccabi with a scoring raw tonight.
Team from Israel is not naive, and I expect them to be tough nut for hosts tonight agai. T hey already proved that in first leg and for sure can do something in return one aswell.
I'll try big surprise and pick Draw, betfair @4.4.
And also total goals: 2, Stan James @3.6.
We will hardly see many goals tonight. Two goals looks like good bet. GL

[Unbelievable]

I followed on a few newcastle games this season. They tend to play defensively away especially in 2nd leg of european games. The 0-0 draw with Bayer Levekursen, Newcastle just pass the ball around their defence and wait until full time. Given is still a good keeper to prevent many goals from coming in. My bet will be on
2.5Under with odds of 2.68 in Betfair.

Good luck everyone