UCL Round 2 Wednesday

A couple of recommendations on tonight's matches.

Shakhtar v/s Man Utd. I think Man Utd are in for a tough one tonight. The Ukrainian outfits are a strong team and they will be like hungry wolves on a wounded prey as the Red Devils are reeling at the moment. Their poor show against WBA at Old Trafford shows that they are nowhere playing as a confident team yet. This match could very well end up in a draw and I definitely cannot see the hosts losing this one. They represent good draw-no-bet, and if one fancies a long flutter, I see them finishing top of this group in the end.

Real Madrid v/s Copenhagen. This is going to be a straight win for the hosts, eyes wide shut.

Win: Real Madrid
Draw-no-bet: Shakhtar

UCL Wednesday

Barcelona and Shakhtar made it look it easy by powering their way through to the next UCL round.

For tonight's games, I like Arsenal's chances at home to French champions Montpellier. Arsene Wenger has an impeccable record against French opposition in the Europe, and I see no change to this trend tonight. Arsenal will strive for maximum points at home in order to secure qualification and they have the ammunition to do so against average opponents, even without Theo Walcott. Arsenal is a straight win selection.

The UCL games have been somewhat obscured by the sacking of Di Matteo at Chelsea today. The Italian saved the Blues' season last year by landing the FA Cup and the improbable Champions League trophy. They started the  season well and only stuttered in the past month. Does that merit sacking? Looks like in Ambramovich's world, it is! Anyway, I could semi-understand if they already had secured Guardiola's approval to take over. But as I write this, papers seem to put Rafa Benitez as the leading candidate. This must be a joke or paper rubbish, it almost teeters on insanity. If he's really the fancied one, then watch Chelsea disintegrate to a second-rate team. With his record at Liverpool and Inter, there is every reason to believe that he will destroy them, hah!


Win: Arsenal

Champions League night

Both hands up for an atrocious week-end of selections; I was able to limit the damage with Sunderland which I mentioned looked like a good value punt away at Fulham. But the surprising football results made for one of the poorest rounds of selections I can recall.

Time to get back up with Champions League football starting in a few hours.

Barcelona travel to Spartak Moscow whose got as long an injury list as I've ever seen. They will play with their B team! It's a straight win for the Blaugrana.

The Danes of Nordsjaellan host Shakhtar Donesk, who impressed me in their recent loss at Stamford Bridge. The Ukrainian champions will go through the next round with a win. and while I expect them to win the match, I find no problem going safe as a draw-no-bet with them.


Win: Barcelona
Draw-no-bet: Shakhtar

Man Utd to pile more misery on Chelsea?

Real Madrid just thrashed Tottenham 4-0 and there shouldn't be any doubt that they've already qualified for the next round. The recommendation on them was a winning one as soon as Crouch was ejected from the game. Schalke have stunned holders Inter in the other quarter-final game and the Germans continue to be a surprising force to reckon with in the competition.

Obviously, on Wednesday, Barcelona are huge favourites to overcome Shakhtar Donesk at home. The  Ukrainians actually stunned the Spaniards a few years back by winning at the Nou Camp, but it's tough to see a repeat of that given the current stakes and the form of the Blaugrana. Shakhtar have a good mix of Brazilian players, particularly a jewel of a midfielder in Douglas Costa, but I can't see them beating Barcelona. I recommend the Spaniards as a draw-no-bet.

The other quarter-final sees Man Utd travelling to Chelsea for an all-English battle. Peter Cech stoked the flames  of the rivalry yesterday by declaring that Man Utd did not "really win it" when they beat Chelsea on penalties in the Moscow final a few years back. Sour grapes from a sore loser. Whichever team you support or hate, the result has to be respected and the winners acclaimed at the end of a match, particularly that the outcome was not decided by a referee or dubious error. Absolutely class-less Cech. Getting back to the game, it can go either way really. Even though Man Utd lost at Chelsea a few weeks ago, they left everyone with the impression that the result could easily have gone their way. I don't think Chelsea will be more motivated than the Red Devils because they lost that final. At this stage of the competition, motivation and hunger should not be lacking in any of the 2 teams. I have a feeling Man Utd will be happier team once the game is over; whether they win it, or whether they get a draw with a crucial goal, I don't know. No recommendation on this one, I just hope the referee does not mess up this clash by unnecessarily sanctioning tackles that would otherwise be "fine" in the Premier League.

Draw-no-bet: Barcelona.