CL - 7th & 8th of April

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Okay a few information about Bayern. Goalie gonna be Rensing again which is quite clear. Not the best keeper, he was described as THE talent a few years ago but waiting behind Oliver Kahn didnt worked out well for him. Not the kind of keeper who can keep his team alive alone. Defense gonna be difficult. Lahm as left back probably, though he had some ails. Center back Lucio wont be able to participate probably, but van Buyten will be back after missed against Wolfsburg due to personal problems in Belguim. So that the centerback positions will be filled with Buyten and Demicheles (who could not play in weekend clash against Wolfsburg due to 5th yellow card). Right back will be Lell again, quite a weak side of Bayern really as we saw against Wolfsburg. Midfield is kind of clear. Left midfield Ribery, media critized him for not taking part against Wolfsburg really (and I personally didn't noticed he was playing at all) but all expecting him to be the key against Barcelona because he wants to show his skills when everyone is watching him (self-advertisement, especially for Spanish clubs). Defensive Midfield Ze Roberto and van Bommel not much to say. Right midfield Schweinsteiger, or maybe Hamit Altintop who recovered from another injury, but I think it is to early to put him in. Striker gonna be Toni who also has some slight injuries and Podolski who also showed no performance at all against Wolfsburg. Many Bayern fans hope that Sosa will play for Podolski as a creative midfield player behind Toni (who then would be single striker). Bayerns in CL most scoring striker Klose still out which is a huge blow. The 11 guys who gonna play are not bad guys. They are all capable of playing perfect football (okay dont count in Lell please) if they want and they usually do so in CL and that is the reason why Barca deep in mind is scared a bit. Ribery himself can do a lot, he is a better player than for example Arda (Turkey National Team + Galatasaray player) and even Arda did own guys like Ramos very hard from time to time. Important key will be that Bayern must play without individual mistakes in midfield/defense, those would be used very fast by guys like Iniesta,Xavi,Messi or Eto. But really.. Turkey showed how to stop Xavi-Iniesta and Torres most of the time, it is just about keep being concentrated and dont let them pass too much, otherwise they get your condition down in 30 minutes. Only problem is that with Toni in front, you dont have someone who disturbs the oppenent early in offense (Klose did that job very well), if Podolski gonna play you have two in front who dont use offensive pressing a lot. Count in Ribery who only knows offense and you have 3 guys working not back and this will cause high pressure on midfield players. But if Bommel,Ze Roberto,Lahm and Schweinsteiger can perfome very good for a long time, Bayern can cause some surprise with Riberys individual class and Tonis goal instinct. However, chances for this to happen are low, even though I believe we will see a different Bayern team as against Wolfsburg after the very first critic of Klinsmann for the whole team ("I defended them for 10 months, but at some stage they have to think about themselves and they must know that this [bad performance] can have consequences after the season for ANY player). Gonna be interesting, my score prediction is 3:2 :ok

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Bayern has been humiliated by Wolsborg on saturday.I expect their morale to be very low.Also they played with full squad so players must be tired.Bayern didn't convince me this season. I expect Barca to thrash Bayern at home.Ods are low so i'll go with in-play bet. GL everyone :ok

[Wolfsburg :tongue2] Yes Bayern played with full squad (despite Demicheles who was not allowed to play) but Bayern did not invest 100% really. It was easy to follow what players thougth during the match and you understand this the way they played. They concede 1:0 and scored a fast 1:1 after a freekick. Halftime. Now what would you think as a player, when you know you gonna play vs Barcelona and you play 1:1 away against a strong Wolfsburg team? Ah yes a draw is good, maybe a win through one or two individual moments (that is what I interprate from their interviews after the match). Second half starts, Lucio gets injured by Dzeko, lies on the ground says he is okay to referee and that he doesnt need medical help. He still keeps on lying on the ground and gets the yellow card for his wrong communication with the referee who expected him to stand up and either go out himself or keep on playing. Lucio, who never wants to let his team alone, keeps on playing though he is injured. Van Bommel asks Lucio if everything is okay, Lucio says he needs to be exchanged because he is not able to keep on playing. Van Bommel shows coach Klinsmann that Lucio must be out, player Ottl prepares himself for 5 minutes. In those 5 minutes Dzeko scores two goals, one after individual mistake of Schweinsteiger+Lell and Breno being to far away from Grafite in the middle (usually you would see Lucio with him.. but he is injured ;)). Match goes on 2:1 for Wolfsburg.. Bayern gets a corner.. Lucio moving forward.. injured to try and score a goal by this corner.. Wolfsburg keeper Benaglio holds the ball and throws the ball directly to Dzeko.. Dzeko to Misimovic.. Dzeko sprinting towards the Bayern goal.. NO center back of Bayern there on Lahm on left but too far away.. Misimovic passing and Dzeko free as a bird (okay Lahm reached him almost.. but no chance at all) scores 3:1. After that 3:1 Lucio gets out and Ottl moves in. Now think as a Bayern player.. you concede two fast goals in 3-5 minutes and you are back away 3:1. You have a difficult match against Barcelona in midweek and you would rather give everything you can there as to try get back against Wolfsburg and get one point atleast. That is the easy explanation of how Bayern got owned by Wolfsburg (4:1 and 5:1 without Lucio in defense.. Lell,Ottl and Breno in defense owned one by one.. they dont belong to starting XI usually..). I dont think this gonna happen like this again guys, it is just a totally different atmosphere and this clear defeat caused some hard words by managers and coaches. Bayern is a big club with pride and that will make them so dangerous. Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge says:" Our aim against Barca in Barcelona will be to create a score that gives us a chance to create a surprise at home. Barca has a very good offense, but they tend to concede goals aswell, that is where the key lies." Good luck all :ok

[Caveman]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

But really.. Turkey showed how to stop Xavi-Iniesta and Torres most of the time' date=' it is just about keep being concentrated and dont let them pass too much, otherwise they get your condition down in 30 minutes.[/quote'] IMO in this case you can't compare them because there are different teams, a different competition and most important different mentality. Turks played as everytime against big teams with 150% of passion and heart, they fought 90 mins so they only lost with one goal to "allmighty" Spain and earned lot of respect over europe. If you compare Bayern to Barca like national teams you should compare Germany to Spain, like majority of Bayern team play in that team with their special mentality and their result in summer at EC 08 is well known ;)

[dak]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April The CL is in the quarter final stage and, no doubt, it is tempting to lump big sums on the big favourites (Man U and Barca especially) for their home wins. Although the big favourites can certainly walk away with a win from their own turf, one should be cautious. We shouldn't forget that ALL of the 8 teams can hold their own against anybody. Granted, some rosters are clearly better than others, but the level of play is so high at this stage that anything can happen in spite of a better or worse roster. At the moment I'm inclined to focus on the number of goals in the CL games. Given that it is the first game of a two game qualification I suspect that all teams will be concerned about conceeding goals and that may mean that the UNDER 2.5 goals bet may be a good idea in all 4 matches. Yes, the idea of an under 2.5 goals bet for the Barcelona - Bayern match may be off putting given the scoring propensity of both teams, but I really think strategy and tactics are paramount at this stage of the CL tournamnet. The odds for the under 2.5 in the Villareal - Arsenal and Liverpool - Chelsea games are on the short side (about 1.53 & 1.50 respectively), but are very likely. I think the 1.80 for the Man U - Porto game is quite good. The odds for the Barca - Bayern match are excellent at 2.31 (canbet) IMO. Just some thoughts at this stage. I'll decide tomorrow on what to actually bet on. Nevertheless, good luck to everybody's bets....

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

[Wolfsburg :tongue2] Yes Bayern played with full squad (despite Demicheles who was not allowed to play) but Bayern did not invest 100% really. It was easy to follow what players thougth during the match and you understand this the way they played. They concede 1:0 and scored a fast 1:1 after a freekick. Halftime. Now what would you think as a player, when you know you gonna play vs Barcelona and you play 1:1 away against a strong Wolfsburg team? Ah yes a draw is good, maybe a win through one or two individual moments (that is what I interprate from their interviews after the match). Second half starts, Lucio gets injured by Dzeko, lies on the ground says he is okay to referee and that he doesnt need medical help. He still keeps on lying on the ground and gets the yellow card for his wrong communication with the referee who expected him to stand up and either go out himself or keep on playing. Lucio, who never wants to let his team alone, keeps on playing though he is injured. Van Bommel asks Lucio if everything is okay, Lucio says he needs to be exchanged because he is not able to keep on playing. Van Bommel shows coach Klinsmann that Lucio must be out, player Ottl prepares himself for 5 minutes. In those 5 minutes Dzeko scores two goals, one after individual mistake of Schweinsteiger+Lell and Breno being to far away from Grafite in the middle (usually you would see Lucio with him.. but he is injured ;)). Match goes on 2:1 for Wolfsburg.. Bayern gets a corner.. Lucio moving forward.. injured to try and score a goal by this corner.. Wolfsburg keeper Benaglio holds the ball and throws the ball directly to Dzeko.. Dzeko to Misimovic.. Dzeko sprinting towards the Bayern goal.. NO center back of Bayern there on Lahm on left but too far away.. Misimovic passing and Dzeko free as a bird (okay Lahm reached him almost.. but no chance at all) scores 3:1. After that 3:1 Lucio gets out and Ottl moves in. Now think as a Bayern player.. you concede two fast goals in 3-5 minutes and you are back away 3:1. You have a difficult match against Barcelona in midweek and you would rather give everything you can there as to try get back against Wolfsburg and get one point atleast. That is the easy explanation of how Bayern got owned by Wolfsburg (4:1 and 5:1 without Lucio in defense.. Lell,Ottl and Breno in defense owned one by one.. they dont belong to starting XI usually..). I dont think this gonna happen like this again guys, it is just a totally different atmosphere and this clear defeat caused some hard words by managers and coaches. Bayern is a big club with pride and that will make them so dangerous. Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge says:" Our aim against Barca in Barcelona will be to create a score that gives us a chance to create a surprise at home. Barca has a very good offense, but they tend to concede goals aswell, that is where the key lies." Good luck all :ok

I don't think it's always a good idea to try and get inside the mind of a footballer. None of us are real experts in psychology (Unless I am corrected) so I think it's a rather futile effort attempting to suggest what a player is thinking at any point during the game. Yes, there were one or two defining moments in the Wolfsburg game but that result was perfectly feasable given the offensive ability of Wolfsburg. They might concede, but Barca are the only side left in the competition that are more than capable of scoring 5 or 6 against anyone.

[The Pope]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

I also quite fancy Villareal to just sneak this fixture by 1 goal. I don't know why the odds are so far in Arsenals favour given their form against Spanish opponents and the good form of Villareal in their own league. They've only lost to Barcelona in all competitons since December. I can only suggest that the fact Arsenal haven't lost in 17 competitive English matches might be swaying the odds in their favour. Arsenal will miss Van Persie along with Diaby, Eduardo and Rosicky. They were boosted by the return of Adabeyor at the weekend, who marked his comeback with 2 goals against Manchester City. Andrei Arshavin is ineligible. On the other hand Villareal miss Santi Cazorla after suffering an injury in the game against Almeria. I must confess to not knowing a lot about the Villareal current team, however the fact Pascal Cygan and Robert Pires are in the squad may add an extra factor in deciding the outcome. Arsenal only barely scraped through the last round and on another day would have lost quite resoundigly in Rome. I am very happy to take Villareal DNB at 1.90. I also like the look of Barcelona to beat the handicap against Beyern Munich. Currently 2.0 with Bet365 for -1.5. Also, Both teams to score @ 1.80. Over 2.5 goals @ 1.70. Both teams rank as the two highest scorers in the the competition this season. With 24 goals each in 8 games. Barcelona have also conceded the most goals out of all the last 8 qualifiers, currently at 11. Barcelona have still to also keep a clean sheet at home in the Champions League. Both teams love to score with Beyern amassing 54 goals in their 26 domestic games and Barcelona hitting 85 in 29 league games. Obviously, domestic form is not always to be taken seriously as we are all aware. However, Beyern lost 5-1 away to Wolfsburg, which now puts them in 4th position in the Bundesliga, 3 points behind 1st placed Wolfsburg. I would suggest that the Bundesliga should be their priority and at the minute with the team possibly failing to finish in the qualification places for next seasons Champions League, it would be a disaster for a team like Beyern not to qualify. With Klinsmann admitting that the result at the weekend seriously denting morale and Barcelona flyying in the league, 6 points ahead of Madrid I am happy to go with Barcelona.

Villarreal have lost to Almeria, Atletico, Deportivo and Real Madrid since then, so I don't know where you're getting your info from.

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Your right Jase, usually it is difficult to read players mind, but it is possible as it is in Poker, Tennis and every other "sport". A lot of people tend to follow the ball only and cheer when a goal happens. I myself love to observe the players, not only when they are in touch with the ball, but also how they move without it, how they behave when a certain event happens. If you link the prematch happenings (such as interviews) with the happenings in the match and with final interviews/expositions after the match you can understand what player deal with in their mind during the match. I dont know, but I feel like I can understand them, playing myself since I was 6 years old and a fanatic football fans aswell, watching lots and lots of matches. Of course mistakes are included, man will never be without mistake and it can easily happen that you interprate something wrong, but if you see some comments from other coaches - in this example Martin Jol (Hamburg) and Felix Magath (Wolfsburg) on Sunday during the "Doppelpass" [TV discussion round] - they include the same thoughts. I did bet on Barcelona against Valladolid so I have watch the match and of course Barcelona did rest some players. But to be honest Valladolid got their chances and a few times they let Barcelona defense look very very old. This must not mean Bayern gonna shot them away, but it shows that Barcelona is vulnerable aswell. It is up to Klinsmann and the team really. How will they react on the 5:1, get even stronger out of this or the opposite. But really, we saw what Bayern is capable of doing. They won against Lyon, they won against Lisbon and they were not bad at CL at all, which is really a sign of special motivation. I observed this when Fenerbahce was ruling in CL a bit (a lot for their circumstances though). They were 200% concentrated and working for each other in CL, but they underrated almost every oppenent in league, or if they head a good oppenent and concede fast goals they also never showed up great will to comeback if a CL match was incomming. You know, I dont even want to blur the bad Bayern performance, but some people gonna follow this thread and put some or lots of money on Barcelona because of the pre-happenings in league and gonna underrate Bayern. But everyone should know that Bayern is a special club really, with powerful man leading the club and they will never let the same happen in CL as it happened against Wolfsburg. They would rather sell every wanna-be star, than concede 5 or more goals.. I dont really believe this will happen, sure Barcelona is capable of doing that even against the best teams maybe, but believe me I have some odd feeling and I really think Barcelona will have more problems than they gonna wish. @Caveman Of course you cant compare them, but I saw what a Ribery, Ze Roberto, Schweinsteiger and Toni are capable of doing when they show this passion. We were able to see this a few times only this season, but we know that they CAN show this mentality aswell, especially because despite Lahm, Lell and Schweinsteiger you have no German on the pitch (okay Rensing but he is goalie). And you can never say that Lahm plays without passion and Schweinsteiger will be hot aswell.. you dont get the chance to play against THIS Barcelona again. Barcelona thinking different now, like uh okay Bayern but look at the table only 4th, they got hammered 5:1 against Wolves (Xavi,Iniesta,Eto:"wtf who is that?"), Klose missing and only good players Toni (who was injured) and Ribery. This probably.. nah not even probably.. this WILL give Bayern some chances, it is up to them to get use of this or not. If Bayern will play like Bayern, I should not be ashamed to have a look in here after the match again :rollin

[Caveman]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April After reading stories around this match in several forums now, with all absences Bayern has to suffer and their now clearly obvious crisis , IMO Bayern will not have any chance in this match, zero, even if they would have played with best team...if Bayern bosses pretend knowing what to do to stop Barca, you can be sure Pep Guardiola and his stuff also knows how to calm down arrogance of his players and prepare them well, we are speaking about absolute world class teams here, with a staff of observers, coaches etc etc. After what I've heard in interviews from several players now, they won't underestimate Bayern, they don't fear them not even 1 second but have respect. Pep mentioned their main tactic will be trying to neutralize Ribery, as many teams did before, cos this is Bayerns achilles tendon and there won't be great creativity in Bayern midfield anymore...I can only repeat giving advise to people here around, take Barca to the bank, you'll get nice free profit and don't forget buying smth nice for your girl-friends or other dears :ok call me arrogant, call me foolish, but sometimes things are clear before they begin, like Barca's home match against Lyon several weeks ago.. this comes from a Bayern supporter, loves this team since childhood...last comment from me :zzz

[sajtion]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April well well well can anyone suggest correct scores from above matches

[Rob the I ty]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Man U to win to nil @2.20 Really can't see Man U conceding at home unless this game gets out of hand. Porto will look to hit on the counter which is always dangerous but I see Man U finding a goal or two and controlling the match. Portuguese teams are always vulnerable on set plays something United have thrived on. There are too ways for Man U to score, while Porto will be hardpressed to find anything, @2.20 Man U is a great value considering the HW odds.

[game2win2009]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April I think it doesn't matter who is playing in the defense of bayern they won't keep the pressure of barca. Bayern is even worse away and not in form right now... they didn't won a cl match for several years untl this year! also in the german bundesliag they never dominant away so for me a clear rsult for barca 3:0... bayern with Breno 5:0! don't forget the first half in lissabon where they need plenty of luck!

[game2win2009]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Man U to win to nil @2.20 Really can't see Man U conceding at home unless this game gets out of hand. Porto will look to hit on the counter which is always dangerous but I see Man U finding a goal or two and controlling the match. Portuguese teams are always vulnerable on set plays something United have thrived on. There are too ways for Man U to score, while Porto will be hardpressed to find anything, @2.20 Man U is a great value considering the HW odds.

Well tahts true. MU is a team from a diffrent level :P. But it is also true, that no england team won in FcPorto Stadium "Never". I think we can get some surprise here :)

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Some pieces of Lahm interview: "We dont want to concede a goal first, then we will drive back with a good result. A very good example was Man Utd last year, they defended with 11 players and got back with a 0:0 score. That is the key. It doesnt matter if we play with one or two strikers, important is the defensive behaviour of everyone playing. We cannot allow them many chances and also have to set some pinpricks ourselves." Sounds like a counterattack tactic with Ribery and Toni infront and rest defending :lol Good luck Caveman :ok

[Monty Hall]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Some pieces of Lahm interview: "We dont want to concede a goal first, then we will drive back with a good result. A very good example was Man Utd last year, they defended with 11 players and got back with a 0:0 score. That is the key. It doesnt matter if we play with one or two strikers, important is the defensive behaviour of everyone playing. We cannot allow them many chances and also have to set some pinpricks ourselves." Sounds like a counterattack tactic with Ribery and Toni infront and rest defending :lol Good luck Caveman :ok

Cheers all - not concluded yet but..As if Bayern or any other team in the world has another option than to counter.. :\ But Bayern have Ribéry, He is tenacious and that is a big big bonus.. Barça are not immune and desire can carry a long way. GL

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Cheers all - not concluded yet but..As if Bayern or any other team in the world has another option than to counter.. :\ But Bayern have Ribéry, He is tenacious and that is a big big bonus.. Barça are not immune and desire can carry a long way. GL

Well if you followed Bayern this season, they kind of never did this. They tryed to beat Lyon by playing, they tried to beat Leverkusen by playing and any other team aswell. That is the reason why they concede so many goals, they are playing too offensive, but that was what the most Bayern fans wanted.. Offensive and nice football, but it is not working correct yet, the balance between offense and defense is not okay and add some individual mistakes and you get your 2008/2009 Bayern. A lot said, we will see tomorrow when Barcelona owns Bayern and I must shut up :tongue2

[1907zico]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Spox.com says that van Buyten probably will not play against Barcelona.. Probably some big personal problems, I heared something about his father (maybe ill or something dunno).. That will mean we will see Breno again, I hope this guy plays 90 minutes as he did play in first 50 minutes against Wolfsburg :ok

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Villarreal have lost to Almeria' date=' Atletico, Deportivo and Real Madrid since then, so I don't know where you're getting your info from.[/quote'] I meant at home. Sorry, I assumed that would be understood because Villareal are playing at home.

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Man U to win to nil @2.20 Really can't see Man U conceding at home unless this game gets out of hand. Porto will look to hit on the counter which is always dangerous but I see Man U finding a goal or two and controlling the match. Portuguese teams are always vulnerable on set plays something United have thrived on. There are too ways for Man U to score, while Porto will be hardpressed to find anything, @2.20 Man U is a great value considering the HW odds.

I'd have more confidence in this if Rio Ferdinand wasn't injured and the fact Man Utd have started concededing all too frequantly, after the impressive clean sheet displays at the start of the season.

[PistolC]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

They might concede, but Barca are the only side left in the competition that are more than capable of scoring 5 or 6 against anyone.

Iv Not Heard So Much Balderdash In All My Life. Man Utd, Chelsea & Liverpool are all very attack minded and all have potent strikers and world class midfields that are more than capable of scoring 5 or 6. One attribute to all these teams is the ability to show no mercy when two or 3 up, attack is all they know & do best for 90 minutes. I cant see the Liverpool v Chelsea game finishing with lots of goals but this will be due to both teams being cagey and cancelling each other out, However the Man Utd v Porto Games depend totally on the team selection which of course is restricted to Injuries, However with Rooney returning to complement Tevez upfront Man Utd are more than capable of ending this tie before the 2nd leg begins. I am a man utd fan but im also a realist, All season Barca & Man Utd Have been the two best teams in europe, In recent weeks liverpool have shown they can hammer any team with the right player selection, Chelsea are stuttering & starting but you cant deny they too could beat anyone when Anelka & Drogba decide to click, Arsenal have not had a good year but they are still there & showing good signs of improvement, I think they will struggle against Villereal & the only chance they have is by scoring an away goal or trying to keep a loss in Spain to only one goal. Personnaly im staying away from The Chelsea v Liverpool Game, Although id predict a 0-0 tonight and a score draw at the bridge in the 2nd leg to send liverpool through. The only bet im doing is on the advice of Caveman & looks like i cert is Man Utd & Barca Both to win their first legs this week @ evens. Possibly throwing celtic in to beat falkirk bring the treble in @ 2.4

[Caveman]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Spox.com says that van Buyten probably will not play against Barcelona.. Probably some big personal problems, I heared something about his father (maybe ill or something dunno).. That will mean we will see Breno again, I hope this guy plays 90 minutes as he did play in first 50 minutes against Wolfsburg :ok

it is confirmed by reliable kicker.de that van Buyten is in belgium again after being back in Munich @ monday. With Lucio also being out, that means Demichelis & as you mentioned youngster Breno will propably start. Klinsmann also included youngster Holger Badstuber from Bayern II team (play in third league) in squad due to lack of defensive alternatives. So we sum up: Barca in almost best possible lineup. Bayern without best CL striker & 2 best central defenders. Franck Ribéry and Lahm with minor injuries after wolves clash in WE...oh oh oh my Bayern :( possible lineups due to kicker.de: FC Barcelona Victor Valdes - Daniel Alves, Marquez, Pique, Puyol - Xavi, Sergi Busquets, Iniesta - Messi, Eto'o, Henry Bayern München Rensing - Oddo, Breno, Demichelis, Lahm - Schweinsteiger, van Bommel, Ottl, Zé Roberto - Ribery, Toni

[MartyBhoy7]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Going for: Liverpool to keep clean sheet against chelsea @ 6/4 Usually cagey affairs and liverpool tend to strangle games against chelsea at Anfield.They have also hit some form and when they are on song they give little space especially on big european nights.

I like the look of this mate, what bookies did you get this with? Liverpool are the kings of these 2 legged knockout ties and will see not conceding as paramount here.

[blackcrow]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Man Utd -1.5 (2.28 @ pinnacle) Look to Man Utd to take alot of positives out of their come from behind win over Aston Villa on the weekend, as before a big crowd at home, they should comfortably beat Porto. Expect Ferguson to remind the team that they were knocked out by Mourinho's Porto when they went on to win the Cup and this time ensure it is they who knock them out and not the other way around. Porto have lost 11 of their last 12 visits to England and were well beaten by Arsenal 4-0 in the group stages earlier this season. They will face a Man Utd side that has Vidic returning in defence, Scholes back in the midfield and Rooney up front. Look to these players to give them more shape but drive as well, especially Rooney to make an impact in this game, as he thrives in thse big games. Porto have shown that they can leak goals and look to Rooney and Ronaldo to exploit this as they are urged on by the big home crowd, but the return of Vidic should see some more solidity at the back as he has been a big loss for them in their last few games, and with hime back, they should be able to hold out a good Porto offence, but not the best they have faced. They did well to hold out and beat a more potent Inter side 2-0 at home, and they should be able to do the same to Porto Arsenal (2.68 @ pinnacle) Arsenal's recent domestic form has been quite good as they have begun to play with the sort of style expected form them, and especially with the consistency that they lacked in recent months. With the return of Fabregas and Adebayor over the weekend, they comfortably beat off Man City as they had scored 9 goals and conceded only 1 in their last 3 EPL games. With such good form you would expect them to take on Villareal with confidence who have good home form in the Primera Liga but did lose 3-0 away to Almeria on the weekend. Whether they had this CL game in their mind, it may the reason for this loss, but it still shows that the team can lose focus, and if Fabregas is on song to run the midfield, then he and the whole Arsenal team will be hard to stop. This Arsenal team has some good form coming into this game and look to them to snatch a precious away goal and lead back to the Emirates in the return leg

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Iv Not Heard So Much Balderdash In All My Life.

Really? How many goals have Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool scored compared to Barcelona? How many times have those three teams scored more than 4 goals in any competition? In the league Manchester United have scored 52 goals. Liverpool have scored 55 and Chelsea have scored 51. Barcelona have scored 84 goals in La Liga this season. That is 2.89 goals a game in the league. Uniteds goal per game ratio is 1.73. Liverpool's is 1.77. Whilst Chelsea's is 1.64. United have scored 4 or more in the league a total of 4 times. Liverpool, 3 times. Chelsea, 3 times. Barcelona have scored 4 or more 9 times this season in La Liga, which is more or less double the other three teams mentioned. Barcelona have scored 24 goals in 8 games in the Champions league this season. Manchester United have scored 11 in 8 games. Liverpool have scored 16 in 8 (Bouyed only by a 4-0 win over Real Madrid). Chelsea have scored 12 in 8 games. They might all be very offensive minded on their day, and I was not disputing the fact that all 8 remaining teams contain world class professional footballers, but this season no one can touch Barcelona for goals scored.....and I haven't even started to look at alternative cup results this season. Do not critisise my words if you can not back your own up with hard facts.

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

it is confirmed by reliable kicker.de that van Buyten is in belgium again after being back in Munich @ monday. With Lucio also being out, that means Demichelis & as you mentioned youngster Breno will propably start. Klinsmann also included youngster Holger Badstuber from Bayern II team (play in third league) in squad due to lack of defensive alternatives. So we sum up: Barca in almost best possible lineup. Bayern without best CL striker & 2 best central defenders. Franck Ribéry and Lahm with minor injuries after wolves clash in WE...oh oh oh my Bayern :( possible lineups due to kicker.de: FC Barcelona Victor Valdes - Daniel Alves, Marquez, Pique, Puyol - Xavi, Sergi Busquets, Iniesta - Messi, Eto'o, Henry Bayern München Rensing - Oddo, Breno, Demichelis, Lahm - Schweinsteiger, van Bommel, Ottl, Zé Roberto - Ribery, Toni

You beat me to this....just saw on Sky Sports the team news, which backs up the shouts for Barcelona to win -1. Eto has scored 8 in his last 9 also, so could be a decent shout at first goal scorer.

[Jota]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Some more bets in the Porto match: Over 11 asian corners 2.00 @ Bet365 Man Utd has 7.13 average corners per match and Porto has 5.38. Both teams plays a lot in the wings..Man Utd with Ronaldo and Giggs (if he plays) and Evra that attacks a lot. Porto always play in a 4-3-3 with Hulk - Rodriguez in the wings. Corners Asian Handicap Porto +4 1.80 @ Bet365 This is some nice value IMO..as i side before Porto plays a lot in the wings, their main style is to attack with Hulk and Rodriguez always looking for a cross in the area. I placed this bet sometimes in games with a clear favourite, as in the case, and always lost because after taking the lead the favourite slows down is rithm. I think Man Utd will lead the match but will also be very cautious about the Porto´s counter attack...so i think SAF´s men wont be pushing the attack all game long after scoring. Asian Bookings Under 4 1.90 @ Bet365 My only concern about this bet is the referee Konrad Plautz...i couldn´t find stats about his match records. Man Utd with 1 card per game so far and Porto with 1.75. I can´t see 5 cards in this match unless Plautz is a very strict guy. Rooney to score 2.4 @ Bet365 Rooney has been scoring some goals lately... One of Porto´s main flaw is the second ball and the the low crosses into the frontal zone of the area...that´s the zone where Rooney appears to shot the ball into the net. In the air Porto is strong..Rolando and Bruno Alves are amazing headers, but when playing in the ground, they are a bit weak and both wingers of Porto rarely helps the central zone. GL

[PistolC]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Really? How many goals have Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool scored compared to Barcelona? How many times have those three teams scored more than 4 goals in any competition? In the league Manchester United have scored 52 goals. Liverpool have scored 55 and Chelsea have scored 51. Barcelona have scored 84 goals in La Liga this season. That is 2.89 goals a game in the league. Uniteds goal per game ratio is 1.73. Liverpool's is 1.77. Whilst Chelsea's is 1.64. United have scored 4 or more in the league a total of 4 times. Liverpool, 3 times. Chelsea, 3 times. Barcelona have scored 4 or more 9 times this season in La Liga, which is more or less double the other three teams mentioned. Barcelona have scored 24 goals in 8 games in the Champions league this season. Manchester United have scored 11 in 8 games. Liverpool have scored 16 in 8 (Bouyed only by a 4-0 win over Real Madrid). Chelsea have scored 12 in 8 games. They might all be very offensive minded on their day, and I was not disputing the fact that all 8 remaining teams contain world class professional footballers, but this season no one can touch Barcelona for goals scored.....and I haven't even started to look at alternative cup results this season. Do not critisise my words if you can not back your own up with hard facts.

Like I said, all through the season iv watched plenty of Barca & been impressed by the attack proess, But to compare them in their own league were they are rearly under pressure and only face serious competition from one other team in their league to the premiership were without doubt the competition is more competitive. You only have to look at how Madrid the 2nd placed team in spain managed to compete against Liverpool the 2nd placed team in England, they were sent packing, Then lets take a look at barca's opponents in the group stage Sporting Lisbon, Basel & Shaktar Donestk, now maybe im wrong here but without doubt that group was not going to be tough for Barca. Im not saying that Barca cant score 5 or 6, I agree with you that yes they can but I dont think you will see them score that many when they come against an english team, What im saying is that you ruled out any other team being able to do it & iv just gave you my opinion on how i think you are very wrong, Im pretty sure if Man Utd Had a full fit squad to choose from tonight they could easily destroy porto and if Arsenal had fabregas & Van Persie they too could rack up a big score. Anyway iv said my piece & im officially out of this debate, Good luck to you & everyone else who have a wager on all the weeks action.

[Jase82]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Asian Bookings Under 4 1.90 @ Bet365 My only concern about this bet is the referee Konrad Plautz...i couldn´t find stats about his match records. Man Utd with 1 card per game so far and Porto with 1.75. I can´t see 5 cards in this match unless Plautz is a very strict guy. GL

Konrad Plautz has refereed 4 games in the CL this season, they are as follows... Marseille v Liverpool - 3 yellows, 0 reds Kiev v Porto - 0 yellows, 0 reds Aalborg v Celtic - 1 yellow, 0 reds Villareal v Panathinaikos - 4 yellows, 0 reds. I looked into this market too for all CL games this week and couldn't really locate a statistic that indicated a certain tendancy, or possibility for more or less bookings in any game this week...But looking agian, under 4 is a distinct possibility. Good luck to all your selections. They seem pretty well backed up.

[Spooner]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April If you fancy Porto to nick a goal tonight, I would not put anyone off the 7/1 on betfair for 'Hulk' anytime scorer, Ive just watched bits of this guy on youtube and he looks like a very good player.

[Jota]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April

Konrad Plautz has refereed 4 games in the CL this season, they are as follows... Marseille v Liverpool - 3 yellows, 0 reds Kiev v Porto - 0 yellows, 0 reds Aalborg v Celtic - 1 yellow, 0 reds Villareal v Panathinaikos - 4 yellows, 0 reds. I looked into this market too for all CL games this week and couldn't really locate a statistic that indicated a certain tendancy, or possibility for more or less bookings in any game this week...But looking agian, under 4 is a distinct possibility. Good luck to all your selections. They seem pretty well backed up.

Thank you mate.. Well it seems he doesn´t go to the pocket that often, which is good...though in Kiev - Porto he showed some cards..at least 2..double yellow and red card to Lucho as he took off his shirt after that late goal. cheers!:ok

[bagehot]

Re: CL - 7th & 8th of April Man Utd vs Porto A lot of people are making too much of what they saw of Porto during the early part of the season... there were a lot of changes to the team and we have come a long, long way since then. Porto are currently playing the best football since 2004, that is, since they were European Champions. The main difference to that side is as others have said the defence. I sure hope we don t leak a goal again today but I am far from assured with Helton on goal. The rest of the back 4 though are not what some portray them to be. The midfield is playing really well on the other hand, Lucho, Meireles and Fernando in very, very good form. They can keep it up tonight. There is no question that ManUnited are the better team but Porto can make their life difficult tonight. I can agree with Jota s point that the best bet is probably for Porto to score - I wouldn t be surprised to see something like a 2/1 scoreline. The point is, difference in quality notwithstanding, this is not a banker guys. And come on, Porto have beaten ManUnited in Eurocomps previously , not once but twice / in 2004 and 1978 if memory serves me right. If we get our act together defensively, we can bring this to a real big decider at the Dragao. Fingers crossed ...