UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

[mattmcandrew]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 I don't know what match some of you guys were watching. I thought Rapid Vienna were in complete control against Celtic and looked the far more dangerous going forward, especially in the second half. The reality remains that Celtic, much like Rangers, are out of their depth in Europe. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event AC Sparta Praha - CFR Cluj Selection CFR Cluj Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price Pinnacle Sports @ 3.34 (Back) Reasoning I saw CFR game at PSV dn recently against Rapid. They have an impressive squag that is well known but they also play good lately. Now everybody knows that Sparta aren't the best team in Czech Gambrinus Liga and that Liga 1 from Romania is way over Gambrinus. CFR were defeated 1-0 by PSV but they defended well and were'nt dominated very badly. They played courageously and they are a force to be reckoned in Europe(2-1 at Rome last year in CL) especially at this low level(playing against a team in poor form in European League). Sparta aren't anything spectacular this year. And Czech football is kind of sinking cause Slavia is also pathetic. Slovan Liberec were demolished at home by Dinamo Bucharest 3-0 this season in Europa League and Dinamo is second team in terms of players value in Romanian championship. This should be a narrow 2-1 win for CFR Cluj.

[Atko]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Lille vs Genoa: Lille to win at 6/5 Team news: Lille goalkeeper Mikael Landreau is back in the squad after a knee injury, but it's unlikely he will be risked. Stephane Dumont (MF) and Franck Beria (DF) are doubtful, while Gervinho (MF) and Eden Hazard (MF) will probably be left in reserve. Genoa's main concern is a back injury to striker Hernan Crespo, who misses out. Midfielders Houssine Kharja and Bosko Jankovic are injured, but Domenicio Criscito (MF) returns. Lille form: DDWWD - Too many draws have hurt them in Ligue 1, although the last was a credible 0-0 at home to Rennes. Defeated Boulogne away 3-2 and spanked Slavia Prague with their reserves 5-1 last time out in the Europa League. Genoa form: DLLWL - Defeated Bologna on the road recently and ran Valencia close in Spain, but have looked ropey away, their latest horror-show a 5-0 drubbing at Inter Milan. Why the selection: Lille are starting to click into gear after a poor start to their Ligue 1 campaign. Two good away wins and a credible draw against Rennes have lifted spirits for Les Dogues, who have a strong defence and a potent enough strike force. They will play a slightly weaker side as a few of their players are carrying niggles but Florent Balmont and Rio Mavuba will start in midfield, which is extremely important for Lille. They control the midfield and offer a solid base from which to build on. Pierre-Alain Frau has been in good form and will take chances if they come his way. Genoa are a nice, attacking outfit, but they will be blunted without Crespo. A win for Lille tonight will take them closer to qualification and with the Stade Lille-Metropole set to be packed out, I think Lille will have enough to take advantage of a poor Genoa defence who have been conceding goals regularly, perhaps due to their attacking nature. Probable Lille line-up: (4-3-3) - Butelle; Vandam, Rami, Chedjou, Emerson; Balmont, Mavuba, Cabaye; Aubameyang, Vittek, Frau Probable Genoa line-up: (3-4-3) - Amelia; Tomovic, Moretti, Bocchetti; Rossi, Milanetto, Criscito, Juric; Palladino, Floccari, Sculli Verdict: Lille win (2 points)

[Atko]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 The other games that I am going for this evening have been mentioned already, so I'll refrain from doing a full review on each. I think Villarreal are in a seriously bad place right now and Lazio look good value at 11/10 to win (1 point). Since Manuel Pellegrini left they've looked a complete shadow of the side who took Europe by storm in the last few years and although Lazio aren't the strongest either, I think the last thing Villarreal want is a tough trip to Italy. Fenerbahce have a huge match against Galatasary on Sunday and they'll find Steaua Bucharest a difficult prospect in Romania, who are 7/5 (1 point) to prevail this evening. Both teams are in good form but home advantage is key for Steaua and I think they'll perhaps want the victory more than the Turks, who are prone to the odd result here and there (1-2 vs Twente, 1-2 vs Gaziantepspor). As for the other two teams in my domain, I wouldn't get involved in Celtic vs Hamburg. Scottish football is in the doldrums after Rangers' capitulation but Celtic are, in my eyes anyway, the best team in the league and have a far better side than Rangers do. They attack more and are liaible to cause Hamburg problems, who at first appealled but after reading their injury woes, started to turn a little unappetising. It could go either way tonight and it's not one I'd get involved in. Toulouse face a very tricky trip to Shakhtar Donetsk. Toulouse are a pretty compact side and will not get over-run by the Ukranians, but Shakhtar should be able to break them down. At 4/11 on the home side though, there's more value in a Sainsbury's finest meal deal. Good luck everyone, Atko

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event Ajax Amsterdam - Dinamo Zagreb Selection Dinamo Zagreb Strength 5/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price Stan James @ 8.00 (Back) Reasoning Ajax are considered huge favorites here wothout solid reasons. They lost against Dinamo Zgreb in the past at home with about the same team. Zagreb is playing better and won against Timisoara away 3-0. Timisoara got here a point so I expect more from Zagreb. They have a very solid squad with big names in it and I think they should win the group. Ajax are not very good in European competitions lately. They got some crazy results at home last season in Europe losing points against way weaker teams than Dinamo Zagreb. I think that Zagreb will win the group and Timisoara will second them. So I expect tonight a win by Zagreb and Timisoara.

[Mahno]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Shakhtar will play with storngest squad today,there are no fresh injuries. Miners are unbeaten on their new stadium - Donbas Arena and last few matches at home they won by 2 or more goals. Toulouse had hard match against PSG last weekend while Shakhtar trashed at home Karpaty 5-1. Shakhtar -1 @2.17 :hope

[shef]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 latest news from fenerbahçe, guıza and billica can play.. but semih injured at last training and i think wont play.. guiza and alex wont play too.. 3 important attack players wont play.. and fener defence is averytime awfull.. it is not important bilica and lugano will play..

[Paggy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Even without Alex Souza playing for Fenerbahce and considering the upcoming derby with Galatasaray, I would never bet on Steaua. The so-called good form is in fact an illusion, they are terrible in both the domestic league and the Europa League, defending against better team and struggling with weaker sides. Furthermore the home field advantage is a joke, and a pretty grim one as well. The fans come to the stadium just to insult the owner Becali and they've stated repeatedly that they will sabotage the team. The plan is to shout racist comments, display offensive banners and do everything to get the team suspended and fined. Given Fenerbahce's tough schedule and absentees I will probably refrain from backing them, but under no circumstances I'd bet on a home victory.

[Atko]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Even without Alex Souza playing for Fenerbahce and considering the upcoming derby with Galatasaray, I would never bet on Steaua. The so-called good form is in fact an illusion, they are terrible in both the domestic league and the Europa League, defending against better team and struggling with weaker sides. Furthermore the home field advantage is a joke, and a pretty grim one as well. The fans come to the stadium just to insult the owner Becali and they've stated repeatedly that they will sabotage the team. The plan is to shout racist comments, display offensive banners and do everything to get the team suspended and fined. Given Fenerbahce's tough schedule and absentees I will probably refrain from backing them, but under no circumstances I'd bet on a home victory.

Paggy, that's an interesting piece of information. I see, however, that Steaua are continuing to win despite the off-field problems. Do you think the team is rising above all this or being dragged down?

[grieksken]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Club Brugge - Partizan Bet: Club Brugge to win Koster is really doing great in Brugge as the new coach for the team. Akpala went off @ half time last weekend so he had some rest. He will be the key player if brugge wants to win this game because I think he'll be the only stiker. Behind him Perisic, dirar and Blondel will have to help him attack. Both teams need to win thisone, but I think Partizan isn't that great away. Sheriff - Twente bet: Twente to win. Twente is really a suprise. They play good and got some great players in their team but the most important: they are a team. They play good football and everybody seems to know what they have to do and they do their tasks. Really think Twente can win this match! Timişoara - Anderlecht bet: -2.5 goals scored. Anderlecht is going to play defensive. They are going to play very defensive and hope they don't concede a goal. If possible they'll try to score on a counter. I think it'll be a boring game and a -2.5 is very likely (unless Timisoara scores a early goal)

[Backbencher]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 I think I'll be going against the tide here. I know Villarreal has been crappy so far, they still have to win a game in the Liga and are at the bottom with 3 points in 7 games. But I don't think Lazio is a better team, they are without a win at home in the last 5. Villarreal has not played as bad as their position suggest, they've been the better team last games, but have missed too many chances to score. This is a very important game for them and will play with the best players. Lazio will miss some players and if we compare the starting 11s we don't see the differencie odds suggest. Lazio-Villarreal, Villarreal DNB, @2.46 (betfair)

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

I don't know what match some of you guys were watching. I thought Rapid Vienna were in complete control against Celtic and looked the far more dangerous going forward' date=' especially in the second half. The reality remains that Celtic, much like Rangers, are out of their depth in Europe. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.[/quote'] :unsure Match stats....

Match Stats
	Celtic	Rapid Vienna
Shots (on Goal)	12(6)	9(4)
Fouls	11	15
Corner Kicks	11	3
Offsides	4	1
Time of Possession	59%	41%
Yellow Cards	1	2
Red Cards	0	0

Celtic had more shots off target, more shots on target, ,more corner kicks and more possession, but your right Vienna completely controlled the game. The chances Celtic missed in that game were poor, we should have won at least 2-1, 3-1

[aka haldan]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Celtic vs Hamburg Advice: 10pts on Celtic (+0) AH @ 2.16 Ladbrokes This is a massive massive price for Celtic at home. Ok, they haven’t been too impressive so far this season but I can’t put the blame on Mowbray who actually has the team playing some good football, the blame simply must go on Mr McDonald and Samaras who just can’t seem to hit the net. Hamburg beat Hapoel 4-2 at home in their last Europa fixture but were previously thumped 3-0 away at Rapid Vienna. Celtic lost away at Hapoel and were unlucky only to draw 1-1 with Vienna as they were the better team whereas Rapid were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure. Hamburg certainly won’t do that here and this is all set to be a very open game in my opinion. Andreas Hinkel returns for the Bhoys and that is a massive plus although Danny Fox is set to miss out. Hamburg are without several players for this tie and I simply can’t have them as favourites playing at Parkhead. A must win game for Celtic and if McDonald & Samaras have their shooting boots on, I believe they can do it.

I,ve been seeing your posts for sometime now and I think you are misleading people as you always take the full stake of 10 points. For instance, I saw the level of your domestic teams in Europe (Motherwell and Rangers recent performances) and especially the Celtic one: 0-1 at home with Dinamo Moskva (with a strange "turnover" in Moskva), 0-2 with Arsenal, 1-2 at Tel Aviv and 1-1 with Rapid Viena, again at home. So, I believe Celtic is in the best case an average team who can't be settled as 100% favourite when meeting Hamburger even the Germans are not very much interested in Europa League and have a depleted squad. Of course, it's a football match and everything is finally possible, but 10 points confidence???? No way. This is a betting site, so stop acting like a fan (another example: you did it the same when Scotland played in Norway and you were far from reality).

[i_like_punts]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

I really fancy Roma away at Fulham. Reason being, Fulham only played on Monday night so will be tired, they arent having the best run in the league at the moment, and they will probably have 1 eye on Man City at the weekend, hoping not to drop even more points in the league there. Roma arent playing very well at all either in Serie A, however they have what will be regarded as a fairly easier match coming up at the weekend against a struggling Livorno. I also think if Totti, Vucinic etc start they will have a little too much for fulham, so should be a narrow win.

Totti is 100% out! For Fulham Danny Murphy is out as well after picking up a knee knock against Hull. Andy Johnson, Dickson Etuhu and Simon Davies are also set to miss out. I disagree about the fatigue issue you raise. The game was on Monday and they've had 70 hours to recover. The game was also at home so there is no travel issues to consider. It wasn't particularly a difficult game as Hull are absolutely dire so it's not as if the players were at it for the full 90.

[payday]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 steaua vs fenerbahce istanbul 12 years ago,with a much better team than this one,steaua played a uefa tie with fener.firts leg was 0:0 but in istanbul steaua won by 2 to 1 today,the best they can get is a draw,in my opinion.and a good bet is steaua not to score,exactly what happened in their firsts 2 games of the group...

[tambdy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Interesting to see a bit of interest in the Celtic v Hamburg game.... Being a Celtic fan I thought I'd give my opinion on the match.... Celtic V Hamburg - Celtic win @ 3.1 (William Hill) Celtic are currently going through a transitional stage with Tony Mowbery still tinkering with the squad of players he has to try get them playing football the way he wants his team to play. On Saturday we lost ground in the Championship race by drawing at home to a more than decent Motherwell side. While that result was frustrating for Celtic, we did have a good few chances to win the match, McDonald and McGeady the main culprits on this occasion. In the past few games Shaun Maloney and Samaras have also missed gilt edged chances to win matches for the Hoops (Maloney missed two sitters against Rapid and Rangers). The problem recently seems to be finding the net, I agree with So67 above in that we miss Fortune. Celtic's form at Celtic Park in Europe has been somewhat formiddable up until last season and this season at home in Europe we have played three games thus far.... In early July (midway through Celtic's preseason) we lost 1-0 at home to Dinamo Moscow - The Russian side took the lead after 7 minutes and decided to sit in and protect their lead, however Celtic, even though they looked like the lacked match fitness, battled away and were extremely unlucky not to score themselves. We over turned the result and won the away leg 2-0 in Russia. In August (One game into the new SPL season) we lost 2-0 at home to Arsenal. There is no denying Arsenal are a class above Celtic however on this occassion I tohught we played well and were extremely unlucky to lose the game to a wicked deflection and a horrible own goal. We played ok. At the start of this month we drew 1-1 at home to Rapid Vienna. Again the visitors scored early on (3rd minute) and this allowed them to stick 11 men behind the ball making it very difficult for Celtic to break them down, however again we had the chances to win this game and really should have scored at least 2 of them to make it 3-1. I guess my point in commenting on the three European games this season at Parkhead is to illustrate that Celtic have not been playing badly in these games, we just havent found the finishing touch which made our home form so impressive in recent seasons. As the So67 says we have never really been hammered at home in Europe and I think that shows we as a unit and a team can be a solid unit and play football against the big teams on our own turf. We have played better teams than Hamburg and managed a result, it is interesting to me that Hamburg are missing 7 players tomorrow night. I dont really know too much about them but I recognise they are a good, solid team, however the two players I have been most impressed with ( Guerro and Petric) are out through injury and this can only be a massive boost for Mowery's men tomorrow night. The manager has came out and said that its not a win or bust game for us, I presume he is saying this to keep calm around the camp because to be honest if we are sitting on 1 point after 3 games (two of which have been at home) then I cannot really see us progressing. I too would appreicate some of the German lads on the forum to inform us on the ability of the squad available to Hamburg tomorrow night :ok At this moment in time I am looking to back Celtic at an overpriced (in my opinion) 3.1 :hope

Dinamo Moscow were a very very poor team, celtic actually managed to make them look good in the 1st leg

[tambdy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

:unsure Match stats....

Match Stats
	Celtic	Rapid Vienna
Shots (on Goal)	12(6)	9(4)
Fouls	11	15
Corner Kicks	11	3
Offsides	4	1
Time of Possession	59%	41%
Yellow Cards	1	2
Red Cards	0	0

Celtic had more shots off target, more shots on target, ,more corner kicks and more possession, but your right Vienna completely controlled the game. The chances Celtic missed in that game were poor, we should have won at least 2-1, 3-1

Good you are doing a mobarry from the weekend then when the reporter gave him stats he said lets not talk about stats, he is turning into strachan the 2nd

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Good you are doing a mobarry from the weekend then when the reporter gave him stats he said lets not talk about stats' date=' he is turning into strachan the 2nd[/quote'] What.? Look if you dont like my post of stats then fair enough, no need to comment on it though :ok

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

I,ve been seeing your posts for sometime now and I think you are misleading people as you always take the full stake of 10 points. For instance, I saw the level of your domestic teams in Europe (Motherwell and Rangers recent performances) and especially the Celtic one: 0-1 at home with Dinamo Moskva (with a strange "turnover" in Moskva), 0-2 with Arsenal, 1-2 at Tel Aviv and 1-1 with Rapid Viena, again at home. So, I believe Celtic is in the best case an average team who can't be settled as 100% favourite when meeting Hamburger even the Germans are not very much interested in Europa League and have a depleted squad. Of course, it's a football match and everything is finally possible, but 10 points confidence???? No way. This is a betting site, so stop acting like a fan (another example: you did it the same when Scotland played in Norway and you were far from reality).

Think your being a bit niave here, the 10pts that JJ always goes for is to do with his sports-punter selections if I am not mistaken. He does not act like a fan, he is a well established and successfull punter/tipper on here so think a little more respect is in order. If he think Celtic/Scotland will lose, he will say so, we are all here to make money at the end of the day, not to talk up out selected teams.

[talkativeboy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Lazio should beat Villarreal quite easily. Villarreal is horrible in both domestic and europa leagues. Although Lazio is not showing any quality at all either, Villarreal is too distracted with survival in La Liga and they probably will give up on the Europa League. I think we can expect both sides to score tonight but Villarreal has been too disappointing and Lazio should beat them by a narrow margin.

[Mahno]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 I think Celtic have chance to beat Hamburg.Hamburg have long injury list and i don't know if they are intrested in Europa at all.Celtic bottom palce with 1 point,0-0 draw at home last weekend - u must be fcuking angry after that.odds on home team are good as well.

[sharpshot7]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Think your being a bit niave here, the 10pts that JJ always goes for is to do with his sports-punter selections if I am not mistaken. He does not act like a fan, he is a well established and successfull punter/tipper on here so think a little more respect is in order. If he think Celtic/Scotland will lose, he will say so, we are all here to make money at the end of the day, not to talk up out selected teams.

Having been on this site for a few years i have learned to look beyond the Fan selections.Celtic fans nearly always big up their team/celtic park atmosphere when euro games are mentioned. However IMO this was the case a couple of years ago but is no longer the case.They have yet to win in 3 euro games at home this season and the atmosphere against vienna was'nt entirely electric!. The same "fan selections" happen often with punters from Turkey and romania.You get romanians who tell you all romanian teams will win due only to their pride in their country.Lastly you'll get punters telling you their rivals wont win simply because they are rivals and they dont want them to win (for example :steaua fans telling us dinamo are shit and wont win). As i said at the beginning it is simply a case of working through the "fans" posts and finding the information (injuries/suspensions etc) needed to make bets. Oh and before the celtic fans on here start moaning i actually do think the odds for celtic are value tonight but considering the rubbish i have seen from them this season it is a no bet for me.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event Athletic Bilbao - CD Nacional de Madeira Selection CD Nacional de Madeira Strength 5/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price William Hill @ 8.00 (Back) Reasoning Odds are decreasing and it is only normal. Athletic is in pathetic form and such opportunities are hard to get. These odds have pure value. Nacional made some impressive performances this season, eliminating Zenit for example and they play well at the moment in Portugal. Athletic are in one their worse runs ever and they lose against about anybody. Nacional need to win here to get second spot and now it's the time to do it. Athletic is a wounded animal at the moment.

[Scotlandspunter]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22

Having been on this site for a few years i have learned to look beyond the Fan selections.Celtic fans nearly always big up their team/celtic park atmosphere when euro games are mentioned. However IMO this was the case a couple of years ago but is no longer the case.They have yet to win in 3 euro games at home this season and the atmosphere against vienna was'nt entirely electric!. The same "fan selections" happen often with punters from Turkey and romania.You get romanians who tell you all romanian teams will win due only to their pride in their country.Lastly you'll get punters telling you their rivals wont win simply because they are rivals and they dont want them to win (for example :steaua fans telling us dinamo are shit and wont win). As i said at the beginning it is simply a case of working through the "fans" posts and finding the information (injuries/suspensions etc) needed to make bets. Oh and before the celtic fans on here start moaning i actually do think the odds for celtic are value tonight but considering the rubbish i have seen from them this season it is a no bet for me.

Understand what your saying here Sharpshot, but my point was I cant see a seasoned punter like JJ who is serious about making money tipping or backing Celtic just because he supports them, can you?

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event BATE - AEK Atena Selection draw Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price Pinnacle Sports @ 3.36 (Back) Reasoning Normally this is a draw. Aek has some points after winning against Benfica at home. Everton will probably hold for a draw against Benfica away tonight and thus, with a draw AEK are almost assured to get the second place if they can get a point in Benfica(and they can). BATE are not as strong as they were last year but they are still impressive enough at home not to back the away team. I think the match is balanced overall and a draw would please both teams. BATE are favorites in bookmakers opinion but I think they can't win here. They lost at home against Everton after leading 1-0 and AEK desperately needs a point.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event FC Red Bull Salzburg - PFC Levski Sofia Selection (-2.5) Salzburg (Asian Handicap) Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price Bet365 @ 3.40 (Back) Reasoning Odds are not that great but still got value. Here is what I think about this match. Salzburg won 2-0 at home against Villareal and 2-1 away to Lazio. Villareal won 1-0 at home against Levski and Lazio won 4-0 away to Levski. I think Levski can only go down at the moment. They are in very very poor form in domestic matches too. They've just lost at home against Beroe 1-0. They can't score and concede quite a lot and against about anybody. Salzburg is a team from Austria and teams from Austria score a lot. Lots of over 2.5 results in T-Mobile Bundesliga.3-0 or more is what I predict here.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event Steaua Bucuresti - Fenerbahce Instanbul Selection Steaua 0 (Asian Handicap) Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price William Hill @ 1.85 (Back) Reasoning Steaua are favorites in this one and it is only normal since they drew 0-0 away to Twente while Fener lost at home 2-1 against Twente. Twente have quality players but their coach is not impressive at all. At least that's what Steaua scouts affirmed. Daum declared that they want not to get injuries for the derby against Galata in the weekend so I think this match will be ignored and Steaua has a great chance. Steaua won't lose even if Fener would play 100% but in this case, when they have a derby in Superligi next match I think Steaua can win here. They are incredibly professional in Europa League.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event PSV Eindhoven - FC Kobenhavn Selection under 2.5 Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price 5Dimes @ 1.68 (Back) Reasoning PSV plays decently lately and I think they can win this one too. But Kobenhavn is not a team to concede a lot. They generally win at home 1-0 and lose away 1-0 2-0. So I think here the result will be 2-0. CFR played in Eindhoven and lost 1-0. CFR is better than Kobenhavn at the moment so I don't see Kobenhavn standing a chance here. And we all know that PSV rely on their home matches. Even in CL they were a strength to be reckoned at home. They could win against top teams in front of their supporters, why not against some overmediocrities like Kobenhavn.

[sharpshot7]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 I think his choice is a very good one as i would be surprised to see hamburg win but cannot trust celtic to win at the moment.

[ReasonableGuy]

Re: UEFA Europa League » Oct 22 Event Benfica - Everton Selection draw Strength 10/10 Date 22/10/2009 Bookmaker/Price Pinnacle Sports @ 3.70 (Back) Reasoning I don't see Benfica winning here. Everton are very strong and this is an important match for them. If Benfica wins it. it'll get more difficult for Everton. Don't think that Everton will struggle in the last matches. More probable they will try to get as many points from the first few rounds. They got 6 so far and it is obvious that they are number 1 in this group. A defeat here would complicate things a bit too much. All 3 teams could have 6 points (Benfica, Everton and AEK), although I don't believe AEK will win against BATE. But it is how they planned the match. At least that's how I'd think.