Juve are not at their strongest and the Cottagers could get a result from the biggest game in their European history, Richard Aikman tells you why “Fulham’s best chance to sneak a very attractively priced away win 7.0 is likely to come from set-pieces as goalkeeper Alex Manninger is still prone to fumbling crosses and the likes of Brad Hangeland could take advantage of the brittle Bianconeri rearguard.” In a contest between two wily old coaches entertainment goals are likely to be at a premium when Juventus and Fulham clash at the Stadio Olimpico. Having had the misfortune to witness at first hand one of the most uneventful matches in European football in Turin last week, there is little to convince this writer that Fulham’s trip to northern Italy will be much different to that goalless draw between Juve and Ajax. Bianconeri coach Alberto Zaccheroni and opposite number Roy Hodgson know each other well from the latter’s Serie A days and age has not dimmed either elder statesman’s pragmatic approach.
Tobias Gourlay saw enough in Bavaria a fortnight ago to think there might be a Florentine renaissance on Tuesday evening.
Recommended Bets: Back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.95; back Fiorentina at 3.55 To Qualify
Ahead of the first leg of Fiorentina’s Last 16 tie with Bayern Munich, the Italians were in no sort of form. In the end they got no sort of result, but that’s not to tell the full story. With just over a quarter of an hour left, Massimo Gobbi was sent off, when he might easily not have been. It was 1-1 at that point, but if anyone deserved to be ahead it was the visitors. With a minute left, Bayern’s Miroslav Klose scored from an offside position. The goal was allowed to stand and the Germans had a 2-1 win to take to the Artemio Franchi this week.
Just a fortnight after he played ‘the biggest game for us in five years,’ La Viola’s captain, Riccardo Montolivo, is preparing for ‘truly the game of our lives.’
Ben Lyttleton talks us through the events of an extraordinary match in which Bordeaux drew with Montpellier on Sunday, two dropped points that the pursuing pack couldn’t capitalise on…. The round of matches before a Champions League second-leg tie is often a good time to lay top teams and last weekend it was no different. Of the sides in European action this week, Porto, Fiorentina, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Lyon all dropped points and Real Madrid just avoided doing soafter a last-minute winner sealed an astonishing come-from-behind 3-2 win over Sevilla. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the Lyon result: after all, Lyon had rediscovered their form since the new year and went into their match at rock-bottom Boulogne with six wins from their last seven and the opportunity to put further pressure on leaders Bordeaux before their Sunday-night match against second-placed Montpellier. And though Hugo Lloris extended his run without conceding a goal to six games, Lyon’s strikers drew a blank in their goalless draw. That left the teams around them with the chance to take advantage, but none did so: Lille drew 1-1 at Saint-Etienne and Marseille drew 1-1 with Lorient. That left three points separating the top six sides before the top two Bordeaux and Montpellier went head-to-head in one of the most dramatic games of the Ligue 1 season. The match burst into life after half an hour when Mikael Ciani, Bordeaux’s superb centre-back who won his first France cap last week in the friendly against Spain, was sent off as the last man for bringing down Victor Montano
Martin Demichelis misses Bayern Munich’s match this weekend through injury as do other key players from around Europe. Bettorlogic tell us how their absences can affect proceedings. “Demichelis has been at Bayern since the 2003/04 season and has developed into one of the Bavarian giant’s most important defenders in that time, and since the start of last term has played 41 and missed 17 of Bayern’s games. His record has been good, Bayern winning 66% of games with him compared to 47% without.” Click Here to subscribe to Player PRO and have a free 14 day trial. Bettorlogic have compiled a report using our player analysis tool Player PRO highlighting the most important players that are likely to be missing across Europe’s major leagues this weekend. NB Player appearances are based on a player starting and completing at least an hour of the match unless otherwise stated
Every week Andrew Atherley will be selecting three odds-on shots worth laying. But there’s a catch: he only gets paid by betting.betfair.com if at least two prove to be winning bets. This week’s English-based bet comes from the depths of League Two…
“In fact, Morecambe have lost fewer games overall than Bournemouth, which is a sign of the visitors’ solidity and indicates that the gap between the two sides in the table might not be an accurate reflection of their respective class.”
Lay Bournemouth at 1.95 v Morecambe
Away from the glamour of the FA Cup, this battle of two seaside towns is a crunch game in the League Two promotion race. Bournemouth’s overall home record looks good on paper, ranking fifth in League Two, but it has been on a downward spiral since they opened the season with six wins out of seven.
