03-11-2010 Bets Of The Day

20:45 Partizan - Sporting Braga

Three straight defeats leaves Partizan propping up of Group H. Visitors Sporting Braga have blown hot and cold in the competition and will await a spicy reaction in Serbia. Both teams to score checks out @ 1.85 but we can see Partizan making the early running to make up for their paltry one goal so far.

Tip : Partizan Belgrade to score first (1.90) - (Sportingbet)

20:45 CFR 1907 Cluj - Bayern Munchen

Romanians Cluj gave Bayern a scare in Munich and are well priced to at least avoid defeat @ 1.90. Louis Van Gaal's team have maximum points in the Champions League and are gathering momentum after a poor start to the season. Europe has been good to them in 2010 and they should win in Romania tonight where the lines are very favourable.

Tip : Bayern Munich to win (1.75) - (Sportingbet)

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03-11-2010 20:45 Partizan - Sporting Braga

Going All Out

Partizan and Braga have not had life easy in the Champions League this season, and anything less than a victory for either side will likely be considered curtains for their dreams of chasing a place in the last 16.

The Serbians have been a little unlucky to date in losing all three of their matches. It took a late goal for Shakhtar Donetsk to defeat them in the Ukraine, while they ran Arsenal close two weeks later at the Stadion FK Partizan. A loss against Braga on the road may yet prove to be the decisive blow, however.

“We deserved more than the 2-0 defeat – we're not happy,” coach Aleksandar Stanojevic stated after the clash in Portugal. “In the second half we had chances and we should have scored.

“With this defeat our chances are now even slimmer but we will do everything we can to win in Belgrade. Braga will no doubt look to hit us on the counterattack there, too, but we have no option but to go all out for the win.”

The coach also promised the outcome of the match in Serbia will be “very different”, so now it’s up to his players to ensure such talk was not simply hollow. Top of their domestic league and having beaten Jagodina 3-0 at the weekend, the Black and Whites will approach Wednesday’s fixture with some justifiable confidence.

Holding Out Hope

When Braga smashed Sevilla out of the Champions League play-offs, it seemed that an exciting new Iberian force was blooming. But once amongst the elite, it quickly became apparent that Domingos Paciencia had benefitted from the Spaniards’ early season ineptitude and were not the powerhouse those earlier results suggested.

Arsenal were quick to humble the Portuguese side, giving the Minhotos a real lesson at the Emirates Stadium, where the Gunners romped to a 6-0 victory. At home a couple of weeks later, chances were passed up as they were smashed 3-0 by Shakhtar and pride was only restored to some extent when Partizan were beaten 2-0 at the Estadio AXA.

After that fixture, Lima, who struck the first blow before Mattheus got the second just before the break, professed his belief that the Arsenalistas can yet reach the last 16.

“We know it's going to be tough to make it to the next round, but there are still plenty of matches and many points to play for,” the Brazilian said. “If we win at Partizan we go to six points, and Shakhtar have to play Arsenal at home. We hope Arsenal can help us by beating them again in Ukraine, then we have to do our bit.”

Already 11 points off the pace in the Portuguese Liga, which a rejuvenated Porto are dominating, Braga have to make the most of this Champions League excursion, because they probably won’t get the chance next season.

TEAM NEWS

Partizan
Ljubomir Fejsa is a long-term injury problem for Partizan, but otherwise they don’t have any injury worries at all.

Braga

Quim remains a long-term issue due to a rupture Achilles tendon, while Paulao has a thigh injury and will miss out too.

Prediction

If Partizan play in the fashion they managed in Portugal, it’s unlikely that they’ll go down to another defeat. They’ve already given Arsenal a fright in front of their passionate home support, so it’s not unreasonable to suggest that they can take at least a point from the midweek clash.

Partizan 1-1 Braga

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03-11-2010 20:45 Milan - Real

A Potential Banana Skin

Talk to Silvio Berlusconi and he will tell you that Milan have the Champions League encrypted in their DNA. Which isn’t necessarily an exaggeration given that the Rossoneri are the second most successful club in European Cup history, but in coach Massimiliano Allegri they do have an inexperienced tactician and that could cost them dearly.

If Milan had won their opening three matches in Group G, one wouldn’t have questioned Allegri’s Champions League credentials but the fact is that the Rossoneri are staring at elimination in the eye. They may be second in the group with four points from three games but Ajax have the same number of points. On Wednesday evening while the Dutch giants are up against point-less Auxerre and should garner a win, Milan host a Madrid side who have won all three matches and have yet to concede a goal.

Winning is the only thing for Milan in this game as they wouldn’t like the prospect of playing catch-up to Ajax. However, the Diavolo will have to step up their game in order to defeat an imperious-looking Madrid side as two weeks back they were crushed 2-0 at the Bernabeu.

Moreover, the Rossoneri are coming off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Juventus in Serie A at the weekend but Allegri remains defiant and said, “We are a strong team. We lost against Juventus but they scored two lucky goals. Milan played very well on Saturday and did not deserve to lose. It was the same thing against Real Madrid two weeks ago.”

He added, “This is a strong group of players, playing at a good level, so we have everything needed to win. We have to keep Real Madrid under pressure – we can't repeat the technical mistakes we made in the first leg.”

Back In Milan

The match against Milan at San Siro will be Jose Mourinho’s first visit to the city since the summer when he left Inter after leading them to a historic treble. He was already welcomed by the Nerazzurri supporters, who will also hope for a Milan defeat after their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Tuesday.
Madrid are one of the most in-form sides in Europe at the moment. Their 3-1 win against Hercules at the weekend saw them remain in pole position in the Spanish Primera Division; it was also only the fifth time that Madrid had conceded all season.

The nine-time European champions will qualify for the second rounds as group winners if they win against Milan and they will go into the match believing that they can. Two weeks ago los Blancos destroyed the Rossoneri 2-0 with Cristiano Ronaldo proving that he is not a big-game flop (well, not always) and the Portugal international will be keen to do likewise on Wednesday.

However, Madrid must be aware that last year in the corresponding fixture they could only draw 1-1 and that they have never won at San Siro. Mourinho knows this and said on Monday, “When a top team loses, they rarely lose two in a row so I think they will be stronger than Saturday. They will be more focused, and there's more pressure on them, but not that much as this game is not decisive.

“We're doing well now and want to continue that here. To play against Milan in San Siro is something everybody wants to do.”



TEAM NEWS
 
Milan

Massimo Oddo is out for four to six weeks with a left thigh problem he sustaining during training on Friday. However, Ronaldinho, Gianluca Zambrotta, Thiago Silva and Massimo Ambrosini are back to full fitness.

Real Madrid

Kaka, Ezequiel Garay and Fernando Gago are long-term injury concerns. Lassana Diarra has recovered from a groin injury but he has not travelled with the Blancos squad to Milan.

Prediction

Playing at home will be an advantage for Milan but winning will not be so easy. Madrid have yet to concede in the Champions League this season and Mourinho will be stern to see that it remains that way. Los Blancos could even nick it in the end as they have been scoring tons of goals recently but a draw looks to be a safe bet.

Milan 1-1 Real Madrid

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03-11-2010 20:45 Auxerre - Ajax

Finding Their Feet
 
After a difficult start to the campaign, Jean Fernandez’s Auxerre side have rediscovered their form, though progression in the Champions League is now an unrealistic goal. Instead, the Burgundy club will aim to regain some pride against Ajax at the Stade Abbe-Deschamps on Wednesday evening.

A strong conclusion to 2009-10 saw Auxerre sneak into third place in Ligue 1 to earn a berth in the Champions League play-off phase, in which they remarkably saw off Zenit St. Petersburg. The giant killing act wouldn’t last long as poor domestic form caught up with AJA, who lost to Milan and Real Madrid, giving a good account of themselves in the process. It was the loss against Ajax a fortnight ago that prevented them making real strides in Europe, yet after that defeat their fortunes have improved.

Three successive domestic wins have been achieved. Paris Saint-Germain’s eight-match unbeaten run was ended 3-2 by AJA at the Parc des Princes before Bastia were beaten up 4-0 in the Coupe de la Ligue. The resurgence continued at the weekend as Fernandez’s men got the better of struggling Nice 2-0 to move into 10th place in Le Championnat.

“I think the problem is both physical and mental. It's tough to cope with so many matches,” Fernandez explained to the media after the game.

The former Olympique de Marseille coach’s squad is certainly spread exceptionally thin due to injuries, while suspensions to Dennis Oliech and Jean-Pascal Mignot will only cause him more woe prior to a game they would have found tough in any case.

European Ambition

Auxerre’s Champions League dream may more-or-less be over, but the same certainly cannot be said of Ajax, who are presently battling with Milan to finish as runners-up in Group G. The Godenzonen have equipped themselves well in Europe this season but absolutely cannot afford to slip up in France if they are to maintain hope of reaching the last 16.

Four-times Champions League winners, Martin Jol’s side are no longer at those dizzy heights, but they are looking to establish themselves as a continental force once again after a number of relatively fallow years.

Ajax are no longer even top dogs in the Netherlands, having been outlasted last season by a remarkably consistent Twente side. After 12 Eredivisie games this season they again find themselves behind Twente, but PSV Eindhoven are also in the title mix, which appears set to be a three way battle.

For the time being, Ajax, who have lost only to Utrecht and Real Madrid since the season began, will be happy to have the distraction of European football, and victory against Auxerre in Amsterdam has allowed the Dutch side to focus even more intently on the Champions League. Despite being reduced to 10 men, the Godenzonen survived after taking a 2-0 lead, and they will expect another three points in midweek.

TEAM NEWS

Auxerre

There remain a plethora of attacking players out injured for AJA. Ireneusz Jelen would normally lead the line but is absent, while Anthony Le Tallec is missing too. Alexandre Licata and Yaya Sanogo are both long-term issues in attack. Steeven Langil will also return for this game, however.

Dennis Oliech was sent-off for two yellow cards in Amsterdam and serves a one-match ban, while regular centre-back Jean-Pascal Mignot didn’t even get onto the field a fortnight ago yet still contrived to be shown a red card.

It will therefore be a makeshift side deployed by the French club.

Ajax

Demy de Zeeuw missed out at the weekend but is fit again after a leg muscle problem. Additionally, Thimothee Atouba recently returned to action for the reserves after a long-term injury problem, but he’s not expected to be selected for this tie. Oleguer has overcome a broken nose, leaving Kenneth Vermeer as the only absentee.

Andre Ooijer is suspended after being dismissed in the previous meeting between these sides.

Prediction

Ajax won’t find this match an especially easy one. Auxerre are coming back into form and will feel that stealing a point isn’t beyond them given their recent form. Injuries will hit the home club exceptionally hard, and though they can get away with a second string in Ligue 1, at the elite level it’s likely they’ll be punished.

AJ Auxerre 0-2 Ajax

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03-11-2010 20:45 MSK Zilina - Olympique Marseille

Pointless

Zilina’s Champions League debut was expected to be difficult, though the Slovakian side would have held out hopes of avoiding a whitewash when the draw was made, pitting them against Chelsea, Spartak Moscow and Olympique de Marseille. Halfway through their campaign, they have yet to win a point, and after testing OM in France, they’ll hope to earn at least a draw on home soil.

Coach Pavel Hapal watched on a fortnight ago as MSK gave the Ligue 1 champions a real scare. There was little pretty about their direct approach, but their long accurate balls over the top of the OM defence for Momodou Ceesay to chase caused more than the occasional problem and on another day the group minnows might have enjoyed a good deal more success.

“Nobody expected such a good game from Zilina. We managed to compete effectively with OM, but it was not enough,” he told OMTV after the game with a sense of satisfaction yet frustration. “We almost got a point back but failed. We played against a great opponent but despite our very good performance, we could not beat them.

“We will do everything to grab third place. I'm sure we can do better at home with our fans behind us.”

The challenge has therefore been thrown down to Marseille by a side who have struggled a little at home domestically, drawing four of their six fixtures at the Stadion pod Dubnom. A split of the points might be considered a moral victory for the hosts come Wednesday night, but it’s unlikely to be enough to keep them with a serious interest in the group. Three points are required.

Washout
 
Marseille haven’t had the smoothest start to the season, but Didier Deschamps’ side are now firmly in the winning habit, having claimed victories in all of their last four matches. OM, who started the season with shock losses to Caen and Valenciennes, still aren’t playing to their true capacity, and are merely grinding wins out, having won 1-0 three times in their mini winning sequence.

Les Phoceens were left frustrated at the weekend as their Championnat clash with Stade Rennais was rained off. A prolonged downpour over the weekend left the Stade Velodrome pitch looking more like a swimming pool than a footballing surface, and despite attempts to play the match on Sunday after it was initially postponed on Saturday night, it proved a washout.

The last fixture that Marseille played, therefore, was a Coupe de la Ligue encounter against Championnat National side Guingamp. A fringe squad were really tested by their third tier opponents and come full-time they were lucky to walk away with a 1-0 victory.

That lethargic performance has been rather typical of OM’s season to date. At times they struggled to get into top gear, and though it hasn’t punished them too heavily domestically, they’re in a poor position in the Champions League after losing to Chelsea and Spartak Moscow.

This was finally supposed to be the season that les Phoceens progressed through the group stages, but unless they can lift themselves to a level as yet unattained this term, they face another spring of Europa League football.

TEAM NEWS

Zilina
 
The hosts are fortunate to have a clean bill of health going into this encounter. Babatounde Bello and Mario Pecalka have recently started playing again after physical problems.

Marseille

Only Hilton and Edouard Cisse are missing from Didier Deschamps’ panel to travel to Slovakia.

Prediction

Zilina have been the whipping boys in the group to this point but will try to take advantage of a Marseille side who have been especially lethargic in recent times. Didier Deschamps’ men have been playing in a mediocre fashion but doing enough to get the results, and they would ultimately settle for the same again in what appears to be a banana skin fixture. Poor performances will catch up with OM, but perhaps not on Wednesday.

MSK Zilina 0-1 Marseille

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