Has the makings of 2 cracking semi's and I'm really looking forward to watching both.
The United v Milan game is going to be close with Milan looking to put a bit of respectability back into Italian football after the drubbing United gave Roma and tell the truth after the highs of that night i wouldent be surprised .to see a draw here.
The Chelsea game has the makings of a classic but Chelsea do seem to get the better of liverpool in recent yrs and allthough Liverpool have the European pedigree i have a feeling Chelsea will sneak this by the odd goal, making way for another classic Euro night at anfield.
Money-Back Special Chelsea v Liverpool Paddy Power will refund all losing 1st/last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets on this match if the games ends in a 0-0 draw.
Im going to go against the grain tonight with the over unders market.
Overs @ 2.48 has lots of appeal for me over on Betfair.
Reason for thinking there will be goals is that Man Utds pace and one touch attacking football will rip Milan to pieces. Yes they are experienced but they arent the fastest of teams and United have players that will cause them all sorts of trouble.
I can see the likes of Ronaldo, Giggs, Rooney having a field day. McGeady for Celtic troubled Milan everytime he got the ball as they couldnt cope with his pace and i see no difference here.
Milan do have an attacking threat also and with United having a defence that is decimated with injuries to Vidic, Ferdinand, Nevillie and Silvestre and with them playing a make shift back line with midfielders etc i can see them giving up a goal in this game.
Big blow for Milan is the loss of Ronaldo who is cup tied as he has been in some great form recently and i dont really rate the strikers that are left such as Gilardino and Oliviera.
So yeah i fancy some goals and will have some of it at 2.48 over on Betfair.
If Milan will try too hard to win this, sending too many player up, they could very easily lose the match just like Roma.. but if they keep 5 eyes on Ronaldo and carefully probe Man U's territory like they did with Bayern, they can get a result.
Thing that scares me is what kind of refferee we'll see from uefa
The price on United looks a wee bit big to me. ffice:smarttags" />Milan are stuck 23 points of the pace in Seria A because they couldn’t get results against the teams that mattered. Of the 4 teams above them they are D3 L1 away from home which speaks for a certain lack of ambition. At home they have been almost as bad with W1 L2 (yet to play Fiorentina). United went off at around 1.85 best price against Roma so I can only presume the pricing up around 6/5 is for the injuries to their defence. A lot will depend on Ferguson’s tactics. He doesn’t have the second string defence anchored around the flaky Brown and O’Shea to try and play a patient game which will suit Milan’s ageing team and will play to the strengths of a team with a playmaker of the calibre of Kaka. A fast pacy game to stretch the Italians is the way to go here surely. Problem is that Ronaldo is showing signs of burnout and Rooney is decidedly of colour as well. Nerves were very evident against Boro but what is needed here is a fearless display. I’m not sure will we get it however.
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Avoiding televised Champions League semi final games is usually good for your bankroll but for the night that’s in it I’ll be having a small interest punt on United at 22/19 (Pinnacle).
The price on United looks a wee bit big to me. ffice:smarttags" />Milan are stuck 23 points of the pace in Seria A because they couldn’t get results against the teams that mattered. Of the 4 teams above them they are D3 L1 away from home which speaks for a certain lack of ambition. At home they have been almost as bad with W1 L2 (yet to play Fiorentina). United went off at around 1.85 best price against Roma so I can only presume the pricing up around 6/5 is for the injuries to their defence. A lot will depend on Ferguson’s tactics. He doesn’t have the second string defence anchored around the flaky Brown and O’Shea to try and play a patient game which will suit Milan’s ageing team and will play to the strengths of a team with a playmaker of the calibre of Kaka. A fast pacy game to stretch the Italians is the way to go here surely. Problem is that Ronaldo is showing signs of burnout and Rooney is decidedly of colour as well. Nerves were very evident against Boro but what is needed here is a fearless display. I’m not sure will we get it however.
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Avoiding televised Champions League semi final games is usually good for your bankroll but for the night that’s in it I’ll be having a small interest punt on United at 22/19 (Pinnacle).
Remember Milan had a points deduction but even so they wouldnt have caught Inter. I dont think the Italian league is as strong or attractive as it used to be.
I agree Man Utd look big here. I reckon they can win by a couple, the only worry is the defence. I mean we could see for example right back being Fletcher and left back Richardson. That doesnt inspire confidence for me but then again they are very attack minded players so will be bombing up and down the sidelines.
Im going to join you on United to win aswell as the overs
Tue Apr 24, 2007
19:45 Manchester United v AC Milan (ITV1) 4/5 9/4 16/5
I´m really sure that Milan will not win this meeting. ManU at home is very good in CL. And 2.00 is a good odd for ManU at home. Milan haven´t the class of ManU this season. They won with much luck versus poor Munichs and have a lot luck in this CL session!
Am I the only one considering Milan. Most firms go 3-1 or better, this seems to be great value. Their last four domestic games have netted them 14 goals. This doesn't necessarily translate into european form but they must feel fairly confident.
This brings me back to a great memory of the Champions League. I was cheering AC Milan against Liverpool in the 2005 finals from the small pub jampacked with supporters from both sides. I was on Milan to win and it was great seeing Milan tearing apart Pools with first half lead of 3-0. Confident of money for more booze from the small token bet (for fun's sake) I was ordering and downing beers, chanting something I wish I understood.
Miraculously, Liverpool scored three unanswered goals in the second half to force extra time and an eventual shootout. As the shootout began, a strange thing happened. Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek started to have a seizure in the box. Well, it wasn't a seizure, but it was a clumsy attempt (which was finally proved to be a clever attempt) to distract Milan's shooters by dancing and shaking on the line. Not only was Dudek's little jig hilarious, it inspired Xbox 360. Maybe it worked or maybe it didn't, but Dudek stopped Shevchenko's penalty to win the Champions League trophy for Liverpool and cap one of the most amazing comebacks in champion league history. While the Italians hung their heads in dismay, I had a little smile on my face. I knew I had watched an amazing match which will be remembered by many around the world for year's to come. (Valuable lesson learnt for me don't count your winnings b4 the final whistle is blown.)
Back to the game today, digging into both teams it is difficult to tell them apart (slight feelings towards Man U due to home advantage), but if the defensive absences of Man U are to be taken into account than it levels both teams. Over to Milan in the Italian league one could argue that they have been performing better with Ronaldo in the team and his absence now will be a minus, but they did manage to overcome that against Bayern Munich away. Not being able to choose a winner between them looking at over/under too looks confusing. With the absences in defence for Man U they should be concentrating most play in midfield with fast runs-in from the wings and through balls towards the goalmouth, while Milan will be concentrating more on thier trademark defence, counter attacks and breaks. I am having a micro-small punt on the overs hoping to see goals with the beer on my side (otherwise I would rate this as a big no-bet game).
I see a much different situation now then 2 years ago when Liverpool was a huge underdog to Chelsea. Even the most hard-core Chelsea fans would have to admit their team is struggling this whole season regardless of the fact they are chasing the quadruple. I believe their transition from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 this season is not bringing the best out of their best players. Last two seasons midfielders were fed off by Drogba frequently thus many goals were scored by midfielders. My personal opinion is that Mourinho`s unbreakable spirit is inspiring them to bounce back every time, not to forget last 4 CL games Chelsea was behind in every game.
On the other hand Liverpool is far the better side now then 2 years ago. The arrivals of Agger, Mascherano and Crouch have definitely pushed the team to the higher level. Only thing I am afraid of is the factor of revenge, it may be too much for Liverpool to kick Chelsea out of the third semi-final in 3 consecutive years . Two CLs and one FA cup. Nevertheless I will be rooting for my beloved reds with all my heart and betting wise I just dont see this kind of game going over no matter how many great players both teams have, IMHO defensive tactics and caution are going to prevail in this much important battle, thus under is going to be my choice at the bookies.
With Man Utd having defensive problems I can see Milan going to score because a 2-1 defeat would be a good result for them. I think they've defo got the quality to score and I think they will score but how many will Man Utd get ?
I've had a small dabble on Milan ht/ft and a small touch of them at 3/1 as well.
As for tomorrow night I honestly do not know. You can make a case for all 3 outcomes but as it's on the tele and keg will be consumed then one has to bet but i don't know.
I hate betting on unders or 0-0 because i want to see goals but i cannot see myself backing over - not yet anyhow but that could change by 7:45pm tomorrow
I fully agree with you there perxxx on the Chelski-Pool game, they are 2 completely different sides from 2 years ago. Pools with their cohesiveness are playing much better as a team and confidence are high within, whereas Chelsea seems to look lost. They are not scoring as they were expected as a dream team (when they were 1st assembled by the "chosen one"). However we cannot simply write them off at their backyard. I have already placed a very early bet on the A/Hcp when pools were +1/2 at 1.88, hoping to trade off after a couple of minutes into the game.
Champions League 24-25th April
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