UEFA Cup - 15th & 16th Feb

[all_funkt_up]

Home Draw Away

15 Feb-14:30 Liteks Lovetch v Strasbourg 2.00 3.25 3.25
15 Feb-16:30 Artmedia Bratislava v Levski Sofia 2.00 3.25 3.25
15 Feb-16:30 Lokomotiv Moscow v Sevilla 2.10 3.25 3.50
15 Feb-17:00 Basel v Monaco 2.20 3.25 2.80
15 Feb-17:00 Hertha Berlin v Rapid Bucuresti 1.44 3.75 6.00
15 Feb-18:00 Lille v Shakhtar Donetsk 1.90 3.25 3.50
15 Feb-18:15 Heerenveen v Steaua Bucharest 2.00 3.20 3.30
15 Feb-18:30 Rosenborg v Zenit St Petersburg 1.90 3.25 3.50
15 Feb-19:00 Schalke v Espanyol 1.72 3.25 4.33
15 Feb-19:45 Bolton v Marseille 2.00 3.25 3.25
15 Feb-19:45 Club Brugge v Roma 2.50 3.20 2.50
15 Feb-19:45 Real Betis v AZ 1.90 3.25 3.50
15 Feb-19:45 Udinese v Lens 1.90 3.25 3.50


16 Feb-17:30 FC Thun v Hamburg 2.75 3.20 2.25
16 Feb-19:45 Slavia Prague v Palermo 2.50 3.20 2.50
16 Feb-19:45 VfB Stuttgart v Middlesbrough 1.72 3.25 4.33

All odds Bet365

[cakes]

fancy rosenborg, boro with that chelsea win fresh in the memory and also roma

[fasteddy]

first thoughts ;

AZ
Palermo
Hamburg
Monaco..........my away selections to ponder

Stuttgart
Lille
Artmedia.......good home bets to ponder

now to get 'pondering'..

[kompressaur]

ooooo im looking forward to this. Is this knock out? 2legs? or still group stage?

[johnnybgood]

2 legs

[all_funkt_up]

Hamburg seem decent value away to Thun....

LasT 6 games for Thun > DLDWLL

Theyre currently in 6th place in the Super League - compared with Hamburg who are in 2nd in the Bundesliga. Their (Hamburg's) away form has been suspect (havent won away since November against Leverkusen) but I should still expect them to win.

Gonna mull it over tonight but I could be tempted... Is van der Vaart injured? Hasnt scored for a while

[Grga]

Injury report from 11.2. for Hambuger SV:
Ailton (broken jaw), Stefan Beinlich (hip muscle), Bastian Reinhardt (thigh), Rafael van der Vaart (broken ankle), Oliver Hampel (undisclosed)

Do we have anyone from Romania?
Hereenven is in bad form so Steaua could get at least draw.

[Swooperman]

Quite fancy Schalke.....good home record & Espanyol not pulling up trees at the moment

[GaNgStA kEeKs]

Espanyol missing a couple of influential players also too Swoops with De La Pena and otherss been missing last couple of weeks although i am not sure of the situation just now for them.

Lille v Shahktar

From a tough looking set of fixtures i must say this game stood out for me in a big way for two reasons.

The first one being that Shahktar haven't been involved in a competitive football match since the 10th December in their league due to a break i believe and it doesn't resume until the 5th March and this is a huge disadvantage to them seeing Lille are in full flow at the minute and they will be nowhere near match fit.

The second one is what such a strong outfit Lille are as a home outfit. Second best home record in the French league with a 9-3-2 record with 21 goals scored and only 4 conceded in that period.

We all seen in the CL group stages what a different side this team were at home against Man Utd with their fans being superb throughout the game and Lille should've went on to score more goals against Man Utd.

2.04 is a huge price considering the circumstances and i reckon the bookies will catch on and slice the price.

Don't get me wrong, i'd be having some serious doubts of the game is Shakhtar were in full flow in their league as they are a decent and dangerous outfit but you have to favour the french here.

Lille to win @ 2.04 Betfair

[rene]

Thun fired coach Urs Schöneberger

Thun fired coach Schöneberger just 2 days in front of the Hamburg clash in the UEFA Cup. The Chiefs of FC Thun said, they had to different opinions.
FC Thun end on the third position in the champions league group. behind Arsenal London and Ajax Amsterdam...

Much rumour in Thun ... good chance for Hamburg

[Swooperman]

Lille v Shakhtar Donetsk

I was looking at this one too Kiko, but if you think Donetsk are coming in cold, your mistaken. Heres soccernets preview:

LILLE, February 14 (UEFA Cup) - Lille coach Claude Puel will welcome back his first-choice goalkeeper Tony Sylva when they take on Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup on Wednesday.

Sylva, who was at the African Nations Cup with Senegal during January and February, is now back in France and is expected to replace Gregory Malicki between the posts tomorrow.

Puel could also choose to include talented young striker Abdulkader Keita, who made life difficult for Paris St Germain during their goalless draw on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Ivory Coast-born hitman, who has featured in 16 games for his club so far, is gradually imposing his style in the Lille attack.

``I feel I am progressing a lot but I am here to learn,'' said Keita, who joined from Qatar side Al-Saad during the Summer.

``I am still very young and I don't want to go too fast. I don't put any pressure on myself. I listen to the coach who gives me a lot of good advice.

``But I still have a lot of work to do.''

Lille are lying in fourth place in the table after a loss and a draw.

``The championship is not over for us,'' he added. ``We are going to keep fighting. And there is also the European Cup where we want to perform well.''

However captain Stephane Dumont (knee) is still out of contention and will not be able to play in the first leg of the last-16 stage at the Stadium Lille Metropole de Villeneuve d'Asq.

Les Dogues qualified to the European cup after they finished third in their Champions League's Group D last December.

Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian defending champions, finished second in Group G in the UEFA Cup group phase, beating PAOK Athens, VfB Stuttgart and French side Rennes on the way.

The visitors will be without Polish goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka, who has not yet recovered from his groin operation while playmaker Anatoly Tymoshchuk is also out of contention with an Achilles problem.
Shakhtar have just won a preparation tournament in Israel by defeating UEFA Cup holders CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow.

One to ponder

[Swooperman]

Schalke v Espanyol

Strongly fancy Schalke here & I am taking a good look at it now, but most of my points so far are in this preview anyway:

GELSENKIRCHEN, February 14 (UEFA Cup) - Schalke warmed up for their UEFA Cup clash against Espanyol with a remarkable 7-4 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Coach Mirko Slomka would happily trade some of those goals for a win over the Spanish side at the Veltins Arena on Wednesday night, though probably not the one scored by Kevin Kuranyi.

The Germany striker has been struggling with his form recently and was thrilled to have finally ended his goal drought.

``I'm playing for Schalke and every one has high expectations here. I just hope I can keep scoring goals for this team,'' he said.

``I'm also very relieved that I have scored as well because it's always important for a striker as it gives you self confidence.''

Soren Larsen was Kuranyi's partner on Saturday and he steered in two goals to celebrate his return to the starting line-up as Slomka shuffled his pack following two goalless draws.

Gerald Asamoah, who also scored at the weekend, feels Espanyol will be confused by the Royal Blues' mixed form.

``The Spaniards are going to find it difficult to work us out,'' he said.

Levan Kobiashvili is suspended after picking up three yellow cards in the Champions League for Schalke and his place could go to 19-year-old Sebastian Boenisch.

Espanyol defender Daniel Jarque has warned his team-mates they cannot afford any lapses of concentration against the German outfit if they want to continue in Europe

``We know that they are a difficult rival and the seven goals that they scored last weekend shows their potential. But if we are at 100% then we are capable of giving the a shock,'' said Jarque.

Espanyol are struggling in the Primera Liga but are proving to be a more formidable cup opponent having reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals as well as the latter stages of the UEFA Cup.

``Our aim is to get as far as possible in this cup and we have no plans of giving up in any of the three competitions that we play. For me and the club this is a very prestigious tournament to play in as it allows you to get to know all of Europe and other teams notice you.''

Goalkeeper Carlos Kameni has been left out of the squad for disciplinary reasons after returning late from African Nations Cup duty with the Cameroon.

Also out are Raul Tamudo and Fredson through injury and suspension respectively.

[Swooperman]

Udinese v Lens

Lens are my other look-see at the moment, on form alone must stand a chance although the fear is they'll go for a draw:

UDINE, February 14 (UEFA Cup) - Udinese will look to forget their dismal domestic form when they meet Lens in Wednesday's UEFA Cup round of 32 first-leg clash at the Friuli stadium.

The appointment of Loris Dominissini and Nestor Sensini, following the dismissal of coach Serse Cosmi last week, failed to inspire Udinese to return to winning ways on Sunday.

Their 1-1 draw at Lazio did little to alleviate the pressure on the Bianconeri, who are just five points clear of the relegation zone.

But Udinese owner Giampiero Pozzo is confident that the new coaches can turn around their team's negative run.

``We have to work very hard in order to solve our current situation,'' he said.

``I have full confidence in Sensini and Dominissini.''

Victory on Wednesday would be a big morale boost for a team that has failed to win in their last eight games.

``To advance in the UEFA Cup would be prestigious and would also reward us financially,'' added Pozzo.

``But our main aim still remains the domestic competition.''

Lens, who are eighth in the French Ligue 1 standings, came close to beating four-time French champions Lyon on Saturday but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

And Francis Gillot's side will be keen to inflict further damage on the Italians.

Uruguay international striker Guillermo Rodriguez, who joined Lens during the winter transfer window, is set to make his first appearance for the club.

However Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane, who has a calf injury, is out of contention.

``This match is very important to us,'' said Lens assistant coach Eric Sikora.

``Our players are ambitious and eager to play well against the Italians.

``The Italians have had a coaching change and we should remain extremely wary.''

The visitors will be without influential midfielder Yohan Demont, who is serving a one-match ban.

Udinese welcome back Nigerian midfielder Cristian Obodo who has returned to Udine following his appearance in the African Nations Cup.

[Lokorus]

Brugge-Roma: Brugge!

Odds: 3.12

Bookmaker: Pinnacle

Ok guys, most of you will bet on Roma. I don't see any value here. When I saw the first odds on brugge (near 2.70) I thought it's no bet for me, but now I see 3.12 for the home victory. As you know Roma will play without Totti. Bruhhe farmers will probably play without Clement, VDL..

The key point for me is the home advantage. The "stars" from Rome arrives wednesday in Brugge, and they won't even train in Jan Breydel stadion! That's what I call a **** . This means that the Italian guys underestimate Bruhhe!

The fact is that Roma will play without stress. They can loose this game, draw, win..Everything will be decided in Rome, Roma has a home game and even if they loose in Brugge, it WON'T be a problem. Brugge is of course very motivated, stadion will be full, but we won't bet on Brugge because the stadion will be full

Brugge has some talent in the squad. Especialy Portigol on loan from Real Madrid shows some excellent stuff when they play in Europe (remember his goal against Bayern München). Roma is also known as an agressive team who receave much cards. Well, some players of Brugge, especialy Boer Verheyen can easily irritate some Roma players , maybe we'll see a red card

Another factor why I'll bet against Roma is because they already won 9 times in a row, and they feel like "stars". They can get a 10 win in a row, a record in Italy, and I think game against Empoli will be more important than the game in Brugge

To say it short: Roma will probably underestemate Brugge, they don't care that much about this game, and it won't be a drama if they lose. And 3.12 for the home win is just too much. This is UEFA-cup and everything can happen!!

the weather conditions tommorow won't be great, so the pitch can be not so good, Roma won't probably take risk to do everything, because they can get some injury's!!

A 2-1, or 1-0 is possible!!!! 7/10

GL!

[all_funkt_up]

German - cant understand why you would want to sack a manager 1 game after the winter break. A 0-0 draw with Xamax then sack him. I wonder whether the 'Caretaker' manager might turn the team around. Bit wary about Hamburg now - look at newcastle since Graeme Souness left.......