Spanish Supercup -17.08 + 20.08

[ONEDUNME]

Yes I think Tesco are doing an offer on Carling mate

[natrass]

Seems like every match for the last week has been unbetable. That includes the SPL.

[avok]

I made a good buck betting Georgia to win against Faroe Islands on EU 2008 qual game @ 1.88. This was as sure as they get. Georgia won 6-0

[bromsgrovegreen]

Originally Posted by ONEDUNME

Yes I think Tesco are doing an offer on Carling mate

prefer stella tbh more expesive but quality

[EdgeSeek]

Latest from eurosports...

Does not look like Barca is up to it tonight. Espanyol seem to be a bit more dominant.
Some fire-in-the-belly words and unleashing the new players in the 2nd Half...? Hope so... Have a nibble on Barca too.

40' A free kick taken by Fredson watched by Valdes as it whistles over the bar
39' Another terrible mistake from Espanyol and Iraizoz has to save his team once again
36' The ball given away by Espanyol but Guily with an awful first touch allows Iraizoz the opporunity to make a saving tackle
31' Ronaldinho with Barcelona's first shot on target
29' Motta recieves the first yellow card of the night for a challenge on Tamudo
23' Valdes with another fantastic save this time from Rufete.
17' A second shot from Fredson requires a great save from Valdes to stop Espanyol from moving ahead
10' The first real chance of the game falls to Espanyol as Fredson's shot flies over the crossbar
0' The match gets underway with Barcelona looking to add to their La Liga and Champion's League success
- Kick off coming up in just a few minutes
- Hello and welcome to eurosport.com's LIVE coverage of the first leg of this Spanish Super Cup match


Just when I am ready to post... Guily does his thing before half-time...
45' Goal from Guily from the left wing as he slots the ball past Iraizoz after some more sloppy defending from Espanyol


Still cannot figure out why my laptop is having so many issues with streaming... Will try to set it up again... Cheers and Good Luck...!

[EdgeSeek]

Might need some pointers from you later komp... Hope u don't mind. Cheers.

[natrass]

Well, laid Barca for a fun bet ... just before they perked up.

Sadly for me, there is no such thing as a fun bet and a tenner is a tenner.

[rcgills]

RFEF dismiss Espanyol's complaint over Barca

MADRID, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Espanyol's attempt to have their 1-0 defeat in the first leg of the Super Cup overturned because they believe Barcelona fielded an ineligible line-up has been dismissed by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

The Federation's Competitions Committee said on Friday that they had rejected Espanyol's complaint although the Primera Liga side can appeal against the decision.

Spain centre back Carles Puyol and midfielder Xavi played for Barcelona in the match between the league and Cup winners at Montjuic on Thursday, three days after they had withdrawn from international duty through injury.
The duo pulled out of Tuesday's friendly against Iceland because of minor injury niggles but then trained normally with their club and played in the first leg.

Xavi played for more than an hour and Puyol was replaced by new signing Gianluca Zambrotta six minutes from time.

Espanyol director Pedro Tomas said that Barca had flouted FIFA rules which state that players who withdraw from international duty through injury should not play for their clubs for at least five days.

"Before the match we warned all parties involved that Barcelona would be breaking the rules about the use of internationals," Tomas told a news conference on Friday.

He said Espanyol had presented an official complaint to the RFEF asking them to intervene in the case.

"We want them to accept the complaint and then for justice to take its course," he said. "If they accept it is an ineligible line-up, Espanyol should be declared the winners of the match and the trophy."

Legal disputes and bureaucratic arguments have become a regular feature of Spanish football in recent years.

The last Primera Liga season had to be extended because of a row over when to reschedule a postponed match between Barcelona and Sevilla, while clubs regularly threaten legal action over RFEF disciplinary decisions.
The second leg is on Sunday.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/break...023449,00.html

[rcgills]

Odds for tonight's second leg, from Bet365

Barcelona v Espanyol 1.30 4.50 9.00

Barcelona squad:

Valdés, Jorquera, Iniesta, Ezquerro, Belletti, Gio, Puyol, Gudjohnsen, Eto'o, Xavi, Van Bommel, Motta, Ronaldinho, Márquez, Messi, Zambrotta, Deco and Thuram

Ezquerro, Van Bommel and Belletti have been called up in place of Sylvinho, Oleguer and Giuly (who has a fever).

Espanyol squad:

Kameni, Gorka Iraizoz, Lacruz, Torrejón, Zabaleta, David García, Sergio Sánchez, Jarque, Rufete, Moisés, Fredson, Costa, De la Peña, Moha, Riera, Coro, Jonathan, Pandiani and Luis García.

They've named a 19-man squad as they're still not sure on the firness of David Garcia. Jonathan and Moha both come back into the squad after missing the first leg, while Tamudo drops out through injury.

Probable lineups according to ESPN:

BARCELONA: Valdés, Belletti, Puyol, Márquez, Gio, Motta, Deco, Xavi, Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o.
ESPANYOL: Kameni, Zabaleta, Lacruz, Jarque, David García or Moha, Costa, De la Fredson, Rufete, De la Peña, Luis García and Pandiani

Struggling to find a bet on this one. Barcelona obviously don't need to win this one, a draw would do them after winning the away leg 1-0. They also have to bear in mind they've got games coming up on Tuesday (Bayern Munich) and Friday (Sevilla). While their game against Bayern might only be a friendly, I'd presume they're not planning on bringing Bayern over to Spain for a friendly when their season's already started only to put out a reserve team, so I'd expect the big names to be playing in that one (unless they've got some kind of agreement with Bayern to both rest players, but in that case you'd have to ask what's the point of arranging the game in the first place), and certainly in the European Super Cup on Friday. On that basis I thought they might rest a few players tonight, but going by those ESPN line-ups, it doesn't look as though they will be. I wonder whether their plan might be to come out with all guns blazing, looking to finish Espanyol off in the first half before subbing a few players at half-time or early in the second half?

Only really considering two bets at the moment - for the first half to be the highest scoring half @ 21/10, based on that possible scenario above, and only one team to score @ 8/11. Will probably wait until the lineups are confirmed before deciding on those though.

[EdgeSeek]

Cheers RC. Thanks for your thoughts.

[EdgeSeek]

Given the very attack minded line-up of Barca and the words passed between clubs due to the Espanyol appeal, this could get ugly coupled with this being a local derby as well.
You are right in that it is hard to call as Barca can always hit on the counter as they have astonishing speed. There is no real motivation to go for it but the inherent nature of this team is very attack minded. Not sure if they can hold back.
Coupled with the need for Espanyol to try to get an early goal, perhaps a "safer" bet, if there ever is one is to go for Overs...? After all, Barca fans at home will always scream for lots of goals...

Small punt of the Overs then... :-)

[EdgeSeek]

Crikey... That was fast. Barca 1-0 up already...!

[EdgeSeek]

Xavi and Deco (2). Xavi one of those involved in the FA appeals by Espanyol as well. The league match when Barca visits Espanyol should be interesting indeed...! :-)

» Spain - Super Cup
22:00	FT	Barcelona	3-0	Espanyol	(2-0)