betting
Champions League Semifinal 2011 - Offensive battle for the Semis
By Joe, BettingExpert.com | Edited
Google+: Joe Bexpert
El Clasico and the battle of Spain in the Champions Leauge will showcase both Mourinho and Guardiola to see who has the wit to outwit the other. Barcelona travels to the spanish capital once again to face Madrid where who ever goes through will have the bragging rights for a long time. Elsewhere, the two other seminfinalist, Schalke 04 and Manchester United will see their Tuesday game to be play out.
Schalke 04 vs. Manchester United
The German side must be the only team in the Champions League who are not fancied to win the major trophy this season. This season, Schalke 04 is no where near the chance in competing for the Bundesliga title and marginally escaped the relegation battle by a change of fortune at the turn of the year. The change of luck also pushed a few players to perform, like Raul, Farfan and Edu have found their form once again under Ralf Rangnick rather than former coach Felix Magath. The double over Inter Milan in the quarterfinals showed that Schalke 04 are capable in outscoring their opponents and yet draw out an offensive side that can do damage to any teams that comes their way. Therefore, looking at their run up to the midweek Tuesday Champions League against Manchester United might not say much as the 1-0 home defeat to FC Kaiserslautern did bring some embarrassment but seeing that the team only field under five regular starting eleven. The Royal Blues are looking to progress to the first final and surely with the great freedom exercised by Rangrick, Schalke 04 should be bring out their best in order to secure a good position before the second leg.
Manchester United is one of the toughest team left in the competition. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, they have won twice in three final appearances. This is just another hurdle to jump over before the real deal comes along The Red Devils will struggled in the past against German opposition in the Champions League as their most recent defeat was to Bayern Munich last year in the quarterfinals on away goals. This is a team that hasn’t triumph over a Bundesliga team over two UEFA champions league so this would be interesting to see what will follow at Old Trafford next midweek. Before travelling to Germany, Manchester United will be building upon their weekend 1-0 home win over Everton in which the game did show that the home side threw everything they had at the dying minutes. As Manchester United is Manchester United, the ongoing direct footballs always give dividends with determination. United will once again see who will partner up with Rooney up front while midfield should see Paul Scholes return. The back four should be marshaled by both Rio Ferdinand and Vidic.
Tricky tie between the two but Manchester United should be slightly favorite over the two legged. The German outfits are a surprising package and surely with a win over reigning champions, Inter Milan over two legs, anything can happen and by that, we mean another 7-3 aggregate win. Manchester United will play direct football with a bit of cautious mind but surely not conceding any goals to Schalke 04 would be the priority.
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
The European competitions edition of the El Clasico will start with the first leg where Real Madrid will host their fierce rivals, Barcelona for their fourth encounter this season, third in a space of 18 days. Domestically, Real Madrid has fallen behind the pecking orders against Barcelona but in the Copa Del Rey, the capital club triumphed against Barca in a 1-0 win in extra time just a week ago. The La Liga weekend saw Real Madrid firing six goals past Valencia at the Mestalla with Higuain hitting the hattrick, while Kaka got two and Benzema picking up one. The headache for coach Jose Mourinho is to chose the right formation to overcome Barca in two legs. Their most recent encounter at Santiago Bernabeu saw Real Madrid pick up a 1-1 draw, after going behind and playing for only 10 men in second half. Mourinho will surely pick up from that result, it would not be enough to progress through to the final unless the second leg will see Real win that game. The amount of quality players speak for themselves for Real and with so many players to chose from, Mourinho is pressured to win the first leg, maybe not in style but at least the result will show. Both Cristano Ronaldo and Kaka are showing that there is more life than many expected and this is stage where they have to show their worth.
Confirmation of the La Liga title is more likely to go to the Catalan club, Barca will need consistency and hard work to maintain their domestic title and European conquest. Their hard work paid off a fortnight ago when they drew 1-1 against Real and the 1-0 defeat to Real in the midweek only prove there is margin difference between the two and the brilliance of one player could turn the game around. Both Messi and David Villa couldn’t find that special moment but that was not to say that they couldn’t when the La Liga weekend saw both players hitting the net in the 2-0 win over Osasuna, keeping them firmly on course for the Primera Division title. Therefore Barcelona holds a psychological edge between the two rivals in the major domestic titles and when it comes to the European titles, Barcelona are currently the reigning champions and consistently winning the games they are expecting to. Coach Guardialo will be without Adriano and Abidal but that shouldn’t deter them as captain Puyol could return, but remains doubtful for the El Clasico.
Many punters out there are giving the Real Madrid the slight advantage over Barca due to the recent win and also Jose Mourinho’s credentials in Europe. The major boost for the Real team has been the return of Kaka, Benzema, Higuain and most prominently Ronaldo, all seem to enjoy football as Madrid finds the winning formula. Barca has faith in themselves and with some good performance, they should be able go away with a result in time for the second leg in Nou Camp. Having said that, Madrid looks stronger mentally and a win in the first leg could give them that with a narrow advantage.
27.04.2011, 11:08 CET
Sound prediction azhar. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you not to provide a link to your site and others who does that too. It is considered as spamming. Thanks.
Going for over 2.5 tonight.
Write a comment
Please read our debate etiquette before commenting
MLB, USA
General
Giro d'Italia
Men's Champions League, Eu...
Other
Hold Your Nerve On Next Manager Markets 
Horse Racing
Football
Formula 1
| 
|
26.04.2011, 07:43 CET
Schalke 04 vs. Manchester United 0-3 My prediction