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Showing posts from April, 2018

The Big Match Tactical View: Manchester United v Arsenal

Man Utd v Arsenal Sunday 16:30, Sky Sports Main Event. Match Odds: Man Utd   1.44 , Arsenal  8.80 , The Draw  5.00 . Wenger's final trip to Old Trafford Arsene Wenger  has enjoyed so many memorable moments at Old Trafford throughout his 22 years in charge of Arsenal, and this will be his final visit. He has some great memories, like Marc Overmars putting Arsenal in the driving seat in the 1997/98 title fight, and Sylvain Wiltord clinching the league four years later. But there have also been major defeats: 6-1, 4-0, 8-2. He'll hope to finish with a victory here. The problem, though, is that Arsenal must concentrate almost fully on their  midweek trip to Atletico Madrid , with a huge task to clinch victory after Thursday's disappointing 1-1 draw. Therefore, we can expect wholesale changes from Wenger. Arsenal changes He's likely to bring in  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  upfront, because he's cup-tied for European competition and doesn'...

Celtic v Rangers: Bhoys chance to heap pressure on Old Firm rivals and clinch title

Celtic v Rangers Sunday, 12:00pm Live on Sky Sports Main Event It's all been for this. Celtic go into the weekend top of the Scottish Premiership with a season record of  22 wins , nine draws and three defeats. Not nearly as impressive as last season's  invincibles  but The Hoops are on the verge of another title win as well as the double-treble. Fans love silverware but the chance to beat Rangers at Parkhead and get their hands on seven in-a-row will be special. Brendan Rodgers has spent the week being heavily linked with the Arsenal job, but London will be far from his mind as he walks the  champions in-waiting  out in front of a jubilant support. This is Celtic's day in the sun and they're not about to let anyone ruin it - least of all a team from across the city who they hammered just a fortnight ago. The betting can't see past a strong home win and it's difficult to make a case for anything else. Rangers in turmoil Only the dyed-in-wool Ranger...

Bundesliga Betting: Kovac to get a taste of next season

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt Saturday 28 April, 14:30 Live on Betfair Live Video Bayern to overcome the face of their future One subject will dominate the build-up to this clash, and that's  Niko Kovac's first visit  to the Allianz Arena since he was confirmed as Bayern's coach for next season. The Croatian - a former Bayern midfielder - has earned his big opportunity by dragging extraordinary performances out of a limited squad, and showing a flair for tactical tinkering and man-management. He'll need all of those qualities at Sabener Strasse next season. Before he joins Germany's most successful club, Kovac must try to keep Frankfurt's campaign on the rails. They have done superbly to reach the final of the DFB Cup for the second season running, and that will bring about another meeting with Bayern. Frankfurt still need a few points to nail down a Europa League spot, and they have claimed  just one point from their last four league outings. ...

Serie A Betting: Exciting Derby d'Italia, Milan continue their slide

Derby d'Italia delight Inter v Juventus Saturday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport 2 and Betfair Live Video And so, astonishingly, and seemingly out of nowhere,  the Serie A title race is on again , and suddenly Juventus have to cope with the fact that they are just one point clear of Napoli, and now face a trip to Inter Milan which in all probability they have to win. How quickly things change. We should remember that the title is still in Juve's hands, and should they win their remaining four games, then there is nothing that Napoli can do. We should also remember that Napoli themselves have a tricky run in, starting with a trip to Florence this weekend, but there's no question that with this game, and a trip to Roma,  the pressure is on Juventus . The two points thrown away against Crotone were careless, and led in many ways to that Napoli defeat. Juve were cautious, overly so, and were clearly happy with a 0-0 draw as the game neared its end. Had they been two points ...

La Liga Betting: Barca celebrations will add to Deportivo woes

Zidane will make changes Real Madrid 1.31 v Leganes 12.00; The Draw 6.20 Saturday, 17:30 Live on Betfair Live Video and Sky Sports Mix With Real Madrid facing a crucial Champions League tie on Tuesday night against Bayern Munich, the smart money is on Zinedine Zidane rotating his side against Leganes. Madrid triumphed 2-1 in the away leg in Germany, but having survived a scare in their home match against Juventus in the previous round, they will be taking nothing for granted. That should ensure starts for the likes of Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, who were all on the bench for the victory against Bayern. Leganes come into this match having secured their top flight status with a home draw against Deportivo last weekend. It's been a successful second season in La Liga for Leganes, with Asier Garitano's side having already won five more points than they managed last term, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. That cup run included a shock...

Swansea v Chelsea: In-form Giroud to strike first

Swansea v Chelsea  Saturday April 28 17:30 Live on BT Sport 1 Swans should just about stay up Given what's happened at Swansea this season - change of Manager and loss of their two star players in  Gylfi Sigurdsson  and Fernando Llorente - they'll be absolutely delighted just to still be in this division come May. And they probably will. West Brom are far too back and they're then four points ahead of Southampton and Stoke City. This is obviously a tough match but after that it's Bournemouth away and  back-to-back  home matches against...Southampton and Stoke. Assuming they don't lose either of them, they should be ok. Just. But if they do stay up, manager Carlos Carvalhal's work for next season will probably begin on the Monday after the last day of the season. There are too many weaknesses in the squad to mention with the possible exception of in goal, where  Lukas Fabianski  has had another stellar season. Aside from long-term absent...