Tuesday, March 28, 2006

CL Match Preview : Arsenal vs Juventus

A lot of people are talking about Juventus tired: well I think all that is exactly the opposite. Juventus did get a draw when they hosted AS Roma last wek, but do bear in mind that they are actually playing with 10men. To me it was a good result to at least get a draw from here.

Even though Nedved was suspended and Del Piero was injuried, but I guess that an attack made up of couple like Ibrahimovic-Trezeguet and with a midfield of line composed by Emerson, Vieira-Camoranesi and Mutu or Zambrotta should not have a big problem at Highbury.

The Gunners or I would say Henry are in top form. They had scored 9 goals in their last 3 EPL matches and in turn conceded only one. Besides that, the Gunners not only have the home ground advantage here but also having better rest over the weekend.
However, in a 50:50 match like this, the defence plays a big parts, and Juventus had a better defensive line than Gunners. I think a draw might happen here. With Asianhandicap of Home Team giving -1/4 ball, it was a better choice to take the visitors. Points :6

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Match Preview : Man Utd vs Birmingham

After months of my busy schedule, finally I am able to continue on my blog again....Had been receiving mails from my friends and readers as in whether I will still continue to bring them the news and previews of soccer...
Tonight, I have some preview on the match between Man Utd & Birmingham, and of course hope that all the punters out there can earn some money from here....
From the statistics, Birmingham have showed that they have never scored a goal at Old Trafford, they have been beaten by at least two goals or more in the past. United are going all out hoping to secure their 2nd place on the table. and where their home form is concerned, they have managed 9 wins, 3 draws and just 1 defeat at home all season.
On the other hand, Birmingham's away record, have managed just 2 wins, 3 draws and 9 defeats on the road. What is amazing is that Birmingham have scored only 7 goals on their travels but conceded 22 goals.

From Utd camp, we can expect Louis Saha to start this match keeping out Ruud van Nistelrooy, with John O'Shea and Ryan Giggs keeping their place in midfield. United are still without the of Paul Scholes, Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who are out on a long term injury list but Wes Brown is likely to be back in this match. Park Ji-sung who returned to Manchester after a short visit to Korea is expected to be in the team.

As for the visitors, they have the likes of Emile Heskey, Jamie Clapham, Martin Taylor and Chris Sutton, who are on the injured list. Jiri Jarosik, Muzzy Izzet and Julian Gray are also very doubtful for this clash. Matthew Upson is definitely out as he is suffering from a groin problem.

Man Utd is the hot favorite here, and no one would doubt that they would want to give out a clear message to Liverpool as well as the other Premiership teams that they mean business after being out of the FA Cup and Champions League.

However, Birmingham is now facing the challenge of being relegate, and I believe they will be playing a more defensive strategy and hoping to get at least 1 point from here. Thus, the odds for Man Utd of giving 1 ¾ ball here is too high stake.

Thus, I will go for Birmingham and eat the 1 3/4 ball here. Points : 7
Good Luck....