It will be a mixed night for English sides in Europe

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All three of the teams representing the continent’s most debt-filled league in the Europa League head into their round-of-32 second legs with a lead but we think that only two will go through.

We’re backing a treble comprising of victory for Liverpool, a draw for Everton, which is all they need, and a loss for Fulham, a combination that pays out £85.50 for a stake of only £10 with Paddy Power.

Want some reasons? Liverpool have conceded just once in seven games, so

Posted: February 25th, 2010 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Five reasons why Shakhtar Donetsk will lift the UEFA Cup

Shakhtar/Werder Bremen, 7.45pm, ITV4, Free Bets, Best Odds

None of the teams who worked tirelessly throughout last season to earn a place in the UEFA Cup could be bothered with actually trying to win it so it’s been left to two Champions League dropouts to scrap for the right to be the final ever winners of the competition. While that doesn’t sound too exciting, the teams are so closely matched that the bookies can’t decide on a favourite, setting both at 10/11 to win outright. Here’s why we fancy Shakhtar to win in 90 minutes at 2.78 on Betfair:

1. Shakhtar have won nine of their last ten matches in all competitions, drawing the other.

2. Werder Bremen on the other hand have lacked consistency, winning just four of their last eleven.

Posted: May 20th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Away wins are a rarity in UEFA Cup semi-final first-legs

Dynamo Kiev/Shakhtar Donetsk, 5.30pm, ITV4, Best Odds
Werder Bremen/Hamburg, 7.45pm, ITV4, Free Bets, Best Odds

While the Big Four have dominated the Champions League for two successive seasons, the Premier League’s claim to the “best league in the world” moniker is brought into question by the fact that none of the not-so-big 16 have won the UEFA Cup in the last 25 years. We’ve grown accustomed to all-English Champions League semi-finals but tonight teams from the Bundesliga and the Ukranian Premier League fight it out for the right to represent their country in a guaranteed Germany v Ukraine final:

SEMI-FINAL STATS

» The away side haven’t won a UEFA Cup semi-final first-leg in any of the last six seasons and only one of the last 18 have ended in the visitors’ favour.

» There has only been one goal in this week’s three big televised games this week and there is a danger that the drought could continue - only eight of the last 24 UEFA Cup semi-finals have broken the 2.5 goal barrier.

Posted: April 30th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Will Spurs and Manchester City’s woeful away form ruin their UEFA Cup prospects?

Two poor domestic travellers visit the Ukraine and Denmark

Tottenham and Manchester City have been two of the poorest away sides in the Premier League this season but so far their domestic struggles on the road haven’t hampered their UEFA Cup bids.  Tonight though both face tough tasks, with Spurs facing Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk and the Citizens travelling to Copenhagen. Here are all the important stats:

Shakhtar Donetsk v Tottenham (6.45pm, Five)
Tottenham have won just two of twelve Premier League away games this season and are only marginally better in cup competition, with two wins to show from their last six on the road. Redknapp has won just one of his last four European away games with West Ham, Portsmouth and Spurs. Their Ukrainian opponents were the best team not to qualify to the last sixteen of the Champions League. They won five of their eight games in the competition and became the only club to beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp this season. With Redknapp leaving players behind in London, Spurs may struggle.

FC Copenhagen v Manchester City (7.05pm, BBC3)

Posted: February 19th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment