Monday, February 20, 2012

Champions League preview




Last week's picks in Europe's most prestigious football competition did not go so well. Fortunately we have four more Champions League fixtures to fare better this week.

Tuesday

CSKA Moscow v. Real Madrid
A treacherous trip to frigid Moscow awaits the La Liga champions-elect, with CSKA boss Leonid Slutsky basically saying "his side have no chance". The Russians are without goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and Japanese star midfielder Keisuke Honda. Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, has everyone at his disposal except for Angel di Maria, who apparently is not handsome enough for Madrid head honcho Florentino Perez. Real have outscored foes 19-2 in this competition, including 6-0 on the road.

Prediction: CSKA 0, Real Madrid 3.

Napoli v. Chelsea FC
It's crisis and panic time at Chelsea, where Andres Villas-Boas seems set
to ditch Fernando Torres from the lineup, to the relief of any football fan. Napoli have posted four straight clean sheets in Serie A and won 3-0 over Fiorentina last Friday. The Italians' objective should be to finish this tie as much as possible before going to London and that should not be a problem given the Blues' drab state of affairs, with John Terry unlikely to feature.

Prediction: Napoli 3, Chelsea 0.

Wednesday

Olympique Marseille v. Inter Milan
Inter Milan have five defeats and a draw in their last six and have been outscored 8-0 in their last three defeats. However, Inter picked up seven points of nine on their Champions League travels and Diego Forlan is finally eligible for this competition. The Italians have a great draw in a struggling OM squad that will be without Loic Remy, who has two goals in the Champions League. There's some pre-match hype about this managerial rematch but on the pitch, Inter can gain a slender advantage.

Prediction: Marseille 1, Inter Milan 2

FC Basel v. Bayern München
FC Basel created one of the shocks of the tournament by knocking out fancied Manchester United and their occasionally obnoxious fan base. While Xherdan Shaqiri became a star for the Swiss side, now he's gushing about the team he will join after this season. Bayern turned in their worst performance over the weekend with a scoreless draw against the bottom side in Germany, but should be ready to get the job done in Europe.

Prediction: FC Basel 0, Bayern München 2

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