Football Betting

UEFA Cup Semifinals Begin Thursday

First leg action in the UEFA Cup semifinals gets underway on Thursday as Zenit St. Petersburg hosts Bayern Munich and Fiorentina hosts Rangers.  Bayern has been the favorite throughout the competition and should be able to take out Zenit but it may not be easy.  Bayern will be without top striker Luca Toni in the first leg as Toni has been suspended for the match for accumulating five yellow cards.  Toni has scored a goal in each of Bayern’s last four games.  He had both of Bayern’s goals in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final. He has 10 goals in the UEFA Cup and 35 this season in all competitions.  "I know I will be the biggest fan in the stadium," Toni said. "We know the game will be a real fight." Bayern will also likely be without midfielder Mark van Bommel, who fractured his nose during the win over Dortmund.  Bayern also has to be mindful since van Bommel, Philipp Lahm and Lukas Podolski are all within one yellow card of suspension.

Bayern has a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga and could clinch the league this weekend.  With a win in the UEFA Cup it could be the trifecta for Bayern and send goalkeeper Oliver Kahn into retirement.  It will also be nice for manager Ottmar Hitzfeld since he is going to leave and coach Switzerland next season. "If Ottmar Hitzfeld can perfect the treble in the UEFA Cup, then that is the ideal farewell gift," Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer said.

Zenit is an underdog against Bayern but they have played well to get this far.  They had to play a second qualifying round unlike the other three semifinalists.  They took out Leverkusen 4-1 in the quarterfinals. The big scorer for Zenit is striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, who has eight goals in the tournament.  He is second in goals behind Toni.  Zenit is considered a longshot to win the UEFA Cup but they get a break on Thursday with Toni’s suspension. "The mass media consider Zenit an outsider in our semifinal, but I do not care," Zenit striker Andrei Arshavin said. "If God is with us, and we play with enthusiasm and spirit, we'll have a chance."

Rangers hosts Fiorentina in the other semifinal.  It is a rematch of the first European Cup Winners' Cup. Fiorentina won that 4-1 on aggregate.  Rangers are trying to outdo Bayern and win four titles this season.  They already won the Scottish League Cup.  They lead the league by two points and have three games in hand.  They also reached the finals of the Scottish Cup.  They are not fully healthy for Thursday’s game though.  They will be missing midfielder Lee McCulloch and goalkeeper Allan McGregor due to injuries.
Captain Barry Ferguson and midfielder Kevin Thomson are out due to suspension. Fiorentina will be without defender Tomas Ujfalusi who is injured and Marco Donadel who is suspended.

Second leg action in the UEFA Cup semifinals will be May 1st.

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Bayern Munich Wins German Cup

Bayern Munich won the Soccer Betting German Cup final 2-1 over Borussia Dortmund as Luca Toni scored twice.  Toni scored the opener just 11 minutes in taking a cross from Franck Ribery and putting it home.  Dortmund shocked everyone as they scored two minutes into stoppage time to tie it on a goal by Mladen Petric. Near the end of the first extra period, Toni took a Lukas Podolski cross-shot and turned it into his 35th goal of the season.  Dortmund finished with 10 men as Jakub Blaszczykowski was sent off for a second yellow card. Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was extremely pleased with the win. "It was a great send-off here in Berlin," he said. "We had to win it because, for me, there would be no chance to repeat it again next year. Dortmund fought well and would have deserved the win themselves, but we were the lucky winners."

The win in the German Cup could be just the start of things for Bayern.  They are solid favorites to win the UEFA Cup. They are in the semifinals and are heavily favored to turn away Zenit St Petersburg.  They also have a big 10 point lead in the Bundesliga.

In other German soccer news, Werder Bremen has said they want to sign Premier League strikers John Carew and Milan Baros.  Bremen wants to mount a challenge to Bayern for the league title. Bremen's sporting director Klaus Allofs said, "We are at the stage where we have considered players like Carew and Baros." Baros is on loan at Portsmouth from French champions Lyon, while Carew plays for Aston Villa.

Also, Schalke general manager Andreas Muller has said that the team is close to hiring a new coach.  They are searching for a replacement for Mirko Slomka, who was fired just over a week ago. "We are a good way along with the question of the coach." Muller said.  It is rumored that FC Twente coach Fred Rutten is set to take over.

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Surprises in First Leg of UEFA Cup Quarterfinals

All four road teams got results in the first leg of Soccer Betting UEFA Cup Quarterfinal action this week.  Getafe got a last minute goal to get a very surprising draw at Bayern Munich while Zenit St. Petersburg routed Bayer Leverkusen 4-1.  PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon got important draws at Fiorentina and Rangers respectively.

Getafe was able to tie Bayern on a 90th minute goal by Cosmin Contra.  He chipped the ball over the defense and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was out of position.  Bayern had taken the early lead on a goal from Luca Toni in the 26th minute. "I'm really mad, we should have won with all our chances," Toni said, "But we didn't score any more goals. Now it's clear - we will go to Getafe to win." Bayern will be the favorite to win considering they are a four-time champion of the European Cup. "We have good chances in the second leg," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. "We have shown in the Bundesliga we can win away matches." Bayern is in the hunt for three titles this season as they lead the Bundesliga by seven points and they are still in the German Cup.

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Zenit, the Russian league champion, is in the best position to advance to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup as they routed Leverkusen. "That was really sobering," Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe said. "We were all so off our game you can't pin it on individuals." Pavel Pogrebnyak, Aleksandr Anyukov and Igor Denisov scored for Zenit to break a 1-1 tie. Pogrebnyak scored his eight goal of the competition.  He is now tied with Luca Toni for most goals in the competition this season.

In the PSV match, Adrian Mutu put Fiorentina in front in the 56th minute but Danny Koevermans came right back and tied for PSV in the 63rd minute.
"We tried to quicken the pace but they're a great club," Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli said. "We've got to go to Holland now to try to score a goal and win the game."  PSV will be without their best striker in the second leg as Jefferson Farfan picked up a yellow card in added time.

Rangers and Sporting played to a scoreless draw as neither team really threatened in the first half. In the second half, Leandro Grimi had a shot go wide and Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor made a nice save on Vukcevic. Anderson Polga headed one over the crossbar and Leonel Tonel missed late in the match. "It was very frustrating - we didn't play well at all," Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist said. "We were as poor with the ball as we have been for a long time. But it's a clean sheet and we are capable of going anywhere in Europe and scoring a goal - as we've proved.
"We know we can play a lot better, but not losing a goal at home in the first leg is a reasonable result."

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UEFA Cup Quarterfinals Begin Thursday

Bayern Munich is the favorite to win the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup and they will try and stay on track as they host Getafe in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Thursday.  If they are able to win their series against Getafe they could end up playing their German rival Bayer Leverkusen.  Both teams have won the UEFA Cup before as Leverkusen won it in 1988 and Bayern in 1996.  Leverkusen will be playing Zenit St. Petersburg in the quarterfinals. In the other quarterfinals on Thursday, PSV Eindhoven plays at Fiorentina, while Rangers host Sporting Lisbon.

Bayern has been trying to get information about Getafe and how they play.  Franck Ribery has talked to his France teammates Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry about Getafe. "They told me that Getafe is a good team with plenty of skill and that it's difficult to play at their stadium," Ribery said. "That's why it's important for us to win our home game and the best would be not to concede a goal. We'll have to attack and press forward." Bayern will likely be missing striker Lucas Podolski who is doubtful with an ankle injury. Getafe is not playing well in the Spanish League this season but their form in the UEFA Cup has been much better. Getafe has already defeated Benfica and AEK Athens in addition to Anderlecht and Tottenham.  Getafe is also playing in the Copa del Rey final on April 16. "This locker room transmits confidence," Getafe president Angel Torres said. "And in reality, the locker room is the key to everything."

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Leverkusen sits in fourth place in the Bundesliga, trailing Bayern by 10 points.  The team will have to deal with Zenit striker Pavel Pogrebnyak if they expect to win.

Fiorentina is trying to qualify for next year’s Champions League and sits in fourth place in Serie A. "Europe motivates us a lot," Fiorentina midfielder Massimo Gobbi said. "Like we've always said, it's important to keep advancing." PSV will be relying upon goalkeeper Gomes to keep them in the game on Thursday.  He was excellent against NEC Nijmegen on Sunday in a scoreless draw in league action. "Gomes kept us in the game with a number of crucial saves," PSV coach Sef Vergoossen said. "He is a great goalkeeper, someone who does that little bit special."

Sporting Lisbon comes into Thursday’s quarterfinal not playing well in the Portuguese league and they will be without goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.  They will probably be without striker Rodrigo Tiui who is doubtful with a knee injury. Sporting will have their hands full with a talented Rangers team that leads the Scottish League.

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