Lille – Liverpool 11 March 2010

*matches in all competitions

Lille last 5 matches:  

Lille last 3 home matches: 

Liverpool last 5 matches:

Liverpool last 3 away matches:

Europa League first leg of the 8th finals and one of the most interesting matches played on Thursday is this clash between Lille and Liverpool.

Lille is still in the fight for the title of champions in the French Ligue 1 but their good performances seem to have taken a turn for the worst with no victories in the last 2 matches of the competition, losing home to Auxerre and grabbing only one point from their trip to Saint Etienne.

These 2 results made them fall dramatically in the overall table, ending up now on the 6th spot but with only 4 points from leaders Bordeaux and Montpellier. They are a great team on home ground proving this with an incredible statistic of their results as they won 12 out of the past 13 matches played on their pitch also showing a great scoring appetite.

The fact that they have overcome an opponent such as Fenerbahce in the previous rounds says a lot about their intentions in the Europa League this year but with a team such as Liverpool their mission is very though.

Liverpool along with Juventus are the 2 giants that look like they don’t belong in this competition, one thing is shore though this tournament has showed over and over again that favorites often fall to the weakest of opponents.

This is joust a consolation run for Liverpool as they were aiming much higher in the Champions League but with oscillating results they managed only the third spot in the group. In the Premier League they are a long way from the top spot, settling for the 6th so far and joust as their adversaries suffered a defeat in the last match of the domestic league away to Wigan.

My tip:  Lille to win

 Loading ...

*matches in all competitions

Shakhtar last 5 matches:  

Shakhtar last 3 home matches:

Fulham last 5 matches:

Fulham last 3 away matches:

With only one goal advantage taken in the first leg of the knock-out of the Europa League, Fulham has a very though mission as they travel to a very strong Shakhtar Donetsk team.

Shakhtar Donetsk and their European claims suffered a setback last week as they where defeated by Fulham 2-1, the Ukrainian team has high ambitions for this tournament as they where last year’s winners of the Uefa Cup and any other performance will be considered inferior.

They where the favorites in the eyes of many as they traveled to England against a B rated Premier League squad but came empty handed. All is not lost as the away goal makes them strong favorites for this match and also the qualification in the next phase.

Fulham is clearly the less experienced team in European tournaments of the two but with a very good morale as they claimed 4 consecutive wins in all competition counting the first leg. Nonetheless besides Shakhtar their opposition was inferior so the victories may count only for their morale.

The English side great advantage into this dispute is that the Premier League is in full throttle whilst the Ukrainian league will start this week-end after about 3 months of winter break.

My tip:  Shakhtar Donetsk to win

 Loading ...

*matches in all competitions

Roma last 5 matches:  

Roma last 3 home matches: 

Panathinaikos last 5 matches:

Panathinaikos last 3 away matches: 

Very spectacular dispute in the first leg between the 2 in the Europa League as Panathinaikos managed to win in the ‘89 minute 3-2 over a Roma team in a very good form.

So AS Roma is starting out with one goal deficit but this difference is within reach and the overall scoreline makes them favorites to go through as they have 2 away goals.

Nonetheless this was the first team to beat them from October on in all competitions so maybe a change in tactics will appear. The Italian squad will most likely start on offensive from the beginning in search of the goal pushed by their fanatic supporters.

Panathinaikos produced quite a surprise against AS Roma, even though they are a well built squad, their form compared to the opposition made one point from this match a positive result.

They lost their last match played, last week away to PAOK but still lead the Greek championship, 2 points advantage over second Olympiakos. Only one match won in the last 3 played whilst travelling and this dispute will be very hard. They will most likely adopt a defensive tactic and hope to strike on the counter-attack.

My tip:  AS Roma to win

 Loading ...

*matches in all competitions

Villarreal last 5 matches:  

Villarreal last 3 home matches: 

Wolfsburg last 5 matches: 

Wolfsburg last 3 away matches: 

After the round in the Champions League ended, it’s time for Europa League to begin the first knock-out round and very interesting matches like this one in witch Villarreal will welcome German champions Wolfsburg.

With neither of these teams living up to last season’s level, this competition may be their chance to shine and leave all the trouble from their respective leagues behind.

Villarreal is only on the 9th spot of the Primera Division table and facing though opposition in their quest for another European tournament spot as both Athletic Bilbao and Getafe look stronger.

The team alternates important victories with painful defeats against lower ranked opponents. Their situation in home matches is not different at all and with a modest statistic so far they don’t look strong at all. Motivation will probably be the key to this match and qualification and villarreal is used to these tournaments.

Wolfsburg is in even worst situation than their adversaries, only the 12 spot in the German Bundesliga and very far form the leading teams.

Even worst for the champions is their current form, no victories in the last 12 matches payed in all competitions, the last one dating back early November. There’s no salvation for them this season and it looks like their main objective is to stay in the middle of the domestic league table and build for the future.

One thing we should remember though, Werder Bremen was in a similar situation last year and managed to reach the final of the Uefa Cup.

My tip:  Villarreal to win

 Loading ...

*matches in all competitions

Liverpool last 5 matches:  

Liverpool last 3 home matches: 

Unirea last 5 matches:

Unirea last 3 away matches:

Being knocked out of the Champions League, Liverpool is automatically a candidate for the Europa League title with other giants such as Juventus, AS Roma and other and from the looks of it the English side has the most accessible adversary in this phase in the form of Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni.

Liverpool managed to improve their form recently in the Preamier League and are now on the 5th spot, one point from 4th Manchester City but facing though opposition from close y followers.

It’s clear that they look favorites but it remains to see how much they can motivate themselves against a totally unknown adversary on the European Tournaments stage. The home pitch will be a great advantage in a victory for this match but the trip to Romania may bring surprises as Sevilla found out when they played Unirea in the Champions League.

Although virtualy unknown on the world stage, this small team from a twon of fewer than 20.000 people tourned the Romanian football hierarchy upside down, 6 years ago in the third division they managed to climb up to Liga 1 in 2006 and last year won the title of champions.

The team strength lies in the group force as none of the players stand out. This winter marked a change in coaches and this may affect the team’s performances and stile of play. The main offensive strong point is striker Bilasco which is reputable in air battles and although not very tall he makes up with very good positioning.

My tip:  Liverpool to win

 Loading ...

*matches in all competitions

Lille last 5 league matches: 

Lille last 3 home matches: 

Slavia last 5 league matches: 

Slavia last 3 away matches:

One of the most complicated groups in the Europa leagues is Group B
where the top 3 teams have chances of advancing with only 2 spots
available and Lille in need of a victory against Slavia Praha to do so.

Lille is second to Valencia in the group with a 2 point gap from the
leaders and sharing the same amount of points as third Genoa, seven in
total, but a better statistic as far as direct matches are concerned.

The team seems to be in fine form in all competition with 4 victories
in the last 4 matches played in the French Ligue 1 and only one defeat
ruining the series away to Valencia in the Europa League.

Slavia Praha is last in this group and with only 3 points in total
there are no chances for them to advance or even improve on their final
spot.

Concerning the direct match between the team in the Czech capital,
they lost to Lille with a humiliating result of 1-5 and with no
motivation in this one it’s hard to see any other result.

My pick: Lille to win

*matches in all competitions

Panathinaikos last 5 league matches: 

Panathinaikos last 3 home matches: 

Dinamo last 5 league matches: 

Dinamo last 3 away matches:

The last leg of the Europa League group stages and in Group F, with
Galatasaray already qualified, Panathinaikos will settle even with a
draw to advance to the knock-outs.

Panathinaikos is second in the group and lost a good chance of
qualifying in the last round when they lost away to an already qualified
Galatasaray.

They are still big favorites to win this and with 2 victories in the
last 2 matches played their form is good. They also come with a good
morale as the score in Bucharest was a 0-1 for the Greek side.

Dinamo Bucharest is in a difficult position and stand slim chances of
advancing. They need a victory with any other result than 1-0 due to
the direct result and goal ratio.

Their form is weak with the last 2 matches played ending in draws in
the Romanian Liga 1, starting both of them as favorites. They where a
team with a great offensive force but this season the situation is
different, with only 4 goals scored in the Europa League and 9 conceded.

My pick: Panathinaikos to win

*matches in all competitions

Fenerbahce last 5 league matches: 

Fenerbahce last 3 home matches: 

Sheriff last 5 league matches: 

Sheriff last 3 away matches:

With Fenerbahce already qualified from the top of Group H in the
Europa League, this match against Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova will only
count for the statistic.

Fenerbahce is in a difficult situation in the Turkish Super Lig where
they lost a lot of ground in the last matches played and with it the
top spot of the league to Kayserispor that has the same amount of points
34 but a better goal ratio.

The Turkish giants have managed to win so far 4 out of their 5 game
campaign in the Europa League, their only loss suffered against Twente
on home ground in the very first leg of the stage 1-2.

Sheriff Tiraspol have a complicated situation and only a victory here
coupled with an eventual defeat of Twente at Steaua Bucharest will see
them advancing to the knock-outs.

They sit on the third spot of Group H with 5 points in total, 2 short
of second place and a goal differential of 0 as they scored 4 and
conceded 4. The recent results in the domestic league and cup do not
have a great importance as they dominate these competitions for some
time now and the levels of the teams encountered is way below them.

My pick: Fenerbahce to win ( a draw is also possible as Fener will
probably rest it’s top players)

*matches in all competitions

Roma last 5 matches: 

Roma last 3 home matches:

Basel last 5 matches:

Basel last 3 away matches:

AS Roma welcomes FC Basel for a very important game in the final
configuration of Group E in the Europa League as both teams need the 3
points with Roma starting as favorites.

AS Roma is in a very good form showed by their past results with as
they won 4 out of the last 5 matches played both in the Serie A and
Europa League.

They now sit second in the group with a total of 7 points, 4 short of
Basel and with a 2 point advantage over third Fulham. They have won the
last 3 matches played at home and rows on the 9th spot of the domestic
league after passing the though phase encountered early on.

FC Basel are top of the group but with 9 points and 2 matches still
to go, this one against Roma and the last home with Fulham, seems to
have the toughest program of the 3 involved in the race for the top 2
spots.

They can certainly deal with a negative result in this match with a
victory or even a draw against Fulham, results that will see them go
through.

The team sits on the second spot of the Swiss Super League table with
a considerable gap of 7 points from leaders Young Boys and their 4 game
winning streak was stopped last week with a loss away to the leaders.

My tip: AS Roma to win

*matches in all competitions

Galatasaray last 5 matches: 

Galatasaray last 3 home matches:

Panathinaikos last 5 matches:

Panathinaikos last 3 away matches:

Both of these team are already qualified in the next phase of the
Europa League from Group F but this game announces itself to be anything
than a friendly as the adversity between the Turks and Greeks is well
known.

Galatasaray top the group now with 10 points in total from the 4
matches they have played and a superb goal statistic of 11 scored and
only 3 conceded, one from each team in the group.

They have a good from but show signs of a downward spiral as they did
not win the last 2 matches played both in the Super Lig, draw against
Manisaspor and a loss last week away to Bursaspor.

Panathinaikos is coming after a defeat in the derby match of Greece
against Olympiakos and they are determined to erase some of that with a
good game here.

The Greek team sits on the second spot of the group with 9 points so
far, 6 over third Dinamo Bucuresti, an advantage that is enough to see
them through no matter of the outcome in the last 2 matches.

My tip: Galatasaray to win