Bayern last 5 league matches:

Bayern last 3 home matches: 

Hamburg last 5 league matches:

Hamburg last 3 away matches:

Table positions: Bayern -2, Hamburg -4

Bayern home table position: 2

Hamburg away table position: 5

The derby match of this leg in the German Bundesliga and one of only 2 to be played this Sunday in the competition as Bayern Munchen welcomes Hamburger SV.

After a 9 game winning streak in the domestic league, Bayern Munchen got just one point from their trip to Nurnberg last week as it finished 1-1. When looking at the team’s performance and results lately, Nurnberg looked like an unlikely candidate to stop Bayern and the team lost yet another chance to overcome Leverkusen in the overall table.

Bayern Munchen has yet to lose any matches at home this season but with 8 victories and 4 draws their statistic is not really that impressive, their goal ratio on the other hand is another matter with 25 scored and 9 conceded looking very strong on offense.

Hamburg is on the 4th spot of the BUndesliga table with a current total of 40 points, 9 behind their current adversaries and with little room to work with his week as third Schalke sits 5 points from them. Their main threat is Borussia Dortmund which trail them by only one point.

They have a very modest statistic in away matches as they won 4, ended no less than 6 in draws and lost 1 to Dortmund showing a goal record of 25 scored and 16 conceded revealing an emphasis on attach which leaves gaps in defense.

My pick:  Bayern Munchen to win

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Lille last 5 league matches:

Lille last 3 home matches: 

Auxerre last 5 league matches:

Auxerre last 3 away matches:

Table positions: Lille -3, Auxerre -6

Lille home table position: 1

Auxerre away table position: 9

Things are heating up at the top of the French Ligue 1 as Bordeaux lost it’s comfortable advantage and Lille has it’s chance but a though match against Auxerre this week.

OSC Lille is third in the league table with a total of 47 points, 4 short of leaders Bordeaux and only one from second Montpellier. Their position is in danger also as both Olympique Lyon and Marseille are in reaching range and await their chance for the spot.

The team has the best statistic of all in home matches with 9 victories and 3 draws in all 13 played having lost joust one in the very first match of the championship against Lorient and now sitting on a 8 match winning streak in front of the home crowd and a goal ratio of 29 scored and 9 conceded.

Auxerre with a fairly good season so far and close to a European tournament for next year. 6th in the table currently with a total of 42 points, only 5 behind their adversaries in this match.

Their situation in away games is rather poor though with a statistic of 4 victories and 4 draws in 11 played but what strikes is the goal ratio of only 6 scored and 9 conceded witch can lead us to think this will probably be a closed game with few goals.

My pick:  Lille to win

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Barcelona last 5 league matches:

Barcelona last 3 home matches: 

Malaga last 5 league matches:

Malaga last 3 away matches: 

Table positions: Barcelona -1, Malaga -12

Barcelona home table position: 2

Malaga away table position: 9

With the crushing victory over Racing Santander last week, Barcelona has maintained it’s 2 point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Division and now welcomes a Malaga team in full form.

Barcelona with busy schedule as they played this week against VfL Stuttgart in the Champions League and managed a 1-1 draw that puts them in the driver’s seat for the return leg and the qualification in the next phase of the competition.

In the Primera Division they cannot afford any missed steps as with the loss against Atletico Madrid they allowed Real to close the gap. The team’s statistic on home ground is impressive with 10 victories and 1 draw in all 11 matches played and a superb goal ratio of 32 score with only 7 conceded so far, a record that would overarm any opponent, nonetheless one from the middle of the table as the case here.

Malaga is on the 12th spot of the table with a total of 27 points but the team is not without worries as the relegation zone is joust 7 points bellow the. With a awful season so far, the team managed impressive results in the last month with 3 victories and one draw in the last 4 matches played with victims such as Atletico Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna.

Although they managed to win the last 2 matches played away, they remain the only victories so far for them whilst on the road with another 5 draws in 11 matches played and neutral goal ratio of 15 scored and conceded.

My pick:  Barcelona to win (over 2.5 goals)

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Lazio last 5 league matches:

Lazio last 3 home matches: 

Fiorentina last 5 league matches:

Fiorentina last 3 away matches:

Table positions: Lazio -16, Fiorentina -10

Lazio home table position: 18

Fiorentina away table position: 9

A duel between 2 struggling teams in the Italian Serie A as bottom table Lazio take on Fiorentina this Saturday with both teams in desperate need of points.

Lazio had a disastrous season so far and the team’s results have not improved lately with only one victory in the last 7 played in the domestic league and with a current total of joust 25 points they sit only 2 above the relegation zone.

As expected the team has one of the poorest statistic of all involved in the competition, this being the home pitch record as well with only 3 victories and 4 draws in 11 played and a goal ratio to match with 11 scored and 12 conceded.

Fiorentina had a great start in the new year but lost a lot of ground lately, with top scorer Adrian Mutu suspended the team entered a phase in witch they encountered only strong teams and lost a lot of points. As Lazio they have only one victory in the last 7 matches played but nonetheless their form is improving and the last part of the season may bring much needed points.

They are currently on the 10th spot of the table with a total of 32 points, with 2 followers who can take their place in case of a loss or draw. No much hope for them if we consider the away statistic of 3 victories and 3 draws in 12 played and a negative goal ratio of 14 scored and 18 conceded.

My pick:  Fiorentina to win

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Leverkusen last 5 league matches: 

Leverkusen last 3 home matches:

Koln last 5 league matches:

Koln last 3 away matches:

Table positions: Leverkusen -1, Koln -14

Leverkusen home table position: 1

Koln away table position: 6

With no margins for error as Bayern Munchen are second only due to the goal ratio, Bayer Leverkusen will settle for nothing else but a victory against FC Koln this Saturday in the German Bundesliga.

Once having a comfortable advantage over it’s followers, Bayer Leverkusen has no margin for error as Bayern Munchen has managed to match their current points and with it’s current form all it has to do is await any mistakes.

The hosts are the only team in the competition that are yet to lose any match this season, a very good performance when looking at their opposition. On home ground their statistic reveals no less than 9 victories and 2 draws in all 11 played and a superb goal ratio of 28 scored and only 8 conceded.

FC Koln is currently in the lower part of the table with little chance of improvement when considering the latest results. 8 points separate them from the danger zone, a comfortable advantage for the moment but with no victories in the past 3 matches their prospects are not good.

The team has an unusual statistic so far, performing better in away matches as they won 4 and ended 4 in draws from the 11 they have played so far and a goal ratio of 0 as they scored 9 and conceded 9 showing a decent defense and very modest offense.

My pick:  Bayer Leverkusen to win (over 2.5 goals)

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Lyon last 5 league matches:

Lyon last 3 home matches:

Nice last 5 league matches:

Nice last 3 away matches:

Table positions: Lyon -4, Nice -17

Lyon home table position: 9

Nice away table position: 17

With an intense battle at the top of the French Ligue 1, no less than 5 teams play their chances for the ultimate trophy with Olympique Lyon involved in this dispute and welcoming Nice on Saturday.

Olympique Lyon is in a very good form and it’s showing that in all competitions with 4 victories in the past 5 rounds of the domestic league and a superb morale boosting win last week in the Champions League over Spanish giants Real Madrid.

It’s been a hard battle for Lyon but after a very poor run, the team looks to be restored to it’s former glory and it’s now only 5 points from leaders Bordeaux and 2 from second Montpellier. So this is a good chance for them to advance but caution is the key word as Marseille sit joust one point behind with a game less played.

Nice is sitting joust above the relegation line, with a total of joust 26 points, 6 above the danger zone, 3 of which managed last week in a 1-0 victory over Lorient. This was the team’s first victory since late November and put an end to a string of 11 matches without wining.

As expected the team’s statistic is very poor and this especially in away matches where they managed only 2 victories and 2 draws, losing the rest of 9 played and an awful goal ratio of 9 scored and 23 conceded.

My pick:  Lyon to win (over 2.5 goals)

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Schake last 5 league matches: 

Schake last 3 home matches:

Dortmund last 5 league matches:

Dortmund last 3 away matches: 

Table positions: Schake -3, Dortmund -5

Schake home table position: 3

Dortmund away table position: 8

The first match in the German Bundesliga day 24 and the only one on Friday as top teams Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund need to consolidate and possibly build on their positions.

Schalke is only 4 points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munchen with a total of 45 points in 23 matches played and no matter the outcome of this match their third spot in the table is assured.

The team looks very strong on home pitch this season with a statistic that shows 8 victories and 2 draws in 10 played with a goal ratio to match as they scored 21 and conceded only 8 revealing a good defense with a decent offensive department.

After losing 3 consecutive matches in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund managed to change their fortune with a crushing 4-1 victory over struggling Hannover last week. They are on the 5th spot of the table only one point behind Hamburger SV and 6 gap from their current adversaries.

Although in front of their home supporters the team pulls out decent results, in away matches is a totally different story. They have 4 victories and 4 draws in 11 played, pretty poor for their ambitions with a negative goal ratio of 16 scored and 19 conceded showing real problems in defense.

My pick:  Schalke 04 to win

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*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

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*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

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Wayne Rooney Is The Man To Help England To World Cup Glory

Who is England’s best player? At least nine out of ten people would surely answer Wayne Rooney and it is very hard to make a case for England at the World Cup 2010 without their star man. If any evidence was needed that Rooney has improved yet again this season it is his two headed goals against AC Milan as heading was previously his weakest point.

Wayne Rooney already has big tournament experience despite still being relatively young, he burst onto the International scene with a great performance at Euro 2004 but he got injured against Portugal and England ended up going out. At the 2006 World Cup things were looking good for England until, you guessed it, Wayne Rooney got sent off against old friends Portugal and England crashed it. It is simply as if England cannot win without the Man Utd striker.

No surprise really that so many people are backing Wayne Rooney to be the World Cup Golden Boot as a good tournament for Wayne Rooney means a good tournament for England yet the Wayne Rooney World Cup Golden Boot Odds are around three times as high as England’s World Cup Odds. Which bet would you make at this stage?

Of course England have plenty of other good players but they are very much the foundations that allow Wayne Rooney to express himself. The likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and even Aaron Lennon if he plays will all be expected to give the ball to Rooney as much as possible and so strong is Wayne Rooney’s influence that his striker partner, who remains unknown, will probably be picked on the basis of who brings out the best in Wayne Rooney.