UEFA Cup Betting: Italian trio of AC Milan, Udinese and Napoli target UEFA glory

Europa League / Editor / 17 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

Richard Aikman picks a few bets from Thursday night's UEFA action as under-fire Milan, pleasing-on-the-eye Napoli and the unpredictable Udinese lock horns with FC Zurich, Benfica and Dortmund respectively.

AC Milan v FC Zurich

After a miserable start to their season AC Milan ([5.9] to win the Uefa Cup outright) will be eager to get back on track against FC Zurich. Following his side's second straight Serie A defeat against Genoa at the weekend coach Carlo Ancelotti survived a crisis meeting with vice-president Adriano Galliani on Monday and the Rossoneri tactician knows full well that only a win will help still the wagging tongues that are mentioning names like Frank Rijkaard and Roberto Donadoni in casual conversation.

Ancelotti has so far struggled to integrate Ronaldinho and Shevchenko into a star-studded forward line already boasting Kakà, Filippo Inzaghi, Pato and Marco Borriello but his greater need is in defence where the injured Kakha Kaladze and Alessandro Nesta - probably the best defender in Serie A - have left a black hole in an ageing rearguard, which was manned on Sunday by Daniele Bonera and Paolo Maldini, the latter giving away a last-minute penalty. Philippe Senderos remains injured, while Andrea Pirlo's torn thigh muscle has ruled him out for up to a month.

FC Zurich will have taken heart from Milan's abysmal Serie A start, not to mention the Italians' embarrassing 2-0 friendly defeat to another Swiss side, Lugano, a week ago. Lugano aren't even in the Swiss top-flight, unlike Zurich, who are in second place, five points behind leaders FC Basel. Bernard Challandes' side, who beat Aston Villa in pre-season. warmed up for the trip to the San Siro with a 7-1 mauling of FC Vaduz with Almen Abdi and Frenchman Eric Hassli both scoring twice in the Swiss side's third striaght win. With Milan likely to go on the onslaught beware the breakaway goal. A shock away win is hugely tempting at [14.5]; the draw is [6.4], whereas the home win currently trades at [1.26].

Napoli v Benfica

Napoli ([84.0] for the UEFA Cup outright) have been hitting the headlines in Italy for all the wrong reasons after their supporters were banned from attending away matches this season for vandalizing a train and staging running battles with the police on the opening day of the season. On the pitch, their side are also looking dangerous, holding Roma to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico before coming from behind to beat Fiorentina 2-1 at the weekend.

Edy Reja's men have drawn comparisons with Arsenal for both their attacking style of football and their tendency to buy little-known players and mould them into stars. Argentina striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, who is 23, and Slovakia international Marek Hamšík, 20, are two prime examples. Bought at the start of last season, following Napoli's promotion from Serie B, their speed, skill and goals (18) propelled them into eighth place. Hamšík has already scored twice in as many Serie A matches and he will certainly be one to watch as Napoli, who managed 11 wins at the Stadio San Paolo last season, look to justify their [2.18] match odds.

Benfica ([76.0] to go all the way), though, are no European novices. After five consecutive Champions League appearances, the Lisbon outfit have entered the Uefa Cup from the outset after finishing last season a disappointing fourth. To turn their fortunes around former Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores has been brought in this summer and he has shelled out almost £18m on a summer spending binge including his former Valencia protégé Pablo Aimar, Portugal international Carlos Martins, David Suazo of Inter Milan and José Antonio Reyes from Atlético Madrid. The Eagles have yet to soar, though, starting the season with two 1-1 draws, against Rio Ave and FC Porto. They do boast Nuno Gomes and set-piece specialist Óscar Cardozo in their ranks, both of whom have scored already this term, but Benfica, who are [3.8] to win in Italy will do well to come away from fortress San Paolo with a draw ([3.5]).

Borussia Dortmund v Udinese

After making a promising start to their campaign, Borussia Dortmund ([76.0]) will be keen to test themselves against Italian opposition. Jürgen Klopp's men lie joint second in the Bundesliga, two points behind leaders Hamburg and showed great spirit to claw back a three-goal deficit in the Ruhr derby against Schalke at the weekend, with Alexander Frei returning from injury to score two cracking goals. Frei will again be one to watch in a free-scoring side that has managed eight goals this term and with both sides prone to attack, this is a game in which goals could feature heavily. Hence, over 2.5 goals at [1.93] looks the way forward.

Despite a desperate Euro2008 Antonio Di Natale has been making waves for Udinese ([110.0]), where the striker is being talked of in the same breath as former Zebrette and Brazil legend Zico. Di Natale has forged a wonderful strike partnership with fellow Italy striker Fabio Quagliarella, the pair producing a combined 29 goals last season, and he scored twice in the 3-1 defeat of Palermo on the opening day of the season. The Bianconeri lost 1-0 to Juventus on Sunday but having held on to quality midfielder Gökhan Inler this summer, Udinese, who are great value at [110.0] to lay at a later stage, will be a force to be reckoned with this term.