Europa League / Mike Norman / 26 February 2009 / Leave a comment

Mike Norman is dissappointed by Harry Redknapp's plans to field a weakened team against Shakhtar Donetsk and wonders why clubs place such emphasis on European qualification if they are prepared to surrender it so meekly. Best Bet: Lay Tottenham @ [3.1].

I'm not quite sure I'm on Harry Redknapp's wavelength. Yes, Premier League survival is paramount, but with the Spurs squad at his disposal that shouldn't be a problem.

What I don't quite understand is wise old Harry fielding a virtual youth team against Shakhtar... so that he can field a strong team against Manchester United... in an attempt to win a competition that will earn Tottenham the right to play teams like... well, Shakhtar!

Redknapp has unquestionably opened a can of worms. If whoever represents England in the UEFA Cup next season gets bogged down in a relegation scrap or attempts to win the Carling Cup, does that then give them the right to surrender their UEFA Cup place at any stage? Because believe it or not that's exactly what Spurs will be doing when half of their team, warmed-up by doing paper-rounds, line-up against Shakhtar on Thursday.

For the record, a weakened Tottenham side went down 2-0 in the first leg and the club are now available to back at [6.6] To Qualify. Shakhtar Donetsk can be backed at just [1.15].

It won't be the first time that Harry has caught me out by promising to play a weak team, only to play a strong(ish) one, but this time I believe him. Just a few days ago Redknapp said this, "I gave one 17-year-old his debut and might have four 17-year-olds next week. When we play the second leg it will only be half as strong as this side (the team that played in the first leg)".

With this in mind it's impossible to back Tottenham positively in any market. Shakhtar are a decent team who have experienced Champions League football recently. They've held their heads high against some of the best teams in Europe, so I can't see them being frightened by a bunch of kids... not with a 2-0 lead anyway.

The only serious bet for me in this game is to lay Tottenham, even at [3.1], but that won't get us rich quick so how about the Correct Score and Half Time/Full Time markets?

As much as I have written about how impossible it is to back Tottenham, don't be persuaded into thinking Shakhtar will go all out for victory. The simple fact is that the Ukrainians will be fully aware they are facing a largely young and inexperienced team, and their main aim will be to prevent them from scoring. Draw/Draw ([5.4]) and Draw/Shakhtar ([5.8]) appeal most, whilst scorelines of 0-0 ([11.0]) and 0-1 ([8.4]) catch the eye in that particular market.

By the way, a Shakhtar Donetsk Clean Sheet can be backed at [3.2] and looks a cracking bet - that price won't be around come kick-off. You've been warned.