UEFA Cup Betting Preview: Zenden still dreaming of beautiful game

Europa League / Ben Lyttleton / 14 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

Marseille may have lost the first leg but with a passionate home support behind them, Ben Lyttleton believes that there are more goals to come in their tie against Shakhtar Donetsk. Best Bet: Back Marseille for half-time/full time @ [3.25].

Since Shakhtar Donetsk beat Marseille 2-0 in their first leg last week, the French side have leap-froged Lyon to go top of the French league. How this affects their preparations for the second leg at the Velodrome is the key to determining the outcome of a tie that is far from over. After all, although Shakhtar achieved their main aim of keeping a clean sheet in the Donbass, both their goals came against the run of play and Marseille were unlucky to go behind to Thomas Hübschman's opener just minutes after Mamadou Niang had struck the post.

While OM coach Eric Gerets, who has said his target for the season is to finish in Ligue 1's top two, may now prefer to turn his attention to Sunday's league match at Lorient to stay ahead in the title race, his Romanaian counterpart Mircea Lucescu is desperate to end his five-year reign at the club on a high. European success was one of his remits when owner Rinat Akhmetov employed Lucescu in 2004 and though it has eluded him in the Champions League, the chance to follow up Russian UEFA Cup success in 2006 (CSKA) and last year (Zenit) is tantalisingly close.

Marseille winger, and their highest-paid player, Bolo Zenden, has admitted that it would be "a beautiful game" if his team were able to face Paris Saint-Germain in the next round, and has rubbished the suggestion that the advantage Shakhtar now have may be too tough to overhaul. Lucescu is sure to field Hübschman and Olexiy Gai as holding midfielders, with Luiz Adriano as the lone striker - but I can still see OM carving out chances in front of their passionate home support.

Shakhtar won their last two home ties 2-0 and held on to get past Spurs (1-1 in the second leg) and CSKA (0-1). But this game should have more goals in it and the Over 2.5 goals market is a tempting price at [2.28]. I also like Marseille to be leading the half-time/full-time market at [3.25], as this week could prove to be the most important in their season so far.

PSG boss Paul le Guen considered last week's 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev a missed opportunity and considering the vistors were without first-choice central defensive partnership Taras Michaluk and Pape Diakhate, he may well be left to rue the profligacy of Stephane Sessegnon and Guillaume Hoarau, both of whom missed chances in Paris. Dynamo, though, are a side that like to play counter-attacking football relying on the pace and guile of Oleksander Aliyev and Artem Milevskiy.

In previous rounds they have made this pay by beating Valencia and Metalist Kharkiv by scoring two goals away from home and on both occasions getting through on away goals. Now the advantage is very much with PSG in that respect, as a score-draw would see them through: but bear in mind that Claude Makelele and Ludo Giuly were benched for the first game, which just shows what level of priority Le Guen is giving to this competition.

His small squad are stretched to their limit and in last weekend's draw at Lille, the team finally looked like fatigue was affecting them. Six of their players have already played over 40 games this season. And although one away goal may be enough for them, Dynamo have the European experience and, more significantly, greater motivation to reach the next round, which is why their [1.7] price to qualify is where the value is.

You might have expected Udinese's under-pressure boss Pasquale Marino to be relieved after his team beat nine-man Reggina 2-0 last weekend but nothing could be further from the truth. "We were awful and I am very disappointed," he moaned after the game. It would appear that for all his innovative tactics and international players, he has lost the dressing-room and though he is certain to be a successful coach in his career, he might not survive the summer at the Fruili club.

Fabio Quagliarella did give Udinese some hope by scoring a late away goal in the 3-1 first leg defeat in Bremen. But the Germans will be happy to sit back and invite Udinese onto them: Diego showed with his two goals in the first leg how few chances he needs to make a difference, and the problems for Marino could mount after this tie. Werder Bremen look set to march into the semi-finals where they could meet Hamburg in an all-German tie: and they could do so handsomely. They are ([2.92)] to win in Italy.