The Pacman's Midweek Multiple / Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco / 11 December 2007 / Leave a comment

Turkish Delights allegedly get their name from the word ahbisa (jelly), the ancestor of Turkish rahat lokum, the long name for the sweet. When an English traveller visited Turkey in the 19th century and tasted the delicacy, he was so impressed that he ordered for several boxes to be shipped back home, with the boxes carrying the description "Turkish Delight". Personally, I can't stand them - they're far too sweet, far too sticky and leave an unpleasant aftertaste. I have an aunt who knows how much I detest them yet still sends me a huge box every year on my birthday. I wonder why.

There's nothing delightful about Turkish side Besiktas' away record in the Champions League this year. A 2-0 defeat at Marseille is probably par for the course for a side that has struggled over the years away from their vocal and partisan supporters. There is no shame in being defeated at Anfield either, but an 8-0 scoreline is a little much. Porto will take huge confidence from the fact they beat Besiktas in their own backyard earlier on in the competition, courtesy of a Ricardo Quaresma goal, one of the most in-form attackers in European football. The winger could once again be Porto's key player, with skipper Lucho Gonzalez another class player who can create or score a goal out of nothing. Despite needing to just avoid defeat to go through, I can't see anything other than a Porto win at [1.41].

I've mentioned Turkish Delights above so I thought I'd stick with the theme and turn my attention not to deep-fried Mars bars but rather their place of birth. The blue side of Glasgow play hosts to a side who is actually named after a chocolate bar, French Champions Lyon. Rangers were good for their goalless draw at home to Barcelona and impressive in beating Stuttgart 2-1, also at Ibrox.

Lyon are a shadow of the side they were two or three years ago with players of the calibre of Essien, Malouda, Carew and Tiago all allowed to leave with players of inferior quality brought in to replace them. Too much depends on the genial yet ageing Juninho Pernambucano to create chances and deliver from set-pieces if Lyon are to get results in Europe. Rangers need just the draw to progress to the next stage and I suspect that's what they'll get but I'm going to be a little more cautious so I'm laying Lyon at [2.5].

Barcelona may well field a reserve side at home to Stuttgart in a match they don't need anything from. But to paraphrase the advert, it will probably be the best reserve side in the world and far too good for a Stuttgart side that who have lost both their way matches in the competition so far, conceding 6 in the progress. I'm backing the Barca home banker at [1.47].