Champions League - "AC Milan to slip up"
Marcel Merciak is a leading sports commentator and widely regarded as one of the most respected football experts in Slovakia. He has been commentating on football since 1995, and has covered three World Cups, four European Championships and the last seven seasons of the Champions League. Here he looks ahead to some of the big games of week two of this season's European showpiece...
There are quite a few teams that didn't fare too well two weeks ago and they'll be looking to improve their chances of progressing this time round.
In Group E, Roma will try to make amends against CFR Cluj. Ranieri's team were bland away to Bayern Munich, who took their time but eventually punished them accordingly.
Bayern are not doing as well as expected in the Bundesliga but the strength is still there and they only need to show it in Basel when they play against a team coached by one of their former players, Thorsten Fink.
The Slovakian champions MSK Zilina started boldly against Chelsea, but given the English team's superior quality, they were doomed playing that way. If Zilina hope to scramble some points in the most challenging competition that they have ever tasted, they'll have to change a lot in Moscow.
In particular the defence needs to improve and their midfielders need to work harder - otherwise, it will be a cruise for Spartak Moscow. Given their victory over Marseille, they won't be expecting anything else anyway.
Group G - a showcase of Champions League history - offers Real Madrid a chance to prove they are indeed improving with time, especially compared with the first half of last season. Auxerre have not yet won in Ligue 1 and following their defeat at the San Siro, anything but a loss at Real would be a great surprise.
Ajax's youngsters did not succeed in Madrid, but still stand a good chance against AC Milan. The Rossoneri have Zlatan Ibrahimovic in good form but more of their players are actually struggling - just look at Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo.
Arsenal walked over Sporting Braga two weeks ago and the main question for them this time round is whether Arsene Wenger should field a full first team against Partizan Belgrade.
Playing their first Champions League match ever, Sporting Braga got quite a shock at the Emirates, but the team is actually much better than the result in London suggests. If they manage to squeeze three points out of Shakhtar Donetsk, their chances to progress will improve significantly.
Marcel's tips:
Back Ajax to win to nil against AC Milan at [5.2]
Back Real Madrid to beat Auxerre at [1.61]
Back over 2.5 goals in FC Basel v Bayern Munich at [2.06]
Click here to read more expert betting advice from The Specialists
Published: 28 Sep 2010
Ralph Thompson (October 18, 2010 6:32 AM) said:
great post thanks