Tag: Schalke

Champions League – Porto and Real to progress

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Champions League returns this week with the first four quarter-finalists to be decided. The match of the week looks to be the clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and PSG on Wednesday night with the tie delicately poised at 1-1. We will be previewing that game in detail tomorrow.

Tuesday night sees Porto welcome Basel to Portugal with the tie also level at 1-1 after the first leg. The home side are unbeaten in the competition this season and finished top of Group H.  They have not lost any of their last eight home games in Europe and are bidding to reach the last eight for the first time since 2008/09.

They have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions and have not conceded a goal in five league matches. Basel scraped through to the last sixteen by knocking out Liverpool on matchday six but finished 11 points behind Real Madrid in their group. They have only been to the knockout stages once before where they were thrashed 8-0 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. It’s difficult to see anything other than a home win for Porto, probably without reply.

The other tie sees Real Madrid defending a 2-0 lead at home to Schalke. They should have few problems reaching the last eight for the fifth consecutive season as they try to become the first side to defend the trophy in the modern era.

Real put Schalke to the sword at the same stage last season, winning 9-2 on aggregate with a 6-1 victory at the Bernabeau. The German side have improved under new coach Roberto di Matteo but face an impossible task trying to rescue the tie. Ronaldo scored four against Schalke last year and scored in the first leg so it is no surprise to see him short in the goal scorer markets here.

Schalke edged through courtesy of a goal from substitute Max Meyer against Maribor in their final group match. They recorded their first victory in five league games last weekend but this may be an exercise in damage limitation for the visitors. Carlo Ancelotti’s men can afford to be patient and pick them off in the second period.

Tips

Ronaldo to score and Real Madrid win @8-13 Paddy Power

Real v Schalke: Over 2.5 goals scored @4-9 Betfair

Porto to beat Basel to nil @6-5 William Hill

Real Madrid and Porto for Champions League double

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are two further Champions League matches on Wednesday night with Real Madrid away to Schalke and Basel at home to Bayern Munich. If you were expecting to see the Premiership teams in action after Chelsea on Tuesday, the matches are being dragged out over the next fortnight. Arsenal and Man City return to the fray next week.

Real Madrid thrashed Schalke 6-1 in the corresponding fixture last season with Ronaldo, Bale and Benzima helping themselves to two goals apiece. A 3-1 defeat in the return leg consigned Schalke to a 9-2 aggregate thrashing. Former Champions League winning manager Roberto Di Matteo is now at the helm for Schalke and they are expected to put up stronger resistance this time.

Di Matteo has brought in Matija Nastasić on loan from Manchester City and his side are now back in the top four in Germany. Summer signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has already scored nine goals in the Bundesliga but they were taken apart by Chelsea in the group stages and it is difficult to see them holding out for 90 minutes.

Swiss champions Basel meet Porto in the in Wednesday’s other match. Basel reached the last sixteen by holding out for a 1-1 draw at Liverpool in December, finishing second to Real Madrid in Group B. Basel beat Liverpool 1-0 at St. Jakob-Park and restricted Real to a single goal. That was only their second home defeat in their last eleven European home games.

Porto have not lost to a team from Switzerland since the Grasshopper Club in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup. They are unbeaten in the Champions League so far this season and finished five points clear at the top of Group H. They were held to a 2-2 draw at Shakhtar on matchday two but won their other away games at Athletic Club and FC Bate Borisov.

Porto won the competition in 2004 but have not gone beyond the semi-finals since. This is the seventh time that they have reached the last 16 since their victory and their league form suggests that they can go further this year. Porto have won ten of their last 13 matches with Colombian striker Jackson Martínez scoring 12 goals in his last 13 games. Both Porto and Real Madrid are capable of winning comfortably and the win double pays around 5-2.

Wednesday Double

Porto to beat Basel @29-20 BetVictor

Real Madrid to beat Schalke @4-9 BetVictor

Costa to strike again for Chelsea

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has been stressing the importance of Chelsea securing their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League this week.

The Blues currently sit top of their group and have two matches to play but a win over Schalke would be good enough. That would give them the luxury of playing a dead rubber against Sporting Lisbon in their final match, something that Mourinho would greatly appreciate with the Christmas fixture list looming.

Chelsea have dominated the early part of the season in the Premier League, so much so that bookmakers Paddy Power have already paid out on them winning the title! That may be a little premature but you certainly cannot take anything for granted in the Champions League.

Schalke grabbed an unlikely point in the reverse fixture on a night when Chelsea failed to take a string of opportunities to move into a two-goal lead. Schalke’s class players on the night were the scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and the provider Julian Draxler. The loss of Draxler for this match will be a severe blow to Schalke as he looked dangerous throughout at Stamford Bridge.

Schalke are now managed by former Chelsea player and coach Roberto Di Matteo who took in October. No Chelsea fan will ever forget Di Matteo’s relatively short spell in charge, winning the FA Cup and a first ever Champions League for the Blues. He has only been at Schalke for six weeks so it is ironic that he comes face to face with Chelsea so quickly. The German side are currently second in the group but vulnerable with Sporting Lisbon just one point behind them.

Chelsea remain unbeaten in all competitions despite a scare at Maribor in their last group match. In the end, they could and should have won the game but Eden Hazard uncharacteristically fluffed his penalty kick. I don’t expect Chelsea to treat this game with anything less than full commitment and that has so far proved more than enough for most teams. If anything, the Blues have looked sharper away than they have at home.

The speed with which Hazard and Willian launch their counter-attacks is breath-taking but the decisive factor has to be Diego Costa. There has been much debate about his fitness in recent weeks but he looked sharp against West Brom on Saturday and looks tempting at around the 4-1 mark to open the scoring. Backing Costa and Chelsea to win has been a winning formula this season and could easily be the answer again on Tuesday.

Diego Costa to score first @4-1 Paddy Power

Diego Costa to score and Chelsea to win @19-10 Ladbrokes

Chelsea to win by one goal @11-4 Skybet