2008/09 Week 27

The UEFA Cup reaches the Round of 32, and gets a week in the limelight with no Champions League football. It is a competition often overlooked by layers and can be a rewarding one for punters.

The tie of the round is undoubtedly AC Milan v Werder Bremen which has more of a CL feel to it but the bet of the round is in the less glamorous Braga – Standard Liege clash. Standard came to prominence with excellent performances against Everton and Liverpool, and even after losing Fellaini have continued to soar. Under-rated originally owing to the weak Belgium League, their position as seventh favourite for the cup reflects that they are now being taken seriously. Sporting Braga are an average Portuguese side who have tasted defeat each time they have faced one of the big three in Portugal (Benfica, Porto, Sporting Lisbon) and their progress was primarily from beating a poor Portsmouth team. Home advantage is quite high in European competition but even allowing for this Standard should still be favourites for the first leg in Portugal. IASbet will allow us to back Standard at 2.22 on the DNB market and this is worthy of 3pts outlay.

Italian clubs are notorious for not treating the UEFA Cup as a major concern and with Sampdoria struggling domestically their fixtures against Metalists of Ukraine will not be a priority. The Ukrainian league is one of the most improved and Metalist are another team that have sneaked under the radar. Unlike the more prominent Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk they have no star names but have produced a series of excellent performances in the UEFA Cup. They have already seen off Benfica, Olympiakos, Galatasary, and Besiktas and are over-priced to claim a huge away win. Stakes are limited to 0.5pt as Metalist haven’t played for 2 months but 5.5 on Betfair is still too big.

NEC Nijmegen are amongst the worst teams left in the competition and they will not overcome a good German outfit in Hamburg. Martin Jol has already outlined the UEFA Cup as a major priority, and the short journey reduces considerably the home advantage enjoyed. Having already beaten Bayern Munich since the winter break Hamburg are a genuine title threat and will have far too much ability for a team whose deficiencies were highlighted by Spurs in an earlier round. 2pts on Stan James’ 3.1 is the call when 1.91 would be a much nearer estimation of their chance of success.

Our final back in this set of fixtures is Olympiakos at 1.67 (Coral, Tote, Skybet) at home to St Etienne. The Greek team have won every single home fixture this season – a stunning 2.0, whilst the French team are one place above the relegation zone having collected five points in twelve away games domestically. There is a huge gulf in class between squads and with a sell-out partisan crowd guaranteed 3pts is the order of the day.

Spurs travel to Ukraine on Thursday and look hugely opposable but the pre-match gamble on the home team prevents a wager. However VC have left a tempter with their “To Qualify from Tie” prices and their 2.38 on Shakhtar warrants 2pts. Tottenham have other priorities this season, and have ended up with a lop-sided squad severely lacking in strikers. Shakhtar are experienced Champions League campaigners and have more than enough class to progress so take advantage.

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