H
HastGill1
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FC Porto v Shakhtar
Have to be looking at the goal market in this one, Porto have lost Boas obviously and also Falcao who was a decent goal threat but new coach Pereira knows the philosophy of the club having been involved with them for 25 years and I can't see them closing ranks and playing defensive particularly at home. Shakhtar are going to be running the same formation and tactics we have come used to from them, tight Eastern European defence and skilful, attacking Brazilians all through midfield and attack.
Porto have started the season strongly, youngster Kleber arrived and was set the task of replacing Falcao which is obviously not easy, he will have gained confidence from last time out against Uniao Leiria where he got a brace, Porto have always replaced top players successfully in the past and have an excellent scouting network in South America so we will trust their decisions when it comes to replacing Falcao. Much of the rest of the team is as you were last season, Hulk is the talisman of the side with most of the play coming through him, from an attacking viewpoint he is definitely their best player. Defensively they leave gaps, there is no doubt about that. Their defensive record is pretty good at home but mainly because teams (particularly domestic) go there and sit back, trying to soak up pressure which they usually fail to do because they can't cope with the speed of the passing and movement, even against Barca the other week they showed this and were probably a bit unlucky to go in down, at half time. They tend to play a pretty high defensive line, I don't know if they will change this against a side with more attacking ability like Shakhtar but I still think they can definitely be got at on the break. Been rotating the starting line-up a fair bit so far so it will be interesting to see what Pereira classes as the strongest side available.
Mahno knows more about Shakhtar than me, but I would regard them as comparable in level to Porto if not quite as strong, but their record in the CL recently has to be respected and will go to Portugal in confident mood I'm sure after a decent start to the domestic campaign 6-2-0, this will certainly be their toughest match to date though. Both sides are used to having the majority of the possession in their domestic league but the Ukrainian league is certainly more level than the Portuguese is currently, it will be interesting to see how Shakhtar cope as a defensive unit as they are likely to spend fair chunks of the game defending, but with that as I said previously they have great capacity to hit Porto on the break and will certainly fancy their chances of scoring. Fernandinho, Willan, Jadson, Luis Adriano are all good attacking players that can cause Porto problems. From a formation viewpoint I imagine Hubschman will be playing in defensive midfield position and how well he deals with the movement of the Porto front three may well dictate how successful Shakhtar are, he will certainly be the most defensive minded of the midfield, ahead of him the formation is fairly fluid and interchangeable.
Possible Line ups;
FC Porto: Helton - Fucile, Rolando, Sapunaru, Otamendi - Souza, João Moutinho, Belluschi/Guarin - Varela, Hulk, Kléber
Shakhtar: Rybka - Srna, Kucher, Rakytskyy, Shevchuk - Hübschman, Fernandinho, Jadson, Willian, Costa - Adriano
All bets are currently provisional as I'm waiting to see if there are any important injuries etc. in the weekend games that may alter my thinking.
Both Teams to Score - 1.9 - William Hill - 4 Points
Goal Line over 2.5 - 1.92 - Bet365 - 4 Points
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal
This is another match that, on paper at least, looks an absolute cracker and probably the best of the round. Borussia are a young exciting side full of good attacking players, obviously won the league last season and will be expecting a good start against an Arsenal side who are at their weakest point in a fair few years. Borussia have started the season pretty well, 2-1-1, drawing away with last years runners up Leverkusen 0-0 last week in a game they had a goal disallowed and key man Gotze sent off. They line up in a now familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, Barrios is still out injured and that is a big blow as he was looking like becoming a world-class player last season, Lewandowski is a decent replacement though and they have danger throughout the attacking midfielders Götze, Kagawa and Großkreutz, particularly Götze who should be a star performer. Dortmund are also very strong at home, unbeaten in 20 odd games winning both their league games there this season.
Arsenal have done huge (by their standards) business in the transfer market, it did all come across as a bit rushed though and we will have to wait to see how the new signings are incorporated. Arsenal will be missing two of their best players in Vermaelen and Wilshire but they do have a very strong squad and decent replacements, I think playing Santos in this game would be the wrong move, saw in a couple of matches I watched him in Turkey last season and he wasn't too good at tracking back when he went forward, in fact he didn't look too keen on defending at all, against a side with the attacking capabilities of Dortmund that could well be a problem, Gibbs will probably start I think. Midfield looks strong, Arteta will take on the Fabregas role and with Wilshire out Ramsey will carry on in midfield, Walcott, Gervinho and Van Persie make for a strong looking front three. Reports of Arsenals demise in the media are somewhat premature for me, they got tonked at Old Trafford but they set up in a suicidal way with inferior players to what they would normally have, this team already looks far stronger. Ramsey and Van Persie both looked strong on international duty and if Mertesacker can come in and give some stability and leadership at the back they will be in better stead. The defence still looks venerable though and I don't think a clean sheet is likely.
Think this is another game with goals in it, Arsenal are not a defensive side and it isn't a game Wenger will feel is beyond them. Dortmund are untested against the best sides in Europe and didn't impress in the Europa League last year, the atmosphere should be great and with the attacking mentality of both sides I think over 3.0 goals is a good option again at a decent price. Dortmund's strength at home puts me off backing Arsenal on a +0.5AH, but I can see both sides scoring and having a real go as both will see it as a winnable game.
Possible Line Ups;
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - S. Bender, Gündogan - Götze, Kagawa, Großkreutz - Lewandowski
Arsenal: Szczesny - Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs - Song, Ramsey, Arteta - Walcott, Gervinho - Van Persie
Both Teams to Score - 1.72 - Bet365 - 5 Points
Goal Line Over 2.5 - 2.02 - Bet365 - 5 Points
Goal Line Over 3.0 - 2.8 - Pinnacle - 4 Points
Have to be looking at the goal market in this one, Porto have lost Boas obviously and also Falcao who was a decent goal threat but new coach Pereira knows the philosophy of the club having been involved with them for 25 years and I can't see them closing ranks and playing defensive particularly at home. Shakhtar are going to be running the same formation and tactics we have come used to from them, tight Eastern European defence and skilful, attacking Brazilians all through midfield and attack.
Porto have started the season strongly, youngster Kleber arrived and was set the task of replacing Falcao which is obviously not easy, he will have gained confidence from last time out against Uniao Leiria where he got a brace, Porto have always replaced top players successfully in the past and have an excellent scouting network in South America so we will trust their decisions when it comes to replacing Falcao. Much of the rest of the team is as you were last season, Hulk is the talisman of the side with most of the play coming through him, from an attacking viewpoint he is definitely their best player. Defensively they leave gaps, there is no doubt about that. Their defensive record is pretty good at home but mainly because teams (particularly domestic) go there and sit back, trying to soak up pressure which they usually fail to do because they can't cope with the speed of the passing and movement, even against Barca the other week they showed this and were probably a bit unlucky to go in down, at half time. They tend to play a pretty high defensive line, I don't know if they will change this against a side with more attacking ability like Shakhtar but I still think they can definitely be got at on the break. Been rotating the starting line-up a fair bit so far so it will be interesting to see what Pereira classes as the strongest side available.
Mahno knows more about Shakhtar than me, but I would regard them as comparable in level to Porto if not quite as strong, but their record in the CL recently has to be respected and will go to Portugal in confident mood I'm sure after a decent start to the domestic campaign 6-2-0, this will certainly be their toughest match to date though. Both sides are used to having the majority of the possession in their domestic league but the Ukrainian league is certainly more level than the Portuguese is currently, it will be interesting to see how Shakhtar cope as a defensive unit as they are likely to spend fair chunks of the game defending, but with that as I said previously they have great capacity to hit Porto on the break and will certainly fancy their chances of scoring. Fernandinho, Willan, Jadson, Luis Adriano are all good attacking players that can cause Porto problems. From a formation viewpoint I imagine Hubschman will be playing in defensive midfield position and how well he deals with the movement of the Porto front three may well dictate how successful Shakhtar are, he will certainly be the most defensive minded of the midfield, ahead of him the formation is fairly fluid and interchangeable.
Possible Line ups;
FC Porto: Helton - Fucile, Rolando, Sapunaru, Otamendi - Souza, João Moutinho, Belluschi/Guarin - Varela, Hulk, Kléber
Shakhtar: Rybka - Srna, Kucher, Rakytskyy, Shevchuk - Hübschman, Fernandinho, Jadson, Willian, Costa - Adriano
All bets are currently provisional as I'm waiting to see if there are any important injuries etc. in the weekend games that may alter my thinking.
Both Teams to Score - 1.9 - William Hill - 4 Points
Goal Line over 2.5 - 1.92 - Bet365 - 4 Points
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal
This is another match that, on paper at least, looks an absolute cracker and probably the best of the round. Borussia are a young exciting side full of good attacking players, obviously won the league last season and will be expecting a good start against an Arsenal side who are at their weakest point in a fair few years. Borussia have started the season pretty well, 2-1-1, drawing away with last years runners up Leverkusen 0-0 last week in a game they had a goal disallowed and key man Gotze sent off. They line up in a now familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, Barrios is still out injured and that is a big blow as he was looking like becoming a world-class player last season, Lewandowski is a decent replacement though and they have danger throughout the attacking midfielders Götze, Kagawa and Großkreutz, particularly Götze who should be a star performer. Dortmund are also very strong at home, unbeaten in 20 odd games winning both their league games there this season.
Arsenal have done huge (by their standards) business in the transfer market, it did all come across as a bit rushed though and we will have to wait to see how the new signings are incorporated. Arsenal will be missing two of their best players in Vermaelen and Wilshire but they do have a very strong squad and decent replacements, I think playing Santos in this game would be the wrong move, saw in a couple of matches I watched him in Turkey last season and he wasn't too good at tracking back when he went forward, in fact he didn't look too keen on defending at all, against a side with the attacking capabilities of Dortmund that could well be a problem, Gibbs will probably start I think. Midfield looks strong, Arteta will take on the Fabregas role and with Wilshire out Ramsey will carry on in midfield, Walcott, Gervinho and Van Persie make for a strong looking front three. Reports of Arsenals demise in the media are somewhat premature for me, they got tonked at Old Trafford but they set up in a suicidal way with inferior players to what they would normally have, this team already looks far stronger. Ramsey and Van Persie both looked strong on international duty and if Mertesacker can come in and give some stability and leadership at the back they will be in better stead. The defence still looks venerable though and I don't think a clean sheet is likely.
Think this is another game with goals in it, Arsenal are not a defensive side and it isn't a game Wenger will feel is beyond them. Dortmund are untested against the best sides in Europe and didn't impress in the Europa League last year, the atmosphere should be great and with the attacking mentality of both sides I think over 3.0 goals is a good option again at a decent price. Dortmund's strength at home puts me off backing Arsenal on a +0.5AH, but I can see both sides scoring and having a real go as both will see it as a winnable game.
Possible Line Ups;
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - S. Bender, Gündogan - Götze, Kagawa, Großkreutz - Lewandowski
Arsenal: Szczesny - Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs - Song, Ramsey, Arteta - Walcott, Gervinho - Van Persie
Both Teams to Score - 1.72 - Bet365 - 5 Points
Goal Line Over 2.5 - 2.02 - Bet365 - 5 Points
Goal Line Over 3.0 - 2.8 - Pinnacle - 4 Points
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