Saturday 7 April 2012

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals Round-Up, The Weekend's EPL Fixture Predictions and Analysis:



UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg Round-Up:

Tuesday:

Barcelona 3 AC Milan 1 (Aggregate 3-1)
This match was played at The Now Camp as defending champions Barca hosted Milan in an interesting second leg of a quarter-final.

Striker Lionel Messi broke the deadlock in the 11th minute to make it 1-0, from the penalty spot.

Striker Lionel Messi slots home his 1st penalty of the night to open the scoring against Milan.


Midfielder Antonio Nocerino equalised in the 32nd minute for 1-1.
Good, but not good enough: Nocerino equalises for Milan against Barcelona in the 32nd minute.


Messi made it 2-1 in the 42nd minute from the penalty spot again to give the home side the lead going into the second half.

Messi scores his 2nd penalty to make it 2-1 to Barcelona against Milan in the 42nd minute, for his 14th goal of the competition.

Bayern Munich 2 Marseille 0 (Aggregate 4-0)
Olic 13', 37'
Olic puts Bayern Munich 2-0 ahead against Marseille in the 37th minute.
Bring on Real Madrid: Bayern Munich fans celebrate the 2-0 win against Marseille in the quarter-finals.


Wednesday:

Chelsea 2 Benfica 1 (Aggregate 3-1)
This match was played at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosted Benfica for a place in the semi-finals. Chelsea had a 1-0 away advantage coming into this match against a Benfica side who rarely lose in Europe.

In the 20th minute, full-back Ashley Cole was pulled down in the box after a sprinting run from the wing. A penalty was given and midfielder Frank Lampard hit the ball with venom towards the left bottom corner and the keeper could not save the ball.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard scores his 14th goal of the season in all competitions against Benfica in the 21st minute.

Defender Maxi Peireira was sent off after two yellow cards in the 40th minute, to put Benfica down to 10 men before half-time.

In the second half, defensive midfielder Javi Garcia headed the ball past Cech in the 85th minute to give Benfica a glimmer of hope.

A glimmer of Benfica hope: Javi Garcia heads the ball past Petr Cech to make it 1-1 in the 85th minute.

Midfielder Raul Meireles ended his former Portuguese rivals' CL this season in the 89th minute.
Midfielder Raul Meireles scores for Chelsea in the 89th minute, to put Chelsea through to the semi-finals of the CL.



Real Madrid 5 APOEL 2 (Aggregate 8-2)
Ronaldo 27', 75'                    Manduca 62'
Kaka 37'                                Solari 82'
Callejon 80'
Di Maria 84'

Midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Real Madrid against APOEL to make it 1-0.
Midfielder Kaka celebrates scoring his goal against APOEL in the 37th minute.

Jose Callejon celebrates scoring for Madrid in the 84th minute to make it 5-2.




Europa League Quarter Final Results (Just in-case you wanted to know):

Thursday:

Athletic Bilbao 2 Schalke 04 2 (Aggregate 6-4)
Valencia 4 AZ Alkmaar 0 (Aggregate 5-2)
Hannover 1 Atletico Madrid 2 (Aggregate 2-4)
Metalist Kharviv 1 Sporting Lisbon 1 (Aggregate 2-3)



The Weekend's EPL Fixtures Predictions and Analysis:


Saturday (15:00 unless stated):

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur: LIVE at 12:45pm
Tottenham want to put pressure on 3rd placed Arsenal for the coveted Champions League spot and need to beat Sunderland to do this. It will not be an easy match against Martin O'Neil's men.

Bolton vs Fulham:
Fulham will expect to beat 16th placed Bolton, with the attacking flair of Clint Dempsey, John Arne Riise and Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic:
Chelsea will be without John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, but Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba should still be able to cause a lot of problems for Wigan, and have a comfortable win. Can Fernando Torres score again?

Liverpool vs Aston Villa:
Liverpool have had a very poor run of form, losing to Wigan, Newcastle and QPR in their last 4 matches. They find themselves in 8th place, BEHIND rivals Everton in 7th. 
They will be desperate to get back to winning ways, with a win against 15th place Aston Villa. They cannot underestimate Villa though...

FACT: Liverpool have only lost twice at home this season.


Norwich vs Everton:
7th placed Everton go to Carrow Road against an under-rated 12th placed Norwich side.
Norwich's home form has been decent against a strong Everton side who need a win to stay 7th place. 
Drenthe, Pienaar and Jelavic will be dangerous for Norwich and will surely prove too much to handle.
 

West Brom vs Blackburn:
14th vs 18th place at The Hawthorns.
Peter Odemwingie and a decent WBA defence should be enough to see off Blackburn, but if Junior Holiett and Yakubu have a good partnership, Blackburn could move out of the bottom three with an away win.

Stoke vs Wolves: LIVE at 17:30pm
Stoke win against a struggling Wolves side who are fighting to stay in the EPL.


Sunday:

Manchester United vs QPR: LIVE at 13:30pm
United win against a lacklustre QPR side. Surely Rooney and co will be too much for Mark Hughes' men to handle?
If results go their way and they win, United will go 8 points clear of 2nd placed rivals City with 6 matches to play.

Arsenal vs Manchester City: LIVE at 16:00pm
City have to win on Sunday, if they are to still be in the title race, according to Mancini. They will have to face a tough Arsenal side who will look for revenge from the 1-0 loss earlier in the season.
Captain Robin Van Persie at the forefront for The Gunners.
Expect an interesting match, City could win but do not be surprised if Arsenal win (as they are at home and are chasing 3rd place).


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