Manchester United vs Barcelona
FreeAt last it’s upon us! Arguably the biggest game at club level of the calendar year, and arguably two of the best footballing sides in the world to compete for arguably the biggest trophy a club can win. Could an event be more special?! Not my by own reckoning, at least.
The classy and reckless attacking style of Barcelona meet a swift and efficient Manchester United side in the Champions League final in Rome, one which I’m happy to say I’ll be going to but don’t worry because my stabvest is present for the first time in my life.
Where to begin comparing these two sides? I think it’s fair to say that neither side has won this competition anywhere near as much as they’d like to have won it. Interestingly enough, both sides are competing to complete a treble of trophies with both sides having won their league and a domestic trophy respectively. Of course, that does show a disrespect to the World Club Cup and the Community Shield but frankly, I don’t give a damn.
I’m going to cut to the chase though before explaining why I think what I do. I think that Manchester United are going to win this final at a canter, which is a very bold statement to make against such a talented squad in Barcelona, but it’s what I genuinely believe will happen. “Why?” you may well ask, given that the bookmakers cannot seperate these two sides at all. Well, I hate to mention it again, but the strength of leagues do make a difference and there’s no denying the English league is “better” than the Spanish league, as in the English clubs have ways of dealing with the Spanish clubs, whether they like it or not. That’s not to disrespect Spanish football, incidentally, it’s just a simple fact, regardless of how good technically/tactically each league is/isn’t. For instance, a friend of mine said the other day – “This might sound like a stupid question, but is Lionel Messi actually any good? It’s just that I’ve seen him play a few times against English sides and he doesn’t do anything”. Whereas the statement in itself was a little silly, my friend did indeed have a point that he unwittingly stumbled across. Lionel Messi, as much of an admirer as I am of his endless talents, has yet to impress against English opposition. I don’t blame that on him but more on the fact that English sides contain him better than Spanish sides, some of which don’t know what “defence” actually means. Being one of the best players in the world is fine, but there’s only so many times you can make that talent count and overcome the 2/3 players marking you in England. Cristiano Ronaldo had to adapt to that but now he has, it’s made him an even better player for it. However, this issue is key to the proceedings in Rome because Barcelona don’t get closed down in Spain anywhere near as much as they do by English sides, as proven by the fact that they’ve only scored one goal against English opposition in their last four encounters over the past two years, despite them amassing an amazing 104 goals over 35 games in the Primera Liga. That said, Manchester United will have their work cut out to contain Barcelona’s unique style of midfield as they utilise two playmakers in Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, especially as they are missing tenacious midfielder Darren Fletcher for this final. In a strange way, I think Manchester United will feel the loss of Fletcher more than Barcelona will miss Abidal. My reasoning for that is because Barcelona can’t defend at the best of times – anyone who can concede an aerial goal from Gonzalo Higuain from open play is an idiot – and because Manchester United like to make central midfield hard for their opponents. As I’ve touched upon there, however, Barcelona are missing their usual left-back Eric Abidal through suspension, as well as key players Rafael Marquez and Dani Alves. Despite Barcelona not being good defensively, they’re even worse without these players and I think that’s really going to hurt them in Rome as Rooney and Park run amok down the flanks with Ronaldo tantalising the Barcelona centre-backs. The way games between English sides tend to be played is basically that the English sides allow Barcelona to have the lion’s share of possession, watching them go from side to side and then exploit them on the counter attack and try to score against a feeble defence and it generally works. Barcelona have got to be concerned by their sole striker Samuel Eto’o being up against the best centre-back pairing in the world currently in Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. I think Ferdinand will shine more because Eto’o’s game is all about pace and the ball on the floor, and that is Ferdinand’s side of the game. Vidic is the ball-winner in the air and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do it better. However, no disrespect to Barcelona, but I suspect Vidic’s job will be somewhat quiet on the night as the majority of Barcelona’s players are short. Manchester United’s biggest worry has to be their right-back slot, which will be occupied by John O’Shea. He’s not really good enough to be playing and will have a torrid time against Thierry Henry if support isn’t given to him by a winger tracking back. I suspect Barcelona will look to exploit this position because they’re never really managed to break Manchester United down anywhere else over the last couple of years.
Ok, enough talk on this game. I could frankly talk to you all night about man-to-man comparisions and throw stats at you but you might die from boredom. I’m going to call a massive scoreline of 4-1 to Manchester United. I don’t think it’ll be the classic game everyone wants, or that the idiots expect. I think it’ll be Manchester United being far more clinical in front of goal and Barcelona being unable to instigate any kind of effective response. After all – aren’t Barcelona just another one-dimensional attacking side like Arsenal? Think about that one for a while before deciding if you’ll bet or not, but I’m fancying a heavy win tonight. The scoreline might not be correct, but I am confident saying there’ll be over 2.5 goals. Most tipsters disagree, they think it’ll be 0-0 like one of the previous two meetings but I don’t think that’s likely – there’s just too much quality on show and too much at stake. Bargain bets of the evening would possibly be to back Vidic to score at any time because Barcelona can’t mark on set pieces for shit, or to back John O’Shea to get booked at any time because he’ll never be able to contain Thierry Henry all night without entering the book.
Either way, it should be worth the watch, as usual, even if it’s not the epic people expect. Two of the world’s best sides are on show and it’s your duty as a football fan to watch the game regardless! Good luck to all!
Wednesday’s Picks
My tips:
I have to tell you all that there could well be a lot of value in the Copa Libertadores tonight if you back Gremio to win at Caracas. The Venezuelans have won every game at home in the tournament this campaign but haven’t come across the quality of Gremio yet and I think the Brazilians might just win the game! With odds of 11/8, you have to give a punt some thought for this one.
Elsewhere, Al Ittihad Jeddah, BATE Borisov, FC Honka Espoo, Liepajas Metalurgs, and Tampines Rovers looks to be a convincing 5-team accumulator. The odds aren’t great at 5/1 but it depends what stake you put on it, obviously
As ever, any queries/explanations required, feel free to email me at thefootytipster@gmail.com
UEFA Champions League:
Manchester United vs Barcelona (7) over 2.5 goals
Copa Libertadores:
Caracas vs Gremio (7) 1-3
Cruzeiro vs Sao Paulo (7) 2-1
Asian Champions League:
Persepolis vs FC Bunyodkor (7) 2-1
Al Ittifaq Dammam vs Pakhtakor Tashkent (7) 2-1
Al Ittihad Jeddah vs Al Shabab Riyadh (8) 2-0
Belarusian Vysshaya Liga:
BATE Borisov vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk (9) 3-1
Neman Grodno vs Naftan Novopolotsk (7) 2-1
Colombian Futbol Profesional:
La Equidad Bogota vs Once Caldas Manizales (7) 1-0
Boyaca Chico vs Deportes Tolima (7) 2-1
Envigado vs Atletico Junior Barranquilla (7) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Deportivo Cali vs Cucuta Deportivo (8) 2-0
Ecuadorian Primera A:
Deportivo Cuenca vs Manta (7) 1-0, at least one red card in this game
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
JJK Jyvaskyla vs IFK Mariehamn (7) 0-2
FC Honka Espoo vs FF Jaro Pietarsaari (8) 2-1
International Friendly:
Japan vs Chile (7) 2-1
Ecuador vs El Salvador (8) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Tunisia vs Sudan (8) 3-1
Latvian Virsliga:
Liepajas Metalurgs vs Tranzits Ventspils (10) over 3.5 goals
FK Jurmala vs Skonto Riga (8) 1-2
Republic of Macedonia Prva Liga:
Renova Dzepciste vs Sileks Kratovo (8)
Milano Kumanovo vs Makedonija Gjorce Petrov Skopje (7)
Vardar Skopje vs Metalurg Skopje (8)
Rabotnicki Skopje vs Pobeda Prilep (7)
Turnovo vs Napredok Kicevo (6)
Singaporean S-League:
Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa (9) 4-1
Enjoy your free betting tips!