Real Madrid vs Barcelona

01/05/2009

Entering this game, you have to wonder just how much of a prick Pepe feels right now. He thought he’d lost his side the game at home to Getafe and also the title in a fatal headrush that saw him viciously assault a Getafe forward. However, Real Madrid went on to win the game and Barcelona dropped points after securing a last minute equaliser at Valencia. What this basically means is that Real Madrid now trail Barcelona by four points in the league ahead of today’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Pepe would have almost certainly played a key role. However, his idiocy rules him out of this encounter, as well as nine more games to follow. It seems the Gods aren’t without a sense of irony as Rafael Marquez also misses this encounter after sustaining a somewhat bizarre injury in Barcelona’s 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea in the Champions League. Both sides are beginning to suffer a little with injury, and Barcelona are beginning to feel the pressure and heat of chasing two competitions.

However, one thing is for certain today – Real Madrid absolutely have to win this game to have any chance of retaining the league title. A win would take them to within a point of Barcelona. Interestingly enough, the Spanish Primera Liga adopts an unusual approach to deciding which side should finish above another should they finish on equal points. The Spanish FA basically rule that the side who has the better goal results (as if it were a knockout game, for instance) over the two encounters in the season and put them on top of the other side, even if their goal difference is 30 goals worse! It’s quite ludicrous that they actually enforce this ridiculous ruling, but I suppose it makes sides go for the victory more often. Anyway, returning to the game today – it’s going to be a fantastic occasion, it always is between the older, bigger sides of a country, and there are few bigger derbies than this. Expect flair, cards, tension, passion and superb football in this encounter. However, as far as results go, I can see the hosts stealing a win tonight by a narrow margin; 1-0 is my call. If I’m honest, I think they might just steal the league title too as Barcelona are unfortunately susceptible to crumbling at vital times. It’d be a shame too, because they’ve played some exceptional football this season, so I truly hope I’m wrong!

Lastly, I’d like to point something out that we can all chuckle at. Before Barcelona’s 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea in the Champions League Semi-Final, playmaker Xavi said that the Spanish Primera Liga was “better technically and tactically” than the English Premier League. Personally, I try to sit on the fence when it comes to comments like this, even if I am English, but this one really amused me, especially after tactics from Chelsea prevented the hosts from scoring and techncial ability was what hindered the hosts from taking a late lead!

My tips:

Ok guys, you know the drill – below are the dead certs:

Brondby, Wycombe Wanderers, Levadia Tallinn, Olympique de Marseille, VFB Stuttgart, Sporting Clube de Lisboa, Basel

Below are the sides with a very good chance of winning:

BATE Borisov, Westerlo, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Leeds United, Peterborough United, Bury, Brentford, Trans Narva, Flora Tallinn, Olympique Lyonnais, Bayern Munich, VFL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04, BV09 Borussia Dortmund, Shamrock Rovers, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem, Parma, Legia Warsaw, Poli Timisoara, Rubin Kazan, Javor Ivanjica, Slovan Bratislava, Ruzomberok, Malaga

Lastly, the two trebles below are the risky bets of the day and are listed in order of likelihood:

Stoke City, Real Madrid, Dagenham & Redbridge
Koper, Brighton, Las Palmas

However, if this blatant list isn’t enough for you then feel free to try your hand at a few recommended bets below by yours truly in no particular order:

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur
Leeds United, Peterborough United, Sporting Clube de Lisboa, Olympique de Marseille
Levadia Tallinn, Wycombe Wanderers, Brondby, VFB Stuttgart
Basel, Schalke 04, Slovan Bratislava, Bury
VFB Stuttgart, BATE Borisov, Legia Warsaw, Poli Timisoara

For the complete picks listing, see below!

Albanian Kategoria Pare:

Partizani Tirana vs Apolonia Fier (6)
Besa Kavalje vs KF Tirana (8)
Shkumbini Peqin vs Vllaznia Shkoder (7)
Dinamo Tirana vs Lushnja (8)
Teuta Durres vs Bylis Ballsh (7)
Elbasani vs Flamurtari Vlore (6)

Austrian Bundesliga:

SCR Altach vs Sturm Graz (7) 1-2
LASK Linz vs Rapid Vienna (8) 1-2
SV Kapfenberg vs SV Ried (7) 0-1

Belarusian Vysshaya Liga:

MTZ-RIPO Minsk vs Torpedo Zhodino (7) 2-1
Neman Grodno vs Dinamo Minsk (6) 1-1
Naftan Novopolotsk vs Dnepr Mogilev (7) 2-0
Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs FC Gomel (7) 1-0
FC Vitebsk vs Smorgon (7) 2-1
Granit Mikashevichi vs FC Minsk (6) 0-0
BATE Borisov vs Dinamo Brest (8) 2-1

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

AA Gent vs Cercle Brugge (7) 2-1
Zulte-Waregem vs Standard de Liege (7) 1-2
Dender vs Mons (7) 2-0
Mouscron vs Germinal Beerschot (5) 1-1
Mechelen vs Charleroi (6) 0-1
Westerlo vs Roeselare (8) 2-0

Bosnia-Herzegovina Premijer Liga:

Borac Banja Luka vs Zeljeznicar Sarajevo (7) 2-2
Leotar Trebinje vs Posusje (7) 2-0
Orasje vs Slavija Istocno Sarajevo (7) 0-1
FK Sarajevo vs Laktasi (8) 2-0
Siroki Brijeg vs Modrica (7) 1-1
Sloboda Tuzla vs Zvijezda Gradacac (7) 2-1
Travnik vs Velez Mostar (6) 1-0
Zrinjski Mostar vs Celik Zenica (7) 2-1

Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:

Zlin vs Bohemians Prague (7) 1-1

Danish Superligaen:

Vejle BK vs Brondby (9) 1-3

English Premier League:

Middlesbrough vs Manchester United (8) 1-2
Chelsea vs Fulham (8) 2-0
Manchester City vs Blackburn Rovers (7) 2-1
Portsmouth vs Arsenal (8) 1-2
Stoke City vs West Ham United (6) 1-0
Tottenham Hotspur vs West Bromwich Albion (8) 2-0
Wigan Athletic vs Bolton Wanderers (6) 1-1

English League One:

Brighton vs Stockport County (6)
Bristol Rovers vs Hartlepool United (6)
Carlisle United vs Millwall (7)
Crewe Alexandra vs Leicester City (7)
Hereford United vs Milton Keynes Dons (7)
Leeds United vs Northampton Town (8)
Leyton Orient vs Huddesfield Town (6)
Peterborough United vs Swindon Town (8)
Scunthorpe United vs Tranmere Rovers (7)
Southend United vs Cheltenham Town (7)
Walsall vs Oldham Athletic (7)
Yeovil Town vs Colchester United (6)

English League Two:

Barnet vs Port Vale (6)
Brentford vs Luton Town (8)
Bury vs Accrington Stanley (8)
Chester City vs Darlington (7)
Chesterfield vs Bradford City (6)
Dagenham & Redbridge vs Shrewsbury Town (6)
Grimsby Town vs Macclesfield Town (5)
Lincoln City vs Aldershot (6)
Morecambe vs Bournemouth (7)
Rochdale vs Gillingham (6)
Rotherham United vs Exeter City (7)
Wycombe Wanderers vs Notts County (9)

Estonian Meistriliiga:

Trans Narva vs Sillamae Kalev (8) 2-1
Flora Paide vs Levadia Tallinn (10) 0-4
Flora Tallinn vs Maag Tammeka Tartu (8) 2-0
Tallinna Kalev vs Tulevik Viljandi (6) 1-1
Kuressaare vs Nomme Kalju (7) 1-2

Finnish Veikkausliiga:

MyPa Anjalankoski vs Inter Turku (7) 1-1
Tampere United vs VPS Vaasa (7) 2-1

Finnish Ykkonen:

Hameenlinna vs PK 35 Helsinki (7)
TP 47 Tornio vs KPV Kokkola (6)

French Ligue 1:

Stade Malherbe de Caen vs Le Mans (6) 1-1
Grenoble vs OGC Nice (7) 1-1
Lorient vs LOSC Lille (7) 0-1
AS Monaco vs Auxerre (7) 2-1
Saint-Etienne vs AS Nancy-Lorraine (6) 2-2
Valenciennes vs Olympique Lyonnais (8) 1-2
Olympique de Marseille vs Toulouse (9) 3-1

German Bundesliga:

Arminia Bielefeld vs VFB Stuttgart (9) 1-3
Schalke 04 vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen (8) 2-0
Eintracht Frankfurt vs BV09 Borussia Dortmund (8) 1-2
Karlsruher SC vs Energie Cottbus (7) 1-1
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Monechengladbach (8) 2-0
VFL Wolfsburg vs Hoffenheim (8) 2-0

Hungarian Soproni Liga:

BFC Siofok vs MTK Budapest (7) 1-2

Irish Premier League:

Shamrock Rovers vs Bray Wanderers (8) 2-0

Israeli Ligat Ha’al:

Maccabi Petach-Tikva vs Hakoah Maccabi Amidar (7) 1-0
Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Maccabi Netanya (6) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Ashdod vs Bnei Yehuda (7) 1-2
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona vs Hapoel Tel-Aviv (8) 0-2
Hapoel Petach-Tikva vs Beitar Jerusalem (8) 1-2

Italian Serie A:

Bologna vs Reggina (7) 2-0
Internazionale vs Lazio (7) 2-1

Italian Serie B:

Pisa vs Ancona (6)
Albinoleffe vs Brescia (7)
Sassuolo vs Frosinone (7)
Cittadella vs Grosseto (7)
Salernitana vs Livorno (7)
Ascoli vs Modena (7)
US Avellino vs Parma (8)
Triestina vs Piacenza (6)
Mantova vs Treviso (7)

Lithuanian A Lyga:

LKKA Teledema Kaunas vs FK Taurus Taurage (6) 1-0
Kruoja Pakruojis vs Banga Gargzdai (5) 1-1
Vetra Vilnius vs Suduva Marijampole (7) 2-1
Ekranas Panevezys vs FK Siauliai (7) 2-0

Montenegrin Prva Liga:

Decic Tuzi vs OFK Petrovac (7) 1-2
Jezero Plav vs Kom Podgorica (5) 1-0
Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje vs Rudar Pljevlja (6) 1-1
Mogren Budva vs Lovcen Cetinje (8) 2-0
Buducnost Podgorica vs Zeta Golubovci (8) 2-1
Sutjeska Niksic vs Grbalj Radanovici (6) 1-1

Northern Irish Premier League:

Coleraine vs Lisburn Distillery (6) 1-1
Crusaders vs Linfield (7) 1-2
Glentoran vs Cliftonville (7) 2-0
Bangor vs Ballymena United (6) 0-0
Dungannon Swifts vs Institute (6) 1-0
Newry vs Glenavon (7) 2-1

Norwegian Tippeligaen:

Aalesunds vs Molde (7) 1-1

Polish Ekstraklasa:

Arka Gdynia vs Slask Wroclaw (7) 1-2
Legia Warsaw vs LKS Lodz (8) 2-0
Jagiellonia Bialystok vs Odra Wodzislaw (7) 1-0
Gornik Zabrze vs Lechia Gdansk (6) 1-1, at least one red card in this game

Portuguese Liga Sagres:

Academica de Coimbra vs Sporting Clube de Lisboa (9) 1-3
Nacional Funchal vs Benfica (5) 1-1

Romanian Liga:

Gaz Metan Medias vs Rapid Bucharest (7) 1-2
CS Otopeni vs Gloria Buzau (5) 1-0
Brasov vs Politehnica Iasi (7) 2-0
FC Poli Timisoara vs Farul Constanta (8) 2-0
Dinamo Bucharest vs CFR Cluj (7) 2-1

Russian Premier League:

Saturn Moscow Oblast vs Rubin Kazan (8) 1-2
Tom Tomsk vs Terek Grozny (6) 1-0
Amkar Perm vs FK Moscow (6) 1-1
Spartak Moscow vs Dinamo Moscow (7) 1-1, at least one red card in this game

Scottish Premier League:

Aberdeen vs Celtic (6) 2-2
Falkirk vs Motherwell (6) 1-1
Hamilton Academicals vs Kilmarnock (6) 1-2
Saint Mirren vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle (7) 2-1
Hibernians vs Dundee United (5) 1-1

Serbian Super Liga:

Borac Cacak vs Vojvodina Novi Sad (7) 1-2
Jagodina vs Cukaricki (6) 1-1
Javor Ivanjica vs Banat Zrenjanin (8) 2-1
OFK Belgrade vs Red Star Belgrade (7) 1-2, at least one red card in this game
Rad Belgrade vs Napredak Krusevac (5) 1-1

Slovakian Corgon Liga:

Slovan Bratislava vs Artmedia Petrzalka (8) 2-1, at least one red card in this game
Banska Bystrica vs MFK Dubnica (6) 1-1
Ruzomberok vs DAC Dunajska Streda (8) 2-1
MFK Kosice vs Zlate Moravce (7) 2-0
Nitra vs Tatran Presov (6) 1-1

Slovenian Prva Liga:

Koper vs Primorje Ajdovscina (6) 1-0
Interblock Ljubljana vs Rudar Velenje (6) 1-1
NK Celje vs Natfa Lendava (7) 2-0
Gorica vs Drava Ptuj (7) 1-1
Maribor vs Domzale (7) 2-1

Spanish Primera Liga:

Real Madrid vs Barcelona (6) 1-0
Villarreal vs Sevilla (7) 2-2
Numancia vs Malaga (8) 1-2

Spanish Segunda Liga:

Real Murcia vs Eibar (7)
Levante vs Alicante (7)
Las Palmas vs Huesca (6)
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid vs Albacete (7)
Real Zaragoza vs Tenerife (5)
Real Sociedad vs Celta Vigo (7)

Swiss Super League:

Basel vs Sion (9) 3-1
Luzern vs Aarau (6) 1-1

Turkish Super Lig:

Trabzonspor vs Kayserispor (7) 2-1

Ukrainian Premier League:

Metalurg Donetsk vs Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk (7) 1-1
Karpaty Lviv vs Tavriya (7) 1-1
Chernomorets Odessa vs Illichivets (7) 1-0
Kharkiv vs Lviv (6) 0-0

Enjoy your free betting tips!