Europa Cup Knockout Stages (11/03)

Lille v Liverpool
Juventus v Fulham


Thursday, March 11

Lille v Liverpool

Verdict: In what is a battle of the 6th placed teams in their respective domestic leagues, Lille will look to take the upper hand in this first legged match against a dissapointing Liverpool. The 2005 Champions League Champions are now a shadow of the team that reached those great heights five years ago. They were knocked out of this season's top tier competition with out a whimper while their brand of football this season has been uninspiring to say the least.

Ligue 1's highest scorers, Lille, will fancy their chances this evening as they hold a very solid record on home turf in both the domestic and European front. Despite the absence of top scorer Gervinho and Brazilian striker Tulio de Melo, Eden Hazard is a player in good form and will get strong support from the like of Mavuba, Balmont, and Cabaye. Liverpool's job will be made more difficult this evening in the absence of Yossi Benayoun who has not travelled with the squad.

Lille have an 2 extra days to prepare for this game, following their 1-1 draw at St Etienne, while Liverpool have had just 3 days to recover from their dissapointing 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic. With Torres looking a little leg-weary at the JJB stadium on the weekend, I expect him to find the going tough again here as he continues his return to full match fitness.

Pick: Lille +0.25AH @1.82 (bet365, 10 units)
Lille 1 - 0 Liverpool

Juventus v Fulham

Verdict: Despite the dissapointment of having to play in the second tier cup competion in Europe, Juventus players have being making the right noises in the media this week. They see this as a good opportunity to go all the way and who can deny them as there form has improved since February. In the last round, they defeated Dutch giants, Ajax Amsterdam, 2-1 on aggregate. Fulham have done wonders to reach this stage of the competition, defeating defending champions, Shaktar Donetsk, 3-2 on aggregate in the last round.

Both sides are missing a host of players for this encounter. Juventus must do without Buffon, Chiellini, Melo and Amauri while the visitors lose captain Murphy through suspension. I feel that the home side have the resources to deal with their absentees while the visitors are limited in their options. In form Del Piero was rested in Juventus' 2-1 victory at Fiorentina on the weekend, and he along with Trezeguet, Iaquinta, and Diego are more than capable of breaching the visitors back line.

Pick: Juventus -0.75AH @1.90 (pinnacle, 10 units)
Juventus 3 - 1 Fulham