Europa Cup Knockout Stages 2nd Leg (18/03)

Fulham v Juventus
Liverpool v Lille


Thursday, March 18

Fulham v Juventus

Verdict: After trailing 1-3 from the first leg in Turin, Fulham have it all to do as they face European giants Juventus. Juventus made the most of their opportunities after some slack defending by the Londonders gifted them two goals from set-pieces. Juventus took their foot off the pedal in the second half which enabled Fulham more possession but the English side could not make the most of their half chances.

Both sides are stricken by injury/suspension with the home side minus the services of the suspended Murphy and Greening, while towering centre-back Brede Hangeland is a huge doubt with a chest injury. Juventus travel to England with out their first and second choice keepers (Buffon and Manninger respectively), Legrottaglie is suspended, while Amauri, Marchisio, and Chiellini are all injured. Fulham have a good record at Craven Cottage but their form has dipped in the last month or so, winless in 5 games. In addition, the Londoners must chase the game here which is in contrast to their normally patient, controlled possession, passing game. I think this will suit the Italians who have players like Del Piero, Trezeguet, Iaquinta, and Diego who can score on the counter-attack.
Incidently, Fulham's last defeat at Craven Cottage was 0-2 to perhaps the Premier League's most deadly counter-attacking side, Aston Villa. I believe Juventus have the ability to possibly repeat a similar score line.

Pick: Juventus DNB @2.20 (Victor Chandler, 10 units)
Fulham 4 - 1 Juventus

Liverpool v Lille

Verdict: Coming off their biggest win since September following the 4-1 defeat of Portsmouth, Liverpool will look to turn around a 0-1 first leg defecit against French side Lille. Liverpool had their opportunities to score an all important away goal but Lille keeper, Landreau, was in magnificent form to deny both Torres and Babel. In the end, the English side were rather fortunate to lose only 0-1 as Lille struck the post in the dying embers of the match.

The win over Portsmouth was a welcome boost for the Reds but we must take into account that it was against an unmotivated side doomed for relegation. Liverpool's performances have been poor this season but they are still over rated by many. Lyon's and Bordeaux's progression to the Champions League quarter-finals does show that French football is on the up again. Lille is a more than capable side that has worked too hard (since the 3rd Round of qualifying in July) to let this opportunity slip. Their most recent away result (and performance) in Turkey, a 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce, shows that they can perform on the big stage and in a hostile atmosphere.
In the first leg, Gerrard did not have much of an influence on the game while Torres was restricted to a few efforts on goal thanks to the attentions of Lille centre-back Adil Rami. If Lille can keep these two relatively quiet, I think they are more than capable of progressing to the next round.

Pick: Lille +1AH @2.26 (sbobet, 10 units)
Liverpool 3 - 0 Lille