Manchester Exits Europe...

An interesting week in Europe with Chelsea now the last men standing as England's representatives in European competition. I would say I hope this puts to bed any more suggestions that the Premier League is the best in the world, but I know it will still happen.

Chelsea should be commended for doing what only four teams before them have in overturning a 2 goal deficit in the second leg of their Champions League match with Napoli. The caveat is that they will be beaten by Barcelona, Real or Bayern comfortably and I wouldn't be in a rush to back them against anyone barring APOEL over two legs. The hurry to acclaim the old guard for the result should also be tempered with the acceptance they would not have made that effort for Villas Boas. You could say he has to earn that from them and his poor management led to lethargic performances, and that may be true, but they have been disgustingly unprofessional throughout the whole saga. Sadly, it is no more than we have come to expect from them either.

The title not-so-subtly alludes to both Manchester sides bowing out of the Europa League last night too. Both exits were embarrassing. United were outplayed in both legs by the side fighting for fourth in La Primera, and City left themselves too much to do against a side miles off Porto and Benfica in their domestic league. To go back to my first point, this really does show how far the Premier League is slipping at present. Many point to the boredom of Real and Barca endlessly sharing Spanish titles, and they're right on that score, but they fail to note that they would also walk any other league in the world in a similar fashion with their current sides.

Music comes from Johnny Cash with Cry!Cry!Cry!.

I am going to break with tradition and just have a multiple punt at England this week as I fail to see any particular value in the matches.

Back Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham as a treble.

Rayo Vallecano v Real Betis, Saturday 2100

The late match in Spain this Saturday sees two of last seasons promoted sides meeting in Madrid. Rayo have a very good case for being the most vehemently supported side in the capital as anyone who has been to the ground or watched them on TV will attest to. This raucous element can work both ways, as a home record of five wins, one draw and seven losses shows, but they have beaten Santander and Getafe recently whilst only losing to a solitary Ronaldo goal against Real. They sit comfortably in mid-table and could still possibly push for a European place which should see them maintaining maximum effort until the end of the season.

Betis have not fared quite so well since promotion. They could still slip back into the Segunda division as they are only four points clear of the final relegation spot. They are another side who have a rowdy home support, and they are famed throughout Spain for the more crazy element of that. Their away form has been the let down for them with a record of won four, drawn none and lost nine when away from home comforts. They are also without a win in their last three matches, although one of those was against Madrid, where they put up a decent fight.

Back Rayo Vallecano at 2.3 with Coral.

Levante v Villarreal, Sunday 1100

The early morning on Sunday has over-achievers Levante taking on this seasons major disappointments Villarreal in Valencia. Levante started off the season brilliantly, and in the absence of any side outside of the top three putting together a run of wins, they have held on at the top of the table to fight for European football. This has been in the main down to that early run, and them being very hard to beat at home. Their home record reads won seven, drawn three and lost three, they have scored twenty three and only conceded fourteen in those matches too. In a league with Real and Barca present that lack of conceding is no mean feat.

As mentioned Villarreal have been a huge disappointment this time out. They were only ever a very small club in the grand scheme of things, propped up by a local businessman to push them ahead of the other also rans. The scouting network that they set up in South America reaped huge rewards, as did taking big club failures like Forlan and Rossi from Man Utd and giving them the confidence to play again. Since the departure of Manuel Pellegrini as manager this has all come crashing down and they are a shadow of the side they were. They have been particulalrly poor away with only one win all season, with three draws and nine losses. I can't back them here.

Back Levante at 2.5 with Stan James.

Bologna v Chievo, Sunday 1400

Italy is fast approaching end game and we have two sides here who are fairly comfortably mired in mid-table. Bologna have, however, pushed on of late as they were in danger of falling into relegation trouble. They have only lost one of the last eleven, and that was to a very good Udinese side. This run has included a draw with Juventus as well as a resounding 3-0 win away at Inter Milan. Their bad start has their home and away form looking mixed taken on a whole season basis, but they are currently one of the hardest sides to beat in Serie A. The likes of Alessandro Diamanti who looked completely out of his depth at West Ham has been reborn as a flair forward who chips in with more than a fair share of goals.

Chievo have slipped back into regular mid-table finishes after almost a decade of over-achieving. The Flying Donkeys (Best. Nickname. Ever) have proven themselves to be worthy of a place in Serie A, although they are rarely pretty in getting results. They are yet another side who rely upon their small stadium giving them an advantage when other larger sides come to town, and this season that has again been the case. However comma away from home their defence can go missing. They have played fourteen away and won three, drawn four and lost seven. All this whilst scoring only eleven and conceding twenty two.

Back Bologna at 2.3 with William Hill.

Udinese v Napoli, Sunday 1945

The two sides that have given the big boys most to fear this season meet on Sunday night in Serie A in Udine. Udinese were right up with AC Milan for the vast majority of the season, but recently they have not been on a great run and have fallen behind the unbeaten Juventus as well as Lazio and Napoli. Their amazing home form has still been good, but away they have begun to struggle for the goals that bring wins. They are also now through to the Quarter Finals of the Europa League and that may well mean they take their eye off the ball in the weeks to come. As they are still fighting for a lucrative Champions League place though we will have to see how that pans out.

Napoli were eliminated from the Champions League themselves this weak after a lacklustre display saw them losing out to Chelsea in extra time. They have generally been particularly good away from home in Europe this season as their counter attacking game is suited to it, but the absence of Maggio in particular seemed to hurt them. This could possibly be as he is more often than not the man that links the flat centre of the park to the rampaging forwards and full backs. Without this middle man, they did look slightly disjointed. He will again be missing this match so I am tempted by longish odds on the home side.

Back Udinese at 2.62 with BetVictor.

Nurnberg v Wolfsburg, Saturday 1430

Only one pick from the Bundesliga this weekend I'm afraid. I'm going to get involved in this one mostly due to Wolfsburg's horrendous away form this season. Nurnberg themselves have been a surprise to many watchers as they sit in the top half of the table after many would have expected them to struggle, if not necessarily get involved in the relegation fight. Where they have differed from many sides below them is in actually winning matches as opposed to scraping draws. Nine wins from all matches this season has left them looking down on a number of sides. At home they go five wins, three draws and four losses so far with fifteen both scored and conceded. This lack of goals is the reason they have not moved higher up the table. They often contest tight matches so the other team always has a chance to nick victory too.

Wolfsburg's away form has been terrible, as mentioned before. They have a solitary win from thirteen away and only three draws and nine defeats. They have also conceded a raft of goals to leave them with only nine in the For column and an appalling thirty one in the Against. This record has not looked like abating recently sadly for them, in their last four away matches they have only scored one and conceded ten. They did pick up a draw, but it was against a very poor Kaiserslautern side.

Back Nurnberg at 2.1 with Coral.

Fenerbahce v Galatasaray, Saturday 1800

The Big One! The Istanbul derby between the two most successful sides in the history of the Super Lig takes place this Saturday evening and it is sure to be combustible. The tow sides hate each other and they are again vying for the top spot in the table as we approach the new end of season play-offs in Turkey. Fener have fallen behind in the race recently after spending big in January to make amends for a summer mostly spent battling allegations of match fixing, with have since been found to be true. They can also point to not losing the home derby since 1999 as a reason to be excited, but Gala are as good as they've been in many a year.

As mentioned Gala have recently streaked ahead at the peak of the Super Lig to go nine points clear of Fener. They have only lost three matches all season, and only one of those away from home. The derby is a completely different matter though. There can be guaranteed to be some strange decisions, players losing their heads to impress the fans and plenty of goals if most matches between the top sides this season are anything to go by. Gala and Fener both have some awesome firepower, and you can guarantee there will be goals as the defences simply are not up to the same standard.

Back Over 3.5 Goals at 3.5 with SportingBet.

Also back Miroslav Stoch To Score Anytime at 2.95 with SportingBet.