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The FA Cup semi-finals are set to be played this weekend, and with three of the four teams still involved in the Champions League it has been a pressure filled week for these clubs.

Arsenal vs Chelsea

Both of these teams were involved in Champions League quarter final action mid-week and managed to progress to the semi-final stage of that tournament so it will be interesting to see who comes through and plays the better football in the first of the FA Cup semi-finals.

Of the two teams, Chelsea definitely had the tougher Champions League opponent where they had to fight off an extremely spirited Liverpool to progress through to the semi-finals of Europe’s top competition.

Arsenal on the other hand had a home game against Spanish team Villareal and were convincing in their 3-0 victory.

Chelsea are showing a new lease on life under coach Guus Hiddink and will be looking to improve on their poor record this season domestically against top four teams. The only point they have come away with from these matches was thanks to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. They suffered a 2-1 loss at home to Arsenal in their last encounter and will play them again in May at Emirates.

Arsenal have had another steady season, and like their opponents are showing good form at the business end of the season. They are currently lying fourth on the EPL ladder, but have a very tough run home with matches against all three of the other top teams. How well they play over this period could determine whether Liverpool can snatch the title away from Manchester United.

The bookies have found it hard to split Arsenal and Chelsea for the FA Cup semi, with a Wembley game offering no home advantage to either side. Chelsea have been installed as slight favourites due to their recent strong form but it is worth mentioning that over the past 12 games the two teams have an identical record – 9 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.

Should be an exciting match.

Chealsea – $2.45

Arsenal – $3.00

Draw – $3.15

Manchester United vs Everton

Everton are having an excellent season and will provide a definite challenge to a Manchester outfit that is heavily stretched at the moment between trying to defend their European title and fending off Liverpool’s challenge in the Premier League. This will leave Everton feeling they have a chance to slip under the radar and take the cookies in a one off game at a neutral venue.

Everton will be looking to draw on their last successful FA Cup campaign in 1995 where they claimed victory in the final…against Manchester United. To progress this far they have had victories over Aston Villa and Liverpool but will face the sternest possibly test to reach the final.

The past couple of months have exposed some weaknesses in the Red Devils. They should have had the Premier League trophy in the cabinet by now, but by allowing Liverpool a sniff they have created extra pressure on themselves at the business end of the season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if at some stage we saw them stumble in either the FA Cup, The Champions League or the EPL.

The fact that this is a one-off game further fuels the chances of the Everton outfit.

The bookies have installed Manchester as red hot favourites and deservedly so when you look at the superstars in the team and what they have achieved over the past couple of seasons.

But the beauty of the FA Cup is that on any given day any team can achieve the unthinkable – and being a fan of Manchester not winning everything I’m hoping that day comes this weekend…and that Tim Cahill is in the thick of the action.

Manchester United – $1.75

Everton – $5.25

Draw – $3.40

If you’d like to place a bet on either of the semi-finals click here now and you can also get a free bet of up to $50 from Centrebet just for signing up

Crooksy

The second leg of the Champion’s League Football is currently underway and Liverpool have become the first of the four English teams to be eliminated from the tournament at the hands of arch-rivals Chelsea.

Liverpool were faced with a monumental task from the start – they had lost by two goals in the first leg at home and so had to win the match away at Stamford Bridge by three goals to progress to the semi’s.

Liverpool Started With A Rush

The first thirty minutes had Liverpool fans in a frenzy as their men went two goals up and the impossible started to look like a near certainty. The match developed into a classic as both teams traded goals and the final score of 4-4 meant that Chelsea had survived and will now play Barcelona in what will be their fifth semi-final appearance in the past six tournaments.

Liverpool can hold their heads high – they delivered a wonderful performance away from home without their talismanic leader Steven Gerrard, and can now focus their attentions on the race for the Premier League title. They are currently in second place behind Manchester United, who have a one point lead and a game in hand. With just 6 games remaining for Liverpool they will be praying for Man U to drop some points soon.

Barcelona Progress

In the other quarter final played yesterday Bayern Munich managed to salvage some pride with a 1-1 draw against Barcelona who had belted them 4-0 in the opening leg. Barcelona will have home advantage in the first leg of the semi-finals against Chelsea.

Other Quarter Finals To Be Played Tonight

Manchester United face a tough challenge tonight as they head to the home stadium of FC Porto with the tie locked at 2-2 after the first leg. No English team has won at Estádio do Dragão in eleven attempts but if any team is capable of breaking that streak it is the Red Devils who are the defending champions.

They are having another strong season in ’08/’09 – they are top of the table in their domestic competition, have progressed to the semi finals of the FA Cup and are currently on an amazing 22 game unbeaten streak in the Champions League.

That being said their ability to win on the road in recent times has not been so impressive, with just one victory away from homechampions league, manchester united, liverpool, chelsea, barcelona, arsenal in this European campaign. 

Bookmakers have installed them as favourites at 2.05

In the other quarter final left to be decided Arsenal will go into the second leg having travelled to Villareal and come away with a draw, giving them the advantage at home. Arsene Wenger’s men have yet to concede a goal at home in this tournament, but will be tested tonight with a couple of their key defensive players sidelined through injury.

Arsenal are heavily backed to win at around $1.50.

For odds on these matches and other specialty bets click here now to head over to Centrebet where you can also get a free bet of up to $50 when you sign up.

Crooksy

If you had of looked at the betting markets for the English Premier League just over two weeks ago, you’d have seen that Manchester United were about as short as you can get in a race with 19 other challengers and a dozen rounds yet to be played. They were seven points clear of their nearest rivals Liverpool and to make matters even more difficult for their opponents they had a game in hand as well.

How could last year’s champions of Europe possibly lose from there?

Flash forward to the present and we have been given a great example of how quickly things can turn around in sport. It all began with Liverpool’s 4-1 thumping of Man U in Manchester, a game bookies had given Benitez’s men little chance of winning. It was followed up the very next weekend with Liverpool hammering top 4 candidate Aston Villa 5-0, and the shock loss of United to Fulham – their first back-t-back loss in the EPL since 2005.

All of a sudden Liverpool’s rich vein of form has seen them firm from 11/1 in to 5/2 in just two weeks. Manchester remain favourites at 4/11 as they are one point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand over the rest of the field. Chelsea are in third spot a further 3 points back.

So what has gone wrong for Man U…and what has gone right for Liverpool?

Liverpool’s Resurgent Combination Up Front

The key for Liverpool over the past few weeks, has been the partnership between home town hero Steven Gerrard, and the prodigiously talented Spaniard Fernando Torres. Gerrard has been in imperious form of late scoring 6 goals in his last 3 games and is putting himself forward as a candidate for FIFA Footballer Of The Year.

His combination with Torres definitely raises the performance of the rest of the team, and this has been obvious since the Spaniard’s return from injury. With such strikepower up front the rest of the team understands that if they do their job well, the goals will come and over the past few weeks they have delivered on this.

The Problem For Manchester

Having assumed such a commanding lead at the top of the table, all the talk over the past few weeks had been about the possibility of them claiming an unprecedented five titles in the one season. This may have led them to take their eye of the ball so to speak.

In interviews with many of the players after their defeat to Fulham, there was a definite air of surprise about what was happening, which is often an indication that some complacency had slipped in to their camp.

Obviously they are trying to manage their resources in their bid to claim Cup victories in Europe and at home, but they will need to pick up their act once the season regular resumes at the conclusion of the upcoming round of international friendlies.

Manchester’s Opponents Will Be On Liverpool’s Side

They play Aston Villa straight up, with Martin O’Neill’s men currently lying three points outside of the top four. A loss to Manchester would put a huge hole in their drive to qualify for the Champions league next year and will give them the greatest possible incentive to win.

Then there is the fact that the majority of teams in the competition (with the obvious exception being Everton) would rather see Liverpool claim the title, and you have a situation where all of Manchester’s opponents will be gunning for their head.

The next couple of months are going to make for some very interesting viewing.

Crooksy