Did anyone else see AC Milan completely annihlate Udinese 5-1? The two teams were a class apart. Alexandre Pato was and still is a player on the rise. Money-moguls Chelsea must really be kicking themselves at failing to obtain such a talent. Mind you, I think the lad made a right decision either way – Chelsea is a graveyard for up and coming players. They simply grow stagnant and have to move on. Examples? Arjen Robben, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Damien Duff.

Also, my imaginary hat goes off to Girondins de Bordeaux for somehow coming back from 3-0 down against AS Monaco to win 4-3 and, in due course, earn me a nice portion of money! C’est magnifique!!

On a lighter note, congratulations to Manchester United for proving to everyone what we all already knew – Manchester United are the greatest football side in the world! I enjoyed the game though, it was a decent match, not to mention I hadn’t heard of Damian Manso for a long time! I remember watching the wily Argentine back when he was at Newell’s Old Boys – he looked good then with that splendid left-foot! Unfortunately though, he never really made the grade in Europe. However, I didn’t know he ended up out in Ecuador! Funny how things work out, eh?

On a more hilarious note, Leeds United sacked their manager today because he’s shit and they’re shit. This is overwhelmingly funny to me because I’m a typical Manchester United fan in the sense that I hate Leeds United. I also found Sky Sports’ title for this particular aspect of news amusing too – “Leeds give Mac the Knife”. If you don’t get that pun, you’re not old enough to be on my site!

Anyway, onto the picks before I remind myself that I’m in work tomorrow – boo!

Monday’s Picks

Cypriot Division A:

Omonia Nicosia vs E.N.Paralimni (8)

English Premier League:

Everton vs Chelsea (3)

French Ligue 2:

Strasbourg vs Boulogne (7)

Israeli Ligat Ha’al:

Maccabi Haifa vs Beitar Jerusalem (6)

Portuguese Liga:

SL Benfica vs CD Nacional (5)

Enjoy your free betting tips!

…but does it really matter? Generally, the European Champions are the side would win such competitions such is the advanced style of football and the large financial backing of clubs from that continent. The competition may have had more relevance in the ’60′s and suchlike when players like Pele wouldn’t leave their homeland but these days, if you’re “anyone” in football, you’re playing in Europe. Still, whatever happens, I think it’s unlikely to be a whitewash so the match itself should be decent, although I do expect Manchester United to emerge victorious.

Anyway – what the hell happened on saturday? I mean, 90% of the time I’d say my predictions are either correct or only a goal away, which I personally think is pretty good. However, yesterday brought a few games around that you can only shrug your shoulders at and remain baffled by. Two of those games are Mouscron’s 4-1 demolition of Club Brugge despite trailing 0-1 after 20 minutes and also Hull City’s 4-1 loss at home to Sunderland. Still, yesterday was mostly productive and relatively predictable so I’m feeling rather content.

My favourites for the day’s picks? I like trebles such as the following, although in no particular order:

Standard de Liege, AEL Limassol, Aston Villa
PSV Eindhoven, America de Cali, Larissa
FC Twente, Arsenal, Girondins de Bordeaux
NEC Nijmegen, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus
SSC Napoli, Leixoes, Valladolid
Cagliari, Belenenses, Deportivo la Coruna
Vitoria Setubal, Getafe, Barcelona
Racing Club de Santander, Sevilla, Alaves
Ankaraspor, Denizlispor, Galatasaray
Sivasspor, Danubio FC, Rampla Juniors

Belgian Eerste Klasse:

Kortrijk vs Westerlo (5)
Standard de Liege vs AA Gent (7)

Colombian Futbol Profesional:

America de Cali vs Independiente Medellin (6)

Cypriot Division A:

A.E.Paphos vs Alki (5)
AEL Limassol vs Apollon Limassol (4)
Doxa vs APOEL Nicosia (8)

Dutch Eredivisie:

De Graafschap vs AFC Ajax Amsterdam (8)
FC Twente vs Willem II (8)
NEC Nijmegen vs ADO Den Haag (8)
PSV Eindhoven vs Feyenoord Rotterdam (9)
Volendam vs Heracles (4)

English Premier League:

Arsenal vs Liverpool (6)
Newcastle United vs Tottenham Hotspur (6)
West Ham United vs Aston Villa (6)

French Ligue 1:

AS Monaco vs Girondins de Bordeaux (6)
Olympique de Marseille vs AS Nancy-Lorraine (7)
Paris Saint-Germain vs Valenciennes (8)

Greek Super League:

AEK Athens vs Ergotelis (6)
Larissa vs Levadiakos (8)
OFI Crete vs Panathinaikos (9)
Olympiakos Piraeus vs Thrasivoulos (10)
Panthrakikos vs Aris Salonica (6)

Italian Serie A:

AC Milan vs Udinese (7)
Atalanta vs Juventus (7)
Cagliari vs Reggina (6)
Catania vs AS Roma (7)
Chievo Verona vs Genoa (6)
Lecce vs Bologna (7)
Sampdoria vs Fiorentina (6)
Torino vs SSC Napoli (7)

Portuguese Liga:

Belenenses vs Trofense (7)
Leixoes vs Estrela da Amadora (8)
Pacos de Ferreira vs Vitoria Setubal (6)
Porto vs Maritimo (8)

Scottish Premier League:

Falkirk vs Celtic (9)

Spanish Primera Liga:

Deportivo la Coruna vs Recreativo de Huelva (8)
Numancia vs Real Valladolid (7)
Osasuna vs Getafe (6)
Racing Club de Santander vs Malaga (6)
Real Betis vs Athletic Club de Bilbao (7)
Real Mallorca vs Sevilla (6)
Sporting Club de Gijon vs Almeria (6)
Villarreal vs Barcelona (3)

Spanish Segunda Liga:

Alaves vs Tenerife (6)
Xerez vs Gimnastic de Tarragona (8)

Turkish Super Lig:

Antalyaspor vs Ankaraspor (8)
Denizlispor vs Ankaragucu (6)
Galatasaray vs Besiktas (6)
Gaziantepspor vs Bursaspor (6)
Genclerbirligi SK vs Sivasspor (7)

Uruguayan Primera Division:

Central Espanol vs Nacional de Montevideo (7)
Danubio FC vs Penarol (7)
Defensor Sporting vs Juventud (10)
Liverpool vs River Plate (6)
Racing vs Wanderers (9)
Rampla Juniors vs Cerro Largo (7)
Tacuarembo FC vs Villa Espanola (6)

Enjoy your free betting tips!