(Franck Ribery can return to haunt his old club Olympique de Marseille)
It looks like there could be an exciting match in place in the Champions League as Marseille host attacking powerhouse Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarter final. Bayern are still in the chase for domestic honours as they trail Borussia Dortmund by 5 points but Marseille are having a very disappointing season on the home front & are currently in 9th place in Ligue 1, it's been better for them in Europe but this should be the point of their exit from the competition. Bayern have lost twice in Eurrope so far but one was when fielding a very weakened side at the Etihad versus Manchester City & then although they lost 1-0 in Basle, thy comprehensively turned it around with a 7-0 demolition at home a week later. Marseille have got this far after qualifying in 2nd in the same group as Arsenal even though they lost twice at home in that group stage, to Olympiakos & Arsenal, two sides definitely inferior to Bayern. Going through in the last round over two legs against Inter Milan may read well for Marseille but Inter are a mess this year & have just had to replace Claudio Ranieri as manager, if they are to have a hope though they'll need to win here & that could mean they take to atttacking the German side. Everyone knows Bayern's weakness & it comes in defence although their young defenders seem to have shored them up a bit this year with just 18 conceded in the league, there's still a suspicion that they are a bit too naive in Europe though & so they make up for it by having one of themost exciting & potent attacks around. Mario Gomez is the real deal & has 36 goals in 39 games so far this season including 11 in Europe, we know how good Arjen Robben & Franck Ribery can be but Toni Kroos is also emerging as a real star & we think they'l all be looking to get on the scoresheet tonight. Bayern have scored 26 goals in their last 5 games & will come to France looking for the win. Marseille's fist choice keeper is suspended & that is bad news for them but it got worse at the weekend with key defender Diawara seriously injured & likely to be out for the remainder of the year, with these problems in defence the have to look to attack plus Bayern are great going forwards so over 3.5 goals at 11/4 is worth a wager plus Bayern to win at 10/11 is a confident selection.
(Ched Evans scored the goal in the reverse fixture v Chesterfield & will fancy another)
In League One recent Johnstone's Paint Trophy winners Chesterfield travel to take on 3rd placed Sheffield United at Bramall Lane but it's unlikely to be as happy a day for Chesterfield as their Wembley excursion was. Sheffield United will go back into 2nd place above city rivals Wednesday if they win or draw here & they'll be desperate to get a win over the league's bottom placed club, with home form of 13 wins from 19 games they are pretty formidable opposition for Chesterfield & their two away wins in 19 games. Ched Evans keeps banging the goals in & has 6 in 6 & in their last match United went away to MK Dons & stuck five in the back of the net & they'll be licking their lips about facing Chesterfield who've been conceding an average of two in every away game. Chesterfield's recent form has also been indicative of their league position with one win in 7 although they did scrape 3 draws in a row before succumbing to Huddersfield last week. We strongly suspect that the Johnstone's Paint win won't have done Chesterfield any favours & they may be emotionallly & physically tired, with Sheffield United rested odds of 11/8 for the Blades to win by two or more goals look a steal!
Selections:
Bayern Munich to beat Marseille at 10/11 (Paddy Power & Ladbrokes)
Marseille v Bayern Munich to be over 3.5 goals at 11/4 (William Hill)
Sheffield United to beat Chesterfield with -1 goal handicap at 11/8 (Skybet & Ladbrokes)
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