My Recommendation:
Newcastle's have been in poor form recently with has ben compounded by all their injury troubles but their home record against bottom half sides is pretty good only losing 1 of their last 15. Sunderland have been poor on their travels only picking up 3 wins in their last 15 against similar ranked opponents. Choosing a winner is a difficult decision but with Sunderland coming into this after a win against Fulham on Tuesday they should be full of confidence and make things difficult for Newcastle, but we won't be surprised if Newcastle make it 4 consecutive home wins over Sunderland. The key thing we see happening here is both sides scoring which has happened in 9 of Newcastle's last 10 matches. We should also see the score line tip over 2.5 which is also supported in the stats. As we feel either side could win this we will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal from either side. We will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, staggering our stake as usual. We will also be grabbing some cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay. Usual recovery here if its goalless at the break and the draw odds reach 1.8.

My Recommendation:
Chelsea's record away to big 4 sides in recent times has been poor. The have only managed to pick up 3 point in their last 7 games. They also have made things hard for themselves having fallen behind before the break in all these games. Liverpool have a storming record at home over the last few season only losing to Man Utd. Chelsea come into this match on the back of 4 consecutive wins whilst Liverpool haven't won since the start of January so we we are a little nervous about backing the Reds, but they should still avoid defeat. A 1st half goal looks the most likely thing we will see here but we do expect a somewhat cagey affair for obvious reasons. Under 2.5 goals is also strongly supported in their H2H meetings with 9 of their last 10 having this result. This is more than likely going to finish with a draw but it shouldn't be goalless. So will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal we will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half rather than under 2.5 as were concerned about an early goal. We will also be grabbing some cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay. Usual trade out plans here should things not go our way.

My Recommendation:
The last time these two met it finished 4-3 in a highly entertaining match. Whilst we have seen a different Sevilla side than we are use too this season, which is admittedly less entertaining we feel they won't have any issues scoring against a leaky Gijon defense. Gijon pick up most of their points from bottom half sides and have lost their 3 home matches so far this season against top 6 sides. With Sevilla coming into this on the back of an impressive Copa Del Rey win over Valencia seeing themselves into the semi's and an away record that has seen them only lose once in the last 12 we should see Sevilla at least grab a point, more than likely win. Surprisingly Gijon haven't drawn a match this season so we should be pretty safe to lay the draw here and trade out after a goal, we will also be having a side trade on the goals market laying over 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, ideally trading out before a goal. If one comes we will follow the usual plan. We will grab some cover on the 0-0 £5 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
2nd Place on goal difference and undefeated at home Kaiserslautern take on 1st placed Mainz which will see the winner secure top spot. Kaiserslautern look the less likely to faulter here with their solid home record and Mainz have stumbled of late losing their last 2 games. The last time these two met it finished 3-3 which was back in August. We are not expecting a similar score line here but we should see both sides score with Kaiserslautern averaging 2.5 goals a game at home and Mainz averaging just under 2 on the road. Its likely to be tight early on so we will be backing under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so trading out ideally before a goal. Usual recover if one comes before were out. We will also be laying the draw and trading out after a goal as a main trade and grabbing £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay. Usual trade out plan if its goalless if the draw odds reach 1.8.

My Recommendation:
It looks like the under soil heating has done its job here so we should see this match go ahead. The last time these two met it ended 2-2 with a late equaliser from Burnley. This time out Burnley have home advantage. Historically when Championship sides have hosted a Premiership side in a 4th round replay they have played defensively leading to around 80% finishing under 2.5 goals. When Burnley have met a Premiership opponent in recent years they have conceded 1st in 75% of these matches with the majority early on. Whilst they might concede 1st again here we feel they will win with West Brom seriously hampered by injuries and with one eye the Newcastle game at the weekend we are likely to see the Championship side progress. We feel a 1st half goal is on the cards here as well as both sides scoring so will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal, as we will still profit whoever scores 1st and having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay. We will grab some cover on the 0-0 £5 initially backing further if concerned. Usual recovery plans here, out at HT on the goals trade, back in if a 3rd looks likely in the 2nd half and 1.8 on the draw if it remains goalless.

My Recommendation:
Whilst both sides could do without this encounter, they will be taking this seriously. Last time out if finished 0-0 this time out Villa will look to send them packing. When Villa have hosted a FA Cup replay, they have managed to win the last 3 to nil taking the lead in the 1st half and with Carew, and Young back complemented by Heskey we should see this continue. Its likely to be another tough match for Villa and despite Doncaster sitting dangerously at the bottom of the table they have shown great resilience recently and are now undefeated in 8. We do expect Villa to win here but it might take a whilst to break Doncaster down. We will be backing Villa and trading out after they take the lead or equalise. If they go behind we will consider backing them again for higher average odds and trading out when they draw level. Obviously we won't consider this unless they look like equalising. £5 on the 0-0 will give us a little cover it the match looks like its going to finish goalless, you can always grabs some more if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
We were all ready to back 2nd place Hertha here then we noticed Pantelic and Kacar their two top scores weren't available for this match, they might also being missing their captain, so backing them is off the cards despite them winning their last 3 meetings against bottom 6 sides. H2H the away side hasn't won in the last 10 meetings and with key players missing from Hertha line up we are likely to see this continue here. Bielefleld are in a fighting mood and are likely to take advantage of Hertha's issues so we won't be surprised if they take points from this match. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal from either side, we will grab £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay and will be backing under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so as the early goal doesn't look likely, trading out ideally before a goal. Usual recovery here if things go wrong, out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless.

My Recommendation:
Hamburg show no mercy when playing bottom 6 sides and tend to go for the kill early so we won't be surprised if they are 1 up going into the break. They definitely won't want to drop points here with the top of the table so closely contested. Karlsruher's record this season at home to top 6 sides has seen them support the likelihood of Hamburg taking the lead early having falling behind in 70% of these matches. With Karlsruher only picking up 1 win from the last 10 and Hamburg looking better every week we can't see a shock home win. H2H Karlsruher's have shown resilience at home but in recent years Hamburg have walked away with 3 points in 4 of the last 5 meetings. Whilst we expect an away win here, both sides are very likely to score as Hamburg rarely keep a clean sheet on their travels (conceded in the last 10) so expect to see a score line that finishes over 2.5 goals. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal from either side, we will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, staggering our stake as usual. If its goalless out at HT with the loss on over, back in if a 3rd looks likely. If its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8 we will trade out as usual. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
This is going to be interesting, Blackburn are undefeated in 9, improving every week under Big Sam, Villa are undefeated in over 10 games and in the best form we have seen them in over 10 years. Something must give here as a draw doesn't suite either side. O'Neil and Big sam were very smart resting some key players in their midweek matches but with Villa having a practically full strength side available for this match, Blackburn are going to have a battle on their hands. Villa have won their last 6 away matches and if recent H2H history has anything to do with the result they should make this 7. We do have a slight niggle that this will end in a stalemate so will keep the 0-0 in mind and we are expecting it to be fairly tight early on so should be safe to have a side trade, laying over 2.5 goals and trading out around 10 min's in. Following our usual recovery if a goal comes. But the main trade will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal from either side. We will also grab £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
West Brom at home if your in the wrong end of the table are a tough team to play against. The teams that have overcome them this season at home have been on top of their game. This isn't going to be an easy match for Newcastle as most of their points have come from home games, only picking up 1 win on their travels. The key thing we expect to see here is goals, with 6 of their last 7 H2Hs seeing 3 or more goals. 9 of the last 12 West Brom home matches seeing this result and 100% of Newcastle matches this season against similar opponents seeing 3 or more goals. As were not quite sure who will win here we will be laying the draw and trading out after goal, we will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, staggering our stake as usual. If its goalless out at HT with the loss on over, back in if a 3rd looks likely. If its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8 we will trade out as usual. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Pompey haven't won in 8 league games only picking up 1 point in their last 7. They have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 10. With Liverpool's record of scoring on their travels we should see this extended to 11 games. Liverpool are without Gerrard but they should be able to overcome this Pompey side who look destine to return to the 2nd tier despite stumbling a few times this season against similar opponents. We will be backing Liverpool and trading out after they take the lead or draw level. If they go behind we will consider backing them again if its early on, but not until we are confident they could pull it back. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay its going to finish goalless.

My Recommendation:
Cagliari have become this season surprise team in the Serie A. After losing their opening 5 matches they are now on hell of a run, with only 1 loss in the last 10 winning 6 of the last 7 at home. Atalanta are hard to predict they will either run any team off the park or perform like relegation fodder. We are expecting the latter here with Vieri and Ascentis missing from the line up. H2H Cagliari have a decent home record over Atalanta undefeated in the last 6 winning the last 5, we expect another home win here as they have a full strength team available for this match and Jeda is performing like Ronaldo at the moment causing major issues in defence. Cagliari have a good record of getting ahead before the break so we will be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half. Usual recovery if its goalless at the break. Our main trade will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal, although the braver members might consider the home win. Usual recover plans here, out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8. We will also grab £5 of cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
This game won't be the most impressive display of football but we should see one of these two concede. Cottbus have only picked up 1 win this season at home and find themselves in the drop zone so need to fight for 3 points here. Against a side that can't keep a clean sheet on their travels, conceding over 2 goals a game they will have no better opportunity and most of their points this season have come against teams with similar form. We are not quite sure who will win, but in general the home side takes 3 points so we won't be surprised if Cottbus pick up their 2nd home win of the season. We probably won't see a goal inside the 1st 10 as these two are pretty evenly match so will be having a side trade on the goals market, laying over 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so getting out sooner if concerned. If a goal comes usual recovery. The main trade will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will also have a £5 bet on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay. Out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless.

My Recommendation:
We are expecting this match to be fiercely contested and end to end and more than likely producing a few goals. If you consider Marseille’s home games this season against top half teams have all seen 3 or more goals and the fact 5 of the last 6 H2H's have seen both sides scoring we are likely to see a score line that finishes over 2.5 goals. With both sides being of a similar standard the draw looks likely but as highlighted it shouldn't be goalless. As we know a few of you are on the handicap for this game Bordeaux would be our selection. Those of you who are trading we feel we should see a 1st half goal here so it looks safe to lay the draw and trade out after a goal from either side, supported by a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, out at HT as usual, back in if concerned a 3rd is coming in the 2nd half. Some cover on the 0-0 makes sense so we will grab £7 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
This is a last minute replacement for the postponed Kidderminster match .

Basically Leeds record against similar opponents at home has seem them play out a tight match with 80% finishing under 2.5 goals. In general the deadlock does get broken though, but it might take a while. H2H with Leeds at home has seen both sides scoring in all recent encounters, so this match is likely to fall into the 20% that finishes over 2.5 goals. Leeds have a good record of opening the scoring but Millwall shouldn't make it easy for them so we won't be surprised if we don't see a goal inside the 1st 30 min's.

We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal, we prefer a shorter price so will chase the price down by staggering our lay stake. We will also be having a side trade, backing under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, getting out earlier if concerned. Usual recovery if a goal comes. If the match is goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8 we will trade out as usual. We will grab some cover on the 0-0 £5 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Having recently watched a copy of the Tunisia V France match they simply didn't look in good enough shape to take anything from this encounter. There were signs of improvement in their last outing against Ghana under Coelho, but still a long way to go. H2H the most recent meeting was back in 94 where it ended 2-2 in a close fought encounter, there is more of clear divide this time out. The Dutch come into this meeting on the back of 4 consecutive wins and despite a few suprises in their squad Van Persie, Van der Vaart, Robben and Huntelaar are all available so we find it hard to see Tunisia in their current vain of form winning here. The Dutch have a very strong scoring record against similar opponents so we expect them to have little trouble breaking the deadlock. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal from either side, but ideally Netherlands. We will grab £5 on the 0-0 backing it further if concerned inplay. We are not quite sure about the goals market but will be having a side trade on under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so. If we are concerned that a goal is coming or its end to end we will get out sooner. Usual recovery if a goal comes before were out. If its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8 we will trade out as usual.

My Recommendation:
Hoffenheim have managed to keep their fairytale season going and still remain top, unbeaten in 10 having scoring 23 goals only conceding 6 in reply. Against a Leverkusen side that hasn't kept a cleansheet on the road this season, conceding an average of two goals a game, they are likely to continue their winning ways although we are a little concerned how they will perform without Ibisevic. It isn't going to be easy match for either side but their style of play negates goals so expect the deadlock to be broken. The last time we saw these two meet it ended 5-2 to Leverkusen, this time out it should be a little more conservative and we expect Hoffenheim to avoid defeat. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be backing under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, ideally trading out before a goal. Usual recovery if a goal comes before were out. Out at 1.8 if its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8. Sorry nearly forgot £5 on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Basically we are expecting both sides to score here which has been the result in 90% of matches when Frankfurt host mid-table sides over the last few seasons. This has also been the result in the last 8 consecutive games for Wolfsburg against similar opponents. Over 2.5 goals is also strongly supported as well as the deadlock being broken before the break. With Wolfsburg still in search of their 1st away win this season we have our fingers crossed they can do it this time out. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, out at HT if its goalless, backing in if a 3rd looks likely in the 2nd half. We will grab a little cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay its going to finish goalless. Out at 1.8 on the draw if no goals have come by this point.

My Recommendation:
Another game where we expect to see both sides scoring. Poor old Pompey can it get any worse? Well we definitely can't see them keeping a clean sheet as they have only kept 1 clean sheet in their last 14 at home and City have scored in 85% of their away encounters against similar opponents. Its not just Pompey who are likely to concede as Man City have been leaky as an old bucket on their travels this season conceding in 9 of their last 10. City have only picked up 1 away win so far on their travels this season but there will be no better opportunity than this game to improve on this, and with them picking up 3 wins in their last 4 we feel they are likely to add to Pompey's misery. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal, we will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, following our usual plan if its goalless at the break. Back in if a 3rd looks likely in the 2nd half. The 0-0 isn't very likely but we will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay. Out at 1.8 on the draw if the match is goalless at this point.

My Recommendation:
At home Deportivo have been a tough side to overcome and they look to be back on track after a blip back in January. They take on a improving Osasuna side here who has managed to climb from the bottom of the table to occupy 17th place. Osasuna's improvement in form hasn't been on their travels though, and they continue to search for their 1st away win of the season. After seeing Deportivo easily dispense of Villarreal recently we can't see Osasuna winning here but a draw could be on the cards, but considering Deportivo has the best record in the league for opening the scoring we are likely to see them take the lead. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will be having a side trade on under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, ideally trading out before a goal. Usual recovery if one comes before were out. We will also be grabbing £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay and out at 1.8 on the draw if concerned its going to finish goalless.

My Recommendation:
Last season they looked good for relegation, this season PSG are the Daddy of home teams in the Ligue. Against bottom 6 sides they have won 6 of their last 7 so it looks like a difficult match for the away side. Saint-Etienne might be improving under Perrin but they still have a poor record against the leagues better sides losing 80% of these meetings, conceding in all but 1 of these games and without a win. We feel Saint-Etienne are a few months away from winning this match and expect PSG to continue to move closer to securing a champions league spot. We also expect it to be low scoring. We will be backing PSG and trading out after they take the lead or draw level. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay and will be backing under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, following our usual plan if a goal comes before we have trade out. If PSG go behind fairly early on we will consider backing them again for higher average odds or later in the match laying Saint-Etienne. Obviously not if they are playing poorly.

My Recommendation:
Atalanta come into this game on the back of eight wins and a draw in their last 12 home matches which is up their with the best. Roma seem to have turn the corner and remain unbeaten in 2009 and are one of the inform teams in Europe at the moment. We really aren't sure who will win this match as Atalanta were superb recently against Inter, so we know they have the ability to win here but with Roma having a little more to play for they should just take this one. Goals are the most likely thing we will see here with 8 of the last 10 finishing over 2.5 goals and both sides scoring in 80% of these matches. Roma have also be very sharp up front scoring in the last 10 consecutive matches. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, out at HT for no loss should the match finish under 2.5 as usual. Back in if a 3rd looks likely. £5 of cover on the 0-0 makes sense, backing further if concerned.

My Recommendation:
Gijon seem to be having a yoyo season. They started with 5 consecutive losses then went to win 6 of their next 8 games and now they seem to be back to their early season form with only 1 win in their last 7 games. The most interesting fact of all is they still haven't drawn a match this season, 22 games without a draw! We haven't a clue which side will turn up for this match but with a 3-1 loss to Barca recently being the only side with comparable form to Real at the moment, we should see a Real win here. Under Ramos Real have been reinvigorated, losing their 1st match under his charge then going on to win 7 consecutive matches, only conceding once. Defensively we can't see Gijon getting more than 1 past Real as under Ramos they seem to have a fortress around the 18 yard box and we are not likely to see a big score here as Gijon won't want another 6 or 7 goal defeat like they suffered against the other big two sides earlier in the season so will likely have a defensive set up for this game. But we should see the deadlock broken, more than likely by Real. Because of the distinct lack of draws we will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal, ideally from Real. We will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals market as the majority of openers have come in the 1st half when these two have played. Usual recovery if we doesn't see one before the break. we will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Espanyol are sitting in the relegation's zone but since new manager and ex player Pochettino took the held them have managed to stop their losing run and pick up 3 draws. They will welcome back de la Pena and their prolific striker Tamudo for this game, but we don't expect to see much from him in his 1st game back. It is more likely going to have physiological boost to the side. Sevilla come into this game on the back of 3 consecutive losses, mainly due to their focus on the Copa del Rey. They need to arrest this losing run so expect a decent show from them today as the side are refocused on maintaining their league position, but with quite a few key players out Espanyol could be in for their 1st win under Pochettino but more than likely another draw is on the cards. We do feel Sevilla will take the lead here early on which is supported by the fact they have the best record in the league for leading at the break, and with Espanyol having the worst we should see the deadlock broken fairly early on. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, staggering our stake as usual. If its goalless at HT we will follow our usual plan. If the draw odds reach 1.8 before a goal we will trade out as usual. We will gab some cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Clermont at home are a difficult match for any side. They might be sitting at the wrong end of the table, but they have avoided defeat in 9 of their last 10 home matches. This is mainly due to their strong scoring record at home which has seen them hit the back of the net in 9 of the last 10, with 2 goals being a pretty normal occurrence. Their opponents here Lens won't be fazed by their strong home record as they have won 70% of their matches against similar teams so far this season and are currently sitting top. They don't have much of a buffer so can't afford to sit back here as they have done so in their last two away games or they might be swaping places with Metz. This meeting looks good for both sides scoring, which is what has happened in 6 of Clermont's 7 games against the leagues better sides and more than likely it will finish over 2.5 goals. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal from either side. We will have a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, usual recovery if we go into the break goalless. We will also put £10 on the 0-0 as its pretty short before kick off, backing further if concerned inplay. Usual exit plan if its goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8.

My Recommendation:
Rescheduled match:
Kidderminster this season at home have been a tough nut to crack. Cambridge might be sitting in 3rd place but their away form has only been similar to a bottom half side, so we will be surprised if they win here. They are unlikely to be looking forward to this match as in general they have lost this meeting on most occasion and have only picked up 1 win in the last 13 H2H's. Whilst we aren't likely to see a goal frenzy here (last 4 meetings finished under 2.5) we should still see a goal as they haven't had a goalless match between them as far as we can remember. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal from either side. We will also be having a side trade on under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, trading out ideally before a goal. If one comes, we will follow our usual recovery plan. Out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless as usual. We will grab some cover on the 0-0, £7 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
We are not expecting Villa to have an easy time of it here as CSKA were scoring for fun in the group stages, winning all of their group matches. Villa will have to put out a strong side or they will be following their FA Cup loss to Everton with another. With the Chelsea Premiership clash at the weekend O'Neil has a tough decision on his hands. Our main concern is Villa's defensive line up which is very likely to have issues with Vanger Love their top scorer as he is a nightmare to defend against and with Knight and Curtis out Villa are very likely to concede. What we are hoping for as Villa fans is the fact CSKA haven't played a competitive match since December due to the winter break is going to leave them a little rusty. Villa need something from this match as they are very unlikely to take anything from the reverse fixture so expect them to take the game to CSKA. We find it hard to see this match finishing goalless especially with CSKA average over 2 goals a match in this competition, so will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will be backing over 2.5 goals inplay as a side trade as a 1st half goal looks likely. Usual recovery if its goalless at the break. Out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless. We will grab £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Its Derby Day and as usual when these two met we are expecting fireworks. There is everything to play for here as only 1 point separates them. Schalke at home this season have been solid, only losing once, but there are signs they have a few issues and if they play like they did against Bochum last week, we can see Mueller feeling the pressure from the boardroom. Personally we feel the team would have been refocused in advance of this important Derby match and expect to see a good show from the home side. Historically Schalke haven't done too well against Dortmund in February as far as we can see with the majority of matches finishing in a draw, but they did manage to avoid defeat in 9 of the last 10 H2H's when playing at home. We usually see goals when these two meet, with 5 of the last 6 matches seeing both sides scoring and finished over 2.5 goals. We so no reason to expect anything different here so will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half and grabbing some cover on the 0-0 £5 initially backing further if concerned inplay. Usual recovery here if its goalless at HT or the draw odds reach 1.8 without a goal.

My Recommendation:
Villa are now unbeaten in 13 and definitely one of the inform teams in the Premiership. Against big 4 sides Villa's record is pretty poor only winning 1 of their last 10, but that win was against Chelsea. On a positive note they have remained undefeated this season at home against the big boys so hopefully they can do the same again here. We are unlikely to see an immediate improvement from Chelsea under Guus as the last time they changed managers midway through the season they only picked up 1 point from the 1st two matches. We are hoping their substandard form will continue for a few more matches and enable Villa to take something from this match, which has been the result in 9 of the last 10 meetings at Villa Park. This match isn't likely to be high scoring as just under 80% of Chelsea's meetings against top 6 over the last 3 seasons have finished under 2.5 goals. This is supported in Villa's results against the same teams. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal and will be having a side trade on under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, getting out sooner if concerned. Ideally trading out before a goal, usual recovery if one comes before were out. We will grab £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Wolfsburg at home this season have been superb, winning 8 of their 9 matches, drawing the other. Hertha are sitting top, surprisingly to most but they haven't done too well against sides in the top 6 losing 78% over the last 3 seasons. Both sides come into this match with decent form so it could go either way although we feel Wolfsburg will avoid defeat. Wolfsburg are missing Grafite so they might not score their usual 2/3 goals but we should see them on the scoresheet. Hertha rarely fail to score against similar opponents so we should see both sides scoring here. A 1st half goal looks likely here as both sides have seen the majority of opening goals before the break so we will be having a side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half, usual plan if we don't see a goal before the break. The draw odds have drifted a little, we prefer 3.5 or lower so will look to lay the draw at these odds or lower, trading out after a goal . The 0-0 doesn't look likely but we will grab some cover, £5 initially backing further if concerned.

My Recommendation:
Bologna have the worst record in the league for falling behind before the break. Inter have the best record to taking the lead early on. Inter's form needs little explanation but as they will be resting a few key players here with one eye on the Champions League we are likely to see Bologna continue their scoring record at home (scored and conceded in the last 8 consecutive matches). They should still have the ability to end as winners here. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal, ideally from Inter. We will have a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half. Usual plan if we don't see a goal before the break. We will grab £7 of cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Fulham's league position has been maintained this season by their excellent home form which has seen them only lose once this season. They welcome back 3 key players for this match so WBA will have a tough match on their hands as Fulham push on and chase a European place. We don't expect the Baggies to lay down here but their current league position can't be doing too much for their confidence and the fact they haven't beaten Fulham in over 40 years and only picked up 1 point in their last 9 games on the road, doesn't inspire confidence in them here. We want to back Fulham here but as the draw odds are fairly reasonable we will lay the draw and trade out after a goal. We will also lay over 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, trading out ideally before a goal. Usual recovery if we get caught out. We will put £7 on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay. Out at 1.8 on the draw if it is still goalless at this point.

My Recommendation:
This is a tough call but we should see a few goals here. Hamburg can't keep a clean sheet on the road, having conceded an average of 2 goals a game on their travels with 9 of the last 10 finishing over 2.5 goals. Leverkusen have either been world class or 2nd tier this season making them one of the most difficult sides to work out but they should score against Hamburger as they have no confidence on the road. If Leverkusen start as they usually do at home we won't be surprised if they take the lead early as Hamburger keep getting caught out early on the road. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be backing over 2.5 goals as a small side trade inplay during the 1st half. Usual recovery if its goalless at the break, back in if concerned a 3rd is coming. We will also grab a little cover on the 0-0, backing further if concerned inplay. Get out at 1.8 on the draw if it is still goalless at this point.

My Recommendation:
Both these two need a win here as neither side is safe from relegation. Hull haven't won since December and Spurs haven't won on the road this year, losing all 6 of their previous away matched this season to bottom half sides. Spurs look in better shape coming into this match with 5 key players rested in the Donetsk game and they welcome back Corluka, Keane and Pavlyuchenko for this match, so we might see this winless run end here. Hull still have a few key players out including new signing Bullard with nobody of substance to replace them. This shouldn't be an easy match for Spurs but they should have enough to take 3 points from this encounter as Hull are in freefall and just can't keep a clean sheet, conceding more goals than any other side. Spurs aren't very strong defensively either so Hull on the scoresheet is likely. The majority of opening goals have come in the 1st half when these two have played but we expect it to be fairly tight early on. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will be backing over 2.5 goals as a small side trade inplay during the 1st half, trading out after a goal. Usual recovery if its goalless at the break. If its end to end but goalless we will back over 2.5 goals again with a small stake as the odds drift in the 2nd half as a safety measure. We will grab some cover on the 0-0, £7 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Arsenal have never lost a 1st leg match in this competition when playing at home. They also have a strong win record at the Emirates against similar opponents. Roma haven't travelled well in this competition, especially against English clubs where they are yet to pick up a win in the last 6 meetings. They have also struggled against similar ranking teams to Arsenal and have conceded in the last 9 consecutive away games. Whilst statistically Arsenal look good for the win, they are still hampered with injury and are going to struggle in mid-field against a Roma team that is simply superb in this area, so we are a little concerned Roma will buck the trend. We expect Wenger to shut up shop here and focus on preventing Roma from scoring so we won't be surprised if this match is low scoring, which is supported statistically. H2H Roma have got on the score sheet in the most recent meetings with Totti, De Rossi and Baptista on a mission to prove himself , we feel Arsenal will be chasing a few away goals in the reverse fixture. We are hoping the deadlock will be broken early which will make for a more entertaining match and hopefully we won't see another 0-0 result from Arsenal, they have had enough of those in recent weeks. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal, we will also be backing under 2.5 goals for the first 10 minutes or so. If we're concerned a goal is coming we will trade out early. If we get caught out, we will follow our usual plan. The 0-0 is there to consider, we will grab £10 of cover, backing further if concerned in play. Usual plan if it's goalless when the draw odds reach 1.8.

My Recommendation:
Last time out if finished 1-1, leaving everything to play for in this replay. Historically Boro have a very strong record of making it through to the next stage in a replay having won 10 of their last 12 and avoiding defeat in all their home games. Surprisingly they have started better too, scoring the opener in all these matches. They also register 1st in their last H2H meeting. The Hammers record is pretty poor in a replay especially on the road, losing 4 of the last 6, getting knocked out of the competition in 5 of these games but their recent form is much better, so we might not see this trend continue. Boro are looking for a morale boosting win here to take into the Liverpool match at the weekend and Zola is taking the FA Cup very seriously so this match should be tightly contested and could go either way. The last 3 H2H's saw both sides scoring which again looks likely here. We will be laying the draw and trading out after a goal. We will have a side trade on under 2.5 goals for the 1st 10 min's or so, getting out sooner if concerned. If we are caught out we will follow our usual plan. We will grab some cover on the 0-0 £7 initially backing further if concerned inplay, out at 1.8 on the draw if its goalless at this point.

My Recommendation:
KC Koln are unbeaten in 5 and haven't lost to a team in and around Bielefled's league position this season. Bielefeld haven't beaten a promoted side over the last 3 seasons on their travels and they also have only won 1 of their last 12 against sides in the upper half of the table so a home win looks pretty much on the cards here, especially when you consider how Koln performed against Bayer last week. The last 4 times these have met at Koln's home ground we have seen at least 6 goals scored and with Koln scoring and conceding in 9 of their last 10 and Bielefeld having issues in defense rarely keeping a clean sheet, we should definitely see the deadlock broken. Koln have a pretty good record of opening the scoring against similar opponents so we see them on the score sheet in the 1st half. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals backing it inplay during the 1st half, staggering our stake as usually. Out at HT if it's goalless as usual with the loss on over. We would advise caution here so it would be worth backing over 2.5 again as the odds drift with a few £ for some safety as 3 goals after the break has happened a few times when these two have met. We will grab some cover on the 0-0, £5 initially backing further if concerned inplay.

My Recommendation:
Whilst Everton have quite a few injury concerns they have managed to perform well so far this season, especially against sides in the bottom half of the table. In fact their home form has been superb against these sides winning around 80% of games only losing once over the last few seasons, and they managed to open the scoring in 90% off these games. West Brom have been dire on the road, only picking up 1 point in their last 10 games. They are pretty unlikely to score here as Everton have been solid at home defensively only conceding once in their last 5 but they should concede at least once as they haven't kept a clean sheet in the last 10 away matches, conceding at least 2 goals in 9 of these games. We will be backing Everton here and trading out after they take the lead or draw level if they go behind. If they go behind we will look to back again to get higher average odds. Obviously we won't do this until they give us confidence they can pull it back. We will grab a little cover on the 0-0 £5 initially, backing further if concerned inplay. If you want a little more safety backing 0-1 in the correct score market and trading out if it happens will minimise your liability.

My Recommendation:
The last time these two met was back in September where Hoffenheim were clearly the inform side convincingly winning 4-1. Dortmund will be protecting their unbeaten home record in this encounter so we don't expect Hoffenheim to have such an easy time. What looks most likely here is both sides conceding and scoring as Dortmund have no issues scoring at home and Hoffenheim have no issues scoring on their travels but are shocking defensively. Personally we feel yet another draw is on the cards for Dortmund and it should finish over 2.5 goals with the deadlock broken before the break. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal from either side. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay out at 1.8 as usual if its goalless on the draw and will be having a small side trade inplay during the 1st half on over 2.5 goals, staggering out stake as usual. Out at HT if its goalless for no loss should it finish under 2.5, but backing over again as the odds drift with a few quid as a safety net as 3 after the break with these two is petty common.

My Recommendation:
This is the 1st of two consecutive meetings between these two. This one is for points and the one on Wednesday is a Copa Del Rey match. Bilbao are likely to rest key players for this encounter as their only chance of qualifying for Europe is via the Copa Del Rey so Sevilla should have an edge here. Bilbao have had trouble in recent times against top 6 sides frequently conceding 1st so we expect Sevilla on the score sheet for this encounter. This is supported by Sevilla's strong record on their travels. Bilbao have seen both sides scoring in their last 8 matches so we won't be surprised if they score too. Practically all the opening goals from these two have come before the break so we should see the deadlock broken fairly early. We will be laying the draw here and trading out after a goal. We will also be having a small side trade on over 2.5 goals inplay during the 1st half. If its goalless at the break we will follow the usual plan, trading out for no loss should the game finish under 2.5 then backing over again as the odds drift if concerned. Out at 1.8 as usual on the draw trade and we will grab £7 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned.

My Recommendation:
We go into this match with our eyes open and have taken into consideration the fact Espanyol beat Barca last week and will be high on moral, also the fact they won 3 of their last 4 against Real when playing at home. Real's record this season is excellent winning 100% of their away matches against bottom sides, keeping a clean sheet in all but 1 game. The side they are fielding isn't going to be an easy side to beat so we see this continuing. Espanyol are very likely to concede a few here as they haven't kept a clean sheet in 10 games and will probably need at least 2 goals to beat this Real side which looks unlikely. We expect Real to bounce back from their disappointing Champions League outing to make this their 10th consecutive league win. We will be backing Real and trading out after they take the lead or draw level. We will grab £5 of cover on the 0-0 backing further if concerned inplay, and some cover on 1-0 just incase we are in for another shock. We will consider backing Real again if they look like pulling it back or the goal comes against the run of play.