[Mario]

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
11/26/2014

Zenit St. Petersburg vs Benfica

Home - Zenit St. Petersburg
Last away matches - W-L-D-W-W-W

Zenit had excellently started the Champions League right with a victory in Lisbon, which created a very favourable situation for the continuation of the competition. However, as the competition progressed Zenit played weaker and weaker when came a home draw with Monaco, which was followed by two defeats by Bayer, so are now in a rather awkward situation and have to win this match, if they want to have a manuverable space in the last round to play tactics.It seems that Zenit right at home have major problems as they failed at both CL matches so far and they play somewhat weaker both in the championship and the Cup in recent time. They have been eliminated from the Cup, while in the championship other rivals also made mistakes so are still the leaders with eight points advantage of the second in the standings. They defeated unpleasant Kuban on Saturday by a minimal result of 1-0. Zenit have no bigger problems with injuries so the strongest team will surely run out on the pitch.

Away - Benfica
Last away matches - W-L-D-W-L-W

On the other hand, Benfica play better and better after the opening shock caused by Zenit. They lost in the second round in Leverkusen but then they finally put the things together and finished two matches against Monaco with a clean sheet. They played away 0-0, while in the last round at home they were breaking the opponents resistance for a long time but eight minutes before the end they had scored the winning goal. That has practically left them in the game for the Round of 16 but now they must make a good result in this match, which would allow them to find out what is their destiny in the last round when will face Bayer at home.In the championship had won two times in a row, alongside the victory in the Cup and hold the leading position. On Saturday they had routinely defeated Moreirense by 4-1, and it is interesting that Jonas and Salvio had scored two goals each, who also decided the match of the previous round against Nacional. Silvio, Fejsa and Amorim are out of action due to injuries and Lima had not played in the Cup, so that starting lineup is quite certain.

Asian Handicap
Home - (-0.25)
Away - (+0.25)
Pick - Benfica (+0.25)
Odds - 2.20
Stakes - 10/10
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
11/26/2014

Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund

Home - Arsenal
Last away matches - L-W-W-L-W-L

Arsenal form against German opposition has not been the best as well. The last time they beat Dortmund was back in November 2011 and that put them in a six match winning streak against Bundesliga sides. However, since then, Arsenal have lost their last four in a row against German teams. Arsenal hold a W9 D1 L5 home record against German clubs, and overall that is W14 D6 L11. This will be the third time in four seasons that Arsenal have been paired with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Early in the group on match day one, Dortmund cruised to a 2*0 win over Arsenal.

Away - Borussia Dortmund
Last away matches - D-L-W-W-L-W

Borussia Dortmund comes into this match having already qualified and while Arsenal looks set to follow them, Dortmund holds the advantage of winning the group as they face each other at The Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. Finishing second (again) could cost Arsenal a lot especially when you consider that they could face bigger teams when it comes to the draw for the last 16. A draw is enough to send Arsenal through to the knockout phase however. Arsenal are currently five points behind Borussia Dortmund in the group after their slip ups in the group stage. The Gunners have put up a poor D1 L2 record in their last three games in all competitions. It came about after the 3*3 draw against Anderlecht, where Arsenal blew a three goal lead after the sixty minute mark. That result pretty much handed the advantage to Dortmund to lead the group.

Asian Handicap
Home - (-0.25)
Away - (+0.25)
Pick - Arsenal (-0.25)
Odds - 2.28
Stakes - 10/10
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
11/26/2014

Basel vs Real Madrid

Home - Basel
Last away matches - W-W-L-W-L-W

Basel couldn’t await this match in much better form, as the team comes from fifth consecutive victory without a goal conceded, coming from a 3:0 home victory over Aarau last weekend. Gashi scored two, Embolo added third for clearly fair and deserved victory for Basel in front of very important Champions League game.With this victory, they kept the first position and continued race with second placed Zurich, as the team now has two points more than them – side that will be their only rival in the title race obviously. As for the Champions League, team has a great chance to get through to the second phase, as they are currently at the second place with three points more than Liverpool and Ludogorets. Central defender Ivanov already counts as a long term absentee, while the hosts also miss striker Streller, with midfielders Giovanni Sio and Taulant Xhaka both being doubtful. Breel Embolo is expected to lead the attack in absence of Streller.

Away - Real Madrid
Last away matches - W-W-W-W-W-W

Real Madrid, on the other hand, took a clearly deserved and professional 4:0 victory on the road against Eibar last weekend. Rodriguez and Ronaldo scored two goals in the first half, while Benzema and Ronaldo again, added two more for the finally very convincing victory.It was fourteenth consecutive victory for Real, as the team continued being first at the table in Primera, with two points more than second placed Barcelona which is their biggest rival. On the other hand, the team already secured ticket for the second phase in Champions League and probably the first position, which means that they can take this game much more lightly and test few players that didn’t get much playing time this season. Midfielder Modric is unavailable for the game, same as left midfielder Jese. Defensive midfielder Illarramendi is doubtful.

Asian Handicap
Home - (+1.50)
Away - (-1.50)
Pick - Real Madrid (-1.50)
Odds - 1.91
Stakes - 8/10