Saturday 25 April 2015

Preview: Espanyol vs Barcelona, Arsenal vs Chelsea

La Liga BBVA: Espanyol vs Barcelona

This Saturday, the all-powerful Barcelona will travel to Cornella El-Prat to measure forces with their neighbours and rivals of Espanyol for round 33 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.

Will Barcelona continue their winning streak?

Last Saturday, Barcelona had to dig very deep in order to overcome a well organized and hard working Valencia side at Camp Nou. A goal in the first minute of the match by Luis Suarez and another in the dying moments of the second-half was the best Barcelona managed to do to defeat a Valencia team which failed to convert a penalty kick during the early moments of the match.

After the break, the Catalan appeared to be fairly more confident and controlled the match the best they could until Leo Messi made his glorious walk towards the second goal just a few seconds before the final whistle.

To increase the team’s motivation levels, Barça granted another solid over Paris SG on Tuesday and booked their place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona won 5-1 on aggregate.

The upcoming clash against Espanyol will certainly be far from easy and Barcelona cannot afford any more slipups as the one from Sanchez Pizjuan against Sevilla if they want to maintain their advantage at the top of the table.

As for Espanyol, it is fair to say that the Blanquiazules have been having an overall good season so far. Their manager, Sergio Gonzalez, has been doing a very good job with the players he has at his disposal and the team is currently on a six match roll without a single defeat.

After defeating Athletic Bilbao two weeks ago at Cornella El-Prat, Espanyol failed to get anything better than a draw against the relegation-threatened Levante last weekend.

The match against their neighbours and rivals will definitely not be easy for the Periquitos, but they will surely do everything within their reach to cause Luis Enrique’s men a major upset.

My Verdict: Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona. FIXED ODDS BETTING : Take Barcelona to win to nil


Barclays Premiership: Arsenal vs Chelsea

There will be no London love lost on Sunday when an extremely motivated Arsenal entertain a surging Chelsea outfit at the Emirates Stadium in round 34 of the English Premier League.

Who will win the London derby?

After an excellent league run, Arsenal sealed their berth in the FA Cup final last weekend by defeating boogey Championship side Reading in extra-time. It was an extremely nerve wrecking match for the Gunners but the usual assasin, Alexis Sanchez, managed to find a way to overcome the opponents’ defence line on two different occasions.

As for the EPL, Arsenal are currently on an excellent streak. The last time they lost a league match was back in February at White Hart Lane at the hands of an extremely inspired Tottenham. That particular downfall and the defeat against AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League were truly an eye-opener for Arsene Wenger’s men who have won their last nine official matches.

This weekend’s clash against their city neighbours and rivals Chelsea will be a good test to this refurbished Arsenal and it will be interesting to see if they can, in a way, delay the Blues hypothetical EPL title celebrations for a few more weeks.

As for Chelsea, it is fair to say that the team has been affected by the somehow premature elimination from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Paris SG in London last month. Regardless of that knock, José Mourinho’s boys continued their winning streak in the English Premier League and they are currently on a fairly motivating row of four consecutive wins. Last weekend, the Blues showed Manchester United that having more ball possession and plenty of chances to score doesn’t mean anything these days. With some mere 30% ball possession percentage, Chelsea overcame the Red Devils 1-0 thanks to a goal from Eden Hazard and put an abrupt end to United’s recent positive streak.

The clash against Arsenal might become one of the most important matches of the season for the Blues, since, if they manage to win it, they will build up a comfortable 13 point advantage over their neighbours and rivals and they will certainly secure the 2014-15 English Premier League title.

My Verdict: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea. FIXED ODDS BETTING : Take Arsenal to win