Betting.Betfair

In keeping with all six of last season's El Clasicos, the two giants of Spanish football served up yet another goal-filled treat in the first leg as Real Madrid managed to bag two away from home to leave everything up for grabs. After a quick-fire equaliser from Pedro at the Camp Nou to cancel out Cristiano Ronaldo's opener, it then looked every bit as though Barcelona were going to cruise home as they raced into a 3-1 lead courtesy of goals from Lionel Messi and Xavi. It appeared as though Barca had one hand on the cup heading into the last ten minutes until Victor Valdes gifted Madrid a second goal following an absolute howler, which should see Iker Casillas remain as Spanish number one for a little longer yet. In last season's Supercup, Barcelona achieved the same 3-2 result...

Brace yourselves ladies and gentlemen, El Clasico is here again. It's time for Spain's finest to entertain the rest of the world with some astonishing high tempo football and unbelievable skill, not forgetting some atrocious play-acting too! Let's concentrate on the good bit though (the football). Barcelona certainly had the edge over their great rivals in this fixture last season, winning three of their six meetings and losing just once to Real Madrid. However, in truth the contests were much closer than those statistics suggest, with only one of the games being decided by more than one clear goal - a 3-1 away win for the Catalan club in La Liga. In fact, the last time these giants met at the Camp Nou was right at the end of last season where the champions returned the favour ...

[i]On each of the three occasions that Barca lost the first leg of a Champions League semi-final, the Catalans have exited the competition[/i] Chelsea's 1-0 lead might look a slender advantage, but a clean sheet gives Roberto Di Matteo's side every chance of progressing, not least because the Blues will fancy themselves to score at the Nou Camp. For all their possession, Barcelona have managed just two shutouts in their last eight home matches in all competitions, and have conceded in all but one of their previous five fixtures in this competition. What's more goalkeeper Victor Valdes (52.9%) has the worst saves-to-shots ratio in this season's Champions League, with the exception of Borussia Dortmund's Roman Weidenfeller (40%). [i]Chelsea are the only side who have faced Barca more ...

[b][u]Barcelona v AC Milan, 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports 2[/u][/b] [u]Barcelona[/u] Xavi is the star of the team news this week. He missed a public training session on Monday and Pep Guardiola says his participation will be decided as late as possible. There has also been some discussion about whether the coach will play three or four defenders, but, as Michael Cox has explained, that is a largely academic debate. Lionel Messi's astonishing goal records have been well documented recently - age 24, he's just become his club's all-time top-scorer - and he's been particularly sharp in the Champions League of late, scoring 30 times in his last 26 matches. Opta offers one small cause for pause, however: Messi converted a penalty against Milan in the group stage, but has not scored ...

[b][u]AC Milan v Barcelona, 19:45 (Live on ITV)[/u][/b] [u]AC Milan[/u] Massimiliano Allegri's team are top of Serie A, but have been as good on the road (W10/15) as they have at the San Siro (W9/14). In 2012 Inter, Juventus (twice) and Napoli have all avoided defeat away to Milan in domestic competitions. With Robinho and Pato sidelined by injury, the spotlight is on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored on five of his six Champions League appearances this season. Another ex-Barcelona player, Mark van Bommel, is banned for this match. The Dutchman scored an own goal when these two met in Italy in the group stage and might not be missed as much as Thiago Silva. [u]Barcelona[/u] The Spanish champions won here in the group stages (3-2). Some terrific recent form helps make ...

[u]APOEL v Lyon[/u] APOEL have failed to score in each of their last three Champions League games The only way that APOEL, the first ever Cypriot club to get this far, can prolong their Champions League adventure is by scoring against Lyon. The above insight suggests that they will be denied though by a team who have kept four clean sheets in their last seven European ties. Lyon have failed to score in five of their last eight Champions League matches Lyon's defensive work looks like being enough to ensure a quarter-final spot, yet don't expect an emphatic triumph. Remi Garde's men netted only once, via a deflection, as hosts and are winless in eight away knockout encounters. Even if they do end that run, it will be by a slender margin. [u]Barcelona v Leverkusen[/u] Leverkusen...

[u][b]Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona, live on Sky Sports 2[/b] [/u] [u]Leverkusen[/u] Leverkusen are 15 points behind Borussia Dortmund - who beat them on Saturday - in the Bundesliga and unlikely to match last season's second-place finish. Michael Ballack is injured, but Robin Dutt has left him on the bench in recent weeks anyway. Pacy Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok would be the man most likely to cause problems for the European champions, but he will probably miss the first leg. [u]Barcelona[/u] Pep Guardiola has won the Champions League twice and made the semi-final in his only other campaign. Opta points out that Barca have not been knocked out at this stage of the competition since Liverpool beat them five years ago. The Spanish champions lost at Osasuna on Saturday night...

You've got to feel for Jose Mourinho. However well Real Madrid play, however many goals they score, however much they entertain, it's never enough. It's never enough because whatever they do, Barcelona seem to do it a little better. Time and time again. But maybe we shouldn't feel sorry for him. Football fans talk about singing when you're winning. When he was winning the Champions League with FC Porto, the Premier League with Chelsea and knocking the same Barcelona out of the Champions League en route to winning it with Inter Milan, there was plenty of singing. There was plenty of boasting, inventing of nicknames and goading, too. He enjoyed those moments, making himself come across as a genius who knew more than his counterparts, prepared better for games than them and motivated his...

I'm not sure whether the draw for the Copa Del Rey is done with a computer or whether there's a whole live televised spectacle with ex-players and pundits picking brightly coloured balls out of a bowl. By the way, I've always wondered why Club Executives present at the draws feel the need to furiously scribble down the team (or teams when it's the Champions or Europa League group stages) that their club is up against. Are their memories that bad? Do they not have iphones and Blackberries to check in case they do forget? Either way, by Real Madrid and Barcelona being drawn together before the final stage, we, as football fans, are treated to an extra game between these two. [u]Match Odds [/u] How you play this market completely depends on what you consider to be the most important factors. Real...