cska moscow

While Arsenal are in Barcelona taking on the European Champions, Tuesday’s other Champions League fixture features the irrepressible Jose Mourinho. His Inter Milan side travel to Russia, holding on to a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg. Inter’s Diego Milito grabbed the only goal in the first leg, but in the tricky second leg, they could rue a host of other chances that went begging. Inter failed to capitalise on Milito’s goal, but were definitely the better side, and fully deserving of their victory at the San Siro. Mourinho, who has been vociferous in his dislike of the way Italian football is run, was brought in to bring the Champions League to Inter, and he has turned the side into one of the most efficient in Europe. In true Mourinho style, the game is all about winning, and not necessarily about going out and scoring a hat full of goals.

CSKA will be missing two of their key midfielders for the match, while Inter Milan will be able to put out a stronger side than they did in the first leg if they choose to. One notable returnee, is Dutch star Wesley Sneijder, who is proving invaluable to Inter’s season. But will the artificial turf, upon which the match will be played, be a leveller? Is there a better tactician than Mourinho in dealing with anything out of the ordinary that gets thrown at him? He will have his troops ready to face both the level of opposition, and whatever the influence of the pitch could have over proceedings. But CSKA, who will be looking to keep a clean sheet against the visiting Milan side, feel they have an advantage with the familiarity of their pitch.

CSKA qualified in second place behind Manchester United in their group, and caused United some scares when the English champions went to Russia. United scraped a 1-0 win, but it was Moscow’s two victories in their other games which saw them through, and then a strong performance at home against much fancied Spanish side Sevilla, helped them move through to the Quarter Finals. They have had their good moments in the competition, and can they produce another one to cause an upset, and be the first Russian side to make it to the Champions League semi finals? The Russian Premier League is only just four games into its new season (with CSKA having played three, winning two and drawing one so far), while the long Italian league is coming to an end. Will fitness and sharpness be a factor as well as the pitch? The possibility of meeting Barcelona is on the cards for the winner of this match.

CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Match Prices
CSKA to win: 9/4 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 9/4 at Bet365
Inter Milan to win: 11/8 at Boylesports

Asian Handicap Betting Tip: Being the home side, favouring a handicap which lands results for a CSKA draw could prove useful, even if it’s a Draw No Bet scenario of a 0 Handicap. Inter won’t go there are score a lot of goals, and have shown a penchant for drawing match in Europe. Inter though at Evens Asian Handicap with Victor Chandler is hard to pass up, or a brave backing of CSKA for a narrow win will be best hanging around the CSKA 0 Asian Handicap at 13/10 with Paddy Power.

CSKA Moscow v Inter Milan Champions League Betting Preview: Jose Mourinho continues to entertain the press, even though his Inter Milan side have been stuttering at the top of Serie A. Mourinho is not a big fan of the way Italian football is being ran, insisting that there are conspiracy theories about to keep his Inter side from dominating on the domestic scene. While Inter have enjoyed success on the home front, one of the primary reasons that the ex-Chelsea boss was drafted in, was to bring the Champions League to the San Siro. After knocking out Chelsea quite convincingly in the last 16, the “Special One” should be confident of progressing, after drawing a quarter final tie against CSKA Moscow. If the Italians progress through, then a big rematch against current Champions League holders Barcelona could be on the cards for the semi final.

Mourinho’s Inter were fantastically efficient and clinical against Chelsea, both in the home and away legs of their encounter. The matches showed that the Mourinho side is still incredibly difficult to play against, and one that is constructed to bring success. Inter finished second in the group stage to the Spanish champions Barcelona, and Mourinho would relish another chance to take on the favourites. Despite gunning for success, Mourinho doesn’t seem a settled man, and has talked about a return to the Premier League, with several clubs at the front of the rumour mill. His future in Italy could all hinge on whether he brings home the Champions League this season or not, and even holding on and winning the domestic title may simply not be enough to keep the wolves from his door.

CSKA Moscow qualified in second place behind Manchester United in their group stage, winning three of their six matches. It could be a long night in Russia for Mourinho’s men, as they try and break down what is likely to be a defensive Moscow side. While appearing to be the lowest ranked team left in the competition, and therefore a good draw for Inter, CSKA Moscow  put in two decent performances to beat a very strong Seville side in the last 16, including a 2-1 win in the away leg. Now they will have to take on one of the best teams in Europe, if not one of the teams which play with the most amount of flair. Mourinho’s team is all about getting the job done, and are more than happy with 1-0 results. Inter have world stars in Samuel Eto’o, Thiago Motta, Walter Samuel and one of the Champions League’s most influential players, Wesley Sneijder, who is one of the best players in the world in his position.

Inter will be favourites, and they are perfectly suited to these tricky away fixtures in Europe, picking up a draw against Russian Champions Rubin Kazan, and a win in Ukraine over Dynamo Kiev in the group stages. Although they only won two of their six league games, their only defeat came at the hands of Barcelona. Driven on by the success they had over one of the Champions League favourites in Chelsea, Mourinho will be expectant of securing a semi final place in this year’s competition.

Match Prices
CSKA Moscow to win: 8/1 at Bet365
Draw: 7/2 at SkyBet
Inter Milan to win: 4/9 at Totesport

Manchester United could be a little light up front as they entertain Russian side CSKA Moscow in Tuesday’s Champions League match at Old Trafford. Club top scorer Wayne Rooney is likely to be absent as his wife, Coleen Rooney, has just delivered their first baby. Rooney was absent from training on Monday as his good lady was in labour. Along with his name missing from the line up, will be that of defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic who are both still out injured, and Ryan Giggs still is not ready to pull on a shirt again. The biggest problem for Alex Ferguson will be the fact that there is a doubt over stand in striker Dimitar Berbatov, as he is struggling to be fit due to a knee injury. This will clearly not be cheering boss Ferguson at the moment, as he will need all his troops fit and present ahead of the big Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to play leaders Chelsea.

The Scot will be appeased though that he knows his team only require one more Champions League victory to clinch a place in the next round. Watching United this season, is not like sitting and watching the fluent powerhouse of times past, but they are still going to be one of the dominant forces in Europe because of the set up of the club. They may not be as free flowing and attack orientated as Arsenal, or have the world class midfield or defensive prowess of Chelsea, but they have a cohesion which gets the job done. That is really all that needs to happen on Tuesday night, a solid performance, when a 1-0 win will be as good as a 5-0 one.

History certainly favours the Red Devils, because they have not lost a home game in the Champions League since 2005, a span of 22 games. If Old Trafford wasn’t already a daunting enough arena to walk into, that won’t fill the Russian with joy. But one piece of statistical history which they could turn to, is the fact that on the previous two occasions when Russian teams have visited Old Trafford, Manchester United did not pull out a win. If that happens again on this occasion CSKA Moscow will probably leave Manchester quite a happy team. A point would still sort of keep them in the hunt, having to rely on then beating Wolfsburg to catch them for second place. That’s all down the line, and Alex Ferguson will want a no-nonsense performance, as this game pales in significance to the one that is coming on the weekend.

Fortunately Manchester United have the strength in depth, certainly in the midfield areas. Where the goals are going to come from without Rooney and Berbatov in the line-up is a different question altogether. Even with them in the side, their goal difference in the Premier League is way behind that of Chelsea and Arsenal, and even struggling Liverpool have been more potent in front of goal, largely thanks to Fernando Torres. But Manchester United prevail, and the Moscow unit, who have just one win from their three games, will need to be a lot sharper than they were on home territory for the corresponding Match day three fixture.

Manchester United to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Draw: 4/1 at Boylesports
CSKA Moscow to win: 10/1 at BetFred

Betting Advice. Manchester United look more vulnerable this season than they have done. They have not been overpowering or clinically burying teams where you would expect them to. Since the Liverpool defeat, United have bounced back with two 2-0 wins, without breaking much of a sweat. There will probably be a big lack of firepower on show for this game, as the Russians have not enjoyed a lot of success in front of goal. But whatever side Ferguson puts out, it should at least be two goals better than CSKA.
Manchester United to win 2-0: 11/2 at Ladbrokes

Manchester United go on the road in Wednesday’s Champions League fixture, and it is one of the longest trips that they’ll ever have faced. They head off to the cold of Russia to face the ‘Army Men’ of CSKA Moscow. Having come through two tough enough opening fixtures of the Champions League, Alex Ferguson’s men will more likely than not be ready for the challenge ahead. United top of both their Champions League group and the Premier League, have been grinding out results, more than looking at their free flowing dominant best. Either way a win is a win, and they will be out to solidify their position at the top.

A 2-1 win over Wolfsburg and a 1-0 victory of Besiktas has put United in control of Group B. They haven’t faced any of their group rivals before in the Champions League, but that has not stopped their progress. CSKA Moscow are sitting in third with three points, following a heavy Match Day One defeat away to Wolfsburg, and then picking up a 2-1 win over rock bottom Besiktas. CSKA are nearing the end of their domestic league season, so they have plenty of match fitness, but are sitting in fourth, a long way back of leaders Rubin Kazan. It is probably going to be one of those games that are more enduring as opposed to any great shows of excitement.

That though, is a key factor of success in Europe, the ability to go to difficult places and bring something back. That is what United did exactly in their Match Day One game away at Besiktas, and is something they have always been good at doing. With Chelsea collecting their second consecutive away defeat in the Premier League, United went back to the top of the pile on the weekend, and that will bring some confidence with being in a position they are used to. One thing that they won’t be used to however, is the fact that they will be playing on an artificial pitch on Wednesday night. This could be a factor, as the home side will of course be used to things like the accelerate bounce of the ball. This is the same pitch upon which the national side have played their games, and some of United’s England internationals will have see it before.

That however does not make for an entire team being comfortable on it. United will be without two big names, that of Ryan Giggs and striker Wayne Rooney. Ji-Sung Park, Evra and Darren Fletcher have all missed out on the trip as well. This will be a big test for Rio Ferdinand, whose form, or lack thereof has been highlighted over the past couple of weeks. He will need to be on his toes, as the Russian side are no slouches. Moscow have lost only once in their last five games, and have conceded very little. They could be a really tough team to break down, but United will get hope from the fact that Wolfsburg put three past CSKA in the first round of matches.

Wolfsburg have a more potent strike force than United, and take Rooney out of the equation and United will have to rely on someone else to step up. While blessed with plenty of attacking options, especially from midfield, will they have the strong enough presence up front, in somewhat hostile surrounding, to take maximum points from the Russians?

CSKA Moscow to win: 11/4 at BetFred
Draw: 23/10 at Bet365
Manchester United to win: 6/5 at SkyBet

Betting Advice: Maybe not the toughest game that United faces in this years Group stage, for that will likely be against Wolfsburg. But it is certainly a very uncomfortable one. With Rooney missing and the artificial pitch, initial thoughts would be for a draw, which both sides would be fairly happy with. But you won’t often see United trying to play cautiously for a draw from the get go. They will come under some pressure, but is there anyone else more experienced than United at grinding out results and coming through awkward games with a positive?
Manchester United to win 1-0: 13/2 at 888Sport