Football Reloaded

Benfica v Liverpool
UEFA Europa League Quarterfinal 1st Leg
Estadio da Luz – Lisbon, Portugal
1 April 2010 – 20:05 GMT

Liverpool begins the quarterfinal round of the UEFA Europa League with a trip to Lisbon to face Benfica.

Benfica v Liverpool Preview

While Liverpool continues their challenge for fourth place in the English Premier League, they will have a tough test in facing Portuguese Liga side Benfica. Both teams are capable of winning the entire competition and it should be a close first leg.

Liverpool’s main problem this season has been their horrible away form. At Anfield, they remain one of the toughest teams in the world but they’ve struggled in all competitions on the road. If they are to win at Lisbon, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard will need to lead the way. Torres has had several injuries this season but appears to be healthy and showed his clinical finishing ability on Sunday’s win against Sunderland. Gerrard has scored few goals this season but is known for his strong performances in European competitions.

Benfica has only lost one match in the Europa League this season and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-1 away win at French side Marseille. Their top scorer in the Europa League is Oscar Cardozo who has six goals. Benfica has been very strong at home in the competition and has not lost at the Estadio da Luz.

The combination of Liverpool’s poor away form and Benfica’s strong home form should make for an entertaining match. Liverpool’s season has been disappointing with their EPL title hopes gone and their inability to make the knockout stage of the Champions League. Their last hope to win a trophy is the Europa League and could salvage their season.

Benfica needs a win in the first leg because its will be unrealistic to expect a draw or win at Anfield. Liverpool haven’t shown the ability to get wins on the road and Thursday will be no different.

Benfica v Liverpool Prediction

Benfica will win the match 2-1.

Watch Benfica v Liverpool Live Online

You can watch Benfica v Liverpool live online as well as all other Europa League games. Read our live Europa League football page for more details.

“Benfica v Liverpool – Preview – 1 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

Arsene Wenger, the manager of Arsenal, spoke about his fondness of Viagra in an interview to D-Wreck. Lets get to it:

“Arsene Wenger talks about Viagra” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

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Fulham v Wolfsburg
UEFA Europa League Quarterfinal 1st Leg
Craven Cottage – London, England
1 April 2010 – 20:05 GMT

Fulham continues their improbable UEFA Europa League against reigning Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg on Thursday night.

Fulham v Wolfsburg Preview

After their surprise 4-1 win in the second leg against Juventus, Fulham is now in the quarterfinals and believing they have a chance to win the entire tournament. The English side has most of their key players healthy for the match but have lost their last three matches since the Juventus win.

Wolfsburg started out in the Champions League in the fall but failed to advance to the knockout stage. They defeated Russian side FK Rubin Kazan in the round of 16 with a 3-2 aggregate win. Wolfsburg is 4-1-1 in their last six matches and earned draws in both away matches of the earlier Europa League rounds.

Overall, Fulham have been able to make Craven Cottage a fortress in the last few seasons. They are 9-2-4 in the EPL at the Cottage and have a 6-1-0 in the Europa League. The leading scorers for Fulham in the Europa League are Zoltan Gera and Bobby Zamora. These two players will likely be the starting forwards and proved very successful in the Juventus victory. Wolfsburg’s leading scorer in the UEFA Europa League is Grafite who has three goals.

Fulham are growing with confidence and should be the slight favorites for Thursday’s match. They’ve proven they can beat any club at the Cottage and should get a lead heading into the second leg. Wolfsburg will be confident if they can keep it within one goal and get any away goals. A 1-0 or 2-1 scoreline seems most likely.

Fulham v Wolfsburg Prediction

Fulham will iwn the match 1-0.

Watch Benfica v Wolfsburg Live Online

You can watch Benfica v Liverpool live online as well as all other Europa League games. Read our live Europa League football page for more details.

“Fulham v Wolfsburg – Preview – 1 April 2010” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.

When Argentina defeated Serbia & Montenegro 6-0 during the 2006 World Cup, BBC presenter Gary Lineker closed the live coverage of the match by commenting on Argentina’s lowly place in the FIFA World Rankings compared with England, who had laboured to a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago the previous day.  ”Perhaps FIFA should watch more football,” he chirruped as the closing titles began rolling.

The new rankings are out today and England are up a whole one place, to seventh, following their 3-1 friendly win over Egypt in early March.  They are now above France – beaten 2-0 at home by top-ranked Spain – and so they should be.  Portugal, though, are fourth, above Germany and Argentina, which makes no sense at all.

You can always find anomalies in the rankings.  That is because they take into account one thing only: the results of football matches.  If Portugal are fourth it is because their recent results merit it.

In my mind’s eye, the FIFA World Rankings process involves a gigantic comedy factory machine not dissimilar to Bertha off children’s television in the early 1980s.  Sepp ‘Mr Willmake’ Blatter pours the results of the month’s friendlies and qualifying fixtures in a giant funnel.  The machine – designed by Marouane Fellaini and Carlos Valderrama, reprising their rôles as designers Mr Sprott and Tracey – whirs into life; pistons pump, governors rotate, comedy grey smoke comes out of a hole in the top and out of a conveyor belt at the other end, FIFA general secretary Miss McClackerty notes down the new FIFA rankings which Pranjit coveys – via forklift truck for no very good reason – to the good people at Sky Sports News.

The best team in the world usually come out on top.  Spain have been number one since their Euro 2008 triumph, save a few months when Brazil overtook them after winning last year’s FIFA Confederations Cup.  The rankings are a triumph of meritocracy over prejudice.

France kicked up a fuss at not being seeded for the World Cup draw; just as they had when placed down in pot four for the Euro 2008 draw.  But are France really among the world’s elite?  They have not beaten a top side in a competitive match since the last World Cup, when they defeated Spain, Brazil and Portugal in the knock-out stages.  They, like most nations, are where they deserve to be.

“FIFA Rankings – A Defence” was originally published at Soccerlens.com – Football News.