Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Madrid Champions League 08-09 Preview

Real Madrid will travel to Zenit St. Petersburg tomorrow (30 September 2008) in their second match of Champions League 2008-2009 campaign. In the opening match, Real Madrid pulled off an easy 2-0 victory over BATE Borisov from Belarus, while Zenit St. Petersburg was beaten by Italian giants Juventus 1-0. Real Madrid will go into the match on the back of a poor recent away record in Champions League. The Spanish champions have not won any of their last seven matches on the road in Europe. So, Real Madrid will have an eye to put an end to their seven-match winless string away from home in Champions league.

Match: Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Madrid, Group H, Champions League 2008-2009

Date: 30 September 2008, Tuesday

Venue: Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Kick off: 17:30 BST (British Standard Time)

Real Madrid is the defending champion of Spanish La Liga, but they are currently in the 3^rd position after five matches with 12 points under their belt. However, Real Madrid’s recent form has been pretty much satisfactory. In their previous league match, Real Madrid defeated Real Betis 2-1. Real Madrid won their last five matches in all competitions. So, Real Madrid players must be full of confident while taking on Zenit St. Petersburg.

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster admits that it will be a very difficult game in Russia. In this crucial match, Real Madrid will miss a key midfielder Wesley Sneijder who has been ruled out of the match with leg injury. Guti and Fernando Gago are also out with leg injury. So, Bernd Schuster will have to contend with the injuries of some of his key players ahead of the trip to Zenit St. Petersburg. New signing Rafael van der Vaart will not have to play a crucial role in the midfielder in the absence of some important players. The good news is that Rafael van der Vaart has been in good from with highest four goals for Real Madrid so far this season. After sitting out Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over BATE Borisov on suspension, midfielder Ruben is also ready to feature against Zenit St. Petersburg. However, Real boss Bernd Schuster has a number of options in his attacking line up in the presence of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gonzalo Higuai and club Captain Raul Gonzalez. In fact, all of the three strikers are in good form.

Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg has got off to a poor start in domestic league and they are already way out of title defense challenge. Even coach Dick Advocaat admitted that Zenit’s aim would be now to finish the league at second or third position so that they can qualify for Champions League next season. Moreover, Zenit lost the first game to Juventus. So, the match against Real Madrid is a crucial match and another defeat would seemingly bring an end to their hopes of progressing to the next round. The Russian club defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 3-0 in their recent league match.

Zenit St. Petersburg will miss defender Ivica Krizanac who has been sidelined by the team manager on disciplinary ground. Vladislav Radimov will also miss the Champions league showdown against Real Madrid as he pulled muscle during practice session. However, long-term absentee striker Fatih Tekke is expected to come back in the starting line up against Real Madrid after recovering from knee injury. Moreover, star midfielder Andrei Arshavin will be back in action after sitting out Zenit’s 3-0 recent victory over Lokomotiv Moscow due to suspension. Now, he will be fresh enough to take on Spanish champions Real Madrid.

CFR Cluj vs Chelsea Champions League 08-09: Preview, Live Score

An in-from Chelsea will face an inspired, confident CFR Cluj on Wednesday (1 October 2008) in a Champions league showdown. Both the sides are confident ahead of the match. Premier league club Chelsea started their Champions league 2008-2009 campaign with a 4-0 victory over French club Bordeaux. CFR Cluj, on the other hand, is not as big a club like Chelsea, but they are the defending champion of Romanian Liga 1 and thus qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first team. Most importantly, CFR Cluj produced the biggest upset of the tournament so far, defeating Italian club Roma away from home in their very first match in Champions League. No doubt, they are now looking to build on their impressive 2-1 victory at Roma.

Match: CFR Cluj vs Chelsea, Group A, Champions League 2008-2009

Date: 1 October 2008, Wednesday

Venue: Dr. Constantin Radulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Kick off: 19:45 BST (British Standard Time)

Live on TV and Radio: Sky Sports Extra, Sky Sports HD3, BBC Radio 5 Live

Chelsea started off well this season under their new boss Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Blues are currently leading the premier league point table with 14 points from six matches. Their top form has been proven enough to dominate both in premier league and domestic league. Scolari has not suffered any defeat since joining the West London club in summer. Out of their last seven matches in all competitions, Chelsea won five and drew two. So, it is for sure that Chelsea will go into the match with full of confidence.

Romanian champion CFR Cluj stunned the football world with their excellent away victory at Roma in their Champions league opener. I think, this is one of the biggest upsets by a debut team in Champions league. Interesting thing is that CFR Cluj is the first Romanian club from outside Romanian capital Bucharest to have entered into Champions League group stage. So, CFR Cluj has already showed what they can do in their days.

However, the defending champions could not make a good start in Liga 1 this season. After 9 matches, CFR Cluj secures 5^th place with 15 points, 7 points behind leader Dinamo. Since their away defeat at FC Vaslui 2-1, CFR Cluj has been playing consistently well. In their recent league encounter, Cluj drew 1-1 against title challenger FC Steaua Bucuresti. In their last seven outings in all competitions, CFR Cluj won three, drew three and lost one. Though their domestic performance has not been as good as it was supposed to be, CFR Cluj has impressed all with their victory over Roma in Champions league.

CFR Cluj will have home advantage against Chelsea. So, that would also help the Romanian club to hope for another stunning performance. They will surely look to build on their 2-0 victory against Roma. The man who was instrumental behind CFR Cluj’s historic victory at Roma is Argentine midfielder Juan Emmanuel Culio who joined the club in 2007, after being overlooked by many Argentine clubs. After 18 months of his arrival in Romania, football fans in Romania call for giving him the Romanian citizenship so that he can play for Romanian national team. No doubt, the midfielder will have to play a vital role against Chelsea too in order to bring out another impressive performance in Champions league.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari may not have any worry for the performance of Chelsea. However, the Brazilian manager has a lot to worry as his injury list is only extending day by day. Michael Essien, Anderson, Deco and Ricardo Carvalho are already out with injury for a number of weeks. Now, he has got to worry about two of his first choice wingers- Joe Cole and Salomon Kalou. Joe Cole missed Saturday’s 2-0 away victory at Stroke City with slight tear in his thigh muscle, while Salomon Kalou was limped off the field with an ankle injury at the half time. Manager Scolari could not say anything about Kalou’s injury, but the manager would assess the condition of Joe Cole. However, he confirmed that Deco and Ricardo Carvalho are out of CFR Cluj encounter.

Well, despite the injury list mounting, Luiz Felipe Scolari is glad with the performance of his boys. He also thinks that Chelsea is now in good shape and the players are playing at their best.

The Press association reported:

He said: "My team is in good condition and we are keeping our shape well. We are now at our best. All my players know their position and how to cover for each other if necessary. If a player makes a mistake, another one helps him out and that is important."

He added: "We have won most of our matches and drawn only two. We have confidence as we have good players."

So, it is pretty much sure that Chelsea is very confident ahead of their trip to Cluj-Napoca, Romania, despite the injury problems. The good news for Chelsea is that Michael Ballack is now in his way to return to form. The German Captain played very well against Stroke City, supplying flurry of chances for the strikers. So, Ballack will have to play an important role against CFR Cluj in the absence of two key midfielders: Michael Essien and Deco.

Online Live Score and Updates

Fans of both sides are eagerly waiting for the match. Though the match will be telecast in television, still many fans might miss it due to lack of time. So, for those who will not be able to watch the match on television, here I am giving some names of online live score websites from where you can get the live score and updates of the match:

Live Score

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Goal.com

Footie Scorez

Considering the strength and experience, Chelsea is definitely favorite against CFR Cluj. However, Roma was also favorite against CFR Cluj. So, starting the match wit favorite’s tag may not work for Chelsea unless they continue their top football and keep the pressure on CFR Cluj. As the host side has nothing to lose, they might play all out football from the beginning. So, Chelsea’s injury-hit midfield and defense have to face strong challenge from the home side. However, one or two early strikes for either side in the match might be decisive because both the sides have some quality defenders to defend an early-taken lead in the match.

Liverpool vs PSV Eindhoven Champions League 08-09: Preview, Live Score

If you want to get the live score and updates of the PSV Eindhoven vs Liverpool match then visit the following link:

PSV Eindhoven vs Liverpool Live Score and Updates

Liverpool hosts PSV Eindhoven in a Group D Champions League encounter on Wednesday (1 October 2008) . The match will take place at Anfield with high flying Liverpool taking on Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Liverpool got off to a good start in their Champions League 2008-2009 campaign as the reds defeated Olympique Marseille 2-1 away from home. PSV Eindhoven, on the other hand, lost to Atletico Madrid 3-0 in their Champions league opener. On the back of recent derby triumph over Everton, Liverpool will look to continue their winning run in Europe too. PSV Eindhoven might come out full of confident, knowing that another defeat would bring an end to their hopes of progressing to the round of 16 in the tournament.

Match: Liverpool vs PSV Eindhoven, Group D, Champions League 2008-2009

Date: 1 October 2008, Wednesday

Venue: Anfield

Kick off: 19:45 BST (British Standard Time)

Live on TV: Ten Sports TV Channel

Liverpool did not have very good domestic record for a number of seasons now. However, the club has seen a steady progress so far this season. With 14 points from 6 matches, Liverpool has ensured their best start to premier league in the recent past. Recently, Liverpool posted a morale-booster victory over city rivals Everton thanks to double strike from Spanish striker Fernando Torres. With this victory, Liverpool moved up to the second spot, just behind the leader Chelsea on goal difference. So, it is well-predicted that Rafael Benitez boys are now full of confident ahead of the Champions League showdown with PSV Eindhoven.

Unlike premier league, Liverpool remained as one of the strongest clubs in the Europe. In fact, Liverpool is most successful English clubs in UEFA Champions League with five titles so far. Even if you consider their recent performance in Europe, you would see them in the semi final for three times in the last four seasons; two times they made it to the final and won the title in 2004-2005 season. So, in Europe, most of the clubs do not usually like to travel to Anfield. Even in this season, Liverpool got an emphatic start in Champions League, winning away at Olympique Marseille. So, Liverpool players now have a number of sources to take inspiration from ahead of PSV Eindhoven’s visit to Anfield.

PSV Eindhoven is the defending champion of Eredivisie (highest domestic football league in Netherlands). However, the Dutch champions got an ordinary start in the season, picking up 9 points from four games so far this season. PSV Eindhoven now occupies second place with a point behind the leader Groningen. Recently, PSV Eindhoven defeated FC Volendam 1-0 to hold onto second place in the league table. They are one of the most successful Dutch clubs in Champions League. The won the European title in 1987-88 season for the first time and since then they could not add another European feather to their cap.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will not get the service of defender Philipp Degen due to injury. The defender sustained two broken ribs in their 2-1 Carling Cup victory over Crowe. Javier Mascherano might feature against Eindhoven, though Rafael Benitez did not play him in their recent derby victory. Ryan Babel has already earned a tag of Liverpool’s substitute performer. The Dutch striker has proved his mettle as an effective players coming off the bench, but the forward is yet to impress Benitez for a regular place in the starting line up. With Captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres back in form, manager Rafael Benitez is supposed to have no worry on his shoulder ahead of the Champions league encounter against PSV Eindhoven.

For PSV Eindhoven, young midfielder Ibrahim Afellay might be vital at Anfield. The 22-year-old young prospect has already shown what he can do in his day. Liverpool has an eye on this talented midfielder who has the ability to turn the result of the match in PSV Eindhoven’s favor by his own. No doubt, Ibrahim Afellay is the main strength of their midfield.

Liverpool and in PSV Eindhoven faced against each other on four occasions in which Liverpool won thrice and the other match was drawn. So, Liverpool is ahead of in PSV Eindhoven in terms of head-to-head meeting as well.

Online Live Score and Updates

Here, I am giving some names of online live score websites from where you can get the online live score and updates of the match:

Live Score

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Goal.com

Footie Scorez

Liverpool seems to be favorite against PSV Eindhoven. However, the visiting side knows it very well that they need three points from the match in order to reach the next round. So, even though Liverpool has better chance in the match, I can not write off PSV Eindhoven because the Dutch Champions will be desperate for points against Liverpool. I think, Liverpool will find it difficult to pull of home victory over PSV Eindhoven. I guess, it is going to be a hard-fought match at Anfield on Wednesday.

AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United Champions League: Alex Ferguson Cautions United Players

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has warned his boys of Danish side AaB Aalborg ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at the Energi Nord Arena, Denmark. Though he thinks that the Danish champions got a point from the Celtic encounter, he also cautions his boys not to underestimate AaB Aalborg.

United boss is completely aware of the home advantage that his Danish opposition will have in the match. So, he also knows it very well that AaB Aalborg will come out with full of cinfidence, even though the club’s recent domestic form is poor.

The Times reported:

"Aalborg were lucky to get a draw at Celtic but they will be at home against us and my old mate Bruce Rioch will have them fired up," Ferguson said.

"They are playing Manchester United, they will have a sell-out crowd and the whole town will be up for it. Danish clubs are always battlers."

"Having dropped two points in our first game it is important we get it right against Aalborg," Ferguson said. "Going to Villarreal for a win will be very difficult and the last thing we need is to be going to Parkhead needing three points to go through."

Manchester United is greadually reaching at their prime, even though the defending champions of both premier league and Europe got off to a poor start to the seaosn. In fact, the club occupies the 9^th place ian the premier league point table with right points from five matches. This result card, for sure, does not go with the class and quality of Red Devils. However, the good thing is that United’s top two guns: Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney- are coming back to their prime form. There is no doubt anything less than three points from the match will go with the name of Manchester United.

Arsenal vs FC Porto Champions League 08-09: Cesc Fabregas Calling for ‘Good Reaction’ against Porto

Arsenal started their Champions League 2008-2009 campaign with a 1- 1 draw away at Dynamo Kiev thanks to a late strike from Captain William Gallas. However, the Gunners dominated the match and created a number of chances. However, the Gunners missed all of those chances and thus had to share points with hosts Kiev.

Now, ahead of next Champions league match against Porto, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas said that Arsenal can not afford to miss as many chances as they did against Kiev. He also added that Arsenal was not happy with the performance against Kiev as, he thinks, Arsenal should have won the match. However, the Spanish midfielder is now confident that Arsenal will have a good reaction against the Portuguese side FC Porto.

Arsenal will face the French Champions on Tuesday (30 September 2008) in the Group G encounter. However, the Gunners have suffered a shocking 2-1 home defeat against newly promoted Hull City last weekend. So, a victory is badly needed for the premier league club, while Porto will also look for a morale-booster victory at Arsenal.

Related article:

Goal.com

AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United Champions League: Live on ITV 4 TV Channel

Defending Europe champion Manchester United will take on Danish Superliga champion AaB Aalborg tomorrow (30 September 2009) away at the Energi Nord Arena. Let me be first to share some interesting similarities between the two clubs in terms of their performance. Both Manchester United and AaB Aalborg are the defending champions in their respective domestic tournaments and both the clubs got off to a poor start this season. Manchester United currently stands in the 9^th place, having played five matches so far this season. AaB Aalborg, similarly, is struggling to put their title defense challenge back on track as the Danes are just two points above the relegation zone, occupying the 10^th place with 7 points from eight matches in the 12-team competition.

So, it is pretty sure that both Manchester United and AaB Aalborg are not at their best at this moment. However, you will make a mistake if you think that the two clubs are going to present with a dull, less competitive match on Tuesday. In fact, both the sides are trying to be back on the right track. Manchester United defeated Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in their recent premier league match, while AaB Aalborg got a 3-2 hard-fought extra-time victory over Bronshoj BK in the Cup Competition of Denmark football.

Manchester United is the most favorite team in Group E of Champions League 2008-2009. However, they started their title defense campaign with a goalless draw against Villarreal at home. A victory is the ultimate aim for United in the match, considering the fact that AaB Aalborg is the weakest side in the group. So, losing point to AaB Aalborg might be lethal for the Red Devils. So, anything less than a victory against AaB Aalborg will not satisfy the Manchester United.

AaB Aalborg, on the other hand, does not have anything to lose in the match because they know it very well that a defeat to Manchester United would not come as a big shock to them. So, the Danish club will try their best to give as much challenge as possible to Manchester United. Moreover, AaB Aalborg can take inspiration from their Champions league opener at Celtic from where they came out with a point.

The match between AaB Aalborg and Manchester United will be telecast live on ITV 4 television chanel. The match will kick off at 19:45 BST (British Standard Time). ITV is one of the popular television channels in Europe. So, if you reside in Europe or are currently in Europe, then you can enjoy the live action of the match between AaB Aalborg and Manchester United.

Arsenal vs FC Porto Champions League 08-09: Live on Ten Sports TV Chanel

Arsenal will take on Porto on Tuesday (30 September 2008) in the Group G Champions League encounter at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal will look to recover the wound they received from Hull City thanks to their 2-1 home defeat. The defeat has come as a big blow for the Premier League giants ahead of the Champions League fixture. Even before this match, Arsenal was flying high and goals were coming very easily in their way. However, the Gunners stumbled at premier league newcomer Hull and thus was forced to move down to the 4^th place in the league table.

Porto, on the other hand, did not have a good start in Portuguese Liga and the defending champions are now in the third place of the league table with 8 points from four matches. However, the dragons got a 2-1 league victory over over Pacos Ferreira on Friday. They played well too. So, they will definitely go into the match with full of confidence.

In their Champions League opener, both sides got satisfactory result. Arsenal drew 1-1 away at Dynamo Kyiv, while Porto defeated Turkish giants Fenerbahce 3-1 at home. Porto and Arsenal are the top most favorites in Group G to progress to the round of 16. So, a victory in the match for either side would take them very close to the next round of the competition. So, fans of both Arsenal and Porto are now excited with the match and eagerly waiting to see the match either sitting in the stadium or on television screen.The high profile match between Arsenal and Porto will be telecast live on Ten Sports television channel.

The match will kick off at 19:454 BST (British Standard Time). Ten Sports is a popular television channel in Asia and Middle East and airs different sporting events for their subscribers. Today, I visited the TV Schedule page of Ten Sports’ official website. In the TV Schedule page, I got to see three different program schedule for three different regions; one is for India / Bangladesh / Sri Lanka / Maldives / Nepal, another one for International (Europe / ME / HK / Jap / Indo) and there is a separate schedule for Pakistan.

Among these three schedules for three different regions, I could just find the Arsenal vs Porto match in the schedules for India / Bangladesh / Sri Lanka / Maldives / Nepal as well as for Pakistan. That means, the audience of the South Asia will be able to enjoy the Champions league showdown between Premier league giant Arsenal and Portuguese Champions FC Porto.

For more information visit the TV Schedule page of Ten Sports.