Manchester United are in red hot form this season both in the UEFA Champions league and the English Premier league. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men require only 1 point from their last three matches of the group stage to qualify for the knock out phase if the result goes right for them in the other fixture. Although if they win tomorrow, then they will be through. United played really well in the previous match against Copenhagen but the away leg will be a tricky encounter.

Manchester United will be missing three key personnel who have been excellent this season. Ryan Giggs is out with a hamstring niggle, Louis Saha is also doubtful for this match with a knee injury. While Gary Neville has suffered a re-occurrence of the calf injury he faced earlier this season. He will be out atleast for 2 weeks and is ruled out for the match against Portsmouth on the weekend. There is some good news though, Patrice Evra, who limped out while playing against Bolton will be fit for the match. Copenhagen will be without key member Jesper Gronkjaer, the former Chelsea winger with a minor injury. Solbakken knows that this will be his chance to get a great result and upset the in form United team.

The Red devils look favorites to win this encounter, although it will be difficult for them since they are missing key members of their team. But I do expect United to atleast get a draw if not a win away from home. United to keep a clean sheet is at the Odds of 1.83 and those Odds look good. If you are a United fan, then a positive bet on Manchester Utd to win with a clean sheet is at 2.25. A slightly skeptical bet can be put on the Asian Handicap on FC Copenhagen (+1.5) where united will have to win by 2 clear goals which is not likely to happen on the travel, the Odds for those are at 1.64.

German giants Bayern Munich will look to seal their progress into the knockout stages of the Champions league when they host Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. The Bavarians have been in great form in Europe, with 3 wins out of 3, and can be one of the first teams to progress from the group stages if they draw or win against Paolo Bento’s side.

Bayern are currently second in the Bundesliga behind Werder Bremen. Felix Magath’s side beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at the weekend .Bayern do have some problems in midfield. Bastian Schweinsteiger, who scored the winner in Lisbon a fortnight ago, is suspended. Michael Ballack has since long departed for England, and Sebastian Deisler is expected to be fit enough only for a place on the bench. Dutch midfielder Mark Van Bommel is a doubt too. Roy Makaay has been in great form recently, and is expected to find the net at the Allianz Arena. Demichelis and Van Buyten will be at the heart of defence with Sagnol and Lahm playing as wingbacks.

Sporting Lisbon have a win, a loss and a draw so far in the Champions league. They drew 3-3 against Beira Mar at the weekend. Sporting have never won in their last 6 visits to Germany and they need a result here, especially with Inter Milan breathing down their necks. They lost to 10 man Bayern at home, thanks to some excellent goalkeeping by veteran Oliver Kahn. Sporting have Ricardo in goal, the man many Englishmen will remember for knocking their squad out of the World Cup. Liedson should start with Djalo upfront, with Alecsandro on the bench.

Verdict: Bayern at home are not easy to beat. Although Bayern are severely handicapped in midfield, I believe they will win this by a solitary goal. Makaay to score. Bayern will have to defend well though.

Amidst all the speculation about Gerrard wanting to leave the club and the pundits who are not very happy with the new ‘tinker man’, Benitez will be looking to prove everyone wrong. Bordeaux travel to Anfield in order to avenge their 0-1 defeat against Liverpool in the previous fixture. The staggering statistic for the match will be that, Rafael Benitez would have changed his line-up for 100 consecutive matches if he makes any change to the team which played at the weekend, which clearly shows he still does not know his best combination.

Steven Gerrard is not 100% fit, and has niggling ankle injury, but is expected to take part in the match. Craig Bellamy and Aurelio are major doubts for Benitez and are not likely to take part in the fixture. On the other hand for Bordeux, Franck Jurietti and Stephane Dalmat are ruled out with injury worries and are expected to be out for atleast a couple of weeks. Former Liverpool man, Vladimir Smicer could play and make his first appearance at Anfield after leaving the club a couple of seasons ago. He is although not expected to start, but could feature from the subs bench. If the results go right for Liverpool and they win with the other match going accordingly they could be through to the knock out stages with 2 games to spare. This will give Benitez more games to field his youngsters and find his best starting eleven.

The Odds are staked heavily in the favor of the Reds, but with Liverpool almost through to the next round Benitez will make the changes and is unlikely to feature his best team against Bordeaux. Although I expect Liverpool to win, but only with a single goal margin. An Asian Handicap on Bordeaux (+1, +1.5) at 1.8 looks a decent bet. If you think Liverpool will take it easily then you can also look at a Liverpool clean sheet at 1.83.

The Superheroes are back again! But this time , the battlefield is Camp Nou, Catalunya, Spain. Barcelona host Chelsea at the Nou Camp in an all important game for the Spanish giants. Chelsea are virtually assured of a place in the next stages but Barcelona will have to face stern competition from Werder Bremen for the second spot.

The Spaniards go into this game on the back of two successive wins and they top the LaLiga table too. The inability of Zambrotta and Thuram to settle into the Barcelona back-four has been a cause of concern for Rijkard. He may prefer last year’s hero Belletti and Sylvinho in the defensive wing-back positions. Samuel Eto’o is sidelined for months and wont take part in this contest. Eidur Gudjohnsen will start up-front as the centre-striker, but critics believe Javier Saviola must be given his chance too.

Chelsea are riding on a crest. With a 100% record in this year’s competition, confidence is high in the camp. Goalkeeping worries mean that Hilario will again start between the posts. He has done a tremendous job in the games he has played so far, a penalty save against Sheffield United being his most notable contribution. Drogba and Shevchenko are not completely fit and there are doubts over their participation in this game. In the absence of the star striking pair, Kalou will have to start up-front with Robben and Cole supporting him from the flanks.

My take: Barcelona are hurt. They were mauled at the Bridge. And with Drogba and Sheva not fully fit for this game, I expect Barcelona to come out trumps. 2-0 for the Catalans; Gudjohnsen and Messi on the scoresheet ! 

Middlesbrough will make the trip to the City of Manchester stadium on Monday and will be hoping to come on top after the end of the match. Manchester City have not lost at home in the league this season and will be looking to keep up this statistic. They don’t have a good record this season anyway with winning only 2 of the 9 matches they have played this season. They were beaten convincingly by Wigan 4-0 away from home and Stuart Pearce will surely be feeling the pressure. Middlesbrough have won 2 matches in a row and will be looking to make it 3 when they travel to Manchester.

Ben Thatcher comes back into the City line up after completing his 8 match ban, which he picked up after a dubious challenge on Pedro Mendes. Slyvian Distin, Vassel, and Hatem Trabelsi will all be looking to come back from their injuries to take on Middlesbrough. Mark Viduka will be unavailable for this match after being ruled out for about 2 months with a broken toe. Chris Riggot on the flipside will be looking to come back after missing out on a few matches for the Teessiders. Whether or not he will make the starting line up is not known but would definitely feature at some point in the match.

This could be a tricky encounter for both the teams as both of them are placed next to each other in the Premiership table too. There is very little to choose between them. I would go for a draw in this match and at the Odds of 3.10, it looks like a strong bet. If you were an optimist I would look at Middlesbrough nicking this one or atleast wining a half. Middlesbrough to win either half in this match is at the Odds of 1.83.

Beleaguered West Ham will look to gain some valuable home points when they host Mark Hughes’ Blackburn side on Sunday.

Alan Pardews’ side have had a wretched season so far and their misery was further compounded when they were dumped out of the Carling Cup in midweek by league one side Chesterfield. The Hammers are the only side without a clean sheet this season in the Premiership and have lost in their last 5 Premiership encounters. They have had serious problems finding the net upfront, although Harewood’s goal against Chesterfield was an encouraging sign. Argentina and ex Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez will miss this clash due to a knee injury. James Collins, Tyron Mears, Yossi Benayoun and Lee Bowyer are expected to play after returning to full training this week.

Blackburn are currently right in the middle of the table and are themselves on a two game losing streak. They lost to Bolton last week and were eliminated by Chelsea in the Carling Cup. They will be keen to return to winning ways before hosting Basel in the UEFA Cup on Thursday. Shabani Nonda is expected to miss this game while influential midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen will take a late fitness test. Welsh medio Robbie Savage is suspended for this one. Rovers have the worst disclipinary record in the Premiership and this game could see lots of crunching tackles going in.

A win here will ease the pressure on Pardew and give the Hammers their 100th Premiership win and 150th at Upton Park. The corresponding fixture last season, on the opening day was a 3-1 victory to the Hammers, who went to have a very successful season. Maybe this is the catalyst that the team needs to move up the table. West Ham to win 2-0 or 2-1 .