Today, I have previewed UEFA Champions League, Audi Cup and the EPL outright for subscribers giving a handful of selections, you can see some of the CL content below and hopefully begin to get a taste of what the subscriber newsletter provides......

 

 

UEFA Champions League:
 

APOEL- FC Midtjylland (2-1 first leg)
 

Ajax- Rapid Wien (2-2)
 

AS Monaco- Young Boys (3-1)
 

 

These are Qualifying Round 3 second leg ties, all teams are just three matches away from the group stage of the competition and we discussed how lucrative that was ahead of the second round of CL games........... all teams competing this week are looking for the holy grail, which in footballing terms is the Champions League group stage. Four of the teams who played at this stage made it through last year......Maribor, Malmo, BATE and Ludogorets, all are looking to repeat that feat and believe me, motivation will be even bigger this time round with a massive jump in prize money on offer, this year, just a spot in the group stage is worth 12m €, winning a match would earn 1.5m € and even a point 0.5m €.

That means you could finish bottom of your group with four points like the Bulgarian side Ludogorets did last year and collect a cool 14m €, that is the real attraction of Champions League football and is the equivalent for the "minnows" ( no offence to any, as they are all big clubs domestically), of Real, Barce or Bayern winning the competition.

 

The "problem" today, at least for me, is that all four home teams took a big step towards the next stage by either winning on the road in the first leg, or coming away with a score draw, which means that they can progress today without winning and with such a massive prize on offer, all will surely adopt a cautious approach. I guess Monaco would be less worried than the other seven clubs about the money, but as a big name and former finalist in the competition, they will be no less motivated to get the job done. Of course, that could all work in our favour, as we can get handicap starts on three of the away teams and that is always worth a second look when the home side doesn't need to win.
 

FC Midtjylland initially caught my eye, a late goal in the second leg at least gave them a chance and they created quite a lot of chances in that game after the break, but they have very little experience at this level of competition, the hosts are old hands and are heavily favoured by the weather in Cyprus and today the temperature will hit 42 degrees + and with the humidity will feel closer to 50 ! It will drop a little come kick off, but still be high 30's and with the Danes having to press from the start, this is going to be a very long 90 minutes for the visitors.
 

I am a little tempted by Rapid given that they fought back a man down to claim a share of the spoils in the first leg, ending the match a little stronger even after the dismissal of Stefan Schwab, who will, of course, be suspended this evening. That was not a total surprise as they should be well ahead in terms of match fitness, being two games into their new domestic season, they have received a major confidence boost since, with a 2-1 road win over title favourites FC Salzburg at the weekend and they have been scoring freely with 12 goals in four competitive starts. Ajax have yet to start their Eredivisie campaign, they begin that with a tough trip to AZ Alkmaar at the weekend and despite the importance of the match this evening, will probably have half an eye on that and a solid start to their domestic season after finishing a whopping 17 points adrift of champions PSV last season. The hosts have as much european experience as a club as anyone apart from the modern giants of the game and know full well that 0-0/1-1 is worth the same as 3-0 in terms of progression.
 

Young Boys make the trip to Monaco already trailing by two goals, but it is still a big game for them against a high profile opponent and they are under no pressure and having followed them in the Europa League last season, we know full well how they will approch this and it is not with their tail between their legs and with damage limitation in mind. After their 4-1 home loss to Everton in the Europa League last season, I wrote this ahead of the return leg at Goodison .....
 

The visitors are concerened about the artificial playing surface at the Stade du Suisse in Berne, Young Boys laid it last summer and are a perfect 5/5 on it in Europe, with four clean sheets including 2-0 defeats of Sparta Prague and Napoli. It clearly gives them an edge, even if much of it is only in the minds of opponents, the Toffees have practiced this week on a similar surface at Widnes, but similar is not the same and if it does not react in similar fashion, it is only going to complicate matters. Young Boys are the closest challengers to Basle this season and have averaged 2.1 goals per game at home in Super League. 2.6 gpg in those five Europa League ties.They use the surface to play to their strengths, with a very well organised young team, who play at high energy and keep their shape, or perhaps it is that they have adapted their style to the surface, either way, this looks a big ask for Everton for whom the goals have dried up, just one in four starts. The visitors will be confident of a comfortable win at Goodison in the return leg and perhaps happy to come through this without injury and within a goal of Young Boys, especially if that includes a road goal for them.

That finished in a massive 4-1 win for the Toffees and we touched upon the game in the preview for their home game with Leicester City on Sunday ....

Quick turnaround for Everton who played in Berne on Thursday night, but they will be buoyed by the result there and the hat-trick for Romelu Lukaku, who has had a dry spell in the league, with only one goal in eleven starts. That was a wide open encounter and there were chances at both ends and "issues" with three of the Everton goals, which another set of officials might not have allowed. It could easily have ended 4-6 something like that and whilst I am not expecting this to be as gung ho, I do feel we will see goals.

That ended 2-2 which was ideal for us, there could have again been 6-7 goals in that game and despite being involved in a lot of low scoring encounters, Everton will respond when teams are prepared to go toe to toe and open up. This tie is over, hosts face two road games inside the next week, a trip to a hurt and wounded Arsenal on Sunday and to Stoke City on Wednesday, just six points above the drop zone, failure to pick up something from those is going to make for an uncomfortable end to the season. Tim Howard looked very rusty and far from his best at the weekend, he will keep his place, there will be rotation elsewhere, the hosts look vulnerable at the back at the visitors can only play one way which is on the front foot. They will come looking to restore some pride and one or two players will be out to impress with personal ambitions in mind. Surely goals .