After a two month break, the UEFA Cup resumes on Wednesday night, as 32 remaining teams enter the excitement of the knock-out phase. A quick glance at the first-leg fixture list shows such a roll-call of top quality European sides, that UEFA Cup bettors are spoiled for choice. Five British sides will be hoping to make the short journey to the City of Manchester Stadium for the UEFA Cup final on May 14th, but there is a lot of football to be played between now and then.
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The Yellow Submarine must negotiate a safe passage back from Russia on Wednesday night, as La Liga side, Villarreal visit 2007 Russian Champions, Zenit St.Petersburg. Zenit may not have excelled in the group phase, finishing third in their section, but they are exceedingly hard to beat at home. Dick Advocaat’s side haven’t lost in their last 21 home games in European competition, and there will definitely be a frosty reception for the Spaniards at the Petrovsky Stadium. However, Zenit are at the disadvantage of being outside of their regular season which runs from March until November, which may explain some of their results in the group phase.
Villarreal are riding high in La Liga, in third position behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. They may have won just one of their last five fixtures in all competition but they faced both they faced Barca twice – losing 1-0 over two legs of the Spanish Cup – and Madrid once – going down 3-2 at the Bernabeu. Those hard fixtures will have tuned them up for this game, and Manuel Pelligrini’s side should be confident having topped Group C ahead of Fiorentina, dropping just two points.
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Aberdeen’s home tie against Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich, on Thursday is one fxiture that certainly catches the eye. The Dons scored a famous 3-2 victory over the Germans at Pittodrie in 1983 on their way to winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. However, a repeat victory seems unlikely based on Aberdeen’s recent form. On Sunday they were hammered 5-1 by Celtic at home, following on from a 4-1 League Cup semi-final defeat by Dundee United in front of their own fans. Coach, Jimmy Calderwood, employed two new signings in defence against Celtic - Dave Bus and Alan Maybury – and that pair will have to quickly find their feet facing Bayern Munich on Thursday. Though Munich were not emphatic in the group phase, they topped their section, remaining unbeaten, while Aberdeen scrapped through with just four points. Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side may have only managed a draw in their table-top clash with Werder Bremen on Sunday, but they still top the German league and come into the game in much better form. Their midfield playmaker, Franck Ribery, is a big doubt, but they have plenty of strength in depth.
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