Published: 18 Nov 09, By The Malteser

By The Malteser

2009/10 Season

WINS: 12
LOSSES: 19
VOID: 1
STAKED: 82 points
PROFIT/LOSS: -4.73 points
ROI: 0.00

Long Term Hot Shots (Part Two)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

The group stages are almost over and we are getting closer to finding out who will be crowned the 1st UEFA Europa League winner. The competition has certainly benefited from the new format of the groups (same as the Champions League) as all clubs are fielding their strongest side for every match and taking the competition very seriously.

In the last 32 round, 8 Champions League sides that finished in 3rd place in their respective groups will join the 12 group winners and 12 runners up from the Europa League. I have shortlisted three teams that I believe will have a good chance of winning the competition even if teams like Liverpool, Bayern Munich & Marseille join the last 32.

Galatasaray: The only Turkish side to have won the UEFA Cup and reached a European Cup semi final. Under the guidance of Frank Rijkaard and with experienced players like Elano, Kewell, Baros and Leo Franco the Turkish giants have shown that they can fair well with any European side. They have already guaranteed qualification to the next round with 3 wins and 1 draw in Group F. The only set back is that they might be unseeded in the last 32 draw but with an excellent home record in Europe they can knock out anyone out of this competition.

Fenerbache: We are used to seeing Fenerbache in the Champions League but a disastrous 08-09 season (4th place) was only good for an Europa League qualification. New manager Christoph Daum has started very well as they are currently sitting top of the Turkish League (3 points above Galatasaray) and only needs another point in Europe to ensure qualification. Their last two group matches are against FC Twente (Holland) and FC Sheriff (Moldova). Key players: Diego Lugano, Emre, Dani Guiza, Alex, Semih Senturk and their play maker Deivid. Fenerbache current UEFA ranking is 34th which would make them one of the seeded sides in the knock out draw.

Panathinaikos: For the last couple of years they have been in the shadow of their main rivals Olympiakos so a big change was needed at the club. The first major signing was the appointment of new manager Henk ten Cate who previously held the positions of Assistant Manager at European giants Barcelona and Chelsea. On the field they have also spent big with the acquisitions of Gilberto Silva from Arsenal, Gabriel from Fluminense and Djibril Cisse from Marseille. Only one point needed to qualify from Group F. Qualification to the next round would make Panathinaikos one of the seeded sides for the knock out draw. Their current UEFA ranking is (32nd).

PICK: 0.5* on Galatasaray EUROPA LEAGUE WINNERS @ 29.00 (Ladbrokes sportsbook )
PICK: 0.5* on Fenerbache EUROPA LEAGUE WINNERS @ 67.00 (Ladbrokes sportsbook )
PICK: 0.5* on Panathinaikos EUROPA LEAGUE WINNERS @ 51.00 (Ladbrokes sportsbook )

With the current group positions and the likely outcomes taken in consideration these would be the last 32 sides in the competition:

SEEDED:
(in brackets are the current UEFA Rankings: Nov 2009)
Liverpool (5)
Bayern Munich (8)
Werder Bremen (9)
AS Roma (11)
Shakhtar Donetsk (14)
Hamburg SV (15)
Villarreal CF (17)
PSV Eindhoven (19)
Benfica FC (20)
Olympique Marseille (22)
Valencia CF (24)
CSKA Moscow (26)
Ajax Amsterdam (29)
Sporting Lisbon (30)
PANATHINAIKOS (32)
FENERBACHE (34)

UNSEEDED:
FC Basel (35)
Dynamo Kiev (40) or Rubin Kazan (105)
VfB Stuttgart (41)
GALATASARAY (42)
Everton (45)
Lille OSC (46)
RSC Anderlecht (54)
Atletico Madrid (56)
Club Brugge (62)
Hertha Berlin (67) / Heerenveen (66)
Sparta Prague (69)
Hapoel Tel Aviv (79)
Standard Liege (85)
FC Twente (88)
Athletic Bilbao (96)
Red Bull Salzburg (114)