[Mario]

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
11/25/2014

CSKA Moscow vs AS Roma

Home - CSKA Moscow
Last away matches - L-L-W-D-W-W

CSKA Moscow, after defeating Manchester City in the last round, have now realistic chances of progressing to the next round. Russian champions started this CL campaign poorly (with 1:5 defeat against Roma), but now things are looking more brightly for them. “In the first match we had problems dealing with their attackers. Therefore there is no point in just singling out Francesco Totti. As you know, we are not playing against individuals. We will analyze the way Roma play and our coach will have his input,” said defender Aleksei Berezutski. He was also asked if weather conditions will help his side to get a win: “Every single time there are the same questions that clubs from southern countries hate the cold. Some teams like Porto come here and see snow for the first time. That said, it has not really helped us in the past.” Coach Leonid Slutsky remains optimistic, despite the fact that CSKA have some missings for this game: “We have a good chance of qualifying from the group and we need to make the most of this opportunity. We have problems in midfield, but we’ll try to solve them. The loss of Bebras Natcho is a blow and tonight we will know if Pontus Wernbloom will be able to play. We know from our first match against Roma that they are a very strong side. Tomorrow's game will show if we have learned from our mistakes.”

Away - AS Roma
Last away matches - W-L-L-D-L-D

AS Roma are equal on points with CSKA. They also have problems with injuries, especially in the defense. Both right-backs, Maicon and Vasilis Torosidis, are out. 19-year-old Michele Somma can feature in this match, he made his debut a couple of days ago in a game against Atalanta. Other option is moving Alessandro Florenzi to defense. Because Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Leandro Castán are sidelined as well, Italians have just two central defenders available for this encounter: Kostas Manolas and Davide Astori. It’s also expected that Jose Holebas will play as left-back, instead of Ashley Cole. Again, players were asked about weather conditions: “Of course, the weather affects the preparation for the game. But in my career I have played many times in difficult conditions. We specifically chose the evening to train today to get used to the weather. However, we will have the same weather conditions to cope with as our opponents,” said Morgan De Sanctis.

Asian Handicap
Home - (+0.25)
Away - (-0.25)
Pick - AS Roma (-0.25)
Odds - 2.17
Stakes - 9/10
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
11/25/2014

BATE Borisov vs Porto

Home - BATE Borisov
Last away matches - L-W-D-W-W-D

Despite the fact that BATE have already conceded 19 goals in the Champions League they still have mathematical chances of progressing to the next round. BATE also have a good chance of at least 3rd place finish which would allow them to play in the Europa League in the spring. But anyway, their morale isn’t high after suffering from 3 high defeats in group H. “The Belarusian league and the UEFA Champions League's levels are a little bit different. It is not right to compare them. Anyway, we have our last home game tomorrow in the competition and we have to make our fans happy with our display and result, hopefully,” said midfielder Edgar Olekhnovich. Coach Aleksandr Yermakovich is clearly disappointed with heavy defeats against Shakhtar Donetsk and 0:6 loss against FC Porto around two months ago: “I believe that the 6:0, 7:0 and 5:0 results do not correspond with the real difference in level between our teams. I believe we could have played better. I believe we can take points against such teams.

Away - Porto
Last away matches - D-W-W-D-D-D

FC Porto have already qualified to the next round. They have a good chance of finishing 1st, but in order to do that Porto should get a win against BATE, otherwise probably they would have to defeat Shakhtar in the last group match. In comparison with the last league match against Estoril, Tello is back to match squad. He missed the mentioned league encounter due to some muscular problems. There are speculations that striker Jackson Martinez may join Tottenham in the upcoming transfer window, however English side will firstly need to sell Roberto Soldado, cause Martinez has a release clause of 35mln euro and it won’t be possible to get him any cheaper.

Asian Handicap
Home - (+0.75)
Away - (-0.75)
Pick - Porto (-0.75)
Odds - 1.74
Stakes - 8/10