Weekend Tips

On last weeks bets, the accumulator success was the highlight @14/1. I hope you had that as I did. My longshot 'hollywood' bet came oh so close before Sergio Aguero scored in the 94th minute and my bet of the day was ruined by a certain Martin Fulop. A performance of amateur standard in which he gifted Arsenal 2 goals and despite getting a strong hand on Andros Santos' shot failed to stop the ball from going in. If only Ben Foster had been in goal it could have been different. Anyway moving on...

A massive saturday is now here. Two matches of huge significance. Firstly at 3pm the Championship Play-off final between Blackpool and West Ham United. The £90million game as it has been previously billed. A place in the Premier League is up for grabs as both look to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.  This is followed by the biggest game in club football, the Champions League final. At 7.45pm Chelsea take on Bayern Munich for the ultimate club prize. Both games promise to be enthralling.

Football:

Holloway dreaming of the big-time

I have long been tipping Blackpool to win the play-offs. They are the perfect play-off team. They have won the play-offs before and in Ian Holloway (left)  they have a real character who can really motivate the players. They go into this one as the underdogs. West Ham were the favourites to gain automatic promotion from the beginning of the season. With Sam Alladyce as manager, a man of Premier League experience as well as having players such as Robert Green, Mark Noble, Carlton Cole, Kevin Nolan and Matthew Taylor. All of these players have experience of playing in the Premier League. Their sqaud on paper is by far the best in the Championship and they will have been disappointed only to make the play-offs although this will all be forgotten if they win today. The key player for me is Jack Collison, he has been fantastic of late and is a crucial player for West Ham. If he continues his form Blackpool may struggle to contain him. West Ham have so many options especially on the attacking sense. In Ricardo Vaz Te, Nicky Maynard, Carlton Cole, John Carew and Sam Baldock they have plenty of goal-scorers.

The bookies go 10/11 (SkyBet) for a West Ham while Blackpool are @11/4 (SkyBet) to win it in 90 minutes.

Is it fate?
Phillips to fire Blackpool back to the premier League 

My tip is to back the outsiders in this one. No doubt that they are up against it but I just feel they will do it. I have backed them from a long-time out and will continue to do so. I think it will be a cracking match. The pressure in on West Ham and I think this will help Blackpool. I think Blackpool will be looking forward to this one more than West Ham. Big Sam will be so relieved if West Ham win this one. West Ham looked very very good in their play-off semi against Cardiff as they dominated both games although that will not happen today. Blackpool are a tricky team with fantastic team spirit and do have some quality players. In Matt Phillips and of course the legendary Kevin Phillips (above) they have two match-winners. Kevin Phillips is a goal-sorer and I am sure he will score today. He is clinical in front of goal and that is why he scores so many.  My fear for Blackpool is that of set-pieces. West ham are incredibly powerful in the air and Blackpool must cope with this.

I predict a classic high scoring game of which I a going to have a couple of quid on Blackpool to win 4-2 @80/1 (SkyBet).

My bet of the day is 11/4 Blackpool win.

Robben against his former club
is in the hunt for glory

Then tonight, a clash that many were not expecting after seeing the semi-final draw. It was all set-up for an El Classico final in which the two best teams in the world would battle it out for the title. However it was not to be as both Real Madrid and Barcelona were left stunned by Bayern Munich and Chelsea. This one promises to be a very interesting clash. Both sides are missing players due to yellow cards although for me it is Chelsea who will suffer more. The loss of Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Mierles is huge. However despite this I still expect a terrific match in which anything could happen. Bayern Munich have a very dangerous front three. In Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben (left) they have two of the best wide players in Europe. However for me despite the stats and the media hype I personally do not rate Mario Gomez. For me is is massively overrated. He is far to wasteful in front of goal and in a game such as this he will only get maximum 2 good chances, but will he take them? I think not. They do have a magnificent team with players such as German Internationals Phillip Lahm Bastian Schweinsteiger , Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Manuel Neuer. Another advantage for them is the venue. The match is taking place at their home stadium the Allianz Area. This is a major advantage for Bayern and one which Chelsea will have to deal with.

On paper and in theory Chelsea are up against it and should not really win, that is why many have predicted that they will not. Although with this Chelsea team you just get the feeling they can. For many it is their last chance. Many of them were in the team that lost to Manchester United in 2008 and not many get a second chance. These players have got that second chance and in truth for many a final chance. Players such as Dider Drogba will cause Bayern a lot of problems due to his power and strength. He is the one Chelsea fans will look too. Players such as Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard I expect to also have terrific games. Can Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo win the trophy that Roman Abramovich wants so much? It really does promise to be a classic watch.

Bayern last won the tournament back in 2001 however were beaten finalist in 2010 to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. As a result many of their players will also feel that they have a second chance.

It will be interesting to see how the 5-2 defeat they suffered to Dortmund at the weekend affects Bayern ,if at all. Many will say just as with Chelsea's defeat to Liverpool that their minds were on this one.

For me I do think that it will be tight although am seeing a Chelsea win by 2-1. To win in 90 minutes Chelsea are a great price @ 100/30 (SkyBet) whereas Bayern are @7/10(SkyBet).

Fun bet for me is Dider Drogba to score first and Chelsea to win 2-1 @66/1(SkyBet). Either sides to win on penalties is @ 12/1 (SkyBet).

Bet for this one : Chelsea to win in 90 minutes at 100/30(SkyBet)

Horse-Racing:

Newbury 3.40: Win:  Frankel @1/4 (SkyBet) can see no other outcome

Newmarket 3.55: Eachway : Bernie the Bolt @7/1 (SkyBet)

Champions League Final set up for all Spanish clash

Where is it heading this year?

This mornings Champions League draw has presented the opportunity for the two spanish giants of Real Madrid and Barcelona to be lining up against each other at the Alliantz Area in Munich on the 19th May.  Obviously this is not a certainty and Bayern Munich who home ground is the Alliantz Area will be eager to be there and after their demolition of FC Basel they are certainly a contender.

Can anyone stop Messi?

Barcelona have drawn AC Milan in the quarters in the stand out tie of the draw. They met in the group stage and played out two very entertaining matches, with Barcelona winning 3-2 at the San Siro and it being a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou. I expect these two matches to be similar after the way that both sides play. Milan will need all their big players to be at their best in this one. The likes of Robinho, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexandre Pato will need to cause Barcelona trouble if they are to progress. However personally I cannot see Barcelona struggling in this one. Milan second leg performance against Arsenal was poor and I know they had a four goal lead however they were dismal. They will be found out by Barcelona and can see them being on the end of a classic Barcelona hammering. For many Barcelona are the best team in the world and after seeing this draw I cannot see them not making the final. The irrepressible Lionel Messi (above right) will have a field day if Milan are as open as they were against Arsenal. With 12 goals already in this competition Milan must be afraid of this man who is quite simply the best in the world. Beating Milan will lead them to either Chelsea or Benfica. Neither of which will worry them in the slightest.

Can Di Matteo save Chelsea's season? 

Chelsea the only English representative left and have been drawn against Benfica. This is definitely a winnable fixture and one that I am sure they will feel confident going into.  Their performance against Napoli was one that Chelsea fans have rarely seen this season. However I am still not convinced by them and will be interested to see their next two games in the FA cup and then a massive premier league battle against Manchester City next wednesday. Roberto Di Matteo (left) I think will have trouble with the egos of the dressing room. The image of John Terry shouting orders from the touchline on wednesday night was perfect image of how Chelsea works. The player power is enormous. You would never see any Manchester United or any player from any team doing that no matter how passionate/experienced that player may be. Despite what they say the players did get Andre Villas Boas  the sack it was clear to see. In fact it made for rather disgusting viewing. I have never been a John Terry fan and have previously expressed my views of the person he is, and for me is a major problem for Chelsea along with the others. Chelsea remind me of Real Madrid a few years ago when they won nothing and managers were constantly sacked due to player power, notably from Raul. However on the pitch Chelsea have progressed and I expect an interesting tie against Benfica. As with many Portuguese sides the away leg is key. At home I think Chelsea must and will win. If they can come back from Benfica with either a 0-0, 1-1 or even 2-1 down I would still have faith that they will win and progress to the semis. However I have no confidence in them going any further then that.

The  'special one' eyes more success

The other side of the draw sees two, for me, straight forward ties. Although it sets up a fantastic semi-final. Bayern Munich are the only team who can trouble either of the Spanish duo. Neither Apoel or Marseille will trouble these two European giants of Munich and Madrid. This Bayern team play with real style and have plenty of class through the likes of Robben and Muller. They are on scintillating goalscoring form recording seven goals in their last two home wins over Hoffenheim and FC Basel in the past week. However they will need to be even better to beat a well drilled and organised Madrid side coach by the 'special one' Mourinho (left). Madrid are currently 10 points clear in La Liga and looking certain to win the title for the first time since 2008. Their squad is superb and in Ronaldo have one of the World's best. It is set to be a magnificent two games.

Quarter Final Draw: (ties to be played on 27/28 March and 3/4 April)

Apoel Nicosia v Real Madrid

Marseille v Bayern Munich

AC Milan v Barcelona

Benfica v Chelsea

Semi-Final Draw: (ties to be played on 17/18 April and 24/25 May)

Marseille/Bayern Munich vs Apoel Nicosia/Real Madrid

Benfica/Chelsea vs AC Milan/Barcelona