Feb 20-21st : 9-man Inter Milan held by Sampdoria but still lead Serie A

Inter Milan 0-0 Sampdoria

Leaders Inter Milan had Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba sent off in a bad-tempered goalless draw with Sampdoria at the San Siro.

Inter found themselves down to nine men with 52 minutes to play following the dismissals of Samuel and Cordoba, while referee Paolo Tagliavento also sent off Sampdoria's Giampaolo Pazzini midway through the second half.

Despite the numerical advantage, Samp could not find their way past a resilient Inter side who secured Mourinho's 130th home league match without defeat, stretching across spells with Porto, Chelsea and Inter.

AS Roma 1-0 Catania

Mirko Vucinic's first-half goal earned Roma a 1-0 win at home to Catania on Sunday and moved them to within five points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

The Montenegrin scored in the 18th minute as the Giallorossi won for the seventh game running in the league.

Bari 0-2 AC Milan

AC Milan, who have a game in hand on the top two, are two points further back after a 2-0 win at Bari.

Marco Borriello opened the scoring two minutes before the break and Alexandre Pato doubled the advantage in the 69th minute as Leonardo's side bounced back from their Champions League defeat to Manchester United in midweek.

Bologna 1-2 Juventus

Goals from Diego and Antonio Candreva gave Juventus back-to-back league wins for the first time since November with a 2-1 success at Bologna.

Diego's early goal for the Old Lady was cancelled out in the 50th minute by Antonio Busce before substitute Candreva sealed the points midway through the second half to continue Juve's improvement under Alberto Zaccheroni.

Palermo 3-1 Lazio

Palermo claimed a 3-1 win at home to Lazio to move up to fifth - level on points with Napoli and Sampdoria in sixth and seventh.

Abel Hernandez opened the scoring within a minute, Fabrizio Miccoli added a second from the spot midway through the first half and Antonio Nocerino made it 3-0 after 75 minutes.

Aleksandar Kolarov pulled one back three minutes later for struggling Lazio, but it was no more than a consolation.

Italian Serie A Top Six Standings

Team        Pl  W  D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 25 16  7 2 49 20  55 
AS Roma     25 15  5 5 43 27  50 
AC Milan    24 14  6 4 41 24  48 
Juventus    25 12  5 8 40 33  41 
Palermo     25 11  7 7 35 31  40 
Napoli      25 10 10 5 32 30  40

Stumble It!

Feb 12th-14th : Napoli hold Inter Milan but Inter are still 7 points clear

A round-up of the top action in Italy this weekend.

Napoli 0-0 Inter Milan

Leaders Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Napoli, meaning their lead at the end of the weekend stands at seven points over Roma.

Hosts Napoli had enough chances to win several games and struck the woodwork twice - via Marek Hamsik and Fabio Quagliarella - on a frustrating night against the defending champions.

Inter also hit the frame of the goal through Sulley Muntari and improved in the second half to claim a point.

As a result of their point, Napoli move back up to fourth and keep their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League alive.

AS Roma 4-1 Palermo

On Saturday, Roma moved back up to second place in the table with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Palermo.

Having dropped down the standings after AC Milan beat Udinese on Friday night, Roma wasted no time in taking second spot back.

A Cesare Bovo own goal in the 33rd minute set them on their way to victory with a scoreline that was far more convincing than their performance at the Stadio Olimpico.

Julio Baptista added the second in the 53rd minute before Matteo Brighi got his name on the scoresheet 10 minutes later.

Fabrizio Miccoli reduced the arrears with a dubious penalty in the 80th minute but a stunning strike from John-Arne Riise three minutes later secured the win for Claudio Ranieri's in-form Giallorossi.

AC Milan 3-2 Udinese

Ronaldinho inspired AC Milan to a 3-2 victory over Udinese, warming them up for the visit of Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday with three more Serie A points.

Although the Brazilian did not put his own name on the scoresheet, he set up all three goals.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first after seven minutes and substitute Alexandre Pato added the second five minutes before the break.

Antonio Floro Flores gave Udinese hope with a goal on the stroke of half-time before Huntelaar's second in the 57th minute restored the home side's two-goal advantage.

Antonio Di Natale pulled Udinese back into the game in the 86th minute, but they could not find an equaliser.

Sampdoria 2-0 Fiorentina

Sampdoria gabbed their fourth win as they downed an out-of-sorts Fiorentina 2-0.

Franco Semioli put the Blucerchiati on their way to victory in the 16th minute and Giampaolo Pazzini sealed the win in the 40th minute with his first goal against his former club.

Fiorentina are languishing in 11th position and struggling for form ahead of a testing Champions League tie against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Juventus 3-2 Genoa

A disputed penalty allowed Juventus to win their first game under coach Alberto Zaccheroni as they came from behind to earn a 3-2 victory against Genoa.

Genoa went ahead with a goal from captain Marco Rossi in the 16th minute, but Amauri brought the Bianconeri level shortly before the break.

Alessandro Del Piero put the home team in front after an hour, but Rossi struck back immediately with an equaliser Genoa more than deserved.

However, the game was decided in the 78th minute by a penalty earned and converted by Del Piero, although doubts remain whether it should have been a spot-kick in the first place.

Italian Serie A Top Six Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 24 16-6-2 49:20  54 
Roma        24 14-5-5 42:27  47 
AC Milan    23 13-6-4 39:24  45 
Napoli      24 10-9-5 32:27  39 
Sampdoria   24 11-6-7 32:31  39 
Juventus    24 11-5-8 38:32  38

Stumble It!

Feb 6-7th : Inter Milan in command on top of Italy Serie A

Inter Milan moved 10 points clear of city rivals AC Milan, and 8 clear at the top of Serie A with a convincing 3-0 victory against in-form Cagliari at the San Siro on Sunday.

Inter Milan 3-0 Cagliari

Winter signing Goran Pandev gave them the perfect start after five minutes' play with Argentinian duo Walter Samuel (20) and Diego Milito (47) wrapping the game up for Jose Mourinho's men.

The result ended a six-game unbeaten run for Massimiliano Allegri's Cagliari, denting their hopes of European qualification.

Bologna 0-0 AC Milan

AC Milan fell 10 points behind city rivals Inter after an uninspiring goalless draw at Bologna.

A win for Leonardo's men was key to their hopes of keeping the pressure on their great rivals in the race for the Scudetto.

But Milan's failure to find the back of the net - although they went very close hitting the woodwork twice - means athat Milan slip back to 3rd on the table.

Fiorentina 0-1 AS Roma

Roma to move second in the table as Mirko Vucinic got the only goal for the game in the 1-0 win at Fiorentina.

The Viola were left empty-handed after one of their most impressive performances of the last few months while Roma extended their excellent run of form to 12 Serie A games without defeat.

Udinese 3-1 Napoli

Antonio di Natale scored twice in injury-time to complete a hat-trick for Udinese in a 3-1 victory against previously in-form Napoli.

Di Natale punished his hometown club, who had goalscorer Christian Maggio sent off just before half-time, to give the Bianconeri a first win in eight Serie A contests.

It provided Gianni De Biasi with a first victory since he took charge on December 22, easing the club's relegation fears and enabling them to put behind them the misery of the midweek Coppa Italia semi-final defeat to Roma.

Serie A Top Eight Team Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 22 16-4-2 48:19  52 
Roma        23 13-5-5 38:26  44 
AC Milan    22 12-6-4 36:22  42 
Napoli      23 10-8-5 32:27  38 
Palermo     23 10-7-6 31:26  37 
Sampdoria   23 10-6-7 30:31  36 
Juventus    23 10-5-8 35:30  35 
Genoa       23 10-5-8 36:36  35 

Stumble It!

30-31st Jan : Round-up Of Italy Serie A results

Parma P-P Inter Milan

Inter Milan's match at Parma was postponed due to snow, and has been re-scheduled for February 10th.

AC Milan 1-1 Livorno

AC Milan missed the chance to close the gap on Serie A leaders Inter Milan to six points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Livorno on Sunday.

Massimo Ambrosini opened the scoring for Milan in the final minute of the first half but Livorno levelled eight minutes after the break thanks to Cristiano Lucarelli.

Juventus 1-1 Lazio

New Juventus boss Alberto Zaccheroni had to settle for a point at Turin's Stadio Olimpico in his first match in charge as they played out a 1-1 draw with Lazio.

The former Lazio manager saw his team take the lead through Alessandro Del Piero's 70th-minute penalty. However, that was as good as it got for Juve as Stefano Mauri grabbed the equaliser eight minutes later by volleying home a cross from Mauro Zarate.

The result lifted the Turin outfit to fifth in the standings, and leaves Lazio two points clear of the drop zone.

Napoli 0-0 Genoa

On Saturday Napoli were held to a 0-0 draw at the Stadio San Paolo by their bogey team Genoa.

Napoli have not beaten Genoa since both sides returned to the top flight of Italian football two-and-a-half years ago, while their last home victory over the Ligurians dates back over a decade to when the clubs were in Serie B.

Bari 4-2 Palermo

Bari defeated 10-man Palermo 4-2 at the Stadio San Nicola.

Leonardo Bonucci and Edgar Alvarez gave the hosts a two-goal lead within the first seven minutes, but strikes from Edison Cavani and Javier Pastore either side of half-time brought Palermo level.

A red card shown to midfielder Fabio Liverani in the 56th minute tipped the scales back in Bari's favour before a penalty from Paulo Barreto and a fourth goal from Vladimir Koman earned them all three points to get them back in the reckoning for a place in Europe next season.

Italian Serie A Top Six Standings

Team        Pl  W D L Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 21 15-4-2 45 19 49 
AC Milan    21 12-5-4 36 22 41 
AS Roma     22 12-5-5 37 26 41 
Napoli      22 10-8-4 31 24 38 
Juventus    22 10-4-8 34 29 34 
Palermo     22  9-7-6 29 25 34

Stumble It!

23-24 Jan : Weekend wrap-up of Italian Serie A

Inter Milan 2-0 AC Milan

Nine-man Inter Milan moved nine points clear of city rivals AC Milan at the top of Serie A thanks to a 2-0 win at the San Siro on Sunday.

Diego Milito gave the Nerazzurri the lead in the 10th minute, but they were forced to play over two-thirds of the game with 10 men after Wesley Sneijder was sent off.

Goran Pandev's 65th-minute strike secured the points for Jose Mourinho's side, who lost Lucio to a red card in stoppage time before Ronaldinho saw his penalty saved at the end of a dramatic derby.

Juventus 1-2 AS Roma

On Saturday former Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri returned to haunt his old club and pile the misery on his successor Ciro Ferrara as Roma ran out 2-1 winners at the Stadio Olimpico.

Alessandro Del Piero gave the home side the lead with a fine goal in the 51st minute, but Francesco Totti equalised from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

Juve lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to a red card in the 83rd minute before John Arne Riise clinched the points for Roma deep in stoppage time.

Livorno 0-2 Napoli

Christian Maggio put Napoli ahead before the interval and Luca Cigarini made sure of the points in stoppage time, moments after Livorno goalkeeper Alfonso De Lucia was sent off.

Serse Cosmi stepped down as coach of Livorno following his team's defeat.

Palermo 3-0 Fiorentina

Abel Hernandez scored twice in the first half as Palermo enhanced their European chances with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fiorentina.

An Igor Budan strike just before the hour mark completed the scoring for Palermo who maintained their unbeaten home record to move up to fifth in the table.

Italian Serie A Top Six Teams

Team        Pl  W D L  Fr Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 21 15-4-2  45:19  49 
AC Milan    20 12-4-4  35:21  40 
AS Roma     21 11-5-5  35:25  38 
Napoli      21 10-7-4  31:24  37 
Palermo     21  9-7-5  27:21  34 
Juventus    21 10-3-8  33:28  33

Stumble It!

AC Milan beat Juventus 3-0 in Turin to keep in touch with Inter

The Serie A Scudetto will be a race between Inter Milan and AC Milan after AC Milan won 3-0 away at Juventus to keep the pressure on Serie A table-toppers and city rivals Inter Milan.

Alessandro Nesta put Milan ahead in the 29th minute with Ronaldinho adding a second in the 72nd minute as Juve struggled to produce a performance that would ease the calls for Ferrara's head.

Another goal from Ronaldinho two minutes from time came amid protests from the home fans, who shrouded the field with smoke by burning any item possible, and sealed the win for Milan - now eight points behind Inter with a game in hand.

Napoli beat Sampdoria 1-0 to remain in 4th, and in the race for Champions League football after substitute German Denis came off the bench to score the winner against Sampdoria on Sunday.

On Saturday night Inter Milan twice came from behind to claim a thrilling 4-3 victory over Siena as Wesley Sneijder and Walter Samuel scored late goals in the top-versus-bottom clash at the San Siro.

And a first-minute goal from Daniele De Rossi was enough to give 10-man Roma a 1-0 victory over Chievo which moves them up to fifth in the table.

Rossi headed in from a corner to give the hosts the lead at the Stadio Olimpico, but they had goalkeeper Doni sent off after he handled the ball outside the area after coming out as Elvis Abbruscato charged through on goal.

CLUB        Pl  W D L  GD Pts 
Inter Milan 19 14-3-2 +24  45 
AC Milan    18 11-4-3 +12  37 
Juventus    19 10-3-6  +7  33 
Napoli      19  9-6-4  +5  33 
AS Roma     19  9-5-5  +6  32 
Fiorentina  18  9-3-6  +8  30

Stumble It!

Champions League Draw - Man United get AC Milan, Chelsea face Inter, Arsenal v Porto

AC Milan v MAN UTD
Porto v ARSENAL
Lyon v Real Madrid
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
Inter Milan v CHELSEA
Olympiakos v Bordeaux
Stuttgart v Barcelona

The first-leg ties will be played on 16, 17, 23 or 24 February. The return games will be played on either 9, 10, 16 or 17 March.

Stumble It!

Champions League Group stages complete - 16 teams for second round named

The lineup for the UEFA Champions League first knockout round was completed on Wednesday when the group stage concluded with holders Barcelona, Inter Milan, VfB Stuttgart and Olympiacos taking the final four places.

Generally, the group winners are the stronger section with the five shorted priced sides in the Winners group, but with Inter Milan, Olympique Lyon and Bayern Munich lurking as dangerous runners-up opponents.

Group winners
------------------------------
Bordeaux (FRA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Chelsea (ENG)
ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
FC Barcelona (ESP)
Sevilla (ESP)
Arsenal (ENG)

Group runners-up
------------------------------
Bayern Munchen (GER)
CSKA Moskva (RUS)
AC Milan (ITA)
FC Porto (POR)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
Internazionale Milano (ITA)
VfB Stuttgart (GER)
Olympiacos (GRE)

Knockout Draw
------------------------------
The draw will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland at 12.00CET on Friday 18 December.

The UEFA Champions League first knockout round first-leg ties will take place on 16/17 and 23/24 February 2010 (with two games each day) with the second legs to be played on 9/10 and 16/17 March.

Outright Winner Betting Odds :
------------------------------
Barcelona 4.50 @ Betfred
Chelsea 5.00 @ Eurobet
Real Madrid 7.00 @ Bet365
Manchester United 9.00 @ Ladbrokes
Arsenal 11.00 @ Eurobet
Internazionale Milano 17.00 @ Eurobet
Sevilla 21.00 @ Centrebet
Bayern Munchen 23.00 @ Centrebet
AC Milan 23.00 @ Bet365

Stumble It!

Man City through to Carling Cup semi-final - and will face Manchester United

Manchester City deservedly sealed a place in the Carling Cup semi-final after beating a youthful Arsenal side 3-0 at Eastlands.

Over 46,000 fans turned out to see a strong Manchester City side take on Arsenal's young gunners, and while Arsenal dominated possession (61%-39%), the kids never looked like having the experience to open up City.

The game was still scoreless at the break, Carlos Tevez's spectacular strike five minutes after half-time put City on the path into the last four and a stunning angled drive from Shaun Wright-Phillips sealed the victory for Mark Hughes' side.

Substitute Vladimir Weiss wrapped up City's triumph a minute from time.

Arsenal side :
21 Fabianski
18 Silvestre
27 Eboue
30 Traore
37 Eastmond (Watt 68)
07 Rosicky
16 Ramsey
17 Song Billong
19 Wilshere
32 Merida
12 Vela

Substitutes
24 Mannone,
34 Bartley,
42 Gilbert,
35 Coquelin,
41 Frimpong,
48 Randall,
54 Watt

Carling Cup Quarter-Final Results :
Blackburn 3-3 Chelsea (Blackburn win 4-3 on pens)
Man City 3-0 Arsenal
Man United 2-0 Tottenham
Portsmouth 2-4 Aston Villa

Carling Cup Semi-final draw:
Manchester City v Manchester United
Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

First legs to be played week commencing January 4 and second legs week commencing January 18.

Stumble It!

Barcelona beat Inter Milan 2-0 in Champions League to move to top of Group F

Barcelona bounced back from the brink of elimination when the evening started to take charge of Group F thanks to a Xavi Hernandez-inspired victory over Internazionale Milano.

The holders laid on their most complete performance, by some distance, since that fabulous day in May last year when they defeated Manchester United 2-0 to lift the trophy in Rome.

Their first goal came straight from the training ground. Xavi bent a corner to the near post, Thierry Henry flicked it on to the far, and Pique bullishly held off Thiago Motta to stab home.

For the second goal, Iniesta clipped an inside pass to Xavi, whose cushioned volley was measured to land between two defenders and meet the run of Daniel Alves. Alves dinked the ball to the far post and Pedro raced in to volley home.

Barcelona v Inter Milan match report at UEFA.com

Standings

Group F     Pld Pts 
Barcelona    5   8 
Inter Milan  5   6 
Rubin Kazan  5   6 
Dynamo Kyiv  5   5 

Stumble It!

UEFA Champions League Results for Tuesday - Barca beaten!

Rubin Kazan silenced the Nou Camp just two minutes into their Champions League clash with Barcelona as the holders slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat.

Alexander Ryazantsev's 35-yard rocket gave the Russians the lead in the Gro
up F encounter - and left Barca trailing for the first time this season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic levelled in the 48th minute, controlling the ball on his chest and firing home via a post, but there was another twist to come as Gokdeniz Karadeniz grabbed a 73rd-minute winner.

---

Another major upset looked on the cards at the San Siro as Dynamo Kiev twice led against Inter Milan only for Jose Mourinho's men to fight back to draw 2-2.

Taras Mykhalyk put Dynamo Kiev in front after five minutes and Lucio powered a header into his own net to restore their lead after Dejan Stankovic had levelled.

But Walter Samuel headed in at the right end two minutes after the break to make it 2-2.

Barca, Rubin and Dynamo are now all level on four points, with Inter bottom of the pool on three.

----

TUESDAYS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL SCORES

Champions League - Group E
FT Debrecen 3 - 4 Fiorentina
FT Liverpool 1 - 2 Lyon

Champions League - Group F
FT Barcelona 1 - 2 Rubin Kazan
FT Inter Milan 2 - 2 Dynamo Kyiv

Champions League - Group G
FT Rangers 1 - 4 Unirea Urziceni
FT Stuttgart 1 - 3 Sevilla

Champions League - Group H
FT AZ Alkmaar 1 - 1 Arsenal
FT Olympiakos Piraeus 2 - 1 Standard Liege

------------------------
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STANDINGS

Clubs         Pld W D L GF A Pts
Olympique Lyon  3 3-0-0  7:1  9
ACF Fiorentina  3 2-0-1  6:4  6
Liverpool FC    3 1-0-2  2:4  3
Debreceni VSC   3 0-0-3  3:9  0

Clubs         Pld W D L GF A Pts
FC Barcelona    3 1-1-1  3:2  4
FC Dynamo Kyiv  3 1-1-1  5:5  4
FC Rubin Kazan  3 1-1-1  4:5  4
FC Inter Milano 3 0-3-0  3:3  3

Clubs         Pld W D L GF A Pts
Sevilla FC      3 3-0-0  9:2  9
Unirea Urziceni 3 1-1-1  5:4  4
VfB Stuttgart   3 0-2-1  3:5  2
Rangers FC      3 0-1 2  3:9  1

Clubs         Pld W D L GF A Pts
Arsenal FC      3 2-1-0  6:3  7
Olympiacos FC   3 2-0-1  3:3  6
AZ Alkmaar      3 0-2-1  2:3  2
Standard Liege  3 0-1 2  4:6  1 

Stumble It!

Arsenal set the Standard after 3-2 win in Liege

After Arsenal came back from two down to beat Standard Liege in Belgium, they were backed up into 5th favourite to win the Champions League.

The Gunners were 2-0 down inside five minutes but goals from Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Vermaelen and Eduardo turned the match on its head and sparked wild celebrations from the visiting fans.

Liverpool meanwhile slipped back after battling to an uninspiring 1-0 win over Hungarian side Debrecen, while Inter Milan and Barcelona held their positions after battling to a 0-0 draw in Milan.

Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are vying for favouritism at a best of 4/1 and 5/1.

But English teams occupy the four of the next places in the betting, with Chelsea shortest at 6/1, Manchester United 15/2, Arsenal 11/1, and both Inter Milan and Liverpool on offer at 12s.

BEST OUTRIGHT ODDS FOR CHAMPIONS LEAGUE :
5.00 FC Barcelona @ Eurobet
6.00 Real Madrid @ Betfred
7.00 Chelsea @ Bet365
8.50 Manchester United FC @ Victor Chandler
12.00 Arsenal @ Betfred
13.00 Internazionale Milano @ Paddy Power
13.00 Liverpool @ BetFred
26.00 AC Milan @ Victor Chandler
29.00 Bayern Munich @ Ladbrokes

Stumble It!

Champions League draw kind to English clubs

The four English clubs in the Champions League were handed favourable draws for the group stage of the competition.

Arsenal have been drawn against AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege in Group H.

Last season's finalists Manchester United take on CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg in Group B.

Liverpool are top seeds in Group E and face Olympic Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen.

Chelsea are the ranked club in group D and will play Porto, Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia.

Remaining Groups :

Group A
Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa

Group C
AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich

Group F
Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dinamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan

Group G
Sevilla, Glasgow Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni

Stumble It!

INTER MILAN TARGET CHELSEA DUO DECO AND CARVALHO

FOOTBALL: Inter Milan have confirmed their intention to sign Deco and Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea.

Both players have been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer.

"(Inter coach Jose) Mourinho has asked us for Deco and Carvalho and we are working towards making him happy," said Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Our wish is to sign both players and I have seen that the players' intention is to join us. We still haven't reached an agreement with Chelsea but I think we will do in a short time."

Carvalho, who moved to Chelsea in 2004, endured a frustrating campaign with the Blues. Injury restricted the 31-year-old to just 18 appearances this season.

Deco joined Chelsea from Barcelona last summer but the 32-year-old also suffered injuries, making just 22 league appearances this campaign.

Stumble It!

Betting Alert on Serie A - Canbet offer big price on Inter Milan

A potential price alert ... as Aussie bookmaker Canbet have a big price on Serie A Leaders Inter Milan.

Canbet go 2.75 on Inter Milan in thier Saturday afteroon fixture at Genoa this weekend - where most bookmakers are 2.38 to 2.40.

It's true that Inter Milan might decide to field a weak side - due to their upcoming Champions League game at Old Trafford against Manchester United (first leg 0-0).

So either Canbet have news that Inter are going to field a weaker than expected side in advance of everyone else - or they're offering a great price.

My spreadsheet ratings for this game ( Genoa v Inter Milan ) have Inter Milan as 52$ likely to win and so calculates this price as an outstanding 143% of value.

RELATED LINKS :
Canbet Bookmakers
Live Serie A Odds from Bookie Lab Rat.

Stumble It!

Champions League Knockout Draw : Italy vs England x 3

The champions league draw for the last 16 was made in Nyon on Friday and it has thrown up some mouthwatering clashes as English clubs face three Italian opponents ...and Real Madrid as well.

Manchester United will face Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Former Tottenham boss Juande Ramos will return to England with Real Madrid as they take on Liverpool, with the second leg to be played at Anfield.

Arsenal will have the first leg at home as they play AS Roma, while Chelsea will clash against Juventus who are managed by former boss Claudio Ranieri for their .

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE KNOCKOUT DRAW
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

The ties will be played on 24/25 February and 10/11 March as the Champions League knockout phase begins.

Stumble It!

Round 13 : Inter Milan clear at top of Serie A

AC Milan were held 2-2 at Torino on Sunday, leaving city rivals Inter Milan three points clear at the top of Serie A.

Torino's Alessandro Rosina scored a 78th-minute penalty, which was conceded for handball by Kakha Kaladze, to earn the hosts a draw.

Napoli are 3rd with Juventus on 24 points after being held 2-2 at home by Cagliari earlier on Sunday. Daniele Conti scored a stoppage-time equaliser for the Sardinian side after Ezequiel Lavezzi thought he had won it for Napoli with a superb late free kick.

Lazio are fifth after grabbing a 1-1 home draw with Genoa thanks to Ousmane Dabo's powerful strike that slipped through keeper Rubinho's hands 10 minutes from time.

Fiorentina round out the top six after they beat visitors Udinese 4-2 on Saturday.

AS Roma continued their return to form after a miserable start to the season with a 3-0 win at Lecce courtesy of first-half goals by Mirko Vucinic and Juan plus captain Francesco Totti's delightful chip four minutes after the break. Roma are in 15th spot.

Stumble It!

Inter Milan top of Serie A table after late goals

Julio Cruz headed home in injury time to give Inter Milan a 1-0 home win over Udinese on Sunday and send the Serie A champions top of the table.


AC Milan, a point behind Inter on 23, were held 1-1 at Lecce in the late game after conceding a late equaliser.

Napoli beat Sampdoria 2-0 to be on the same points as Milan while Lazio defeated Siena 3-0 at home thanks to a brace by Tommaso Rocchi and Mauro Zarate's goal.

Alessandro Del Piero celebrated his 34th birthday by scoring a third free kick in a week to help Juventus to a 2-0 win at lowly Chievo which puts them level with Udinese on 21 points.

Genoa are a point further behind in an extremely tight top half of Serie A after Diego Milito's hat-trick sealed a 4-0 home victory over bottom side Reggina.

Fiorentina are also on 20 points following a 2-1 triumph over Atalanta.

Stumble It!

Europes best clubs ready for UEFA Champions League Draw

Sixteen teams gained automatic entry to the competition proper and the same number came through the third qualifying round on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Making their debut in the group stage are UEFA Cup holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg, CFR 1907 Cluj of Romania, the first Belarussian qualifiers, FC BATE Borisov, and the inaugural Cypriot entrants Anorthosis Famagusta FC.

In all, 17 nations are represented in the draw, the ceremony for which will include the UEFA Club Football Awards.

English sides dominate the seedings for the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage draw which will take place from 18.00CET on Thursday at Monaco's Grimaldi Forum.

POT ONE
Manchester United FC (ENG, holders) 107.996
Chelsea FC (ENG) 124.996
Liverpool FC (ENG) 118.996
FC Barcelona (ESP) 117.837
Arsenal FC (ENG) 110.996
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) 99.380
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) 96.934
Real Madrid CF (ESP) 93.837

POT TWO 92-66 points
FC Bayern Munchen (GER), PSV Eindhoven (NED), Villarreal CF (ESP), AS Roma (ITA), FC Porto (POR), Werder Bremen (GER), Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR), Juventus (ITA)

POT THREE 63-51 points
Olympique de Marseille (FRA), FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS), FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROU), Panathinaikos FC (GRE), FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA), Celtic FC (SCO), FC Basel 1893 (SUI), Fenerbahce SK (TUR)

POT FOUR 49-1 point
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), ACF Fiorentina (ITA), Club Atletico de Madrid (ESP), FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR), CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU), Aalborg BK (DEN), Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP), FC BATE Borisov (BLR)

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Jose Mourinho moves in to Inter Milan job.

The former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been confirmed as the new manager of Internazionale.

A press statement on the Inter Milan website read "The whole Internazionale organisation takes great pleasure in welcoming Jose Mourinho and his colleagues."

The Portuguese has signed a three-year contract with the Nerazzuri, and will work alongside his former Chelsea colleagues Rui Farias, Silvino Louro and Andre Vilas-Boas at the San Siro. Giuseppe Baresi, previously director of Inter's youth programmes, will be Mourinho's assistant.

As I revealed 6 days ago when writing about Roberto Mancini's departure, the shadow of Mourinho always loomed large over this job after it was apparent that neither of the Spanish giants wanted to try Mourinho's negative brand of football management.

The arrival of Mourinho at Inter is likely to increase the speculation over the future of several of his former Chelsea players, particularly Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho.

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Mancini leaves Inter Milan - Mourinho to take over?

The agent of Roberto Mancini has indicated that his client is no longer the coach of Serie A outfit Internazionale, although an official announcement has yet to be made by the Italian champions.

Mancini looks to be on his way out of the club less than a fortnight after delivering the club's third consecutive Serie A title.

The 43-year-old's agent, Giorgio De Giorgis, indicated in an interview with Sportitalia television on Tuesday night that Mancini has left the club following a 25-minute meeting with Inter president Massimo Moratti earlier in the day.

The agent told Sportitalia television: "Roberto never expected it to end like this. Roberto is very disappointed also because he has not yet finished his job - he wanted to try and win even more league titles, and maybe even the Champions League."

Mancini has endured a turbulent season at the San Siro, tendering his resignation in the immediate aftermath of the club's Champions League elimination by Liverpool in March only to be talked into a rethink by Moratti.

De Giorgis also suggested that former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has been lined up as Mancini's replacement.

Reports in Italy suggest Mourinho arrived in Milan on Tuesday evening and may be presented as the club's new coach as early as Wednesday while Mancini has been linked with the Chelsea vacancy at Stamford Bridge.

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Inter Milan win Serie A title - AC Milan settle for UEFA Cup

Parma 0-2 Inter Milan

Inter Milan won Serie A following a 2-0 defeat of Parma thanks to two goals from Sweden international Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Inter needed to match any result that rivals AS Roma achieved and an early Roma goal seemed to put Inter were under pressure as they struggled to break down Parma.

But Ibrahimovic's goal after 62 minutes regained the initiative and his second after 79 minutes made certain of a third straight league title.

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Catania 1-1 AS Roma

Roma conceded a late equaliser as they drew 1-1 in Sicily, after hearing that Inter had won in Parma

The results saved Catania, who had looked like they would be relegated Roma when they allowed Mirko Vucinic to give the capital side an eighth-minute lead.

But the Sicilians earned the point which preserved their top flight status thanks to an 95th-minute goal from Jorge Martinez.

This late goal condemned both Parma and Empoli to relegation.

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Torino 0-1 Fiorentina

Fiorentina claimed the fourth Champions League spot with a 1-0 win at Torino, thanks to a single goal in the 75th minute through Pablo Osvaldo's bicycle kick.

It was enough to prevserve Fiorentina's 2-point advantage over AC milan and secure 4th place.

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AC Milan 4-1 Udinese

AC Milan did their best at the San Siro, beating Udinese 4-1, but multiple slip-ups earlier in the season were to prove costly.

The home side had actually fallen behind when Giandomenico Mesto put Udinese ahead in the 32nd minute. Alexandre Pato equalised three minutes into the second half and Filippo Inzaghi put Milan ahead after 59 minutes.

Goals from Cafu (79) and Clarence Seedorf (88) made sure of a win - but it had little effect on the final standings.

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Inter Milan held by Siena to send title race to final weekend

Inter Milan again missed the chance to retain their Serie A title when they were held 2-2 at home by Siena on Sunday with Marco Materazzi having a penalty saved.

Second-placed AS Roma beat Atalanta 2-1 to cut the gap to one point with one round of matches remaining next weekend.

Livorno were relegated after a 1-0 defeat at home to Torino.

Fiorentina beat relegation-threatened Parma 3-1 to move into fourth spot and the final Champions league qualifying place after AC Milan lost 3-1 at Napoli and now two points behind with a game left.

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Roma keep Serie A title race alive - but Inter need just one more win.

Roma kept the Serie A title race alive for another week at least with a 4-1 thrashing of Torino.

Inter Milan 2-1 Cagliari
Leaders Internazionale won 2-1 at home to Cagliari, Inter's victory was comfortable as they led through Julio Cruz's 21st-minute strike and doubled their lead through second-half substitute Marco Materazzi in the 83rd minute.

Davide Biondini's stoppage-time effort for the visitors was just a consolation.

AS Roma 4-1 Torino
So defeat for Roma would have seen the Nerazzurri claim their second successive Scudetto. But the result was rarely in doubt after David Pizarro opened the scoring for Roma in the 18th minute from the penalty spot.

Mirko Vucinic doubled his team's lead two minutes later and Mancini made it 3-0 in the 25th minute and then netted his second shortly after the half-hour mark.

Substitute Nicola Ventola reduced the deficit five minutes after the interval but the visitors could not make further inroads, even after Roma defender Juan was sent off with 15 minutes left to play.

So Inter Milan can clinch the title next week in the Milan derby with a win.

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Betting Spreadsheet - Italy numbers up.

The Gooners Numb3rs (tm) spreadsheet for the 10 Serie A games this weekend is up and online with some interesting picks.

There are three "likely picks" for Roma, Fiorentina and Inter Milan this weekend as well as three "discovered value" selections as well.

The "fix" also appears to be in on the Siena v Genoa match - where the best price for the draw is as low as 2.05 (at Bet365) and only a handful of bookmakers currently offering a price on this game.

Good luck with your punting and be careful out there.

RELATED LINKS :
Gooners Numb3rs Spreadsheet for Italy Serie A
Live Betting Odds for Serie A from BookieLabRat.com
Football Match Previews for Serie A at GoonersGuide.com

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Serie A Shocks on Sunday

Substitute Daniel Pablo Osvaldo struck an added-time winner as Fiorentina moved a point behind Juventus with a 3-2 victory in Turin – their first away victory over the Bianconeri in two decades.

SSC Napoli also enjoyed a notable success as they became the first club to beat the champions FC Internazionale Milano in Serie A this term winning 1-0.

That leaves Inter Milan (61) leading by 6 points from AS Roma (55), with Juve (48) and Fiorentina (47) battling for the Champions League spots.

Perrenial powerhouse AC Milan are in 5th spot on 43 points are are starting to run the risk of missing out on a lucrative Champions League spot next season.

The full Serie A table is available on the main Italian page on the GoonersGuide.com site.

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