CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING PICK - CSKA MOSCOW V MANCHESTER UNITED

Champions League

2009-10-21 - CSKA Moscow vs Manchester United

A Sports Betting Pick by Pantocrator

CSKA.Moscow-Manchester United
Football: UEFA Champions' League 2009/2010
Wednesday, 21th October 2009. 18:30

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CSKA Moscow

CSKA's title hopes in Russian Premier League are over after the week-end 1-1 draw against Spartak Nalchik. Chilean left winger Mark Gonzalez is again injured.

Alexey Berezutskey and Sergey Ignashevich missed the week-end game with a flu, but should overcome the illness. Brazilian striker Guilherme had to pull off late in the first half of the match against Spartak due to muscular problems.

CSKA earned a vital victory in the second round of the Champions League against Besiktas in Moscow. With a home fixture against main rivals Wolfsburg in store, Army men can still count on qualification to the play-offs.

However Juande Ramos is perfectly aware of the present problems in CSKA's game. Defensive line is making a habit of creating danger inside own penalty area. Central defensive duo Vasiliy Berezutsky and Sergey Ignashevich have been in awful form this Fall. Injured Mark Gonzalez will be substituted by 18 year old Nika Piliev.

Juande Ramos should keep the 4-2-3-1 formation. Defensive duo Sergey Ignashevich and Vasily Berezutsky are reported to be almost cured of the flu virus, hence expected to start on Wednesday.

Georgy Schennikov should be given the left back position after Anton Grigoriev was arguably the worst player on the pitch in the 1-1 draw against Spartak Nalchik. Guilherme has been officially ruled out from both games against MU.

Manchester United

Manchester United face a trip to Moscow on Wednesday looking to make it three wins out of three in the group stage of the Champions League.

United have secured narrow wins against Besiktas and Wolfsburg so far and will surely aim for another good result now as they look to make sure of their progress to the group stage as early as possible.

The clash in the cold Moscow on an artificial pitch will surely provide a test for the character of United but Alex Ferguson will surely want to see a top performance from his men.

They showed that against Wolfsburg when they conceded early in the second half but a spirited fightback saw them gain the points at the end.

On Saturday, they reclaimed the top spot in the league after overcoming Bolton for a 2:1 victory. It was not the best of performances again by the Red Devils as they struggled towards the end and could have been pegged back.

Still, it was a good result for the Reds who saw both Chelsea and Liverpool lose. The Red Devils have failed to win just once in the last ten games in all competitions and will surely look to keep the fine run of form going.

The manager will surely utilise his squad and make some changes in the line-up for the game with a massive game at Liverpool looming on Sunday. And in fact, no less than five fist-team regulars did not make the squad for the game due to injury problems.

Wayne Rooney is out again with a calf injury picked on international duty and thus Michael Owen is set to start in two consecutive games for a first time this season.

Darren Fletcher missed out on Saturday with a knock on the ankle and is not in the group as well. Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra picked knocks against Bolton and do not make the squad as well. Ji-Sung Park has a recurring problem with his knee and will not be risked. Nemanja Vidic is nursing an ankle knock and remains a doubt for the game.

Betting advice

I have been shooting off target recently and the losing streak is far too long by now. High time to change fortunes around and get a white line.

Should Manchester United neutralize Krasic and Dzagoev – CSKA will stand no chance to score. On the other hand Red Devils will have a couple of chances, I simply don’t see Army men defense playing flawlessly.

Even without Wayne Rooney, Manchester Unitied can do the job through Dimitar Berbatov or Nani.

The Statistics :

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