Club Brugge hosts Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Belgium, the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal clash.


Club Brugge won all 4 matches in the Europa League KO stage, with the double win over Besiktas being especially impressive. The home side was on an amazing run of 8 consecutive wins before a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of Kortrijk over the weekend in the 2nd round of the playoffs … of course Brugge was thinking more about this game with Dnipro, but the league match was also very important, because the title is far from decided. Meunier is the only missing player from Brugge today.

Club Brugge projected lineup:
Ryan – Meunier, Mechele, Duarte, De Bock – Vormer, Simons – Bolingoli-Mbombo, Refaelov, Vazquez – De Sutter

Dnipro needed extra time to qualify vs. Ajax in the past round (1-0 home, 0-1 away and 1-2 after extra time). Dnipro is in a similar good form with Brugge … 8 wins in the last 10 matches but a draw last round, 0-0 vs. Metalist Kharkov. Evgheny Shakhov will not be in the lineup today for Dnipro, but he is the only injury worry for the home team.

Dnipro projected lineup:
Boyko – Fedetskiy, Douglas, Cheberyachko, Leo Matos – Kankava, Rotan, Bezus, Luchkevych, Konoplyanka – Kalinic

This will be a very close game and I think both teams will start in a very cautious manner … playing tentative football, testing the opponent. A place in the Europa League semifinals would be a historic achievement for either side so I can’t see them taking risks … especially not in the first half. Brugge can not afford to concede a goal early and Dnipro can play very destructive football when the stakes are high. I think Brugge might get a win (barely), but if they will, it will probably be with a late goal … when maybe things open up a bit and legs and minds tire, determining errors. My tip will be a half time draw. Correct score prediction: Club Brugge – Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0 (0-0 half time).

Pick: Half time draw
Odds: 2.10

Gael Monfils and Alexandr Dolgopolov will square off in an anticipated showdown in the Monte Carlo second round, surely one of the most interesting matches so far in the tournament.


I watched Monfils yesterday against Kuznetsov and I have to say that Gael played a really poor match and in all honesty he should have lost. The frenchman got the win only because of his superior experience, with Kuznetsov getting tight in the closing stages of the third set. Monfils was very tentative, error prone and did not seem to be moving well – being easily forced out of position by Kuznetsov. Id doesn`t look like he`s at full fitness following his retirement in Miami.

Dolgopolov is finally regaining his rhythm, closing in to his best level of tennis – which he did not show in a very long time. The talented Ukrainean steadily improved over the course of this year and played his best tournament two weeks ago in Miami, reaching the 4th round and almost beating Djokovic. He led by a set and 4-1 in the second set, but Djokovic broke him down mentally to recover, winning 12 of the last 13 matches. Alexandr defeated Borna Coric in the first round at Monte Carlo, 7-5 5-7 6-2.



Gael Monfils leads the Head 2 Head 2-0, but you really can`t put too much emphasys on the Head 2 Head – not when you consider that Dolgopolov was at his best level for very short stretches of his career. It will be the first meeting on clay, a surface that suits both players in the same degree.

Listen, Monfils has been in fine form this season (not lights out, but playing pretty well) and he`s clearly the more consistent player. However, Dolgopolov has the momentum, as he`s playing his best tennis in years and had a good match in the first round with the dangerous Coric. With question marks over Monfils’ fitness, Dolgopolov could have the edge here.

Gael was dominated by Kuznetsov’s offensive game, and Dolgopolov has much more offense than the Russian. Monfils can not stay in the game against Dolgopolov if he will move as slow as he did yesterday, when he basically allowed Kuznetsov to force him out of position with single shots (not combinations). It will be a close one, but I can see the Ukrainean having the edge, so at these odds it`s a no brainer picking him to succeed. My tip is Dolgopolov to win. Prediction: Gael Monfils – Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 5-7 2-6.

Live streaming for G. Monfils vs. A. Dolgopolov available for players at Bet365.com.

Pick: Dolgopolov
Odds: 2.44

Ipswich won over Blackpool 3:2 in a beautiful game where Blackpool proved a difficult opponent although they were already relegated. Blackpool scored early to the 4th minute of the game, Ipswich turned the game to 2:1 fast with two goals from Freddie Sears, Blackpool equalized at 63th minute and the solution for Ipswich came seven minutes before full time with a goal from defender Christophe Berra.

This victory, combined with the other results, brought Ipswich back in the sixth place and the optimism about the prospect of the club to reach promotion playoffs is now back. From game to game the league table changes and it is impossible to predict with certainty the clubs that will enter the playoffs, but right now Ipswich seems to a better fate than Brentford and Wolves that have to play away games tonight. Striker Luke Varney is considered doubtful for tonight’s mathc, while midfielder Kevin Bru and long term injured striker David McGoldrick will miss the game as well.

Cardiff was more substantial than Leeds and got the victory with the score of 2-1. Defender Sean Morrison gave an early lead to Cardiff, but Leeds responded immediately to 1:1. To the second half midfielder Aron Gunnarsson scored the second goal for Cardiff and then Leeds had the control of the game but the equalizer never came.

For Cardiff these victories have not scoring value, but coach Russell Slade was satisfied by the reaction of his players, as there had been a heavy defeat against Bolton before. In this last part of the season, Cardiff is playing better away from home. The problems for Cardiff ahead of tonight’s game are in attack, where they will miss Alex Revell, Federico Macheda and Conor McAleny. Only Eoin Doyle and winger Joe Mason are available in attack. Left midfielder Anthony Pilkingkton and defensive midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi are long term missing due to injuries.

The motivation here is one sided and Ipswich are the absolute favorite to win the game. Cardiff with no options in attack will find it difficult to score, so I think that Ipswich will find the way to win this vital game.

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