Champions League
2010-09-14 - Werder Bremen vs Tottenham Hotspur
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : Champions League Match Day 1
Tuesday 14 September 2010 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This match is on TV
Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen will be looking to get as many points from their games at home, as will the other sides in this group, if they have serious ambitions of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League this season. With Inter Milan and Twente making up the 4 teams, the Germans will know it is imperative they get off to a strong start here.
Bremen have started off their Bundesliga campaign with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss and their defensive frailties have been exposed in all of their competitive games this season except the 0-0 draw they achieved at Bayern Munich at the weekend. They were forced to beat Sampdoria in extra time in the Play Off stage of the competition and have so far scored 9 and conceded 10 goals in their 4 games before the clash with Bayern this season. The side won 5 of their 6 European games at home last season and shared 33 goals in those 6 games.
Claudio Pizzaro, Naldo and Per Mertesacker will all miss out through injury for Bremen here. Mikael Silvestre made his debut for his new club at the weekend and should start as well as fellow debutant Wesley.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur will finally see what all their hard work has been for before this as they take part in their first 'proper' Champions League game. This should really show the fans what their capabilities are within this difficult group and already Harry Redknapp has stated he needs to be more cautious away from home. We can expect to see Spurs begin with a 4-5-1 formation in this game.
Spurs have made a solid start to the new Premier League campaign although they may well be disappointed with their 5 point tally from the 12 available. They only picked up 1 point from their last 2 games as injuries begin to take their toll on the side, but will be aware of the need to make a bright start in the group. Tottenham beat Young Boys over 2 legs in the Play Offs but lost in the away game in Switzerland.
Carlo Cudicini will continue in goal in place of Gomes and both Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe are long term absentees. Peter Crouch has missed the England games as well as the match with West Bromich Albion at the weekend but could return here while Luka Modric will not be risked after positive injury news from the weekend. There are also doubts over the fitness of William Gallas and Rafael Van der Vaart.
Prediction
Werder Bremen have been one of the most positive sides that have taken part in the Champions League in recent seasons and always seem to be involved in high scoring games with their attacking talent and defensive frailities frequently on display. They have the experience of European competition on their side and will know a win here could set them up in a difficult looking group.
Tottenham Hotspur play good attacking football, but we can expect a more cautious team in action on Tuesday night as Harry Redknapp recognises the need to change his 4-4-2 formation, especially away from home. Injuries are a worry, but Spurs will feel they can score against this side and they will be expected to perform better in the face of the expected early home onslaught than they did against Young Boys in the last round.
I think this may be one of the entertaining games of the night as both sides will know a positive result could leave them in a good position before future clashes with Inter Milan. Werder Bremen have shown how positive they can be at home and I think they will go with the same formula here.
The bet I feel most comfortable playing is the 1.83 on Werder Bremen to score 2 or more goals that is available at Paddy Power. They managed to do that in each of their European games last season at this stadium and have opened this season by scoring 7 goals in their 2 competitive home games.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Werder Bremen 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Werder Bremen to score 2 or more goals at 1.83 (Paddy Power)
