Champions League
2010-11-24 - Schalke vs Lyon
A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser
Analysis:Group B is still wide open as Schlake and Lyon will try to battle it out to see who tops the group.
Bundesliga side Schalke currently lies in second spot but stands the chance to qualify if they win tonight and Benfica lose to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the night's other game.
Meanwhile Lyon knows a win here will be good enough to confirm them as group winners. Bujt Benfica knows they could sneak in if the result in Germany goes according to their way.
But Schalke enters this matching knowing that they have won both of their previous home games against French opposition in Europe. They have also only conceded six goals in their last 11 Champions League and their opponents have never conceded more then one goal in those games. However, they have failed to score in eight of their last 12 games in the Champions League.
But with Lyon having conceded at least once in each of their last six games Schalke could get their opportunity here. They conceded four against Benfica last time out, with a dramatic fightback not enough to prevent them from slipping to a 4-3 defeat.
Lyon did beat Schalke 1-0 on the opening day and have done well against Germkan sides in the past. For the record, Lyon have played away in Germany on seven previous occasions and the only three times they failed to win were in fixtures against Bayern Munich.
As for the team news, Schalke could welcome Junmin Hao and Tim Hoogland back into their squad for tonight's clash. Hao (appendix) and Hoogland, who has not played this season because of a knee problem, have both returned to training and come into contention.
However, Christoph Moritz will be out of this clash as he dislocated his shoulder in training on Tuesday and will be sidelined for several weeks.
Meanwhile, Christian Pander, who sat out the whole of the 2009/10 campaign, has made two reserve run-outs recently and could be on the bench.
For Lyon, their striker Lisandro is doubtful despite playing at the weekend. He figured against Lens on Sunday for the first time since injuring his calf at the end of October, but is still short of match fitness.
Aly Cissokho also played against Lens at the weekend after shaking off a thigh problem, but Cris (knee) and Clement Grenier (thigh) remain out of the side.
Take Schalke to win and give the 1/4 ball here.
Cheers and good luck,
Cruiser
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Schalke 2-1 Lyon
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Schalke to win this match
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take Schalke and give the 1/4 ball away.
