Bayern Munich had to play in the qualifying rounds to make this year’s tournament and beat FC Zurich of Switzerland to reach the group stage. Once there, they topped Group A with 13 points, ahead of Manchester City, Napoli, and Villarreal. During the knockout stage they beat another Swiss team, Basel, by an aggregate of 7-1 after being beaten 1-0 during the first leg.

The German club then took out France’s Marseille by an aggregate of 4-0 in the quarterfinal. Their biggest test was in the semis against Spanish league winners Real Madrid and managed to beat them in a penalty shootout after the two legs were level 3-3 on aggregate. However, in the Bundesliga, they finished in second place this season, eight points adrift of champions Borussia Dortmund. They also lost to Dortmund 5-2 in Germany’s domestic Cup Final.

Chelsea qualified directly for this seasons Champions League by coming in second in the EPL last year. They won Group E and then came from behind in the knockout stage after losing 3-1 to Napoli in the first leg and beating them 4-1 in extra time back at Stamford Bridge in London. In the quarterfinals they beat Portugal’s Benfica by an aggregate of 3-1 and edged Spanish giants and defending champion Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Chelsea needs to beat Bayern in the Champions League final or they won’t qualify for the event next season. This is because they finished the Premier League in sixth place this season. However, they’ll at least make it to the Europa League if they lose in Germany since they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the FA Cup Final.

Bayern’s played in the European Cup Final eight times already and have won and lost four times. Their championships came in between 1974 and 1976 and again in 2001. Their last appearance in the Final was in 2010. Chelsea has played in the Final just once before and were beaten in a penalty shootout by Manchester United back in 2008.

Chelsea will be hoping that 34-year-old Ivorian striker Didier Drogba will continue to be the main man when it comes to cup finals. He’s the only player in history who has scored a goal in four different FA Cup finals. He always seems to rise to the occasion during Chelsea’s biggest games and scored the winning goal in their 1-0 win over Barcelona in the semi final.

Bayern has some key players of their own such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery, and Arjen Robben, but will be missing Holger Badstuber, Luiz Gustavo, and David Alaba because of suspensions. Chelsea has four players out due to bans and will be missing Raul Meireles, Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires, and skipper John Terry.

As far as injuries go, Chelsea will give late fitness tests to David Luiz, Florent Malouda, and Gary Cahill. The injuries and suspensions will definitely hurt Chelsea and Bayern will have the advantage of playing at home, meaning most fans favour Bayern to take this game. Chelsea will need to take the game to the German club instead of sitting back and make sure they defend better than they have done all season. In the end though, look for Bayern to win the title by a goal.

Sportsbook William Hill shows the latest odds of a Bayern Munich win at 4/5 with a Chelsea victory at 7/2 and a 90-minute draw at 5/2.

If they happen to finish in fourth place, Newcastle could still be on their way to the qualifying rounds of the Champions League if Bayern Munich beats Chelsea in the Champions League Final in Munich next weekend. If Newcastle finishes fourth and Chelsea wins the Champions League then they’ll have to settle for playing in the Europa League next season.

Newcastle lost valuable points last weekend in a 2-0 home loss to Manchester City and dropped two crucial points. They have 65 points on the season while Spurs have 66 and Arsenal has 67. If Arsenal beats West Brom they’ll guarantee themselves third place and Newcastle and spurs will have to battle it out for fourth. This means Newcastle could win their match, but still end up in fifth and in the Europa League.

Everton has 53 points, are in seventh place, and are just one ahead of their Merseyside neighbours Liverpool as well as Fulham. You can bet they’ll be motivated to finish the season ahead of the Reds. For Everton to win though, they’ll have to keep an eye on Newcastle’s pair of Senegalese strikers, Papiss Cisse, who has 13 goals in 13 games, and Demba Ba. Cisse has scored some of the most remarkable goals in the league this season, but was ineffective last week against City.

Newcastle has played well on the road this season with eight wins. The only teams to have more away wins are Man City and Man United. Everton’s last game wasn’t much to write home about as they were held to a 0-0 away draw by last-placed and relegated Wolves. Everton can’t move up in the standings, but could drop two spaces with a loss.

Newcastle has won two of their last five meetings with two others being draws and Everton winning just once. Everton has just one win in their last five games with three draws and a loss. Newcastle has three wins and two losses in their past five outings.

Everton may have some good news as Leighton Baines, Darron Gibson, and Phil Neville could all return to the squad after being sidelined with injuries. It looks like Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe will miss the match though with muscle problems. For Newcastle, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, and Peter Lovenkrands are all expected to miss the game with injuries. Danny Guthrie could be back in the squad though and Shola Ameobi may join him.

This is a massive game for Newcastle, and if Cisse and Ba do their jobs, should be able to grab a valuable three points here.

Sportsbook William Hill has the current odds of an Everton win at 6/5 with a Newcastle victory at 23/10 and a draw at 23/10.

If City wins the game they will win the league unless Manchester United can manage to win away in Sunderland by a landslide. City and United are level at the top of the league with 86 points each, but city’s goal difference is better than United’s by eight. If City loses or draws and united wins then United will retain their EPL crown.

At the other end of the table, QPR sits in 17th place with 37 points. They’re two ahead of Bolton, one behind Aston Villa, and three adrift of Wigan. They could still stay in the EPL even if they lose or draw this game as long as Bolton doesn’t win. However, a win will guarantee them survival. If City does manage to win the league it’ll be their first championship in 44 years.

Man City will be hoping that striker Kun Aguero will be able to add to his 22 league goals this year. He has 29 overall for the club in his first season in England. City also has strikers Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, and Mario Balotelli to choose from, with David Silva supplying them with balls. They should have all the motivation in the world knowing a win will likely win them the league.

QPR should also be motivated since this game could mean the difference between Premier League and Championship League football next season. Also, manager Mark Hughes is supposed to be paid a $1.6 million bonus if he can keep the London-based team in the EPL.

QPR will be relying on striker Djibril Cissé to spearhead their attack. Oddly enough, Cisse has played just seven times for the club this season and has either scored a goal or been sent off. He has two red cards to go along with his five goals and has missed seven games due to suspensions.

Man City has won their last five games in a row, with a 2-0 win at Newcastle last weekend in their last match. QPR has three wins and two losses in their past five outings with their last game being a 1-0 home win over Stoke City. The last time these two teams met in Manchester, QPR beat City 3-1, but it was back in the old first division in 2000.

Predictions for Man City vs QPR

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has a full and healthy squad to choose from. However, it looks like Hughes could be missing Samba Diakité, Shaun Derry, Alejandro Faurlin, and Akos Buzsaky.

This game looks like a cakewalk on paper, but stranger things have happened. Still, look for city to do enough to win the game to guarantee themselves at least a share of first place and probably the title on goal difference.

Sportsbook William Hill has the current odds of a Manchester City victory at 1/7 with a Queens Park Rangers win at 20/1 and a draw at 6/1.

These two teams were drawn against each other on several occasions a few years ago when they kept playing each other in cup competitions, including the European Champions League. Most of them were very close games that were won by just a single goal and there were a couple of 0-0 Champions League draws. This will be their 31st meeting in the last eight years.

Their last Cup Final meeting came back in 2005 when they battled it out for the Carling Cup. Chelsea won the game when Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard scored an own-goal. The 31-year-old Gerrard will hope to reverse his club’s fortunes on Saturday and fans will be hoping he can carry the team on his shoulders as he has done so many times in the past.

On the other side of the pitch, Chelsea skipper John Terry will be expected to do the same thing with his Chelsea teammates. Gerrard has already led Liverpool to a cup final win this year as they managed to push aside Cardiff City in the Carling Cup Final in February, but had to go to a penalty shootout to do it. However, both teams are going into this game on the back of a loss as Liverpool was beaten 1-0 at home by Fulham and Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Newcastle during the week in Premier League games.

The battle of strikers should be an interesting one with Luis Suarez leading the attack for Liverpool and Didier Drogba spearheading the front line for Chelsea. Both players have been in fine form lately and should give the defenders a tough time of it. One of these players could very well turn out to be the hero of the day. Drogba, especially, always shines when he plays at Wembley with a goal in each of his seven games there, other than the Community Shield. Suarez has scored in all three of his FA Cup games this season.

It’s a huge game for the managers too. Chelsea’s Roberto Di Matteo is with the club on an interim basis after former manager Andre Vilas Boas was sacked earlier in the season while Kenny Dalglish has led Liverpool to one of their worst league showings in years. Both of their jobs may be on the line here. However, should Chelsea lose, they have the chance to gain some glory on May 19 when they travel to Munich to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final.

Predictions

Liverpool will be without Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam as they’re both out with injuries. Chelsea is hoping that defenders Gary Cahill and David Luiz are healthy enough to play. Liverpool has won the last four games between the two, but look for this one to go to extra time and possibly penalties.

Over at the William Hill sportsbook the odds of a 90-minute draw are 9/4 with a Liverpool win at 2/1 and a Chelsea victory at 11/8.

Malky Mackay, manager of Cardiff, believes his team will be the underdog going into the tie and that suits him just fine. Mackay used to play with West Ham and knows the London club is expected to make it back to the EPL as soon as possible. In fact, West Ham was the favourites to win the Championship League before the start of the season because of the size of the club and the finances they have available, but Reading took the title and Southampton were also promoted as runners up.

West Ham might be disappointed that they have to enter the playoffs, but Cardiff is delighted. Mackay said any of the league teams would probably be underdogs against West Ham and with a little luck the Hammers might have won the league. Instead, they finished in third place with 86 points, just two behind Southampton and three behind Reading. They had 24 wins, 14 draws and eight losses on the season and outscored the opposition 81 to 48.

Cardiff secured the final playoff spot on the weekend with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace and finished third in the league with 75 points from 19 wins 18 draws and nine losses. They outscored their opponents 66 to 53. The winner of this playoff tie will then face the winner of the Birmingham vs Blackpool series and the two will meet off in the final play-off at Wembley Stadium.

Cardiff City goes into the game on a 10-game unbeaten streak, but they’ve been in this position before and haven’t been successful yet in the playoff system. They’ll likely be looking to punish West Ham on a counter attack or a set piece, but this is leaving things to chance. You have to create scoring opportunities if you’re going to make it to the EPL not hope they fall at your feet.

Cardiff won 11, drew seven and lost five at home this season. However, they drew five of their final six home games and were beaten 2-0 by West Ham there in March. Midfielder Peter Whittingham will be depended on for offence. He had 12 goals during the regular season and set up 13 others. Striker Kenny Miller will also have to produce after scoring 10 goals in the regular season. Striker Joe Mason finished the year with nine goals.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce might make the mistake of going with just one striker up front, which will be Vaz Te or Carlton Cole. Their midfielders know where the back of the net is though as captain Kevin Nolan scored 11 goals this season with Mark Noble adding eight. Cole finished the season with 14 tallies while Vaz Te managed 10.

Predictions and Betting Odds

This might be a bit of a conservative game to start the series and look for a draw or a one-goal West Ham win.

Sportsbook William Hill lists the latest odd of a Cardiff win at 9/5 and a West Ham victory at 17/10 and a draw at 2/1.

United is currently leading the league table with 83 points while City is just three behind them at 80. However, City’s goal difference is 60 while United’s is 54. A win here will put City on top with just two games to go in the season for each team. A United win will more or less guarantee them first place while a draw will make for an interesting end to the campaign. See our free live bet offer for City v United.

United has beaten City twice already this year with a 3-2 wins in the FA Cup and Community Shield, but suffered a humiliating 6-1 loss at home to them in the league. City hasn’t lost at home all season in EPL play with 16 victories and a draw, but United’s FA Cup win over them came at the Etihad.

City manager Roberto Mancini said a few weeks ago that United would win the league and the title race was over. However, United then lost 1-0 to Wigan and then dropped two more points with a 4-4 draw against Everton last weekend at home. City managed to beat Wolves last weekend and has won three in a row. The race is definitely back on.

United’s draw against Everton cost them dearly especially considering they held a 4-2 lead late in the game, but allowed Everton to score twice in the final seven minutes. The defending was atrocious on the goals, thanks to the poor performances of Rio Ferdinand, Johnny Evans, and Rafael. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson may decide to make some changes in the back four and could install Phil Jones and/or Chris Smalling.

United will have to play without midfielders Anderson, Paul Pogba, and Darren Fletcher, as well as goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, forwards Federico Macheda, and Michael Owen and captain Nemanja Vidic. For Manchester City, striker Mario Balotelli will return to the squad after serving a suspension due to his red card earlier in the month at Arsenal. Defender Micah Richards should also be in the line-up after missing last week’s win at Wolves.

The two teams have met at Manchester City 14 times in the EPL with United winning eight times, City winning four games and the other two being draws. United has also outscored them in the process 19 to 16. United is undefeated on their least three trips to Etihad Stadium.

City vs United Predictions

Of course, this is a huge game and the title rests on it. However, each goal is crucial too in case the league comes down to a draw on points at the end of the season and is decided on goal difference. That’s why this game could be a relatively low-scoring affair. Look for a cautious game with long periods of inactivity. However, there will be some scoring chances carved out and City might do enough to draw even in the title race with a 2-1 win. Andre Marriner will referee the match.

Sportsbook William Hill shows the current odds of a Manchester City victory at 5/4 with a Manchester United win at 5/2 and a draw at 2/1.

Bet365 is offering a free bet promotion for the game. Just make a wager on Manchester derby before the kickoff and they will give you a free in-play bet of the same stake during the contest.

All you need to do to qualify for this free bet promotion is to place a wager prior to the opening whistle and then make another one after the game is underway on any of the site’s numerous in-play markets. If your first in-play bet happens to lose, Bet365 will refund the wager to an amount they equals your biggest pre-game bet up to a maximum of $50 or an equivalent currency.

There are dozens of options when it comes to in-play betting for the big derby as there are more than 60 different choices. These include match goals, the next goal, the half-time score, the total number of corners, the full-time score and many more.

If you place more than one in-play wager during the game the first single bet will be deemed as the free one. A pre-game wager refers to any bet made before the game kicks off and an in-play bet refers to any wager made after the match starts. All free bet offers are limited to one per customer.

This current Bet365 free-wager offer on the Manchester derby on April 30, 2012 is only offered in certain countries. Make sure you visit their website to read up on all of the specific terms and conditions relating to the promotional offer.

They hope to take advantage of the situation on April 29 when they host the relegation-fighting Blackburn Rovers at White Hart Lane. Spurs are clinging to the hope that they can finish fourth and make it to next season’s European Champions League competition while Blackburn is hoping just to stay in the EPL.

Spurs were in good position several weeks ago as they were in third place with a 10-point lead over Arsenal. If they have any hope of catching third-place Arsenal or fourth-place Newcastle they have no choice other than to take all three points from Blackburn. If history’s anything to go by it looks good for the London club as they’ve beaten the Rovers the past five times they’ve met.

Spurs are currently in fifth place in the standings with 59 points from 17 wins, nine draws and eight losses. They have just four games and a possible 12 points to overhaul the two teams ahead of them. They might be able to catch Newcastle as they’re just three behind them, but Arsenal will be tough to track down as they have a seven-point lead on Spurs. Tottenham is just one point ahead of Chelsea too going into the weekend.

Blackburn is in 19th spot with 31 points from eight wins, seven draws and 20 losses. Queens Park Rangers and Bolton also have 34 points while Wigan and Aston Villa have 37 each. This means it’s crucial for Blackburn to put as many points together in their last three games or they’ll be joining Wolves in the championship League next season.

Spurs defender Ledley King said his team’s confidence has dropped lately, but still feels they can finish in the top four. He admits that they might need to win all four games to do it though. They’ll have to play without defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto as he’s likely out for the season with a shoulder injury. David Bentley, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, and Niko Kranjcar are also expected to miss the game while Louis Saha, Younes Kaboul, and Emmanuel Adebayor should all be back.

Blackburn should have midfielder Simon Vukcevic back in the squad after recovering from a virus. Jason Lowe is also expected back while Grant Hanley and Vincenzo Grella are expected to miss the game. Blackburn has won just once and lost the other four in their past five games with the same record in their past five away matches. Spurs have a win, two draws, and two losses in their last five with two wins, a draw, and two losses in their last five at home.

Predictions and Betting Odds

Look for Blackburn to put up a good fight here and they could do enough to get out of London with a draw.

Sportsbook William Hill has the latest odds on the match. A Tottenham win is listed at 2/5 with a Blackburn victory at 7/1 and a draw at 7/2.

Madrid manager Jose Mourinho hopes his team will have more luck at home against the German powerhouse. He did get some good luck on the weekend as Madrid more or less wrapped up the Spanish La Liga by beating Barcelona 2-1 on a late goal by Cristiano Ronaldo. Madrid now has a seven point lead over their closest rivals with the season winding down.

The winner of this semi final will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the Champions League Final in Munich on May 19. Of course, this would be a home game if Munich happens to take Madrid out. They’d also become the first team in history to play a Champions League Final in front of their home crowd.

Mourinho said he’d like to see Chelsea in the final considering the years he spent there as the English Premier League club’s manager. He said he’d like Chelsea to have some luck against Barcelona, but of course if they meet Madrid in the final he won’t show any mercy to his former team. He’s confident that his squad can overcome their 2-1 deficit and beat Bayern to advance. He said he’s not sure of the Champions League or the Spanish league is more important though, since he said the best team wins the domestic league, but it’s not always the case in Europe.

Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes said his team is ready and realizes they can advance to the final with just a draw. However, he feels his team needs to go out for a win not a draw and is expecting a few goals to be scored. He added that he’s looking forward to the game and his players will have to mark Ronaldo, who has eight tournament goals, tightly.

He’s expecting Madrid to come out and attack right from the opening whistle, but isn’t about to defend the whole game. He said his club will play the same style they always do, which is to try and score goals. They have 71 of them in the German Bundesliga so far this season and have added 27 in the Champions League with Mario Gomez scoring 12 of them. The manager said the first leg gives them a slight edge, but they need to score at least one more goal.

Jose Mourinho will likely be missing Ricardo Carvalho from his squad, but it looks like everybody else is healthy. Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain should be fit as well and ready to play. Bayern Munich will likely be without Daniel Van Buyten and Breno, both defenders.

Look for an exciting game with a lot of chances, especially for Madrid. They should do enough to win the match 2-1 and we would then see extra time.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show a Real Madrid win at 8/15 with a Bayern Munich victory at 5/1 and a 90-minute draw at 3/1.

Barcelona had a chance to close the gap on Spanish league leaders Real Madrid on Saturday and a win would have drawn them to within just one point of their arch enemy. However, a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal sealed a 2-1 victory for Madrid and gave them a seven-point lead on the top of the La Liga table.

With the league title all but wrapped up by Madrid now, Barcelona will be focusing totally on the match against Chelsea. Any draw will see Chelsea advance to the final against either Germany’s Bayern Munich or Madrid, while a 1-0 Barcelona win would see this match go to extra time. If Barcelona wins by two goals they’ll advance, but a one-goal win by the Spaniards won’t be enough if Chelsea manages to score.

Chelsea played a good game at the Emirates Stadium on the weekend against London neighbours Arsenal, but only managed to walk away with a 0-0 draw. It didn’t help them in the race for fourth place in the English Premier League standings and it looks like the only way they can make it to the Champions League again next year is to win the tournament this year.

Barca favorites despite defeat

Even though they’re a goal down and didn’t score on the road, Barcelona will still be heavily favoured to beat Chelsea and advance to the final. They had enough chances to win the first game, but fate and a few goalposts were against them. Chelsea can’t afford to play the same style in the second leg as Barcelona will inevitably break them down at some point. Chelsea has to keep possession of the ball as much as possible and attack whenever they have the chance.

Saying that Chelsea defended well in the first match is a bit of a myth really. The only reason they won was Barcelona’s lack of finishing. The Spaniards definitely carved open the defence and created enough chances. However, Chelsea may have to play without Didier Drogba, the scorer in the first leg, as he’ll be a game-time decision. If he can’t play, Fernando Torres may take his place, but he looked brutal against Arsenal. Chelsea would be better off going with the young legs of Daniel Sturridge if Drogba is sidelined.

Barca hasn’t lost three games in a row since 2003 while Chelsea has lost just once in their past 14 matches, which was to Manchester City. Barcelona is unbeaten at home in the tournament this season, but the last three matches there have been draws. Barcelona should have defender Gerard Pique back in the squad, but Eric Abidal, Andreu Fontas, and David Villa are all out. For Chelsea, it looks like defender David Luiz is going to miss the game.

Betting Predictions and Odds

Look for Barcelona to control possession in this match and to bang a couple of goals in. Chelsea needs to manages one though and hang on. Look for Barcelona to win the game 2-1, but for Chelsea to advance.

Sportsbook William Hill’s latest odds show a Barcelona win at 2/7 with a Chelsea victory at 9/1 and a 90-minute draw at 9/2. Bet through the banner up to and get free bets.