Sheriff to lay down UCL law

Sheriff to lay down UCL law

TAB Soccer players will enjoy several banker bets as the UEFA Champions League kicks off with minnows aiming to secure a place in the lucrative group phase where they can test their mettle against Europe’s big boys

By Mark Gleeson

Tonight and tomorrow sees the start of four intense rounds of knockout matches that will determine the identity of all the competitors in the lucrative UEFA Champions League group phase, with teams entering this early usually standing no chance of progressing too far in the competition.

Last season, however, both Malmo FF from Sweden and Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol made a successful march all the way from the early stages right through to the group phase, proving it is possible for so-called minnows to book dream encounters with the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and Real Madrid.

Malmo and Sheriff are back in the first knockout round again this new season and play in two of the 15 first leg ties scheduled over the next 48 hours.

Malmo are in the midst of their battle to win a third successive Swedish league crown but for most of the other clubs, this will be their first match in more than a month since the last season came to an end.

Many players have had to cut short their holidays and return for pre-campaign preparations to be ready in time for what could well be their most important matches of the season.

There are several bankers for TAB Soccer players with Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt, Ludogorets Razgrad from Bulgaria, Poland’s Lech Poznan, Malmo and the Slovak club Slovan Bratislava all expected to win.

The second leg ties are next week, with the clubs advancing to the next round joined by the champions of other higher ranked countries, like Zurich from Switzerland and Israel’s Maccabi Haifa.

A third qualifying round in August sees the likes of Benfica and PSV Eindhoven enter the fray and there is a final playoff knockout round from which six clubs join the 26 who have automatic entry into the group phase.

South America’s equivalent, the Copa Libertadores, continues with second leg ties in the last-16 with their group phase having been completed in May. The competition is now at the sharp end with some heavyweight ties.

Brazil champions Atletico Mineiro should come through but Corinthians, who are in second place in the league standings, face elimination at the hands of Boca Juniors from Argentina.

River Plate are also under threat in their all-Argentine tie against Velez Sarsfield while Athletico Paranaense, who won the Copa Sudamericana last season, take a tenuous lead to Paraguay for their tie against Libertad.

At stake are places in the quarter-finals, to be played early next month.