Do Arsenal Have A Chance Of Beating Barcelona?

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The first knockout round of the Champions League begins this week and without much argument, the biggest tie of the round is Arsenal vs Barcelona. The two sides met last season at the quarter final stage of the competition, with Barcelona eventually winning comfortably 6-3 on aggregate.

Once again, the first leg is at the Emirates Stadium and Arsenal fans will be hoping that their side start off better than they did last year. Barcelona played some fantastic football in the first fifteen minutes of the game and very few would argue that those wearing Arsenal shirts were fortunate not to concede a few goals early on.

Barcelona are currently the favourites to win the Champions League this year and they have been on excellent form all season. The majority of people have written off Arsenal’s chances of beating Barcelona over two legs, but do Arsenal have a realistic chance of pulling off an upset?

Usually at this point of the season, Arsenal have several key players out injured which upsets the balance of the side and causes huge problems when the team faces a great side like Barcelona. This time around, however, the Gunners only have Thomas Vermaelen and Lukasz Fabianski out as long-term injuries. Samir Nasri is doubtful, but he should certainly be back in time for the second leg.

For the majority of the season, Arsenal have only been playing with one man up front. They started the season by using Marouane Chamakh in this role because Robin van Persie was out injured, but now that the Dutch striker is back and in form, he will certainly start the game.

It would be anticipated that Arsenal will line up with five in midfield, with Alex Song and Jack Wilshere both playing in a deeper role, but supporting Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park when they can. Theo Walcott has been playing well in recent weeks and should start out in the right, with Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky most likely battling it out for the wide left position.

Arsenal’s defence should lineup with Gael Clichy at left back, Bacary Sagna at right back and Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou as the centre halves. In goal, Arsenal may decide to use Manuel Almunia due to his experience rather than Wojciech Szczesny, who has been playing for the club regularly in the league.

With this type of set up, Arsenal will need to keep the ball for extended periods of time, which is not an easy task against Barcelona. As Barcelona proved against Real Madrid in December, they are not just a team who work hard when they have the ball, they can also press extremely well and cause the opposing team to make several mistakes.

Arsenal will have to be at the top of their game and take any chance that is give to them. They should be looking to use Walcott’s pace against either Abidal or Maxwell down the right hand side and produce good deliveries to van Persie, who has been on good goal scoring form for the past couple of months. The absence of Carlos Puyol for Barcelona will be a major positive for the Gunners. Arsenal’s defence would be the main worry, especially in the central areas. The team do not look as solid without Vermaelen and coming up against players like Pedro, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and David Villa may prove very difficult for them.

A lot of pressure is off Arsenal because they are definitely the underdogs going into this match, which should help to ease their nerves. If they are to win this tie, you would have to say that they need to win the match on Wednesday night because the game at the Nou Camp will be their toughest of the season so far. Arsenal were destroyed at the Nou Camp last season and many would argue that Barcelona are a better side this season. Arsenal, however, also seem to be on better form this season, so it should be a fantastic match.

Written by Eddie Smith, a sports writer who likes to talk about new football shirts.

Kellock gets his chance to lead

Glasgow second-row Alastair Kellock has been named as Scotland’s captain for next month’s Six Nations tournament. The 29-year-old has returned to Andy Robinson’s Scotland squad after missing the autumn internationals with a knee injury and has been named as the side’s captain after impressing in the job during the victorious summer tour of Argentina.

The captaincy arrives with Kellock after something of a pass the parcel situation, with Rory Lawson, Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter all spending time wearing the armband over the last year. Kellock will have a Scotland squad with a rare sense of confidence around them following an impressive 2010, which saw back-to-back victories in Argentina before autumn defeats of Samoa and world champions South Africa and the rugby betting odds suggest they could make an impact in the Six Nations.

The Glasgow forward has shown he is back to full fitness this season following his knee surgery and has earned his chance to lead to his country in Scotland’s opening game of the tournament against France. Glasgow have had an impressive season so far, recently recording back-to-back Heineken Cup wins over Wasps and Newport and Kellock has been instrumental to his side’s success. Speaking to scottishrugby.org, Kellock expressed his excitement at being given the captaincy.

“To get the chance to captain Scotland for the opening Six Nations game is huge. I was delighted to make the squad, especially after being out for almost six months with my knee after Argentina, and now to be named as captain is a real highlight, particularly with the competition for places,” he said.

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Wilson to get chance to shine

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Whenever one door shuts, another one opens. That is the saying isn’t it? This is certainly the case for Liverpool this week as Danny Wilson looks set to step in for the injured Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool legend Carragher faces three months on the sidelines and the 18-year-old is set to start the Europa League tie against Steaua Bucharest tomorrow night.

It will be a big moment for the youngster as he prepares to line up with Sotirios Kyrgiakos with Martin Kelly and Fabio Aurelio in defence. It is an important game for Liverpool’s European campaign, so the pressure will be on.

Wilson is highlight thought of at Anfield though, so many will be backing him to wear his Liverpool kit like he has been all of his life and put in an assured performance.

The summer signing from Rangers will certainly hope this game goes better than his only other Liverpool appearance so far. He was part of the team that embarrassingly lost to Northampton in the Carling Cup.

In other team news, Steven Gerrard remains sidelined with an injury, while Fernando Torres is being rested in order to be fresh for Monday’s Premier League fixture with Aston Villa.

With Gerrard, Torres and Carragher all out, it is up to all those in Liverpool shirts to raise their game tomorrow night and give the travelling fans something to cheer about.

It has been an up and down season for Liverpool, but success in the Europa League would certainly give them a huge boost, so tomorrow night’s fixture is an important one in the context of the entire campaign.

Ancelotti giving kids a chance

Carlo Ancelotti is planning on testing his younger players on the biggest stage of them all as only a point will guarantee them top spot in Champions League Group F.

Chelsea are assured of their qualification into the last 16, so their Italian manager is taking the opportunity of seeing how some of the next generation of Stamford Bridge stars will cope.

They are however taking on the whipping boys of Group F in the shape of MSK Zilina. The opponents have not won a game, have scored only one goal and conceded 15, so Chelsea are capable of winning this match without their international stars and the Champions League promotions reflect this.

Ancelotti has confirmed that Alex and Michael Essien will both not play as they have been struggling with injuries in recent weeks, which gives an opportunity to Josh McEachran and Jeffrey Bruma.

Teenager McEachran has played for Chelsea this season but this will be his first start, and he better not get complacent and think all games are as easy as the Champions League predictions suggest this match will be.

“Bruma will play from the beginning and also McEachran. Bruma at centre-back and McEachran as a holding midfielder,” Ancelotti said.

“It is the time for McEachran to play. He’s shown a good attitude and personality. It’s a good moment for him. It’s the time for him to have his chance.”

Chelsea have had a dire recent run in the Premier League, where they have lost three of the last four, and a good result in the Champions League could get some confidence back.

True, Zilina are never going to be giving them much of a challenge but a comprehensive win, and good performances by the kids, could reigning the Stamford Bridge crowd.

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GAMBLING AS A GAME OF CHANCE

By five in the morning, a mother had already dressed her two daughters for school. After which, she will be heading next to a casino for an early dose of gambling activity.

Seemed like a "too absurd to be true" situation? Guess again.

Nowadays, gambling seems to be an ordinary activity that most people tend to overlook. By doing so, they do not see the potential harm gambling can do with their lives.

Generally, gambling, more commonly know as betting, is a kind of behavior that involves money valuables being put out to risk as a product of a certain game. So to speak, the money or valuables are at risk because the probability of winning is too low or is totally dependent upon chance. Unless otherwise one will do something about his winning through evil ways, one could never be sure of winning a gambling game.

Gambling comes in many forms: one that can be beatable and the other type is not.

Beatable games of gambling refer to games that can be trampled thereby creating a positive numerical probability through proper strategy. These includes poker, though this is better classified as a game of skill; blackjack, video poker, Pai Gow Poker and Tiles, sports betting, horse racing, and slot machines.

On the other hand, unbeatable games makes a player eventually lose a game no matter what strategy they use. More common examples of these games are slot machines, baccarat, craps, roulette, keno, casino war, faro, pachinko, 3-card and 4-card poker, red dog, pyramid poker, Caribbean stud poker, and Spanish 21.

Both beatable and unbeatable gambling games can be found in the casinos. Though, there are other gambling games that are not played inside the casinos such as lottery, mahjong, backgammon, coin-tossing games such as head and tail, and carnival games like The Razzle and Hanky Pank.

There are also the so-called fixed-odds gambling that can be seen on events like horse racing, football, golf, tennis, baseball, and other sports that entice people to bet on the winner of the event.

All the same, they are all forms of gambling that never stand a chance of winning continuously.

In gambling, people usually tries to gain back whatever they have lost in the game. Some continues to play for the belief that they should not break the monotony of luck. By doing so, they continue to bet and eventually place their selves at the risk of losing more instead.

Most people who are involved in gambling contend that they only play for pleasure or as a form of recreation. While others say they just have to earn money and that gambling is an easy way to do so.

However, because gambling involves a variety of mental activity, coupled with stress and the mentality of a winner, it can be a possible source of psychological addiction. In the long run, this can be very harmful to people who are affected by gambling.

With so much psychedelic effects of gambling, there are even those who engage in betting with another person on premises that a certain statement is true or false, or that a particular event will or will not happen at a given specific time. This occurs commonly on situations wherein two people with strong opposing views debate with each other. Normally, they place bets for fun or for money reason but often to establish their stand on a certain issue.

Consequently, because of the negative effect of gambling, most legal jurisdictions opt to not legalize any gambling activity. With this, any contracts that led to debts brought about by a certain gambling activity are deemed unenforceable by any legal process.

That is why gambling is such a risky activity. Those who gamble merely does not realize what harm gambling can give them.

As they say, never put your good money after bad money. If ever you get to be involved in gambling, discontinue doing bet so as to steer clear of an evident loss.

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France An Outside Chance for Markab

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Rio De La Plata Takes A Chance At Longchamp

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