Champions League

Omonia Nicosia vs Salzburg

Dynamo Kiev vs AA Gent

Litex Lovech vs Zilina

Unirea Urziceni vs Zenit

Sparta Prague vs Lech Poznan

T N S vs Anderlecht

Recomended: Anderlecht, Zenit, Nicosia and Litex Lovech

Unirea Urziceni vs Zenit St.Petersburg

Today's featured game is the UEFA Champions League Qualifier in Romania between Unirea Urziceni and Russians Zenit St.Petersburg. Both sides have become familiar names on the European circuit over the past few years with the Russians taking the lion's share of the fame following their UEFA Cup success.

However, we'll look at the hosts first of all. This Unirea side is not the same side that you witnessed in the Champions League a couple of seasons ago where they caused Rangers a great deal of embarrassment with an emphatic victory in Scotland. It's not so much the difference in squad that has changed Unirea but a certain Dan Petrescu, who moved to Russia to take charge of Kuban Krasnodar. Unirea have never looked the same since he left and I personally don't consider them as an acceptable challenger for the Romanian Liga this year - I just don't see enough goal threat nor managerial know-how to make Unirea a threat again. Unirea struggled in their opening opening Liga game last week because hosts Pandurii are a resilient side and don't concede because they park the bus. Do Unirea have a way of breaking through that type of resilience? No! Unirea have got far more problems at the moment than are being documented, in my opinion, so I cannot seriously consider them in any competition. I knew Unirea would struggle at Pandurii because of Unirea's problems in attack and sure enough it ended 0-0. To make things worse for Unirea, they're missing integral playmaker Apostol and key holding midfielder Gomes. Zenit love to attack with constant possession through the middle so these are hefty blows for the hosts. Unirea are also playing this game in Bucharest as their own ground is not suitable for use in European football. Whereas this isn't a new thing for them, it still counts against them in my opinion and should be taken into consideration.

Visitors Zenit are finally beginning to look the force they were before their magical Kerzhakov/Arshavin attack was split up. In a way, the appointment of Luciano Spalletti was ingenius, although quite surprising. What better type of manager to take control of a wealthy side that manipulate the possession statistics than an Italian?! Spalletti has proved his worth with AS Roma many times and although he's had bad times against Romanian opponents in the past, you still have to favour Zenit to do the job today. Not only have Zenit dominated games and won the majority of them this season but they've been absolutely banging goals in of late, which is a worrying thought for everyone because they can already defend very well indeed. Just imagine if these guys still had Skrtel and Arshavin - they'd be dominating Russia without any challenge, in my opinion - they're that close to being the ultimate side out there. Zenit are missing Krizinac and Lazovic for the game, which are blows but not to the point where I'm going to ignore the game. Lazovic is a good striker but if Kerzhakov plays (which he will) and if the support from Danny is good (which it usually is!) then I have no qualms over the potency of Zenit's attack. Krizinac is a bigger blow in a sense as he's a very experienced centre-back but I'm going to ride that one and bank on Unirea's lack of midfield to mean that their attack won't get the necessary service and thus Zenit won't be too troubled. Let's also not forget that Zenit are mid-season whereas Unirea have just started their campaign.

Basically, I expect Zenit to manipulate the possession in this game because they're the superior side here and they more than have the capability to do so. No central midfield for Unirea is a massive problem because Zenit will play through the compact middle of the park all day long and they tend to take a lot of joy from it too. Unirea will work hard and love to upset the odds but I just can't see how they'll manage it today. My sole concern for Zenit is that they'll revert to an overly defensive stance and not push at Unirea when they're clearly under-strength. If that happens, Zenit may not get the goal that I think they really should go for. Zenit will have a tough job to beat Arlauskis in the Unirea goal, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the Romanian Liga currently. Nonetheless, Zenit have the ability to win this game and if they perform as I expect them to by controlling possesion then I expect them to win this game without conceding at generous odds of 31/20.

Verdict: Zenit St.Petersburg

Omonia Nicosia vs Salzburg

I really fancy Omonia for this game and I'm just hoping that last year's Salzburg doesn't turn up to burn me here! However, I'm starting to have a lot of faith in this wealthy Cypriot outfit and I'm starting to lose faith in a Salzburg side devoid of target man Janko so I do favour the hosts here. Omonia have already stated their intent by demolising Renova Dzepciste of the Republic of Macedonia 5-0 on aggregate in the previous qualifying round. Whereas I expected a comfortable home win for the Cypriots, I thought they'd have a much tougher away leg at an intimidating venue but the Cypriots showed their growing class and just why they are reputed to be the best team in Cyprus by winning with ease again. The intense humidity in Cyprus tonight will play largely into the hands of the hosts as their visitors just won't be used to playing in this weather condition. Omonia's squad is packed with experience from the likes of ex-Newcastle striker Lua-Lua, ex-Olympiakos Piraeus utility man Patsatzoglou, ex-Barcelona defenders Victor and Iago Bouzon, Cypriot international target man Konstantinou, and they even have the youthful input of ex-Arsenal youngster Efrem. Omonia have an awful lot going for them at the moment and I really fancy them to do well today as a result. Salzburg are a good side on their day but they've not convinced me at all so far this season. I think that they're lucky the game with Wacker Innsbruck was rained off because they had a nightmarish game against the newcomers and I'm quite confident that they'd have struggled. Let's not forget that the only game Salzburg have scored in this season was at home to Faroese outfit HB Torshavn with the Austrians failing to score in the return leg and at a mediocre SV Kapfenberg. Their attack is far too predictable and ineffectual without Marc Janko and I just don't see how they'll take anything from the game without a clear and concise Plan B which they just don't have. For me, this game has "home win" written all over it although I must emphasise caution as Salzburg can be a really funny opponent in European football. Nonetheless, there does appear to be value on the home win tonight.

Verdict: Omonia Nicosia to win