UEFA Cup Final
UEFA Cup Final Betting preview
UEFA Cup final preview
In the final season before the UEFA Cup becomes the Europa League, it is perhaps appropriate that there is a changing of the old guard. The last ever UEFA Cup final will be contested by two teams in their first final, which also guarantees a new winning nation after five years of Spanish and Russian dominance.
Germany, the second most successful UEFA Cup country overall, has provided only one of the last 22 finalists, whilst Ukraine have never had a team reach the final. Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk might therefore be expected to produce a tight, nervous showpiece, which would not be in keeping with recent finals.
With regards to UEFA Cup betting (http://betting.betfair.com/football/uefa-cup/), four of the last five finals have been won by two clear goals, but punters do not see a similar outcome this time around. The teams are pretty evenly matched in the betting department and the odd goal or even extra time could decide this one.
Both teams edged past teams from their own country in the semi finals and have had disappointing domestic campaigns. Bremen are currently 10th after experiencing a mediocre Bundesliga campaign, whilst Shakhtar have already surrendered their Ukrainian title, as they lag behind Dynamo Kiev by 12 points with three games remaining.
UEFA Cup glory is the least these two teams, used to Champions League football, expect. This will further add to the pressure of the occasion, although a goal feast should not be totally ruled out – the teams kept only four clean sheets between them in the 16 matches they have played since dropping out of the Champions League.
Bremen have the bigger problems going into the Istanbul showdown. Their two main creative talents, Diego and Hugo Almeida will be missing through suspension and defensive rock Per Mertesacker is expected to be absent through injury.
The absence of three of Bremen’s top players is a huge factor which could swing the final Shakhtar’s way and I fancy Mircea Lucescu’s men to edge this one, with a 2-1 scoreline my top UEFA Cup betting tip (http://betting.betfair.com/football/).
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