Weekend Predictions: Arsenal to Outscore Chelsea, Juve’s Last Stand and the Argentinean Superclásico

By: Daryl | April 17th, 2009

Too many games to choose from this week, but the magic of the FA Cup, Juve’s last roll of the Serie A dice and the Argentinean Superclásico won out.

Read on for those predictions, and then – if you’re brave enough – add your own in the comments.

Arsenal vs Chelsea, FA Cup Semi-Final, April 18th, 5:15pm

I still don’t like seeing FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, but too late to argue about that now. Best to just try and enjoy what could be an excellent game. Chelsea have conceded seven goals in their last two games, while Arsenal have hit form at just the right time.

Prediction: A 3-2 win for Arsenal, with Andrei Arshavin on the scoresheet.

Odds: Arsenal 15-8, Draw 11-5, Chelsea 6-4
3-2 to Arsenal: 35-1
Arshavin to score first: 8-1
More odds at PaddyPower

Juventus vs Inter Milan, April 19th, 5pm

If Juventus want a proper title run-in then they need to win this game, as Inter are currently 10 points clear. I suspect the Bianconeri will get a result at home, but Jose Mourinho’s men will still be lifting the trophy in a few weeks time.

Prediction: A 2-1 win for Juventus, with little Sebastian Giovinco amongst the goals.

Odds: Juve 13-8, Draw 2-1, Inter 7-4
2-1 Juve win: 8-1
Giovinco to score last: 8-1
More odds at PaddyPower

Boca Juniors vs River Plate, April 19th, 3pm

Boca have struggled to score so far this season (failing to find the net in three of their six league games) and find themselves 11th in the Primera Division. River are doing a little better in fourth, but have no wins in their last three.

The big story in this Superclásico could be Martin Palermo. He’s Boca’s all time leading scorer with 197 goals, so could hit the big 200 mark with a hat-trick vs River Plate.

Prediction: A 1-0 win for Boca, with Palermo reaching 198.

Odds: Boca evens, Draw 9-4, River 9-4
1-0 Boca win: 11-2
More odds at PaddyPower

Two other big games this weekend, that didn’t get the prediction treatment but should be worth watching: Bordeaux vs Lyon in Ligue 1 (Sunday, 9pm local) and Chivas vs America in the Mexico’s Súper Clásico (Sunday, 5pm local).

Offshore Oscar has gone wild, backing Sunderland, Villa, Birmingham and Hertha Berlin to win this weekend.

Time to take a look at last week’s predictions. Here’s what I went with:

Lazio 1-0 Roma (Pandev)
Galatasaray 1-1 Fenerbahce (Kewell)
LA Galaxy 2-1 Chivas USA (Donovan)

And here’s what happened:

Lazio 4-2 Roma (Pandev, Zarate, Lichtsteiner, Kolaroav; Mexes, De Rossi)
Galatasaray 0-0 Fenerbahce
LA Galaxy 0-0 Chivas USA

So I scored three points (one for Lazio win, another for Pandev’s goal and another for the draw in Istanbul). Here’s how everyone else did:

Gold
Toby: 8 pts (for the two 0-0 draws)

Silver
Drabik: 4pts (for one 0-0 draw)

Bronze
OhYes, Weston, John, Ranjeet: 1 pt

Everyone else scored zero. Tough week, but let’s put that behind us.

What are your predictions for this week?

Arsenal – Chelsea
Juventus – Inter
Boca Juniors – River Plate