Weekend Predictions: Raul to Rule El Clásico and Another Liverpool vs Newcastle 4-3?

If you only watch one game this weekend, make it Real Madrid vs Barcelona at the Bernabéu. If you watch two matches then Liverpool vs Newcastle is worth a look, just in case we get a 1996/1997 redux. And if you’re going to watch a third then dip a toe in the Bundesliga for HSV vs Hertha.

Also, if you support a team not mentioned above then you should probably watch them too. Even if you support Middlesbrough.

Predictions for the above games are after the jump…

Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Saturday, May 2nd, 8pm

The first El Clásico of the season had a weird vibe to it. Bernd Schuster had just been relieved of duty for admitting his team had no chance and Juande Ramos walked in at the deep end. Real lost 2-0 at the Camp Nou and greeted it as a decent result. Like I said: weird.

But this time it’s different. Barcelona aren’t exactly struggling but they have failed to win either of their last two games (draws vs Valencia and then Chelsea) while Real have won seven on the bounce. The gap at the top of La Liga is now just four points, and Real Madrid are at home.

A Barca win and the title race is almost over. A Real win and it’s very much back on. I suggested yesterday that Barca would be smart to play for a draw, but do you really see that happening? Because I don’t.

Prediction: I’m basing this on nothing but a stab in the dark, but something tells me Madrid will win this 1-0 and set up a thrilling La Liga finale. And because no one picked him to score last week and the man went and got a hat-trick (more on that later) I’m backing Raul to get his name on the sheet.

Odds: Real Madrid 13/8, Draw 23/10, Barcelona 13/8 (way to sit on the fence there bookies)
1-0 to Real: 10/1
Raul to score first: 6/1
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: EPL Offside Rob will be crossing his fingers for a Bojan Krkic goal, because then he can start using his brilliant Bojangoals nickname.

Liverpool vs Newcastle, Sunday, May 3rd, 1:30pm

Games between these two used to be the reason people loved the Premier League. Allow me to take you back to 1996, for a game that’s now available on DVD titled The Greatest Premiership Game Ever.

And allow me to take you forward from there to 1997, because the same thing happened again the following season:

Sad to think the men who scored the two winners – Stan Collymore and Robbie Fowler – never had the careers their talents demanded. But that’s a story for another day.

Fast forward twelve years and Liverpool need a win to keep what’s left of their title challenge alive, while Alan Shearer and Newcastle need a win because the relegation monster is about to eat them.

Prediction: I’m an optimist and I’m not a Newcastle fan, so I’m going to predict a repeat of the 1996 and 1997 classics and say Liverpool will win 4-3. Neither Stan Collymore nor Robbie Fowler will score, but a fit again Steven Gerrard probably will.

Odds: Liverpool 2/7, Draw 4/1, Newcastle 11/1
4-3 to Liverpool: 175/1
Gerrard to score first: 9/2
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: The Premier League will never be as good as it was in the mid-90s. That’s not so much a prediction as a stone cold fact.

Hamburg SV vs Hertha Berlin, Sunday, May 3rd, 5pm

This is how tight the Bundesliga title race is: Hamburg are fifth on 54 points (same as 4th placed Stuttgart and 3rd placed Bayern) while Hertha Berlin are second on 55 points. Wolfsburg still lead the way on 57 points. Here’s the proof:

Both need a win if they want the title, because that’s how football works.

But Hertha are without big-chested Ukrainian striker Andriy Voronin (who’s still suspended) while Hamburg are both at home and on a high after beating Werder Bremen 1-0 in the UEFA Cup semi-final first leg on yesterday.

Prediction: 2-0 to HSV, with Timothée Atouba’s hammer of a left foot getting on the score sheet.

Odds: Hamburg 10/11, Draw 9/4, Hertha 5/1
2-0 win for Hamburg: 17/2
More odds at PaddyPower

Bonus Prediction: Arne Freidrich’s brush with royalty will be of no help to Hertha Berlin whatsoever.

Time to see how last week’s predictions went. The correct scores were:

Valencia 2-2 Barcelona (Maduro, Hernandez; Messi, Henry)
Sevilla 2-4 Real Madrid (Renato, Capel; Raulx3, Marcelo)
Bordeaux 4-0 Vannes (Wendel, Planus, Gouffran, Gourcuff)

Chris did the predicting and scored himself two points (one for Messi’s goal and another for Madrid’s victory).

The podium is pretty crowded this week, possibly because somehow everyone failed to predict Raul would get on the scoresheet. After his hat-trick vs Sevilla I’m guessing he’ll be more popular this week…

Gold
Toby, Ranjeet: 3pts

Silver
Maximillian, Laurie, SP: 2pts

Brozne
Matt, OhYes, Mustafa, Drabik: 1pt

Remember it’s three points for a correct scoreline but just one point for a correct result. And it’s one point for a correct goalscorer. So let’s have your predictions (and one predicted goalscorer for this weekend’s games)…

Real Madrid – Barcelona
Liverpool – Newcastle
Hamburg – Hertha

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Category: World Football