Written by Shahan Ahmed
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This weekend in European Football – 8 Feb. 2013

Our Director’s picks are 7-3 & +483 in profit over the past 7 weeks. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see this week’s Director’s picks

In Germany, Bayern Munich hosts Schalke in a meeting of two German giants. However, Schalke is shorthanded with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar ruled out due to an eye injury. Bayern is the best team in Germany (and my preseason pick for the Champions League), so they should do well to dominate Schalke.

In England, the Premier League offers a couple of intriguing fixtures with Tottenham hosting Newcastle United on Saturday and Manchester United welcoming Everton on Sunday. Tottenham is in the coveted final Champions League position at the moment, but Newcastle’s French purchases have the Toon Army singing at full voice. Newcastle has won its last two matches: a difficult away fixture at Villa Park and a home victory over Chelsea.

Only three points back of Spurs, Everton is lurking in a European position and eeking to get into the Champions League next season. Marouane Fellaini is a doubt for the trip to Manchester, but Manager David Moyes expects the Belgian to recover in time. United have a difficult tie away at Real Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League, so Sir Alex Ferguson may opt to put out a weakened team against the Toffees.

In Spain, Real Madrid hosts Sevilla on Sunday, but La Liga does not seem to motivate Jose Mourinho’s team. Madrid is all-in on the Champions League, and Manchester United provides plenty of motivation for former Red Devil Cristiano Ronaldo.

Italy features a Saturday football feast with Juventus hosting Fiorentina and Lazio hosting Napoli. Those four teams represent four of the top six in Italy. Entering the weekend, Juventus is in first, Napoli is in second, Lazio is in third, and Fiorentina is in sixth.

Director’s Pick

For the past seven weeks, I have gone 7-3 in my picks and returned +483 profit. Over that stretch, I have only had one losing weekend. This weekend, I have one pick from the German Bundesliga involving Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
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Pick: Bayer Leverkusen to win at Borussia Monchengladbach: 2.270

Leverkusen lost 3-2 in a thrilling match against Dortmund last weekend. Dortmund is second in the league behind run-away table toppers Bayern Munich. Leverkusen showed fight to level the match at 2-2 before Robert Lewandowski slotted home the winner.

This weekend, the challenge involves playing away from home at Monchengladbach. Gladbach are in seventh and doing well to recover after selling their top forward to Dortmund (Marco Reus) and top defender to Bayern Munich (Dante).

Still, since returning from the winter break, Gladbach only has one win against relegation-contender Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Leverkusen in the better side and offering 2.270 for a win. The computer projects value on the draw and Gladbach, but Leverkusen is the most likely result with a 39.4 percent chance. I like Leverkusen to come out with a result.

Be sure to check out AccuScore’s Champions League picks