Bayern Munich is the favorite to win the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup and they will try and stay on track as they host Getafe in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Thursday. If they are able to win their series against Getafe they could end up playing their German rival Bayer Leverkusen. Both teams have won the UEFA Cup before as Leverkusen won it in 1988 and Bayern in 1996. Leverkusen will be playing Zenit St. Petersburg in the quarterfinals. In the other quarterfinals on Thursday, PSV Eindhoven plays at Fiorentina, while Rangers host Sporting Lisbon.

Bayern has been trying to get information about Getafe and how they play. Franck Ribery has talked to his France teammates Lilian Thuram and Thierry Henry about Getafe. “They told me that Getafe is a good team with plenty of skill and that it’s difficult to play at their stadium,” Ribery said. “That’s why it’s important for us to win our home game and the best would be not to concede a goal. We’ll have to attack and press forward.” Bayern will likely be missing striker Lucas Podolski who is doubtful with an ankle injury. Getafe is not playing well in the Spanish League this season but their form in the UEFA Cup has been much better. Getafe has already defeated Benfica and AEK Athens in addition to Anderlecht and Tottenham. Getafe is also playing in the Copa del Rey final on April 16. “This locker room transmits confidence,” Getafe president Angel Torres said. “And in reality, the locker room is the key to everything.”

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Leverkusen sits in fourth place in the Bundesliga, trailing Bayern by 10 points. The team will have to deal with Zenit striker Pavel Pogrebnyak if they expect to win.

Read more on Soccer Betting Preview: UEFA Cup Quarterfinals Begin Thursday

The quarterfinals of the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup are set with first leg matches scheduled for Thursday, April 3rd. Rangers became one of the last teams to move into the quarterfinals as they lost to Werder Bremen 1-0 on Thursday but still advanced 2-1 on aggregate.

Sporting Lisbon also advanced on Thursday as they beat Bolton 1-0 and advanced 2-1 on aggregate. Rangers easily could have lost by more than a goal to the German squad but Bremen just couldn’t put away their chances. “One, two three goals, we had the chances, but we didn’t do it,” Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said. “The fact is we aren’t scoring those goals.” Daniel Jensen and Sebastian Boensisch missed wide while Hugo Almeida missed over the bar. Tim Borowski missed from short range as well. Late in the match Jensen and Boubacar Sanogo could not convert. The shots for the game were 35-4 in favor of Bremen. “This is massive for the club, Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor said, “Even at the start of the Champions League draw nobody expected us to get here. We’ve dug deep tonight and that’s what was needed.”

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Sporting Lisbon advanced against Bolton when Bruno Pereirinha scored in the 85th minute. Sporting and Bolton played to a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Bolton rested several players as they are focusing on avoiding regulation in the Premier League. Manager Gary Megson rested players Jussi Jaaskelainen, Kevin Noland, El Hadji Diouf and Ivan Campo. Bolton takes on Wigan in the Premier League on Sunday in a key match.

Read more on UEFA Cup Quarterfinals Set

Bayern Munich should have no trouble moving into the quarterfinals of the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup as they won 5-0 at Anderlecht on Thursday in the first leg of Round of 16 play. That should put them through easily into the next round and allow them to rest players in the second leg. Marseille also looks good after they got a 3-1 win against Zenit St. Petersburg in the first leg. Marseille got two goals from Djibril Cisse in the victory.

Bayern started early against Anderlecht as Hamil Altintop scored in the first 10 minutes. Marcin Wasilewski was sent off with a second yellow card for Anderlecht in the first half and any hopes Anderlecht had were over. Luca Toni made it 2-0 before the half. Toni will not play in the second leg for Bayern as he will be suspended but it won’t matter since Bayern has such a huge lead. Lukas Podolski scored in the 57th minute while Miroslav Klose scored 10 minutes later. Franck Ribery ended the scoring in the 86th minute.

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PSV Eindhoven won at Tottenham 1-0 as Jefferson Farfan scored the only goal in the 34th minute.

Bayern Munich Wins Big in Round of 16 UEFA Cup Play

The second leg of UEFA Cup Round of 32 action gets underway on Thursday with Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Marseille looking to advance. Many of Europe’s top teams are trying to balance out resting players with important competitions looming or playing top players in the UEFA Cup and trying to advance.

Bayer Leverkusen drew 0-0 last week at Galatasaray and will look to win the second leg at home but will be without striker Dmitri Bulykin. Atletico must overcome a 1-0 deficit against Bolton and they will have to do it without winger Simao Sabrosa. Marseille is in good shape leading 3-0 but they will not have Benoit Cheyrou when they play the second leg at Spartak Moscow on Thursday.

The favorite to win the Soccer Betting UEFA Cup is Bayern Munich. They got a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in the first leg and are heavily favored to win the return match. “If we got a result it would be historic,” Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said. “We have to win the game or get a high-scoring draw, but we can always dream.”

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