I didn't do half badly yesterday. 5-3 and oh so close to 7-1. My pick for the Artmedia/Rangers match was a bit ambiguous and I could be sneaky and claim the point for myself, but I'm going to be honest about that one. The only pick on which I really dropped the ball was the Chelsea/Betis match. But who can blame me? Incidentally, though I only saw the second half, that match presented some of the most boring football I have seen in a long time. Chelsea just didn't have any creative spark and Betis played the whole half with all 11 players behind the ball, only occasionally breaking forward in ones and twos to flop on the ground in the Chelsea end. Dani, apparently the goalscorer, was particularly offensive in my mind. In the one half of football he managed to simulate being hit in the face and the back of the head and "earned" several fouls for theatrical dives.

Though there are several tricky match-ups today, the only one with any real interest to outside observers is the only one that pits two actual challengers. That would be the rematch between Bayern and Juve. I'm going to call this a draw. Juve are starting to look vulnerable, but they ought to be able to hold on at home. If they can't, their title credential will have to come under severe scrutiny. Brugge should take of Rapid at home.

Arsenal should handle Sparta Prague at Highbury. And, damn it! I'm going to pick Thun over Ajax.

I'm also going to take Barca over Pana. I'm even going to pick Werder to finally get that win. There is no reason, except for their own underperformance, that they can't beat Udinese.

ManU and Lille has all of the makings of another draw in my mind. ManU are probably looking for some redemption after that 4-1 pasting they took at the Riverside, but they really are not playing well. Lille aren't the strongest of opponents but they had enough to hold United at Old Trafford and they should be able to do the same in Paris. I think Benfica will get the win at home to Villareal and really cement their case for advancement.

Yesterday gave promising signs that maybe my powers of prognostication are improving. Let's hope it wasn't just a blip.