Wednesday, December 22, 2010

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22-12-2010 22:00 Real - Levante

Spirited

Real Madrid showed immense character to battle to a 1-0 victory against Sevilla on Sunday to keep pace with Primera Division leaders Barcelona, but their challenge now is to overcome Levante in the Copa del Rey, a trophy that has eluded the capital side for almost 20 years.

Coach Jose Mourinho is nothing if not a superb competitor and the Portuguese has already sent out a signal of intent to end los Merengues’ drought in Spain’s premier cup competition. Against Murcia in the previous round, virtually a full strength side was deployed by the Bernabeu side. The players failed to respond in the opening fixture, held 0-0, but they showed their true face at home, romping to an easy 5-1 success.

Competitive spirit was etched in the manner of their victory over Sevilla at the weekend. By rights los Blancos should have lost. They were reduced to 10 men and los Nervionenses had several good chances to strike, but Madrid came through 1-0 in the end thanks to Angel di Maria.

Mourinho was not impressed, however. It wasn’t his players who were the target of his ire, rather the matchday officials, who he claimed made 13 grave errors over the course of the fixture. Outspoken and brash, the coach also has supreme confidence, and it’s clear that this is something that is beginning to rub off on his side.

Lesser teams might have folded in the wake of their Clasico defeat, but the Bernabeu club continue to plod on with win following win. ‘Mou’ will be aiming for more of the same on Wednesday.

Come Out Alive

Levante’s reintroduction into top flight football has been relatively successful so far. The Valencia-based club lie outside of the relegation zone at Christmas, and though they are by no means out of the woods, Luis Garcia’s side can be broadly pleased with what they’ve achieved to date. The Primera Division will be their main focus, and anything they can achieve in the Copa del Rey will simply be a bonus.

At the weekend, los Granotes showed that they can still be uncertain when faced with top level opposition, going down 2-1 against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend. Though they controlled possession for long spells, the hosts failed to turn this superiority into effective shots on goal, registering only through Felipe Caicedo.

The relative minnows have spent time joking prior to Wednesday’s match about Jose Mourinho’s referee jibes, with Xisco Munoz arguing that los Granotes could write “an encyclopaedia” of poor decisions given against them on a game-by-game basis.

Luis Garcia, meanwhile, is simply aiming to keep things tight in the first game, giving his side a chance in the return leg. “We have to come out alive and have options in the second leg,” he told Marca. “This is a great time and we can take advantage to make history.”

It would certainly be a sensation if Levante were to overcome Real Madrid over two legs, and they will have to be perfectly focussed for the first clash at the Bernabeu.

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Kaka, Fernando Gago, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Canales, Sami Khedira and Jerzy Dudek are all out with a variety of injury concerns.

Cristiano Ronaldo may sit out with acute tonsillitis, though he has been named in Jose Mourinho’s panel. Marcelo and Xabi Alonso are back after bans. 

Levante

Felipe Caicedo was somewhat doubtful earlier this week, but he's been named in the squad. Goalkeeper Manuel Reina is missing though.

Prediction
Real Madrid have suffered Copa del Rey upsets previously, but this isn’t a match they will expect to stumble in. Jose Mourinho will deploy a strong side, and they will be good enough to give los Blancos a comfortable lead going into the second leg.

Real Madrid 3-0 Levante

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22-12-2010 19:00 Olympique Lyonnais - Auxerre

Tough Match In Prospect

Olympique Lyonnais’ 2010 was one of highs and lows. Reaching the Champions League semi-final for the first time was an immense achievement, but it was rather tempered by the club’s inability to win anything tangible. Claude Puel’s side haven’t started 2010-11 in especially good form, yet they’re plodding along steadily and will want to keep their title dreams very much alive with a win over Auxerre.

The weekend’s draw with Marseille was a result that brought with it mixed feelings. Lyon deserved their point, but it could have been so much more after Lisandro Lopez slammed them into the lead 10 minutes before the break. Moreover, Mathieu Valbuena’s second half equaliser was a strike he would struggle to repeat.

OL at least preserved their lengthy unbeaten Ligue 1 record, which stretches to 11 matches. Crisis talk in the autumn may therefore have been premature, but the club’s recent performances in Europe have simply served to highlight the deficiencies that are not being exposed domestically.

“It will be a tough match,” Puel told the press earlier this week, considering the challenge AJA will present. “Beating Auxerre will not be easy. They can be dangerous at any time because of their counterattacking. They are a cohesive team with a big defensive bloc... We don’t expect a cakewalk.”

Lyon have enjoyed some memorable encounters against the Burgundy club in the past, most notably lifting the title after a final day triumph in 2007-08. It is such occasions that Puel hopes to bring back to the Stade Gerland.

On Their Knees

An injury crisis has thrown Auxerre off track after they gained some momentum throughout the autumn, enjoying an eight match unbeaten run in all competitions. Now Jean Fernandez’s side, who finished third in the standings last season, are simply looking to consolidate their place in the heart of the table after going seven games without a win.

A run of three successive 1-1 draws continued at the weekend, when AJA were held against Montpellier away from home, though even the coach admitted that it was a somewhat fortuitous point.

“It’s mission accomplished,” Fernandez told the media. “When you look at how the game went, you have to ask yourself how we managed to score. We did so with our only shot on target.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to, it’s that we couldn’t. We’ve got a lot of injury problems, and things are difficult now before the winter break. We stayed well-organised, but it’s never easy against Montpellier.

“We’ve got a game to play against Lyon before the break. It’s going to be tough. We’re on our knees.”

Auxerre are clearly a side struggling badly at present, and anything at all from Wednesday’s match would be considered a huge bonus.

TEAM NEWS

Lyon

Yoann Gourcuff is expected to play a full 90 minutes after sitting out on the bench against Marseille. Jeremy Toulalan, Cris, Ederson and Clement Grenier are all missing, however.

Auxerre

Jean Fernandez has named an identical squad to the one deployed against Montpellier. Ireneusz Jelen, Benoit Pedretti, Cedric Hengbart and Delvin N’Dinga are the main absentees. Also missing are Yaya Sanogo and Alexandre Licata.

Prediction
Auxerre’s squad may be depleted, but they are tenacious opponents. Jean Fernandez’s men won’t go down easily, but Lyon will have too much for them in the end.

O. Lyon 2-0 AJ Auxerre