Tuesday, January 18, 2011

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18-01-2011 22:00 Sevilla - Villarreal

Momentum Stalled

The pick of the quarter-final first leg encounters in this season’s Copa del Rey saw Sevilla pick up an impressive 3-3 draw away to Villarreal. If the second leg matches the excitement and drama of the first, Tuesday night’s encounter is sure to be a firecracker of an encounter.

Los Nervionenses’ form this season has largely been disappointing, which is why it was such a surprise that they managed to overcome the effect of El Madrigal. The Yellow Submarine had been largely flawless at the venue all season, but a brace from Alvaro Negredo and a late strike from Alexis allowed the guests to peg back their hosts, who led 2-0 and 3-1.

The kind of character displayed on Spain’s east coast was sorely lacking in the first half of the season, meaning that Sevilla have fallen back from the European race and could see cup success as their simplest route to the continent next term. Though they have improved dramatically since the turn of the year, a 2-1 home loss against Espanyol on Saturday was very damaging.

“The result stops everything, but the team has produced an acceptable game. However, this match is a slowdown of the escalation that has begun in 2011,” Manzano stated.

Having defeated Barcelona en route to claiming the Copa del Rey crown last season, Sevilla have what it takes to progress deep into this competition, and with their league campaign far from perfect, they also have the motivation to answer their critics.

Still Confident

A lengthy list of injuries didn’t stop Villarreal from continuing their strong home record in the Primera Division on Saturday evening. Aided by a quite magnificent strike from Ruben Cani, the Yellow Submarine marched to a terrific 4-2 success over struggling Osasuna, pushing the midweek draw against Sevilla to the back of their minds.

Sitting third in the standings, the Copa del Rey is certainly not at the top of Juan Carlos Garrido’s priority list, but there is still confidence in the camp that a victory can be recorded in Andalucia and progress in the competition made.

“It will not be an easy match, but we will have our options. The team is finding the goal lately with ease,” Borja Valero argued to the press earlier this week.

“The game will be tough and the stands will be against us, but this team can do well in any field. We are very motivated to win because we want to get the right result to remain in the competition.”

Playing away from home this season is not something that Villarreal have done comfortably. Indeed, in their nine away trips in the Primera Division, the Yellow Submarine have won on only three occasions, which is not the kind of form that suggests Tuesday match will be a pushover.

TEAM NEWS

Sevilla

Gregorio Manzano has largely kept faith with the player who lost to Espanyol last weekend. Andres Palop is still not involved, while Federico Fazio, Ivica Dragutinovic and Sergio Sanchez are all missing too.

Villarreal

Santi Cazorla will miss this encounter due to injury but could return for the weekend’s Primera Division action. He is one name on a lengthy list of injuries that also includes Marcos Senna, Nilmar and Angel, who won’t play again this term.

Bruno Soriano shook off a knock to play at the weekend, however.

Prediction
Villarreal tend to damage teams at El Madrigal and aren’t quite so strong on their travels. With injury problems having also hit the squad, Sevilla should be considered warm favourites to progress through Tuesday night’s tie and become the first team officially in the semi-finals.

Sevilla 2-1 Villarreal

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18-01-2011 21:00 Napoli - Bologna

Embarking On Coppa Run

Napoli are in the middle of what could eventually turn out to be one of their most successful seasons in recent years as the Partenopei are second in the Serie A table and just four points behind leaders Milan.

The suggestion is that Walter Mazzarri's side are not strong enough for the Scudetto but for a club steeped in aesthetics, one suspects that they would carry on believing in the improbable for the time being.

To accentuate their campaign with more romance, Napoli will aspire to embark on a long Coppa Italia run. Today the Azzurri begin their journey with the visit of Bologna in Naples and would be expected to win. Furthermore, Mazzarri's team have already played the Rossoblu at the Stadio San Paolo this season and on that occasion in the league in November they won 4-1.

Napoli's recent form, though, hasn't exactly been formidable as they have won one, lost one and drawn one of their three games in the new year. On Saturday the Neapolitans were held to a goalless draw by struggling Fiorentina at home and will be looking for Cup romance to pull them out of the disappointment.

Unnecessary Cup Distraction

Bologna have more than Coppa Italia adventure on their mind. Saturday night's 4-1 thrashing by Italian and European champions Inter pushed the Felsinei to 16th in the Serie A table on 22 points from 20 matches, just three points above the relegation zone.

Alberto Malesani's side, though, have commenced the new year on a positive note despite the weekend hammering at San Siro. A 1-1 draw with Fiorentina was followed by a massively crucial and encouraging 2-0 triumph in Bari, although their recent two-point deduction because of inability to pay the salaries of their players has come as a blow.

Bologna's Coppa Italia adventure this campaign has already commenced as they have played from the third round onward. After narrowly defeating Modena 3-2 at home, the ? got the better of fellow Serie A team Cagliari 3-0 in Sardinia.

Bologna's overall away record this season is poor, though, as they have won just twice and have conceded a considerable 21 goals in the league.

TEAM NEWS

Napoli

19 players have been called up for this clash. Lucarelli has been included in the squad. Edinson Cavani is expected to be the lone striker upfront.

Bologna

20 players have been called up for the trip to Naples. Marco Di Vaio is unavailable for the match.

Prediction
It should be an easy victory for Napoli but since this is a knockout competition, they must not become complacent against Bologna.

Napoli 2-0 Bologna

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18-01-2011 20:45 Montpellier Herault - Paris Saint Germain

On A High After Late Comeback

Montpellier are a club who may have been around for close to 100 years, but they’ve won surprisingly little over that time. Coupe de France success was achieved in 1990, but otherwise, la Paillade have failed to lift a major domestic title. It would therefore please eccentric president Louis Nicollin greatly if they were to claim the Coupe de la Ligue.

Rene Girard’s side made a storming return to Ligue 1 last season, claiming a European spot courtesy of their strong finish. Though they have not proven to be quite the same force this time around, MHSC remain dangerous opponents for all of France’s elite clubs, particularly at the Stade de la Mosson, where they have been so impressive since rejoining Le Championnat.

Prior to Christmas, there were signs of a significant slump. A five match winless run saw Girard’s men tumble from third down to 10th, while their hopes of claiming success in the Coupe de France were blitzed by Ligue 2 outfit Reims on the opening weekend of action in 2011. Faced with this adversity, Montpellier were forced to battle hard to defeat Valenciennes on Saturday night, coming through 2-1 despite going into the closing 10 minutes of action a goal down.

“Perhaps we needed a match like that where we were behind and had to come back to win it. It’s proof that work pays,” Girard said. “It’s the perfect match before PSG come here.”

Character and exuberance are two of Montpellier’s great traits, and they’ve earned a lot of admirers in France over the course of their return to the top flight. While the Coupe de la Ligue may not be the most glamorous of competitions to win, lifting the crown in April would be a memorable achievement for a relatively small club punching above its weight due to their excellent youth academy.

Work On The Killer Instinct

Paris Saint-Germain’s remarkable season has not been allowed to slip away, despite the inconvenience of a two week recess breaking their momentum. Having lost only two matches since August, Antoine Kombouare’s side are once again recognised as one of France’s best, and they’ve gone some way to underline that over the last couple of weeks.

Against Racing Club de Lens in the Coupe de France, PSG showed the northerners no mercy, hammering five goals past them with only one late penalty kick as a reply. Last weekend, les Parisiens were still on winning ways, rallying from a goal behind to defeat Sochaux 2-1.

Saturday’s performance was not the smoothest from the capital side, who were on the back foot for the second half, but Kombouare was pleased. “In the first half, we seized Sochaux by the throat,” he told the media, Ligue 1’s official website reports. “We conceded against the run of play, but had enough character to get back into it. We created chances, but weren’t able to give ourselves a nice cushion.

“We put a lot of energy into this match. We have to try and kill games off, but even if it can sometimes work against us, we have to try and keep on putting pressure on our opponents to break through.”

Though the Coupe de la Ligue is down PSG’s priority list at present, the semi-final stage may induce the coach to throw in a few stronger players than he might otherwise have deployed. Going for a record fourth win in the competition, les Parisiens will be keen to maintain their fine record of reaching the tournament’s final.

TEAM NEWS

Montpellier

There are a clutch of selection worries for the home side. Benjamin Stambouli and Emir Spahic are both banned, weakening the defence, while Nenad Dzodic, Romain Pitau, Hasan Kabze and Fode Koita are all ruled out. First choice goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren hasn’t played this year and is doubtful after being hit by a bout of the flu.

PSG

An 18-man panel has been named by PSG. Siaka Tiene returns after several weeks out with a calf problem, but there is still no respite for the injured Mathieu Bodmer. Ceara will be absent for at least another fortnight because of hamstring worries.

Prediction
PSG’s recent run has been remarkable, and it’s difficult to see them losing in 90 minutes against Montpellier, even with a slightly rotated side. Equally, the home side will be fired up for this encounter and will be confident of securing at least a draw, which would mean extra-time and potentially penalty kicks.

Montpellier HSC 1-1 PSG

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18-01-2011 20:45 Manchester City - Leicester City

Return to Meadow Lane awaiting Sven

If Leicester win this replay Sven will be reunited with another of his former teams in the fourth round. A trip to Meadow Lane to visit League One team Notts County awaits Eriksson who would be able to complete the set of returns to former clubs he has been involved with in English football.

Leicester’s away form this season has been poor . They have won just three times on the road in the league and currently lie 31 places behind City in the Football League.

Leicester have enjoyed better fortunes away from home in cup competitions this season however. They have beaten Leeds and Portsmouth on their travels and will head to Eastlands with renewed optimism.

Home form the key

In stark contrast to Leicester’s poor away form, Manchester City boast a very strong home record this season. They have lost only twice in the 16 games they have played in all competitions at Eastlands and will be confident of overcoming the challenge posed by Leicester.

Of the 14 games City have won ten of them and come off the back of scoring plenty of goals against Wolves on Saturday.

Leicester have only ever played at Eastlands twice and have thus far been winless. In 2003/04 they travelled their twice only to be beaten once and secure a replay in the FA Cup in which City knocked out their opponents in the replay.

TEAM NEWS

Manchester City

Manchester City will be without the services of new £27million signing Edin Dzeko who is ineligible.

The Bosnian forward was not registered for the initial game at the Walkers Stadium and therefore cannot be registered for the replay.

Mario Balotelli remains sidelined with a knee injury as manager Roberto Mancini ponders whether to sell striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese striker could be involved as Mancini may look to rest a few players given their trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.

David Silva may also feature as he continues his return from a knee injury which saw him miss two weeks earlier this month.

Mancini is likely to rest some players much like the Italian did in this season’s Europa League campaign.

Possible starting XI: Hart; Boateng, Toure, Lescott, Kolarov; Milner, Vieira, Barry, Silva, Jo; Adebayor

Leicester City

New loan signing Yakubu is ineligible and will miss out on a quick return to a Premier League ground since his loan move from Everton.

Darius Vassell is a doubt for his return to his old club with a hamstring injury. The striker missed out on Leicester’s 1-1 draw against Preston on Saturday and remains a doubt for this trip.

Central defender Miquel Vitor is also struggling with a hamstring injury for Leicester.

Possible starting XI: Weale; Naughton, Hobbs, Bamba, Berner; Abe, Wellens, King; Dyer, Gallagher, Howard

Prediction

Man City 3-1 Leicester