Wednesday, May 11, 2011

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12.05. (Thu) 02:50 Once Caldas - Santos

DID YOU KNOW?

* Once Caldas are on form in South America and Colombia, currently on top in the Apertura.

* The Manizales club have won the Libertadores once before, in 2004.

* Remarkably, five players remain from that team: Henao, Henriquez, Valentierra, Amaya and Moreno .

* The team qualified with the worst record in the last 16, gaining only 7 points in the group stage.

* They made up for it in the second round, beating Cruzeiro 3-2 on aggregate with a great 2-0 win in Belo Horizonte.

* Santos meanwhile gained a 1-0 aggregate victory over America to make the quarters.

* Like Wednesday's rivals, they had to wait until the final round of group stage fixtures to make sure of their passage.

* The Brazilians finished second in Group 5 behind Cerro Porteno, with 11 points.

* They boast two Copa Libertadores crowns, although the last was achieved back in 1963.

* Overall the Peixe have made the Libertadores 10 times in their history, winning 50 out of 86 games. Only Cruzeiro can boast a better winning percentage in games from the teams who have competed more than 10 times.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Once Caldas (4-4-2)
Martinez; Palacios, Amaya, Henriquez, Luis Nunez; Henao, Mejia, Pajoy, Micolta; Moreno, Renteria

Yedinson Palacios comes in at the back for Elkin Calle while John Pajoy and Felix Micolta are new faces in the middle, as Caldas make three changes from the team that downed Cruzeiro.

Santos (4-4-2)
Rafael; Jonathan, Dracena, Durval, Leo; Adriano, Danilo, Elano, Possebon; Neymar, Ze Eduardo

Ganso suffered a thigh injury at the weekend and is the big absence for Santos; Rodrigo Possebon enters for the 21-year-old as the Peixe are otherwise at full-strength.

Prediction

  Once Caldas 1-1 Santos   

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11.05. (Wed) 21:00 Espanyol - Valencia



DID YOU KNOW?

* Espanyol have recorded the fewest points of any team in La Liga in the second half of the season, with the exception of Hercules, Getafe and Almeria.

* Espanyol have scored just two goals from outside the penalty box, the fewest in La Liga.

* The Catalans are the lowest placed side in the table who are assured of top flight football next season, despite being eighth.

* No Espanyol player has scored in the last three meetings against Valencia; their only strike came courtesy of a Ricardo Costa own goal.

* Valencia have not drawn any of their last eleven games - their last tie came in February against Athletic Bilbao.

* Although Valencia won the corresponding fixture 2-0 last season thanks to a Nikola Zigic brace, they have won just four times in total away to Espanyol.

* Unai Emery's men have won six times at home after conceding the first goal, more than any other team in the league.

* Prior to their win last season, Valencia's last win away in this fixture came in December 2001 but this will be the first encounter at Espanyol's Cornella-El Prat stadium.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Espanyol (4-2-3-1)
Kameni; Galan, Amat, Rodriguez, Chica; Vedu, Marquez; L. Garcia, Alonso, Callejon; Osvaldo

Ivan Alonso picked up a thigh problem but should be able to play without any problems, though there are greater doubts over the participation of Dani Osvaldo, who is suffering from a sore hamstring. Baena, Ivan de la Pena and Aldo Duscher are remain on the road back to full fitness.

Valencia (4-2-3-1)
Guaita; Miguel, Dealbert, Ricardo Costa, Mathieu; Banega, Albelda, Joaquin, Mata, Pablo; Soldado

Although Jonas picked up a goal in the win over Real Sociedad at the weekend, Emery could well opt to revert to a one-striker system for the trip to Espanyol. Pablo, who was a substitute last time out, may well return to the starting eleven. Given the reported bust-up, which took place in training today, the players may well be relieved to be back on the pitch.

Prediction
Espanyol 1-1 Valencia  

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11.05. (Wed) 20:45 Inter - Roma



DID YOU KNOW?

* Inter have won 12 straight Serie A games at San Siro.

* The world champions have scored 35 goals at home in their last 12 matches.

* Inter beat Roma 1-0 in the Coppa Italia final last season at the Stadio Olimpico.

* Leonardo's men have kept a clean sheet in their last two cup games.

* Roma have picked up 13 points from their last five away matches.

* The Lupi have scored 10 goals in the last five encounters away from home.

* Roma have conceded 32 goals on the road.

* The capital club's heaviest away defeat this season was 5-1 against Cagliari.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Inter (4-4-2)
Julio Cesar; Maicon, Ranocchia, Lucio, Chivu; Zanetti, Cambiasso, Kharja, Coutinho; Pazzini, Eto'o

Inter coach Leonardo will welcome Yuto Nagatomo and Dejan Stankovic back into the fold. The Japan international has recovered from flu while the Serbian captain has shaken off a muscle injury. Wesley Sneijder and Thiago Motta trained apart from the rest of the team and will not feature.

Roma (4-2-3-1)
Doni; Cassetti, Burdisso, Juan, Riise; Pizarro, De Rossi; Perrotta, Simplicio, Vucinic; Borriello

Roma coach Vincenzo Montella is without a host of players, including captain Francesco Totti who is serving the last match of his ban for chopping down Mario Balotelli in the cup final last year. Taddei is also suspended, while Matteo Brighi is out for the season after fracturing his fibula at the weekend against Milan.

Simone Perrotta and Daniele De Rossi are able to feature for the visitors as their three-match bans in Serie A do not affect their Coppa Italia eligibility.

Prediction
Inter have been unbeatable at San Siro under the guidance of Leonardo and the defending Coppa Italia champions are a good bet to extend their impressive domestic home winning streak against Roma on Wednesday.

Inter Milan 3-1 Roma

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11.05. (Wed) 20:00 Levante - Barcelona



DID YOU KNOW?

* Levante have lost only three of their last 15 Liga encounters, pushing themselves into mid-table.

* When the Valencia-based side were beaten 3-2 by Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, it was the first time that they’d gone three matches without a win since January, when they suffered a five-game losing streak.

* Scoring first tends to be important against Levante, as they have only recovered to win from a losing position once this season.

* Against sides in the top half of the table, they have gained only 12 points from 16 encounters – the worst record in the league aside from basement side Almeria.

* Barcelona, on the other hand, actually have a better record against teams in the top 10 positions, averaging 2.64 points a game, compared to 2.55 against the lesser ranked teams.

* They have scored exactly 40 goals when playing sides ranked in the upper echelons of the table and have conceded only 10.

* Pep Guardiola’s side lie second on the form table behind Malaga, who have picked up two more points than the Catalans in their last eight fixtures, conceding one goal less and scoring three goals more.

* Away from home, the Catalans have slipped up only once in league play, losing surprisingly at Real Sociedad less than a fortnight ago.

* If Barca win their remaining three games, they will clock up 100 points, and they only need nine goals to also hit 100 for the campaign.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Levante (4-2-3-1)
Munua; Venta, Ballesteros, Nano, Juanfran; X. Torres, Iborra; Valdo, R. Suarez, Montero; Caicedo

Juanlu, Sergio and Asier del Horno are all out injured, with the last of the trio having undergone an Achilles operation on Tuesday. Ruben is back in the selection, though.

Barcelona (4-3-3)
Valdes; Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Maxwell; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Villa

There has been some good news for Pep Guardiola in recent days as Bojan Krkic and Maxwell have been declared fit for the trip to Valencia.

Carles Puyol continues to train away from the main body of the team along with Adriano, and neither is expected to figure on Wednesday.

Prediction
It would be a colossal upset if Levante were to prevent Barcelona from claiming three points on Wednesday night. Though the home side have moved well into the middle region of the table, Pep Guardiola’s men represent a massive challenge, and the Blaugrana will be looking to mark this occasion in style.

Levante 0-3 Barcelona