Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Champions League play-off second leg preview

Tuesday (20:45 CET) FC Zurich - Bayern Munich (agg: 0-2)
Villarreal - Odense (agg: 0-1)
Malmo - Dinamo Zagreb (agg: 1-4)
Genk - Maccabi Haifa (agg: 1-2)
Apoel Nicosia - Wisla Krakow (agg: 0-1)
Wednesday (20:45 CET)
Udinese - Arsenal (agg: 0-1)
Sturm Graz - BATE Borisov (agg: 1-1)
Viktoria Plzen - FC Copenhagen (agg: 3-1)
Benfica - FC Twente (agg: 2-2)
Rubin Kazan - Olympique Lyon (agg: 1-3) (18:00 CET)



O. Lyon FC Zurich - Bayern Munich O. Lyon
Goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben leave the 2009-10 runners-up in a perfect position to qualify for the group stages. FC Zurich, who have a shock win over AC Milan to their name, the last time they made it to the group stages, will have to defy the odds to progress this time around. Read the full match preview here.
VillarrealVillarreal - Odense Odense
Danish outfit Odense recorded a shock 1-0 victory over Villarreal last week, thanks in part to Cristian Zapata's bizarre mistake. With the return at El Madrigal on Tuesday, the Yellow Submarine must be fancying their chances to progress to the group stages. Read the full match preview here.
MalmöMalmo - Dinamo Zagreb Dinamo Zagreb
Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb will be forgiven for thinking that they already have one foot in the group stages after a convincing display in their 4-1 thrashing of Malmo in the first leg.
Krunoslav Jurcic's men are unbeaten in five European games this season, and have won three and lost only two of their last seven European away games. The Croatians, who have lost at this stage five times previously, will be hoping for a better campaign should they reach the group stage. In 1999/2000, Dinamo finished bottom in a group containing Manchester United, Olympique Marseille and Sturm Graz.
Malmo, who claimed the major scalp of Scottish champions Rangers in the last qualifying round, will be hoping for an unlikely comeback, despite only winning once at home in Europe this season.
Rikard Norling's men, who are also Swedish champions, will be counting on Agon Mehmeti's 17th-minute away goal in Croatia as the foundation on which to build a stirring return to the Champions League group stages.
GenkGenk - Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa
Genk are seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Israel, if they are to progress to the group stages for the first time since 2002-03. Goals from Weaam Amasha and Vladimir Dvalishvili and an away goal from Elyaniv Barda mean that there is still all to play for in Belgium on Tuesday.
The managerless Belgians are however, seeking comfort from the fact that the Israelis are winless in their last six European games on the road. Genk, though, have only prevailed three times in their last seven continental encounters at the Cristal Arena.
Maccabi Haifa, coached by Elisha Levi, are aiming for a third group-stage appearance. The last time they were in the play-offs, they thrashed Salzburg 5-1 in 2009-10.
Adding to their cause, Haifa will have to keep in mind that no Israeli club has ever tasted victory in Belgium - with the record standing at W0 D2 L4.
APOELAPOEL Nicosia - Wisla Krakow Wisla
Wisla Krakow are hoping to make it seventh time lucky in the premlinaries, having never progressed to the Champions League group stages. The White Stars, however, are boosted by their 1-0 home victory over the APOEL in last week's first leg - Patryk Małecki giving his side the narrowest of wins.
The Polish outfit, who are also league winners, have won all five games in Europe this term. Wisla, who beat Barcelona 1-0 before being eliminated 4-1. They were also European Cup quarter-finalists 32 years ago, and are 90 minutes away from a maiden group-stage appearance.
The solitary goal in the first leg, proved to be the first that APOEL had shipped in this season's tournament.  The Nicosia club have also gone six matches without a defeat in Europe, stretching back to last year's Europa League campaign.
Ivan Jovanovic's men were last in the group stages in 2009-10, and were drawn in a tough looking group which contained Atletico Madrid, FC Porto and Chelsea. Two draws against Atletico, and a 2-2 tie away at Chelsea were the standout results for the Cypriots.

UdineseUdinese - Arsenal Arsenal
Theo Walcott's fourth-minute goal might have given Arsenal the first-leg lead at the Emirates last Tuesday, but it was far from a convincing performance as Udinese, and in particular Antonio Di Natale, missed a host of chances. The Italians, who were impressive in London, will be seeking revenge against a Gunners side rocked by summer departures and Arsene Wenger's two-match touchline ban handed to him by UEFA. Read the full match preview here.
Sturm GrazSturm Graz- BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov
The first leg in Belarus ended in a stalemate, with Manuel Weber giving the Austrians a 12th-minute lead which was subsequently cancelled out by Marko Simić after 59 minutes.
The tie is finely poised, with Sturm Grraz aiming to make it to the group stages for the first time since 2000-01. Sturm have won four of their last five European home games, with Juventus the only winners in Austria in last season's Europa League.
The last time the Austrians made it to the group stages, they qualified for the second phase against the likes of Valencia, Manchester United and Panathinaikos.
Belarus champions BATE are hoping to make their second ever appearance in Europe's premier club competition. The Eastern Europeans have drawn three of their last European away games, two 0-0s and a 1-1, results which wouldn't see them qualify directly within 90 minutes.
FC Viktoria PlzeňViktoria Plzen - FC CopenhagenCopenhagen
Czech champions Viktoria Plzen produced the result of the play-off round by stunning Danish champions Copenhagen 3-1 at Parken last week. Sölvi Ottesen's own-goal gave Plzen a 52nd-minute advantage which was doubled by Václav Pilař shortly afterwards. Ottesen atoned for his mistake by halving the deficit, before Martin Fillo's third completed the scoring.

Pavel Vrba's men have never qualified for the group stage of the Champions League, but are close to doing so, as the Danes will have to overturn a three-away goal deficit. Although, the last time the Lions travelled to the Czech Republic, they did beat Sparta Prague 3-0 after a home defeat in 2009-10.

Copenhagen qualified for last season's group stage, in which they held Barcelona at home before progressing to the knockout round. Last week was the first time the Danes had  conceded or lost at Parken in Europe since a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in the last 16 in February.

Plzen, who are by far the most inexperienced in the play-off round, will qualify for a UEFA competition group stage if they manage to oust the Danes on Wednesday.

BenficaBenfica - FC Twente Twente

FC Twente and Benfica played out an enthralling first leg in Enschede last week. The match had ended 2-2, with Luuk De Jong giving Twente an early lead before goals from Oscar Cardozo and Nolito swung the tie the Eagles way. Bryan Ruiz propped up in the 80th minute to leave the tie finely poised ahead of the return in Lisbon on Wednesday.

The Tukkers appeared in their first-ever Champions League group stage appearance last year, but have won only one of their last five European away games. The Dutch outfit have also been eliminated at this stage twice before, against Arsenal in 2008-09 and Sporting Lisbon in 2009-10.

Benfica, on the other hand, are a more formidable side at home, having clocked up 13 wins in their last 15 European games at Estadio da Luz. Their only home defeat came against Schalke in last season's group stage.

The Aguias will be hoping for better should they qualify for the group stage, having been outclassed by Lyon and Schalke in 2010-11. Benfica were European champions in 1961 and 1962, while their best performance in recent years was a quarter-final appearance in 2006.

Rubin KazanRubin Kazan - Olympique LyonO. Lyon

The Ligue 1 giants are one match away from taking their place in the Uefa Champions League group stages, and after a superb 3-1 victory over the Tatarstan side last week, few will bet against their participation. Read the full match preview here.

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24.08. (Wed) 20:45 Udinese - Arsenal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

UDINESE
Handanovic
Ekstrand, Benatia, Danilo, Neuton
Badu
Isla, Pinzi, Asamoah, Armero
Di Natale


ARSENAL
Szczesny,
Jenkinson, Squillaci, Vermaelen, Sagna
Ramsey, Song, Rosicky
Walcott, Van Persie, Gervinho

Despite his side’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium a week ago, Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin will likely stick with the same starting XI for the return leg.

Talismanic captain Antonio Di Natale will once again plough a lone furrow up front, with the midfield quartet of Isla, Pinzi, Asamoah and Armero all looking to get forward and support him, while the responsibility of protecting the back line will be designated to young Ghanaian Emmanuel Badu.

With the Gunners squad beset with injuries in defensive positions, boss Arsene Wenger may well be forced to field out-of-favour Sebastien Squillaci alongside Thomas Vermaelen in the centre of defence, with Bacary Sagna filling in at left-back in the absence of Kieran Gibbs.

With Samir Nasri’s move to Manchester City widely expected to be completed in a matter of days, Wenger is unlikely to include the wantaway midfielder in the match squad, and Tomas Rosicky appears the most obvious candidate to replace him.

Alex Song and Gervinho, while still banned from Premier League action, are available here and should regain their starting berths, while new club captain Robin van Persie returns from European suspension and will displace Marouane Chamakh up front.


DID YOU KNOW?

Arsenal and Udinese had never faced each other in any Uefa competition prior to last Tuesday’s encounter.

If the Gunners can overcome their Italian opponents, it will be the 14th consecutive season in which they have qualified for the group stages of the Champions League.

This is only the second time Udinese have participated in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League in their history – the first was back in 2004.

Arsenal will be hoping to end a rotten run of form on their travels in Wednesday’s match, as they have lost their last three Champions League matches away from home.

Udinese, on the other hand, will be confident of overturning the Gunners’ first-leg lead with a positive result, as they are unbeaten in their last five matches at the Stadio Friuli.

Arsene Wenger’s side are becoming well versed in Champions League qualifying play-offs, having reached the group stage of Europe’s premier club competition via this route in four out of the last five seasons.

Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin boasts an impressive record when he has faced English opposition in Italy. He has only lost once in four matches, winning two and drawing the other.

The loser of this tie will face the relative ignominy of competing in the Europa League. Arsenal have never participated in the tournament in its current format, and their last taste of European football outside the Champions League was a Uefa Cup final defeat to Galatasaray on penalties in 2000.

Udinese boss Guidolin may well be uniquely well-equipped to exploit Arsenal’s current defensive frailties, as he used to coach Gunners defender Squillaci at Monaco.

If Marouane Chamakh features for Arsenal on Wednesday night, he will once more find himself going head-to-head with Moroccan international team-mate Mehdi Benatia.

Prediction 
Editor's Prediction 
Udinese 2-1 Arsenal  

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24.08. (Wed) 18:00 Rubin - Olympique Lyonnais

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Rubin Kazan (4-2-3-1):
Rhzhikov; Kuzmin, Kverkvelia, Boccheti, Sharonov; Kaleshin, Natkho; Karadeniz, Natkho, Kasaev; Dyadyun

Last week's goalscorer Vladimir Dyadyun will face a fight with Aleksei Medvedev, who netted for the Russians at the weekend, but after being rested for the clash with Akmar, it seems likely that the 23-year-old will start. Obafemi Martins is set to miss out due to a combination of injury and compassionate leave following hte death of his brother.

Lyon (4-4-2):
Lloris; Reveillere, Lovren, Kone, Cissokho; Briand, Gonalons, Kallstrom, Bastos; Gomis, Lopez

The main absentees for the French side are club captain Cris, who also missed out last week, and Yoann Gourcuff, who remains sidelined with an ankle injury. Summer signing Bakary Kone will fill in for the Brazilian at centre-back, while Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom will step in to Gourcuff's playmaking role.

DID YOU KNOW?

Rubin Kazan have never lost a home tie in the Champions League, recording two draws with Barcelona in the process.

The Tatar side are also one of just three teams teams to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou in the last decade.

Rubin are the youngest of the Russian Premier League teams formed in the Soviet era.

Olympique Lyonnais have not played in Russia since the 2000-01 Champions League second group stage draw with Spartak Moscow.

Lyon have qualified for the Champions League every time they have gone through the preliminary rounds since their 3-0 aggegrate defeat to Maribor of Slovenia.

The French side have made it past the group stage of the Champions League every year since 2002-03.

Prediction
Despite Lyon's superior players and resources, no trip to Russia is easy, and Tatarstan club have a fantastic home record, especially in Europe. Lyon's quality should sign through though and earn a draw that will secure their involvement in the Champions League for yet another year.
Editor's Prediction
Rubin Kazan 1-1 O. Lyon

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23.08. (Tue) 20:45 Zurich - Bayern Munchen

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Zurich:
Leoni; Koch, Barmettler, Teixeira, Rodriguez; Schonbachler, Aegerter, Buff, Djuric; Chermiti, Mehmedi

Midfielder Stjepan Kukuruzovic is suffering from cruciate ligament damage and will miss the majority of the season, while Mathieu Beda is suspended after picking up a red card in the first-leg at the Allianz Arena. The pair were replaced by Heinz Barmettler and Oliver Buff in the 0-2 loss to Neuchatel Xamax on Saturday, and the duo are expected to retain their places.

Bayern Munich:
Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm; Luiz Gustavo, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Muller, Ribery; Gomez

Jerome Boateng and Luiz Gustavo sat out the 5-0 trashing of Hamburg, but are expected to be available for the game on Tuesday. Their replacements on Saturday, namely Daniel Van Buyten and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, delivered impeccable performances, meaning the German and the Brazilian are not guaranteed a starting spot against Zurich.

Croatian striker Ivica Olic, who only recently returned from a nine-month spell on the sidelines, suffered a hip injury in the game against Hamburg and is expected to be out for eight weeks. Brazilian defender Breno has also been ruled out the match as he is still recuperating.

DID YOU KNOW?

Zurich have played 12 games against German opposition, losing nine, drawing one, and winning just two times.

The Swiss side have eliminated a team from Germany in a two-legged play-off only once back in season 1976-77, when they knocked Dynamo Dresden out of the European Cup on away goals rule after a 4-4 aggregate score.

The Super Swiss League runner-ups have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League only once back in season 2009/2010.

Zurich's Ludovic Magnin spent seven years in the Bundesliga, playing for Werder Bremen and Stuttgart. He replaced current Bavarians captain Philipp Lahm in the Swabians' line-up in 2005.

Bayern Munich eliminated Swiss oppositions in the form of Neuchatel Xamax 3-2 on aggregate under Jupp Heynckes in his first stint with the German side back in 1987-88 European Champions' Cup.

The Bavarians have won four of their last five away games in the Champions League.

Bayern Munich's Ivica Olic and Jerome Boateng played against Zurich with Hamburg in the round of 32 of the 2007-2008 Uefa Cup. The Croatian scored in a 3-1 first-leg win in Switzerland, and the Red Shorts went on to progress after a goalless draw in Germany.

The Bavarians last missed on a place in the Champions League back in season 2007-2008.


Prediction
Bayern Munich are in red-hot form after three consecutive wins, and taking into account the immense improvements in defence, Jupp Heynckes' men are expected to get a good result in Zurich on Tuesday night. The hosts entered the game back on a 0-2 home defeat, but their underdog status can play to their advantage.
Editor's Prediction
FC Zurich 0-1 Bayern Munich

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23.08. (Tue) 20:45 Villarreal - Odense

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Villarreal (4-3-1-2):
Lopez; Mario, Musacchio, Zapata, Oriol; Bruno, Marchena, Cani, Valero; Nilmar, Rossi

With vice-captain Gonzalo Rodriguez still out after the broken fibula he sustained in April, Matteo Musacchio is set to continue in his place, as the Yellow Submarine look to start with the side that lost to Niels Thorborg's men last week. Following their appearances last week, Villarreal will look to Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar in attack.

Odense (4-2-3-1):
Wessels; Ruud, Christensen, Reginiussen, Ruud; Sorensen, Djemba-Djemba; Johansson, Andreasen, Kadrii; Utaka

After resting many of the more recognisable names at the weekend, a more familiar side is set to line up in El Madrigal. After his stellar performance last Wednesday, Stefan Wessls can be assured of a starting berth for the Scandinavians, while Kalilou Traore could miss out despite scoring at the weekend.

DID YOU KNOW?

Villarreal qualified for the Champions League in their only previous appearance in the preliminary rounds, defeating Everton 4-2.

Only Marcos Senna, the Villarreal captain, remains from the team that started the side's 2006 Champions League semi-final draw against Arsenal at El Madrigal.

Villarreal defeated Odense in the second round of the 2004-05 Intertoto Cup, progressing with a 5-0 aggregrate victory over their opponents.

Odense have participated in Europe in all but one of the previous six years, their best showing a fourth-place finish in the Uefa Cup group stage in 2006-07

Spanish opponents have become familiar to the Danish club, who have recorded defeats against the likes of Osasuna, Getafe and Villarreal themselves.

Despite previous defeats to Spanish clubs in Europe, Odense recorded a surprise 2-0 victory in the Santiago Bernabeu in 1994-95, defeating a Real Madrid side that featured then-Denmark captain Michael Laudrup, to reach the Uefa Cup quarter-final.

Prediction
A sublime performance from Stefan Wessels last week guided his side to a clean sheet last week, but home advantage is likely to be key for the Yellow Submarine, who should ease to victory against their visibly weaker opponents.
Editor's Prediction
Villarreal 2-0 Odense

Udinese v Arsenal - Opta Facts - 24 August


Last week's first leg at the Emirates was the only previous meeting between these two sides.

Arsenal have lost only five of their 26 previous meetings with Italian opposition in Europe, and have conceded only one goal in the last seven occasions they have faced an Italian side.

Arsenal will visit Udinese after having failed to score in their two opening Premier League fixtures; the last time this happened to the Gunners was 42 years ago, back in the 1969/70 campaign.

Arsenal have won all nine legs of their five Champions League Qualifying matches to date, including the reverse fixture with Udinese, conceding only two goals in the process.

Udinese have lost three of their last four European games, drawing one.

However, at home they are unbeaten in their last five games (four wins and a draw).

Arsenal's last eight European games away from home have seen them lose six times, and win two; though one of these wins did come at this stage last season at Celtic (2-0).

Last Tuesday at the Emirates, Udinese attempted 18 shots, six more than Arsenal, but hit the target only three times

Eight of these shots were attempted by Antonio Di Natale, who has been the Serie A top-scorer in the past two seasons (29 goals scored in 2009-10 and 28 last term).

Overall, Di Natale has been the most prolific Serie A scorer over the last five seasons with 97 goals in 160 games.