Thursday, August 25, 2011

2011/12 Europa League Playoff Round - Second Leg


Stoke City v FC Thun
The Potters have won all three European games 1-0 so far this season.
Stoke have won four of their previous seven European games, losing just one of them.
FC Thun have now lost all three previous European games against English sides, twice against Arsenal and once against Stoke.
The Swiss side have only won one of their five European games this season.
Stoke have scored exactly one goal in all three away games in all competitions this term, conceding just one goal in total.
Thun are unbeaten on their travels in all competitions this term, winning two and drawing three.

Dnipro v Fulham
Fulham have faced Ukrainian opposition once before in European competition, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 on aggregate in the Round of 32 in 2009/10.
Dnipro have faced English opposition twice before in Europe, losing both games 0-3.
The Ukrainians lost at this stage of the competition last season after a 0-1 aggregate defeat to Polish side Lech Poznan.
The away side has failed to score in eight of Fulham's nine games this season in all competitions.
Fulham have already netted 15 goals in the competition this season and have conceded just one.
Only two teams (Aalesund and Dinamo Tbilisi (17)) have scored more goals in the competition this season than the Cottagers (15).

FC Sion v Celtic
Celtic have played 17 games against Swiss opposition in Europe, winning nine of them.
Celtic are winless in six trips to Switzerland in European competition, not picking up a victory since a 3-0 win in Zurich in 1966/67.
The Swiss side have faced Scottish opposition five times in Europe, losing three and winning one - with four of the five games coming against Aberdeen.
Celtic have only lost one of their last 10 away games in all competitions.
The Bhoys have kept clean sheets in each of their last four away games, winning all four of them.
Sion have netted exactly one goal in each of their three home games this term, with all three goals coming in the 64th minute or later.

Rangers v NK Maribor
These sides have met once before in European competition. In 2001/02, Rangers beat Maribor 3-0 away and 3-1 at home in a Champions League qualifier, though Maribor did extract some revenge in the first leg of this tie, beating Ally McCoist's side 2-1.
Since reaching the final of this competition in 2008, the Gers have won just one of 21 European fixtures.
Maribor have lost at this stage of the competition in both of the last two seasons.
Last season, the Violets beat Hibernian 6-2 on aggregate in a Europa League qualifier.
Maribor's last nine European games have seen a total of 30 goals netted; an average of over three per game.
Rangers have only lost one of their last twelve home games in the Europa League; a 0-1 defeat to PSV in March.

Birmingham v Nacional
This season, Birmingham City are making their first appearance in Europe since 1961/62.
The Blues have won 10 and drawn two of their 12 previous European home games, though their last game was a 1-0 victory over Espanyol in 1961/62.
Nacional have failed to win any of their eight previous European away games.
The Portuguese side have drawn both of their last two games in all competitions 0-0.
The Blues have only managed one win in their four games this season so far, losing two of them.
Birmingham have only failed to score in one of their last 14 games at St Andrews in all competitions.

Tottenham v Hearts
Tottenham are unbeaten in five clashes with Scottish opposition in Europe (inc. qualifiers), winning four of them.
In five meetings with Scottish opposition, Spurs have scored 18 goals and conceded six.
Hearts' 0-5 defeat at home to Tottenham in the first leg of this contest was their first ever game against English opposition in Europe.
Tottenham scored five goals from just eight shots on target in the first leg between these sides.
The Jam Tarts are winless in 11 games on the road in all competitions.
The North London side had five different goalscorers in their 5-0 victory at Tynecastle last week.

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26.08. (Fri) 20:45 Barcelona - Porto

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-3-3):
Valdes; Dani Alves, Mascherano, Abidal, Adriano; Busquets, Xavi, Fabregas; Pedro, Messi, Villa.

Gerard Pique joins Carles Puyol on the sidelines following a tear to his left calf muscle during a training session.

Club captain Puyol has been out of action since an operation on a recurring injury earlier in the close season. Guardiola is expected to push Eric Abidal alongside Javier Mascherano in central defence with Adriano likely to slot into the left-back role.

Alexis Sanchez returned to training with the first team on Wednesday, and could make an appearance but it is likely to be from the substitute’s bench.

Porto (4-3-3):
Helton; Maicon, Otamendi, Rolando, Pereira; Fernando, Defour, Moutinho; Hulk, Kleber, Varela.

Vitor Pereira has a near full-squad to chose from, including summer signings Steven Defour and Brazilian Kleber.

The only player of note missing from the Porto squad is another summer signing, Alex Sandro, who picked up an injury at the Under-20 World Cup whilst playing for Brazil.

Despite the speculation surrounding full-back Alvaro Pereira linking the Uruguayan to Chelsea and a reunion with his former coach, Andre Villas-Boas, he is expected to feature.

DID YOU KNOW?

Barcelona will be appearing in their eighth Super Cup, more than any club in the competitions history, winning the accolade four times.

Italian side AC Milan are the only team to have won the Super Cup on more occasions [5].

Guardiola’s side overcame Manchester United in last year’s Champions League at Wembley 3-1 to secure their place in this year’s Super Cup.

Spanish sides have appeared in six of the last ten Super Cup finals, winning the trophy five times.

Porto won the Europa League last season, overcoming Braga in last year’s final 1-0.

The Portuguese Champions were unbeaten in last season’s Portuguese Superliga, winning the domestic title with a record of 27 wins and three draws.

Porto have seen an exodus of both players and coaches over the summer; Andreas Villas-Boas repeated Jose Mourinho’s move from Porto to Chelsea, whilst Falcao and Ruben Micael have transferred to Atletico Madrid.

Porto lost the Super Cup in 2003 and 2004, with their sole win in the competition coming back in 1987.

Prediction
A bold prediction, yes, but there will be goals in a match that thrives on open, end-to-end football; and with Barcelona's superiority this should suit Guardiola's side.
Editor's Prediction
Barcelona 4-2 Porto