Saturday, September 10, 2011

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11.09. (Sun) 21:00 Paris Saint Germain - Brestois

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Paris Saint Germain (4-2-3-1):
Sirigu, Ceará, Biševac, Sakho, Tiéné, Chantome, Matuidi, Menez, Pastore, Nene, Gameiro;

PSG coach Antoine Koumboure is set to welcome back Mamadou Sakho for the visit of Stade Brestois to the capital. The young French international has been sidelined for the past three weeks with a hamstring injury he picked up in the 1-1 draw with Rennes on matchday two. Christophe Jallet is also back after missing out with a thigh strain.

Uruguay captain Diego Lugano was a transfer deadline day signing from Fenerbahce and is in line to make his debut for Les Parisiens, albeit probably from the bench. The only main injury concern for the capital club is striker Guillaume Hoarau, who is sidelined with a damaged right shoulder. Kevin Gameiro, who has three goals in four this season, and the already impressive Javier Pastore will again be the source of goals for PSG after the Argentine's double assist against Toulouse before the inte break.

Stade Brestois (4-3-3):
Elana; Coulibaly, Bayasse, Zebina, Gent'ti; Poyet, Grougi, Culma, Lesoimier; Basat, Roux;

Stade Brestois' manager Alex Dupont has more than a lengthening injury list to mull over. Jonathan Ayite is struggling with a calf strain and isn't expected back for three weeks. Brahim Ferradj is out until 2012 with a torn knee ligament. Moise Brou Apanga is out with a damaged knee cartilage and won't be expected back until mid-October.

Defenders Omar Daf and Ahmed Kantari are sidelined with a knee and Achilles injury respectively. Johan Martial, Larsen Toure and Gregory Lorenzi round off an overcrowded physio room at Stade Francis Le Ble. Nolan Roux is expected to lead the line for the visitors.

DID YOU KNOW?

Paris Saint Germain needed two 90th-minute goals to beat Toulouse 3-1 at Stadium Municipal on matchday four.

Les Parisiens are third in Ligue 1, two points behind pacesetters Montpellier.

Should Antoine Koumbouare's side record a third sucessive win, it'll be the first time they've achieved that feat since August 2009.

New signing Kevin Gameiro is the side's top scorer, with three league goals in his quartet of games with one in the Europa League qualifiers too.

Les Parisiens begin their Europa League group campaign against Austrian outfit Salzburg on Thursday night in a pool which also contains Slovan Bratislava and Athletic Bilbao.

Stade Brestois were held to a 0-0 draw with Nice in their last league game.

Alex Dupont's men have drawn all four games in Ligue 1 this season, and occupy 15th place in the standings.

Sunday's visitors suffered early elimination from the Coupe de La Ligue after losing 3-2 to Caen despite a brace from Nolan Roux.

This fixture last season ended in a 3-1 victory for the Parisiens. Goals from Nene, Mathieu Bodmer and Ludovic Giuly ensured three points.

Prediction
After a fairly expensive summer outlay by the Parisiens, it looks as if the squad are coming together after what was initially a sluggish start. With javier Pastore already showing flashes of brilliance and Kevin Gameiro in good form, it is hard to see how an injury ravaged Brest side could produce a shock on Sunday evening. Comfortable win for Les Parisiens is the most likely scoreline
Editor's Prediction
Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Stade Brestois 29

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11.09. (Sun) 20:45 Palermo - Inter

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Palermo (4-4-2):
Tzorvas; Pisano, Silvestre, Cetto, Balzaretti; Alvarez, Barreto, Migliaccio, Ilicic; Hernandez, Micoli

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini sacked coach Stefano Pioli and his entire staff before the season even kicked off. Star players Javier Pastore, Salvatore Sirigu, Cesare Bovo and Mattia Cassani all left the club in the summer. Adam Simon and Luca Di Matteo will miss the clash due to injury.

Inter (3-4-3):
Julio Cesar; Ranocchia, Samuel, Lucio; Nagatomo, Cambiasso, Sneijder, Zanetti; Forlan, Milito, Zarate

The Gian Piero Gasperini era will begin at Inter on Sunday with the 53-year-old unable to call on Maicon, Thiago Motta, Emiliano Viviano, Ivan Cordoba and Cristian Chivu, who are all sidelined with various injuries. Diego Forlan and Mauro Zarate will likely make their Serie A debuts for the Nerazzurri on Sunday.

DID YOU KNOW?

Palermo have beaten Inter only once in their last 22 Serie A meetings.

The Sicilians had the fewest draws in the league last year (5).

The Renzo Barbera club kept only six clean sheets last season.

Palermo finished the 2010-11 campaign winning four out of their last six games.

Inter scored a league-high 69 goals in Serie A last season.

The San Siro outfit have not lost to Palermo in their last 11 Serie A meetings.

The Nerazzurri beat Palermo to lift the Coppa Italia in May.

Inter averaged 1.82 goals a game last year.

Prediction
The Renzo Barbera is never an easy place to pick up points but the hosts lost a plethora of players in the summer transfer window. Inter will do enough to pick up three points in Gasperini's coaching debut.
Editor's Prediction
Palermo 0-1 Inter Milan

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11.09. (Sun) 17:30 Wolfsburg - Schalke 04

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Wolfsburg (4-4-2)
Benaglio; Ochs, Kyrgiakos, Russ, Schafer; Hasebe, Trasch, Josue, Hitlsberger; Lakic, Mandzukic

Felix Magath has a few injury woes for this game with new signings Alexander Hleb and Chris joining long-term absentees Arne Friedrich and Thomas Kahlenberg on the sidelines.

Srdan Lakic is likely to replace Patrick Helmes upfront to partner Mario Mandzukic, while Marco Russ is expected to be preferred to Alexander Madlung at centre-half.

Schalke (4-4-2)
Fahrmann; Hoger, Howedes, Papadopoulos, Fuchs; Farfan, Matip, Holtby, Draxler; Raul, Huntelaar

Ralf Rangnick is nearing a fully-fit first-team squad but will have to do without Peer Kluge, Sergio Escudero, Levan Kenia and Tim Hoogland for the visit to Wolfsburg.

The only change from the side who defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 a fortnight ago is Marco Hoger, who is expected to resume at right-back in place of Atsuto Uchida.

DID YOU KNOW?

Wolfsburg have lost their last three Bundesliga games, despite opening the campaign on a good note with a 3-0 away victory against Koln.

13 out of the 28 Bundesliga meetings between these two sides have ended in a draw.

Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath left Schalke on March 16 this year to rejoin his former club, taking over two days later.

Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has so far scored 12 goals in all competitions this season. He only managed 13 in the whole of the 2010-11 campaign.

Despite losing their opening game of the season 3-0 to Stuttgart, Ralf Ragnick's men are in great form with three successive victories taking them up to second in the league table.

The 2010-11 Champions League semi-finalists have taken a 1-0 lead against Wolfsburg on 16 occasions but have won only seven of these games (drawing six and losing three).


Prediction
Despite Wolfsburg being in poor form and Schalke coming off the back of three successive victories, history tells us to expect a draw in this one. Felix Magath's team will be looking to bounce back after the horrorshow against Freiburg and I expect them to do so.
Editor's Prediction
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Schalke 04

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11.09. (Sun) 15:00 Roma - Cagliari

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Roma (4-3-3):
Stekelenburg; Cassetti, Burdisso, Heinze, Angel; Perrotta, De Rossi, Pjanic; Osvaldo, Totti, Bojan

Maarten Stekelenburg, Gabriel Heinze, Miralem Pjanic, Pablo Osvaldo and Bojan Krkic should all make their debuts for the capital city club on Sunday. Juan, Cicinho, David Pizarro and Erik Lamela are all sidelined with various bumps and bruises.

Cagliari (4-3-3):
Agazzi; Pisano, Canini, Astori, Agostini; Biondini, Conti, Nainggolan; El Kabir, Nene, Cossu

Massimo Ficcadenti will have basically a full compliment of players to choose from as just Sebastian Eriksson is injured while Joaquin Larrivey is suspended.


DID YOU KNOW?

Roma have not lost to Cagliari at home in 27 games.

Francesco Totti has 13 goals against Cagliari in his illustrious career.

The capital city club were awarded the most penalties in Serie A last season (13).

Roma failed to score in only five games last year.

Cagliari's last victory in the Eternal City came in 1968.

Andrea Cossu led the league in assists last season with 13.

Cagliari embarrassed Roma 5-1 in Sardinia last year.

The Islanders did not have a player sent off in the 2010-11 campaign.

Prediction
Roma have an excellent track record against Cagliari at the Olimpico and should take care of business in coach Luis Enrique's debut. Totti shines as the hosts cruise to a comfortable victory.
Editor's Prediction
Roma 3-1 Cagliari

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11.09. (Sun) 12:30 Juventus - Parma

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Juventus (4-2-4):
Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Marchisio, Pirlo; Pepe, Del Piero, Matri, Giaccherini

New summer signing Mirko Vucinic was robbed in broad daylight in Turin on Thursday but didn't sustain any injuries and will be available for selection while Vincenzo Iaquinta is out with a thigh problem and will not feature on Sunday.

Parma (4-4-2):
Mirante; Zaccardo, Paletta, Lucarelli, Rubin; Valiani, Morrone, Galloppa, Modesto; Giovinco, Pelle

Franco Colomba will be without a number of players for the clash in Turin as Massimo Gobbi, Raffaele Palladino, Fernando Marques and Danilo Pereira are all nursing various injuries.

DID YOU KNOW?

Juventus lost last season's Serie A opener to Bari at the Stadio San Nicola

The Old Lady has never succumbed to an opening day defeat at home.

The Turin outfit failed to score in 10 encounters in the 2010-11 campaign.

Juventus scored 57 goals last season, 12 less than Inter who led the league in that department.

Parma kept 13 clean sheet last year.

The Ennio Tardini club have a three-game winning streak against Juve.

Sebastian Giovinco scored three goals against his former club last season.

Parma did not have a player who reached double digits in scoring last year.

Prediction
Parma had Juventus' number last season and defeated them both home and away, however, the Bianconeri are formidable at home in Serie A openers and should squeak out a win in their brand new stadium.
Editor's Prediction
Juventus 2-1 Parma

La Liga Preview -Round 2


Sunday
Betis - Mallorca (12:00 CET)
Racing Santander - Levante (16:00 CET)
Rayo Vallecano - Zaragoza (18:00 CET)
Osasuna - Sporting de Gijon (18:00 CET)
Espanyol - Athletic Bilbao (22:00 CET)














Sunday 11th September 

BetisBetis – MallorcaZaragoza

(1200 CET)
  • Betis were the victors the last times these two sides met at the Benito Villamarin. On that occasion Damia, Pavone and Emana all scored in a 3-0 drubbing of Mallorca.
  • Last year’s Segunda B Champions had an impressive scoring record at home; failing to score on just one occasion whilst netting two or more goals 14 times – a record beaten by only one team.
  • Mallorca registered just three wins on the road all of last season.
  • Mallorca briefly reached the dizzy heights of sixth last year before a poor finish saw them drop to 17th by the end of the season.
Team News
Real Betis will be without defenders Nelson and Mario (thigh) for the visit of Mallorca on Saturday, whilst third-choice goalkeeper Fabricio is also a doubt.
First-choice goalkeeper Dudu Aoute suffered bruising to his ribs whilst on international duty, and is expected to be replaced by Juan Calatayud in goal for Mallorca, who has recently recovered from a fractured finger. Jose Marti, Emilio Nsue (both muscular) along with Michael Pereira (knee) are doubts for the game.
Marvin Ogunjimi’s transfer from Belgian club GENK has yet to be ratified by UEFA after the paperwork failed to be processed before the deadline due to a technical error.

EspanyolRacing Santander – LevanteLevante
(1600 CET)
  • Racing drew six games at home last season; only bottom of the table Almeria (10) picked up a single point at their own ground more often.
  • Racing were 3-1 up against Valencia in their opening fixture of the campaign before capitulating to a 4-3 defeat, when Roberto Soldado completed his hat-trick in injury time.
  • Levante secured a 1-1 in this fixture last season, one of their 14 points earned away from home.
  • The Granotes picked up three wins away throughout the entirety of the last campaign.
Team News
Marc Torrejon, Francis and Christian Stuani are all expected to return after missing Racing’s dramatic 4-3 defeat to Valencia. Uruguayan Stuani will return to the starting line-up to play against his former club, whilst Gonzalo Colsa is out of contention for the match against Levante. Julian Luque and Tono are both doubts for the game, meanwhile.
Levante have no fresh injury worries, and Juan Ignacio Martinez maybe able to welcome back Ruben Suarez (neck) and Miguel Pallardo (ankle) who both missed the match against Getafe.
VallecanoRayo Vallecano – ZaragozaZaragoza
(1800 CET)
  • Rayo Vallecano scored in all but one of their home games last season.
  • Sandoval’s team have beaten Zaragoza in la Liga on two occasions, both at the Estadio del Rayo Vallecano.
  • Zaragoza suffered a defeat heavier than last season's on the opening day; a 6-0 routing at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
  • The Aragon club occupied 20th place in la Liga last season more than any other team, apart from Almeria who finished bottom of the league.
Team News
Jose Sandoval has a full squad to choose from for the visit of Zaragoza on Saturday night as the newly promoted side search for their first victory after Rayo draw against Athletic Bilbao on the opening day.
Zaragoza’s Edu Oriol is a doubt for the trip to Rayo with a broken fibre as Javier Aguirre’s side look to recover from their opening day 6-0 mauling to Real Madrid. Helder Postiga and Luis Garcia could be paired together in Zaragoza’s attack in their pursuit of a win at the Estadio del Rayo Vallecano.


 OsasunaOsasuna – Sporting de GijonSporting

(1800 CET)
  • In a tight match between these two teams last season, Osasuna were the winners, scoring the only goal of the game.
  • Osasuna finished above their opponents last season due to their superior head-to-head record; both teams finished on 47pts.
  • Sporting de Gijon inflicted one of two losses against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last season, a minor success in an otherwise horrific away record which returned just two wins.
  • Los Rojiblancos managed 11 goals against teams in the top half last season, the worst record in the league.
Team News
Osasuna will be without Javad Nekounam who picked up a knee injury whilst on international duty with Iran, whilst Xavi Annunziata (thigh) is also a doubt. Meanwhile, ‘keeper Asier Riesgo and Ion Echaide were absent from training and both are expected to either be withdrawn from the squad or declared fit at the latest possible moment.
Alberto Lora (hamstring) is the sole injury worry for Manuel Preciado as Sporting look to pick up their first points of the season following a 2-1 defeat at home to Real Sociedad.

EspanyolEspanyol – Athletic BilbaoBilbao
(2200 CET)
  • Espanyol lost more games than they won last season, the highest placed team in la Liga to do so.
  • This fixture heavily favours the home side, with only one win coming for the away side in the last 26 games.
  • Athletic Bilbao conceded 35 goals in away games last year, more than any other team that finished in the top ten.
  • 2-1 was a popular scoreline away from home for Bilbao – the games finished 2-1 a total of eight times last season; five losses and three wins.
Team News
Espanyol will be without Rui Fonte (shoulder) for the visit of Athletic Bilbao after the midfielder picked up the knock whilst on international duty ruling himself out of Saturday’s match, along with Jordi Amat.
Felipe Mattioni will be out for six months following cruciate ligament damage in his right knee has ruled the winger out until February at the earliest.
Athletic Bilbao have no serious injury worries but Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez, who featured whilst on international duty with Spain, maybe fatigued.