11.12. (Sun) 17:30 Stuttgart - Bayern Munchen

Bongarts

PROBABLE LINEUPS

STUTTGART Ulreich Boka, Tasci, Maza, Molinaro Kvist, Gentner Harnik, Hajnal, Okazaki Cacau

BAYERN MUNICH Neuer Boateng, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm Tymoshchuk, Kroos Robben, T. Muller, Ribery Gomez

As has been the case for the past few months, Die Schwaben will yet again be without skipper Matthieu Delpierre, as the Frenchman continues to recover from a nasty knee injury.

Fellow defenders Khalid Boularouz and Stefano Celozzi will join Delpierre on the sidelines with knocks of their own, alongside Johan Audel and goalkeeper Marc Ziegler.

Four of Bayern's players have doubts over their involvement in Sunday's game due to flu-like symptoms, including Mario Gomez, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Arjen Robben. However, it is said that the first three are recovering well, meaning that the Dutchman is the biggest question mark.

Bastian Schweinsteiger is recovering well from a broken collarbone sustained at the start of November, but is not quite ready to rejoin the first team yet. The same can be said for Breno, who has yet to be given the all-clear by therapists following arson charges.

DID YOU KNOW

• Bayern Munich's star striker Mario Gomez transferred to the Allianz Arena from Stuttgart for a Bundesliga record fee of approximately €30-35 million.

• The Bavarians' last two visits to the Mercedes-Benz Arena, both last season, were veritable goalfests at 6-3 and 5-3, although Bayern were victorious on both counts.

• Stuttgart's main goalscorer, Martin Harnik, has less than half of Mario Gomez's tally (13) for the league season with six so far. So large is the gulf in goalscoring prowess between the teams this campaign that even eight-goal left-winger Franck Ribery beats the Austrian.

• Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia is the only player ever to have scored more than 100 goals in both the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, some of which were scored when he was spearheading the attack for Bayern Munich between 1991-94.

Prediction

Stuttgart can make some decent progress in a bid for a European berth next term with a win over the Bavarians, so expect them to put up a fight. However, Bayern will hope to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in midweek, and will want to use this trip as a springboard to get back on track. Die Roten's class should shine through to win them this one.

Editor's Prediction

VfB Stuttgart 1-2 Bayern

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11.12. (Sun) 17:00 Stoke - Tottenham

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

STOKE CITY   Sorensen Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Higginbotham Pennant, Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington Walters, Crouch

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Friedel Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto Lennon, Parker, Modric, Bale Van der Vaart Adebayor

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis barely has any injury concerns ahead of this fixture, as Mamady Sidibe (knee) is the only player still sidelined. But Danny Collins is also unavailable, after going out on loan to Ipswich Town.

Meanwhile, Rory Delap missed the victory over Everton with a back injury, but he should at least be able to make the bench for this clash.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will not be able to use the services of David Bentley (knee), Michael Dawson (Achilles), Tom Huddlestone (ankle) or Jermaine Jenas (Achilles).

Several players are doubts for this fixture, with Gareth Bale recovering from a knock, while Jermain Defoe is dealing with a hamstring problem. Ledley King has yet again encountered a knee problem, while Niko Kranjcar is recovering from a thigh injury. Roman Pavlyuchenko was previously ruled out for the game against PAOK, but could be fit for the upcoming game. But it is unlikely that he might be handed a place in the starting line-up.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Stoke City have lost four of their last six games in the Premier League. But they have won their last two.

• The Potters have beaten Spurs 16 times in league games at home, but have lost 11 games as well. A further nine ended as draws.

• Over the course of the the two clubs' existence, Stoke have managed to put 94 goals past the north London club's defence, while conceding 126 in the process.

• Tottenham Hotspur have won four of the last five Premier League games between the two sides, including two victories at the Britannia Stadium.

• Gareth Bale (pictured right) has scored four goals and created four more in his last five games in the Premier League.

• Harry Redknapp's men are currently undefeated in their last 11 league games, and are on a run of six consecutive victories.

Prediction

The general notion is that the Britannia Stadium is a difficult place to go to and get a favourable result, with many teams in the top six having previously settled for a point. But the recent form shown by both teams means that manager Harry Redknapp will be unlikely to settle for anything less than three points.
Spurs are one of the teams to beat at the moment, and should be able to snatch a victory in the Potteries.

Editor's Prediction

Stoke City 1-2 Tottenham

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11.12. (Sun) 15:30 Borussia D. - Kaiserslautern

Bongarts



PROBABLE LINEUPS

BORUSSIA DORTMUND Weidenfeller Piszczek, Santana, Hummels, Schmelzer Gundogan, Da Silva Kuba, Kagawa, Gotze Lewandowski

KAISERSLAUTERN Trapp Dick, Amedick, Abel, Bugera Tiffert, De Wit Sahan, Shechter, Fortounis Kouemaha

Jurgen Klopp is facing an injury crisis in the holding midfield positions as Moritz Leitner, Sebastian Kehl and Sven Bender are all out of the game on Sunday. Ilkay Gundogan is almost certain to start against Marco Kurz' men, but his partner in the double pivot is as-yet unknown.

Antonio da Silva is the prime candidate to line up next to the Germany international, but there is also the distant possibility that one of Kevin Grosskreutz or Mats Hummels could slot in. Mario Gotze is also a question mark for the match due to an adductor strain, with Grosskreutz or Ivan Perisic the potential stand-ins. Centre-half Neven Subotic is definitely out of the match, as he is recuperating from a facial injury that he picked up against Wolfsburg.

Kaiserslautern will have to do without the services of midfielders Chadli Amri, Jiri Bilek and Gil Vermout, who have all been sidelined with different knocks. Bulgarian striker Ilian Micanski also misses the game on Sunday as he is still working his way back to full fitness.

DID YOU KNOW

• Borussia Dortmund have not lost to Kaiserslautern in seven years. FCK last won against BVB in 2004, courtesy of a penalty by Ferydoon Zandi.

• Jurgen Klopp's men have emerged victorious in 10 of their last 11 home games.

• Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller played for Kaiserslautern from 2000 to 2002. FCK won all but one of the eight matches in which he played.

• Kaiserslautern are on a five-game winless streak in the Bundesliga, picking up only three points in the process.

• FCK are currently the only team in the league to regularly field an all-German back line.

• Coach Marco Kurz and defenders Mathias Abel and Martin Amedick are all former Dortmund players.

Prediction

Marco Kurz' men seem unable to get a win from anywhere just now, and they will have their work cut out on Sunday. This season Dortmund have always been able to deliver after playing in the Champions League in midweek, and it will be a surprise if that changes against Kaiserslautern.

Editor's Prediction

Dortmund 3-0 Kaiserslautern

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11.12. (Sun) 15:00 Bologna - Milan

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

BOLOGNA Gillet Raggi, Portanova, Antonsson, Morleo Perez, Mudingayi, Kone RamirezAcquafresca, Di Vaio

AC MILAN Abbiati Abate, Yepes, Thiago Silva, Antonini Aquilani, Van Bommel, Seedorf  Boateng Ibrahimovic, Pato

Stefano Pioli should have a full squad at this disposal for the visit of the champions, with Diego Perez in line to start after recovering from the thigh strain that kept him out of last week's victory over Siena, while Pongiotis Kone should also return after serving his suspension in last week's encounter.

The visitors should welcome back Christian Abbiati and Mark van Bommel this week, after recovering from shoulder and knee injuries respectively, while Alberto Aquilani is also expected to take part after sitting out the midweek clash with Viktoria Plzen through suspension.

The Rossoneri will, however, still be without the services of Alessandro Nesta, with the former Lazio captain not expected back until after the winter break, while Antonio Nocerino will also miss out with a thigh injury.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Bologna have scored just 11 goals in Serie A so far this season, with only Cesena's paltry six a smaller total in the league.

• The hosts have not beaten Sunday's opponents since August 2008.

• Stefano Pioli's men have only conceded two goals fewer than Massimiliano Allegri's side this season, yet remain 15 places below the champions in Serie A.

• AC Milan have not conceded a goal in their previous four clashes with the Rossoblu.

• The Rossoneri have scored more goals than any other side in Serie A during the current campaign, having found the back of the net 29 times.

• Milan have won twice as many matches as Bologna this season, with eight to their name.

Prediction

Milan have been in excellent form since the defeat to Juventus in October and, with the Rossoblu struggling at present, a comfortable victory for the champions looks a likely outcome.

Editor's Prediction

Bologna 1-3 Milan

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11.12. (Sun) 11:30 Kashiwa Reysol - Monterrey

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

KASHIWA REYSOL Sugeno Kondo, Masushima, Hashimoto, Mizuno Leandro, Otani, Barada, Wagner Tanaka, Kudo

MONTERREY Orozco Basanta, Meza, Mier, Cardozo Delgado, Perez, Chavez, De la Pena, Suazo, De Nigris

Hosts Reysol are coming off a mostly-effortless win over Auckland City on Thursday night, and should return to Toyota Stadium with most of the the same starting lineup. The lone exception is left-back Hiroki Sakai, who sustained a knock to his knee in the middle of the play-off match. Former Celtic player Koki Mizuno, who came on for Sakai after the injury, is likely to start in his place.

Monterrey have struggled this season, placing just 11th in the Mexican Primera Division. Coach Victor Vucetich has called his Japanese opponents "very organised and disciplined," but his side will believe that they can secure the win that would set up a semi-final face-off with Brazilian outfit Santos. The team will be led by captain Luis Perez, who was a member of the Necaxa who beat Spanish giants Real Madrid in a shootout to win third place in the 2000 edition of the tournament.

DID YOU KNOW?

• This marks the first Club World Cup appearance for both sides.

• Monterrey took 16 out of 18 possible points in the group stage of the Concacaf Champions League, going unbeaten in their 12-match campaign.

• The 2011 Club World Cup is Monterrey captain Luis Perez's sixth appearance in a Fifa tournament. His previous appearances include World Cup 2006, the 2005 Confederations Cup, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2000 Club World Cup, and the 1997 Under-17 World Cup.

• Monterrey's home ground is the Estadio Tecnologico; with a capacity of over 32,000, it is twice as large as Kashiwa Reysol's Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium.

• Kashiwa Reysol midfielder Masakatsu Sawa spent four seasons playing in Peru and was even offered a chance to play for the Peruvian national team, but chose not to relinquish his Japanese citizenship.
• Reysol led the J-League for nearly two-thirds of the season, but needed a win on the last weekend of play to secure their first-ever championship.

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11.12. (Sun) 08:00 Esperance Tunis - Al Sadd

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

ESPERANCE Ben Cherifia Afful, Hichri, Banana, Chammam Traoui, Korbi Msakni, Darragi, Bouazzi Ndjeng

AL SADD Mohamed Saqr Nabeel, Koni, Lee JS, Belhadj Alyazidi, Rizik, Al-Bloushi Keita, Niang, Khalfan

Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul has few injury concerns ahead of Sunday's clash, which is a relief for a tight-knit side. The Tunisian outfit, who are fresh from winning a rare treble, will rely on the talents of Oussama Darragi, Harrison Afful, Mejdi Traoui and tricky wide man Youssef Msakni.

Al Sadd only arrived in Japan in midweek and coach Jorge Fossati has admitted that it is not the ideal preparation for the clash. Senegalese striker Mamadou Niang is a doubt for the clash with an infection, however, most of the Al Sadd squad is available, with AFC Champions League final man-of-the-match Abdul Kader Keita revealing that he cannot wait to take to the field in Toyota.

DID YOU KNOW?

• In Esperance's successful Caf Champions League campaign, they went unbeaten in the competition proper and didn't concede one goal at home.

• Esperance have been Tunisian champions a record 24 times.

• The Tunisian club's captain is Oussama Darragi, who is only 24 years old and has played his whole professional career with the Taraji.

• Al Sadd are the first Qatari team, club or country, to compete in a major senior international Fifa tournament.

• The Qatari club were also Asian champions way back in 1989, the only club from their nation to have achieved this.
• Al Sadd lost both legs of their 2011 AFC Champions League quarter-final to Sepahan but qualified after the Iranians were handed a 3-0 first-leg defeat for fielding an ineligible player.

Prediction

The African champions are a cohesive unit who should be able to pull apart an Al Sadd who rely on individual brilliance on the counter-attack. Al Sadd keeper Mohammed Saqr had a blinder in the ACL final and he will need to reproduce such heroics for his side here.

Editor's Prediction

ES Tunis 2-0 Al Sadd

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