Sunday, January 8, 2012

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09.01. (Mon) 20:45 Arsenal - Leeds United

Arsen Wenger - Arsenal
Arsen Wenger - Arsenal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

ARSENAL

Almunia
Koscielny, Squillaci, Miquel, Hoyte
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Song, Coquelin, Benayoun, Chamakh, Park
LEEDS UTD
 
Lonergan
Connolly, Lees, O’Dea, White
Townsend, Clayton, Brown, Pugh
McCormack, Becchio

The headlines for Arsenal this week have been dominated by the return of Thierry Henry on a two-month loan, but the Gunners’ legend is unlikely to make the starting XI, with Marouane Chamakh - who is yet to depart for the African Cup of Nations - likely to partner Chu-Young Park in attack. Gervinho is on Afcon duty with Ivory Coast. The midfield is likely to feature youngsters Francis Coquelin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Yossi Benayoun may also be handed a start after some impressive recent performances. In defence, Thomas Vermaelen (calf) and Bacary Sagna (ankle) join Andre Santos (ankle), Carl Jenkinson (back) and Kieran Gibbs (groin) on the sidelines, while Johan Djourou is suspended.
Leeds United were rocked by news on Tuesday that centre-back Patrick Kisnorbo will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. The visitors are also without in-form midfielder Robert Snodgrass and club captain Jonny Howson.
DID YOU KNOW?

  • Arsenal have lost just one of their last 35 FA cup games at home - a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Leeds in 1997.
  • Thierry Henry (pictured right) has scored a phenomenal 11 goals in 11 games against the visitors, bagging four in his last match against them in April 2004.
  • Arsenal have made it past the third round in each of the last 15 seasons, a better record than any other side.
  • The hosts have scored at least three goals in four out of five of their last matches against the visitors.
  • However, Arsenal have averaged just one goal per game in their last seven fixtures in all competitions.
  • This is the second season in a row that the two sides have been drawn against each other at this stage of the competition, with Arsenal winning a replay at Elland Road 3-1 in last season’s tie, after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
  • Leeds have been drawn against a ‘top four’ club for the third season in a row at this stage of the FA Cup, facing Arsenal in 2011 and Manchester United in 2010.
  • The away side have won just one of their last 13 encounters with top-flight opponents, beating Manchester United 1-0 in 2010.

Prediction
Both sides come into the match without a number of crucial players, but I think that the squad depth required in the Premier League will give Arsenal that edge, as they have a number of quality players ready to fill the gaps. I’m backing a 3-1 win for the Gunners, with Thierry Henry to make an appearance and snatch a fairytale goal against the side he seems to love scoring against so much.
Editor's Prediction
Arsenal 3-1 Leeds

09.01. (Mon) 17:00 Tunisia - Sudan

Cesc Fabregas of Catalonia (R) and Khaleo Korbi of Tunisia
Getty
PROBABLE LINEUPS

TUNISIA

Mathlouthi
Ifa, Haggui, Abdennour, JemalKorbi, Saihi
Msakni, Chikhaoui, Dhaouadi
Khelifa
SUDAN

MahgoubBalla, Albasha, Massawi, Musaab
Badreldin, Youssef, Bakkhit, Tahir
Mustafa
Careca

After their successful Spain-based training camp, during which they beat Basque Country 2-0 and held Catalunya to a goalless draw, Tunisia are in Dubai for the first of two scheduled friendlies against Sudan and Cote D’Ivoire.
Sami Trabelsi has called up a 26-man roster and will use the next two matches to decide which three players he will leave out of his final squad list which must be communicated to the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) by January 11.
Trabelsi has continued his strategy of relying on a core group of players from African champions Esperance. With the exception of an out of form Walid Hichri, all their players look sure to take part.
On the other hand, the upcoming week will be an especially important one for Tunisia’s all-time leading scorer, Issam Jemaa, who struggled mightily during the trip to Spain due to a lack of playing time at club level. On the health front, Ousamma Darragi may be exempted from this match since he's missed two training sessions with flu.
Meanwhile, Sudan are fresh off a training camp of their own. Mohammed Abdalla Mazda’s men beat Qatari club side Al-Jaish 2-1 in Doha before being unable to put any goals past second division side Musaimir. The Falcons’ coach has been fielding various lineups in order to come closer to cutting his 29-man roster down to 23 players.
In terms of player news, the big story so far is that team captain Haitham Mustafa is back in the squad after reconciling his differences with the coach, who excluded him from participation at the LG Cup in Morocco for making derisive comments to the press.
The Sudanese FA has put in some solid preparation in order to have their side be as prepared as possible for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). After facing Tunisia, Sudan face Senegal in Dakar on January 12, and then co-hosts Gabon on January 16 in Bitam.
DID YOU KNOW?
  • The last time these two teams faced each other in a friendly was on June 20, 2010, when the Carthage Eagles downed the Sudanese by a whopping 6-2 score-line in Omdurman.
  • There has never been a draw between the two sides in the seven times they’ve faced each other.
  • Sudan’s most famous victory over Tunisia was a 3-2 home triumph when the Falcons finished ahead of them in the preliminary stages of 2008 Afcon qualifying.
  • The all-time record between the two sides favours the north Africans: Tunisia has won five times while the Sudanese have two victories to their name.
  • Coach Mazda included two Nigerian-born players who ply their trade in Sudan (Kelechi Osunwa and Kayode Sherif Sule) in his provisional squad for the continental showpiece.