Monday, March 26, 2012

27.03. Najave meceva

Champions League, četvrtfinale, prvi mečevi

Apoel Nicosia - Real Madrid
Ako nam Lion služi kao neko merilo onda Apoel neće imati nikakve šanse . Lion je izgubio od Apoela na penale. Ja još uvek smatram da je Lion bolja ekipa, bar na duže staze, no hoću da ukažem na to da Lion nije imao nikakve šanse u dva meča u okviru grupe protiv Reala. Oni su ubedljivo savladani na ta dva meča ukupnim rezultatom 0-6.
Apoel, koji će sutra verovatno igrati ultra defanzivno, može da oteža posao Realu, možda će čak uspeti da odigraju 0-0, ali pobeda u prvom meču? Ne, to se sigurno neće desiti.
Manduka, koji je postigao gol protiv Liona, će biti suspendovan sutra a ni Ćabi Alonso, igrač sredine terena Reala, neće igrati iz istog razloga. Lasana Dijara je povređen. Izgleda da će Real igrati u veoma ofanzivnoj formaciji sutra, bar se tako priča u Španiji. Očekujem tešku utakmicu za domaćina.

Benfica - Chelsea
Žesus, trener Benfike, je zadovoljan jer će njegova ekipa igrati protiv ekipe iz Engleske. Ne znam da li je u pravu ili ne no on je mišljenja da njegova ekipa zna kako da igra protiv Britanskih ekipa. Dobro, oni su odigrali nerešeno oba meča u grupi protiv M. Junajteda no Junajted je igrao veoma loše u Evropi ove sezone.
Nisam preterano oduševljen ovim timom Benfike no odaću im jedno priznanje. Oni igraju sjajno na svom terenu.
Aimar će igrati ponovo, bar poslednjih pola sata, jer se on često umori. Kardozo će igrati u napadu kao i uvek, Rodrigo će možda takođe igrati a naravno i Vitsel. Garaj, bivši odbrambeni igrač Real Madrida, će najverovatnije propustiti sutrašnji meč.
Trener Čelzija ima jako puno opcija. Samo je Ivanović povređen odnosno njegov nastup je veoma neizvestan. Sigurno nije lako Di Mateu da izabere “najbolji” tim za ovaj meč no ja verujem da će on biti nešto više defanzivno orijentisan na ovom gostovanju. Najvažnije za njih je da izbegnu poraz. Čelzi protiv Benfike na Stamford Bridžu? To zvuči kao sigurna pobeda domaćina.
Da je Porto domaćin Čelziju onda bih se opredelio za pobedu domaćina ali ne i u slučaju Benfike.


FA Cup, ponovljeni mečevi

Sunderland - Everton
Sumnjam da ćemo videti pobednika na ovom meču posle devedeset minuta igre. Obe ekipe su takmičarski raspoložene, sličnog su kvaliteta, i imaju igrače koji su spremni da ginu na terenu sada kada ih samo ovaj meč deli od polufinala FA kupa na Vembliju.
Za sve one koji žele da se klade na Sanderlend ću kazati da će Sanderlend biti u jačem sastavu nego u prvom meču odigranom na Gudison Parku (1-1). Sesenjo i Katermol su bili suspendovani za taj meč no obojica će biti na raspolaganju sutra. S. Larson i Bardsli su odmoreni za vikend. I njih dvojica se vraćaju u postavu ali ključni odbrambeni igrač O’Šej neće igrati.
Everton je bio bolja ekipa u tom prvom meču a s obzirom da su bili domaćini onda se može reći da su i trebali da budu bolji. Sutra bi trebala da bude obrnuta situacija mada u suštini nema mnogo toga što razlikuje ove ekipe što se može videti i na tabeli. Pienar nema pravo nastupa za Everton sutra.
Mislim da ćemo videti produžetke na ovom meču. Biće nerešeno!

Tottenham - Bolton
Ovo u suštini nije ponovljen meč. Ovaj meč je naravno prekinut pred kraj prvog poluvremena pre desetak dana. Rezultat je u trenutku prekida bio 1-1. Bolton je neočekivano poveo ali su Pevci uspeli da izjednače i može se reći da su posle toga preuzeli kontrolu nad mečom.
Očekujem da će Totenhem sutra učiniti dovoljno da zabeleži pobedu. Lenon i King bi trebali da budu na raspolaganju ponovo.
Siguran sam da će ovo biti meč pun emocija no gledajući na meč sa fudbalske strane mislim da Bolton neće moći da izađe na kraj sa Totenhemom. Totenhem će uskoro ponovo odigrati sjajno neki meč a možda će se to desiti već danas.

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27.03. (Tue) 20:45 Benfica - Chelsea

CL- KRC Genk v Chelsea FC, Ramires and David Luiz
Getty Images

PROBABLE LINEUPS


BENFICA

Artur
Pereira, Luisao, Jardel, EmersonJavi Garcia Gaitan, Witsel, Bruno Cesar Cardozo, Rodrigo
CHELSEA

CechIvanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole
Lampard, Essien
Sturridge, Mata, Ramires
Drogba

Pablo Aimar came off of the bench only to receive a red card against Olhanense at the weekend so Jorge Jesus may choose to stick with Nicolas Gaitan, Axel Witsel and Bruno Cesar in midfield.

Nelson Oliveira will compete with Rodrigo for a place in the Benfica attack, with the latter boasting a stronger goal scoring record this season.

Defender Ezequiel Garay and striker Yannick Djalo will be missing due to injury.

Roberto Di Matteo is hoping Branislav Ivanovic can recover from a thigh injury in time to feature but if not Jose Bosingwa will start at right-back. In the centre of defence David Luiz could return at the expense of Gary Cahill against his old club.

Otherwise Di Matteo is unlikely to sway too much from the side that beat Napoli in the previous round. Didier Drogba will probably be preferred to Fernando Torres in attack while Raul Meireles is also in contention for a place in midfield.

DID YOU KNOW?
  • Benfica had not suffered defeat in the league until they lost to Guimaraes in February. That match was the first of a run of three games without victory, including a 3-2 loss to Porto, who now top the table.
  • Striker Rodrigo has bagged eight goals in the league for Benfica this season but scored just once in 17 matches while on loan with Bolton Wanderers from Real Madrid during the 2010-11 campaign.
  • The Eagles overturned a 3-2 first leg deficit to progress past Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg in the previous round.
  • Chelsea will meet Benfica on Tuesday for the first time. Portuguese sides have not been kind to their English counterparts this season; Sporting Lisbon knocked Manchester City out of the Europa League while Benfica played a part in Manchester United's Champions League elimination.
  • The Blues do have two former Eagles players in their ranks to help them out on the night. David Luiz and Ramires were teammates in Lisbon before joining Chelsea.
  • Chelsea have not won away from home in the Champions League this season. They lost games against Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen and drew with Genk and Valencia.
  • They will feel confident if they are able to keep the score close in Portugal, however, having won all four of their home fixtures in the competition this season.
Prediction
Chelsea's away record in the Champions League this season has not been strong and Benfica should edge this encounter but the Blues will remain optimistic if they can keep it close and grab an away goal. They have shown more resilience since Roberto Di Matteo took over as manager and should be capable of keeping themselves in the tie ahead of the second leg.
Editor's Prediction
Benfica 2-1 Chelsea

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27.03. (Tue) 20:45 APOEL - Real

Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Real Madrid, Malaga
Getty Images


PROBABLE LINEUPS


APOEL

Chiotis Poursaitidis, Jorge, Oliveira, Boaventura
 Morais, Marcinho
 Charalambidis, Trickovski, Solari
 Ailton
REAL MADRID


Casillas
Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo
Khedira, Granero
Ozil, Kaka, Ronaldo
Benzema


APOEL coach Ivan Jovanovic will be unable to call upon the suspended Gustavo Manduca in attack with the Brazilian set to be replaced by Ivan Trickovski.  Marcinho may partner Nuno Morais in the centre of the field for the Cypriot club with Helder Sousa likely to drop to the bench. William Boaventura is expected to shrug off a knock to start at left-back.
Jose Mourinho welcomes back two players from domestic suspension as Pepe and Mesut Ozil are likely to return to the Spanish side's starting XI.
However, one player who will not feature for Los Blancos is Xabi Alonso, who is banned after reaching his yellow card limit in the competition. Esteban Granero is likely to start.
Despite playing two forwards in the 5-1 Liga win over Real Sociedad on Saturday, the visitors are expected to line-up with Karim Benzema as the lone striker with Gonzalo Higuain resigned to a place on the bench.
Angel Di Maria, Lassana Diarra, Jose Callejon and Ricardo Carvalho all miss out through injury as all four are left out of Madrid's 19-man squad.
DID YOU KNOW?
  • APOEL have already become the most successful Cypriot side in Champions League history by reaching the quarter-finals.
  • Dionisis Chiotis was the side's hero in the round of 16, saving two penalties in the shootout victory against Olympique Lyonnais after the tie had ended 1-1 on aggregate. 
  • This is the third consecutive season where APOEL have faced Spanish opposition in Europe. They met Getafe in the Europa League last campaign and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League the season before.
  • Real Madrid have a near perfect record in the competition this term, winning seven of their eight games so far, drawing the other.
  • Jose Mourinho has a 100 per cent record in Champions League quarter-finals with Porto, Chelsea, Inter and now Madrid as his sides have all advanced to the semi-finals when they made the last eight.
  • No other team has competed in more quarter-finals in the competition than the Spanish giants, who will be making their 29th appearance in the last eight. Los Blancos have lost only six of these fixtures.
Prediction
APOEL have done brilliantly to reach this stage of the competition but their Champions League run will surely come to an end against Real Madrid and expect Jose Mourinho's men to put in a professional performance away from home to take a comfortable lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Editor's Prediction
APOEL 0-2 Real Madrid

Champions League Opta Facts - QF First Legs - 27th-28th March


APOEL v Real Madrid
APOEL are the first-ever Cypriot side to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho has lost just three of his last 33 matches as a coach in the Champions League, with all three defeats at the hands of Barcelona.
Real Madrid have suffered just one defeat in their last 21 matches in the Champions League (W15 D5).
Jose Mourinho's outfit have scored 24 goals in their eight games in the Champions League this season; an average of three a game.
Madrid have conceded only three goals in their last eight away games in the Champions League.
APOEL Nicosia have advanced to the quarter finals despite winning only three of their eight CL games this season.
The Cypriot side have netted just one goal in their last four games in the competition.
APOEL have made 125 fouls in the Champions League this season and have picked up 24 yellow cards; both more than any other side.
Iker Casillas has posted the best saves to shots percentage in the Champions League this season (91%).
Excluding qualifiers, only one of the 20 matches between Cypriot and Spanish sides in Europe have ended in favour of the team from Cyprus. A.Famagusta won 2-0 at home versus Athletic Bilbao back in September 1994 in a UEFA Cup match.

Marseille v Bayern Munich
Marseille have kept a clean sheet in nine of their last 14 Champions League matches (excl. quals).
The French side have won four and drawn one of their last five European matches against German opposition (excl. quals); including two wins over Borussia Dortmund this season in the CL.
Bayern won 7-0 against Basle in their last Champions League game; their biggest win in the competition (old & new format) since winning 9-0 against Omonia Nicosia in the 1973 European Cup.
The last time that Bayern faced French opposition in the Champions League was back in the 2009/10 semi-finals, when they defeated Lyon 4-0 on aggregate.
This is the furthest that Marseille have gone on the Champions League since winning the competition in 1992/93.
On the last two occasions that a German side have reached the Champions League quarter final stage (Bayern in 2009/10 and Schalke in 2010/11); they have progressed to the semis.
Four of the five goals that Marseille have scored in their last three Champions League games have arrived in the final five minutes of the game.
Bayern striker Mario Gomez has scored 18 goals in his last 13 Champions League appearances for Bayern (excl. quals); netting three hat-tricks (2 x 3 goals, 1 x 4 goals) in that period.
Only Lionel Messi (12) has scored more goals in the Champions League than Mario Gomez (10) this season.
Marseille have fired in the most crosses from open play in the Champions League this season (173).

Benfica v Chelsea
Since 2003/04, Chelsea have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League more times than any other side (Barcelona 6).
By winning 4-1 at home to Napoli in the second leg of their CL last 16 tie, Chelsea became only the third English club to lose a European Cup first leg tie by two or more goals & still progress (Man Utd 1957 & Leeds 1992).
The Blues have scored in nine successive European matches for the first time in their history (excl. qualifiers).
Chelsea have not won any of their last five Champions League away games, losing three and drawing two.
Benfica have failed to find the net in just one of their last 17 matches in European competition (excl. qualifiers).
No player has assisted more goals in the Champions League this season than Benfica's Nicolas Gaitán (5).
Benfica have lost just one of their last eight European home games (excl. quals) against English opposition.
Chelsea have faced Portuguese opposition only six times in the Champions League, all six of which have come against FC Porto. Their record in these games is W4, D1, L1 and they've scored in each match.
Didier Drogba has scored four goals Chelsea's last four Champions League matches.
No side has scored a higher proportion of their goals in the first half of Champions League games this season than Benfica (67%).

Milan v Barcelona
The last occasion that Barcelona lost a Champions League knockout tie came against Italian opposition. They lost 3-1 at the San Siro against Inter Milan in the 2009-10 semi final first leg, before winning 1-0 at home in the second leg.
Since losing that tie, Barcelona have scored 60 goals in 21 games in the Champions League and have lost just once (v Arsenal in Feb 2011).
AC Milan have won only four of their last 15 Champions League games.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last five meetings with AC Milan, winning three and drawing two of these games.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored in five of his last six appearances in the Champions League, as well as providing three assists in this period.
Barcelona have taken more penalties than any other team in the Champions League this season (three).
There have been five penalties awarded in the eight AC Milan games in the Champions League this season (three conceded, two won).
Barcelona have averaged 74.3% possession in their games so far this season - the next best team have averaged 62.6%.
Lionel Messi has scored 30 goals in his last 25 appearances in the Champions League for Barcelona.
AC Milan have won possession with 85% of their tackles in the Champions League this season; a higher proportion than any other team.

27.-28.03.2012. PRVE UTAKMICE ČETVRTINE FINALA LIGE ŠAMPIONA

Ukoliko bi se pred prve utakmice četvrtine finala Lige šampiona tražili favoriti, taj epitet bi bolje pristajao gostujućim ekipama. Žreb je odlučio da Barselona, Čelsi, Real i Bajern revanš mečeve igraju kod kuće, pa se za blage autsajdere mogu proglasiti Milan, Apoel, Benfika i Marsej. Međutim, koliko je najjače evropsko takmičenje nepredvidivo, videlo se po „ranoj“ eliminaciji engleskih velikana, pre svega Mančester Junajteda i Sitija, zatim i Arsenala.

MILAN – BARSELONA
Od svih parova ove faze takmičenja, jedino su se Milan i Barselona do sada sastajali. Katalonski „čarobnjaci“ su imali nešto više uspeha, ali pitanje je da li bilo kakva tradicija uopšte treba da se „gleda“ kada je ovaj okršaj u pitanju. Milan je u osmini finala, predvođen sjajnim Zlatanom Ibrahimovićem, „preslišao“ (4:0) Arsenal na „San Siru“, ali je u revanšu spasavao „živu glavu“, jer su „tobdžije“ lako stigle do tri gola prednosti. Ipak, u finišu je presudilo iskustvo Milanovih fudbalera, koji u italijanskom prvenstvu čvrsto drže prvo mesto.

APOEL – REAL M.
Nazire li se kraj čudima APOEL-a? Kada je kuglica na žrebu „spojila“ Kiprane sa Real Madridom, nema čoveka koji nije pomislio da je došao kraj snovima našeg trenera Ivana Jovanovića i njegovih izabranika. Jer, Madriđani predvođeni Žozeom Murinjom su u Španiji ispred Barselone, igraju efikasno i gladni su trofeja. Čudo je na ovom okršaju gotovo nemoguće, ali videvši karakter fudbalera APOEL-a u dosadašnjim mečevima, sigurni smo da će „kraljevi“ morati dobro da se preznoje da bi ušli među četiri najbolja tima u Evropi.

Championship Opta Facts - 27th March


Ipswich Town v Middlesbrough
Three of the last four meetings between the two sides have ended in draws.
At Portman Road, Boro are without a victory on their last six visits (in all competitions).
The Tractor Boys have bagged a league-high 18 headed goals this season.
'Boro have put through their own net four times this season, more own-goals than any other team in the Championship.
Ipswich have conceded exactly two goals in three of their last four league games.
Middlesbrough have failed to score a first-half goal in each of their last seven league games.

Leicester City v Nottingham Forest
The teams have already met on three occasions this season, with Leicester winning an FA Cup replay 4-0 at home after the drawing the original tie 0-0, and the teams drawing 2-2 in the league in Nottingham.
George Boateng has scored in two of those games, although one was an own-goal in the Foxes' 4-0 Cup win.
Forest have shipped a league-high 20 headed goals this season, which equates to 34% of their total goals against, also a league-high figure.
Leicester's last five games have produced a total of 22 goals, an average of 4.4 per game.
Garath McLeary has scored eight goals in his last 10 games for Forest.

Peterborough United v West Ham United
The teams have only met on three previous occasions, with the Hammers winning all three games, including a 1-0 home win earlier this season.
27% of the goals Peterborough have conceded this season have come from outside the box, a league-"high" proportion.
The Hammers are one of just four sides yet to put through their own net this season in the Championship.
A league-high 53% of the goals Peterborough have conceded this season have come in the first-half.
The Hammers are now unbeaten in 10 league games, the second longest current winless streak in the Championship (although seven of those, including each of the last five, have been draws).
Posh have kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 games.

Portsmouth v Hull City
The last six meetings between the two sides at Fratton Park all competitions have produced a total of 28 goals at a rate of 4.7 per game (the last two have ended 3-2 with one win each).
Hull have won their last two meetings with Pompey, having won none of the previous 10.
On home soil, Posh have picked up a league-high 16 points from losing positions this season.
Hull, on the other hand, have only picked up one point from losing positions away from home this season, a figure superior to only one other side.
The Solent side have failed to score in seven of their last nine league games.
Hull have kept nine clean sheets in their last 13 games, although they have conceded in each of their last two matches.

Crystal Palace v Doncaster Rovers
There have only been a total of two goals scored in the last three meetings between the two sides.
The Eagles have won just one of their last six clashes with Donny, netting a total of just two goals in the process (failing to score in four of those games).
A league-high 21% of Palace's goals this season (eight) have come in the opening 15 minutes of their games.
21 of the 63 goals Rovers have shipped this season have come courtesy of crosses into the box, a joint-league-"high" figure.
Doncaster have now lost three in a row, the longest current losing streak in the division.
Palace have suffered defeat in just one of their last 11 games, although that loss did come last time out - 3-2 away to Derby.