Monday, April 23, 2012

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24.04. (Tue) 20:45 Barcelona - Chelsea

CL - Chelsea FC v Barcelona, Carles Puyol and Didier Drogba
Getty Images

PROBABLE LINEUPS


BARCELONA

Valdes
Alves, Puyol, Pique, Adriano
Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta
Sanchez, Messi, Pedro
CHELSEA

CechIvanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole
Mikel, Meireles
Ramires, Lampard, Mata
Drogba

Barcelona could welcome back defender Gerard Pique after suffering back-to-back defeats in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, then against arch rivals Real Madrid during El Clasico on Saturday which looks to have cost the Catalans the La Liga title.

Both Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano are currently walking a suspension tightrope, as another booking for either could see them miss out on the final in Munich, should the Spanish side overcome the one-goal deficit.

Pep Guardiola will have a full strength side to call upon, with only long-term absentees David Villa, Eric Abidal and Andreu Fontas remaining on the sidelines.

Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo should revert back to the side that performed so well during the first leg, after resting many of them for the weekend's goalless draw against Arsenal.

The only doubt for the Blues is goalscorer Didier Drogba, who has been suffering from a knee injury and was left out of the Arsenal game, while defender David Luiz will definitely miss out having been stretchered off during the FA Cup semi-final triumph over Tottenham.

Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole and Ramires are all one booking away from missing a potential Champions League final place in Munich next month.

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Defeat for Barcelona would see them lose their third game in a row for the first time since early 2003, when they suffered at the hands of Valencia, Celta Vigo and Atletico Madrid.
  • Should Pep Guardiola’s side fail to qualify for the Champions League final, their only real chance for a major trophy at the end of this season would be in the Copa del Rey, when they face Athletic Bilbao.
  • Barcelona frontman Lionel Messi (pictured right) is currently sitting on an incredible 63 goals so far this season, although he has failed to find the net in his last two fixtures.
  • The Camp Nou side have yet to be defeated in their seven meetings in Spain, although the last three have finished as draws.
  • Chelsea have only suffered defeat in one of their last 14 fixtures, with that loss coming at the hands of Manchester City.
  • The Stamford Bridge side are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to Champions League qualification through the Premier League, sitting in sixth place, four points behind Newcastle.
  • The old guard remain the goalscoring key for Chelsea, as Frank Lampard currently leads the way with 16 goals this season, while Didier Drogba has 11.
  • Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo will be hoping to exorcise the memories of the last time he visited Camp Nou as a Chelsea player, when his side suffered a 5-1 defeat as they crashed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.

Prediction
After suffering defeat in two of their most important games so far this season, Pep Guardiola’s side will be under no illusions that a second leg victory is a must for the Catalans if they are to consider this season a success.
But the chance of a Champions League final will see Chelsea line-up in the same defensive manner as in the first leg and that will mean that Barcelona will be forced to break down the wall created by the Stamford Bridge side.
Editor's Prediction
Barcelona 2-0 Chelsea

Aston Villa v Bolton Opta Facts - April 24st


There have already been two meetings between these Aston Villa and Bolton this season (one in the Carling Cup), with the away side victorious in each case.
Five of Villa’s last six goals against Bolton have come before half-time.
The Villans have gone three hours and 58 minutes without a Premier League goal.
Bolton have mustered just one goal in their last three league games.
Bolton have won five Premier League away games this season, only one fewer than Chelsea.
Only Wigan (15) have scored fewer home goals than Villa (18) this season.
46% of the goals Villa have conceded have been from set-plays, more than any other Premier League side this season.
Bolton have hit the woodwork fewer than any other Premier League side this season (six times).
Aston Villa are one of three Premier League teams yet to squander a penalty kick this season (along with Everton and Norwich).
Villa have played 10 Premier League home games on a Tuesday and have failed to score in seven of them, winning only twice.

Serie A OPTA Facts - Week 34 April 24st - 25nd


Atalanta - Chievo
Chievo lead by six wins to three against Atalanta in their Serie A head to head, with four draws completing the record.
Of current Serie A sides Chievo, have beaten Atalanta more often than any other team in the top-flight. Overall, only against Livorno have they picked-up more wins so far (seven).
These two sides have never shared the points in Bergamo (three wins each).
On five of these six meetings in Bergamo, the losing side hasn't managed to score.
In each of the last three meetings between these two sides, there has been a red card.
Only Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli have suffered fewer losses than Atalanta (nine) in this Serie A campaign.
However, three of these defeats have come in their last four fixtures.
Chievo have won just two of their last eight fixtures, with four draws and two wins completing the record.
Chievo have lost just one of their last seven games on the road (against Napoli), winning three.
Sergio Pellissier has scored in three of his last four games against Atalanta in the top-flight.

Cagliari - Catania
Should Cagliari win this game, their record against Catania in Serie A would be perfectly even: the Sicilian side currently lead by seven wins to six.
These two sides have shared the points four times in the top-flight, but only once in their last eight meetings.
Catania have won only once in their previous eight trips to Sardinia, four wins for the hosts and three draws complete the record.
Cagliari striker Nenè scored his first, and so far only, hat-trick in Serie A against Catania, in December 2010.
Cagliari have lost just one of their last eight home fixtures (1-2 against Lecce), winning five times.
Catania have won just two games away from home this term, however only Juventus (nine) have drawn more away games than the Sicilians (eight).
Catania have scored 54.5% of their goals from set-pieces, the highest percentage in Serie A this season.

Cesena - Juventus
Cesena have beaten Juventus only twice in their 23 previous meetings in the top-flight, the Old Lady have had the better on 11 occasions.
The last time Cesena beat Juve was 24 years ago (2-0 in Turin in November 1987): the Old Lady have gone unbeaten for 10 games since then against Cesena.
Cesena have won just one of their 11 home meetings against Juve, the guests have had the better on four occasions.
Their last three meetings in the league have all ended as draws.
Chilean Luis Jimenez has netted two of Cesena's last three goals against Juventus in the league.
Juve have failed to score against Cesena only twice in Serie A.
This season, Cesena have won the fewest home games in Serie A (just two).
Cesena have scored the fewest goals (21), whilst Juventus boast the best defence of this Serie A season (18 goals conceded).

Lecce - Napoli
This will be the 20th meeting between these two sides: Napoli lead by eight wins to four.
Napoli have won just one of their nine previous meetings against Lecce at the Via del Mare.
Napoli have scored in each of their last eight league meetings against Lecce.
Edinson Cavani has already scored two braces against Lecce, for two different sides: one for Palermo in March 2009 and one for Napoli back in December.
Against Lecce, back in May 2011, Cavani picked up his first red card in his Serie A career.
Lecce are unbeaten in their last eight home fixtures in the league (three wins and five draws).
Lecce have collected more points away from home (20) than at home (15) in this Serie A campaign.
Lecce have conceded 24 goals at home, more than any side at their ground.
Beating Novara last Saturday, Napoli got back to winning ways after five match-days in which they had picked up just two points.
Daniele Corvia has scored in each of his last two appearances for Lecce against Napoli; he hasn't scored more than two goals against any Serie A opponent so far.

AC Milan - Genoa
These two sides have met 87 times in Serie A: the Rossoneri lead by 41 wins to 15.
Genoa have won just two of their last 21 games against AC Milan in the league.
The Grifoni have won just four times in their history at AC Milan's ground, losing on 27 occasions.
Genoa have scored just 10 goals over their last 20 visits to AC Milan, picking up just five points in the process.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored three goals in his last four league meetings with Genoa.
Giuseppe Sculli has already scored five goals against AC Milan, the Rossoneri are his favourite target in Serie A, alongside Bologna.
This fixture will see Serie A's best attack (AC Milan, 63 goals scored) meet its worst defence (Genoa, 62 conceded).
This will also be a challenge between the Serie A current top-scorer (Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 24 goals) and the 'keeper who has made the most saves so far (Sebastian Frey, 123 saves).

Novara - Lazio
Lazio lead by 11 wins to six in the head-to-head against Novara in Serie A.
These two sides have shared the points just once in their last eight Serie A meetings, back in 1955 (1-1).
Lazio have managed to win at Novara's ground only twice in 12 previous meetings, with the hosts having the better on the last three occasions.
Novara have won just three games on home soil this term, only Cesena have a worse home record.
Novara have lost their last two games, and are winless in the last five.
Novara have drawn four of their last five home fixtures in this competition.
Last Sunday against Lecce, Lazio drew their first game of 2012 (1-1), following eight wins and as many losses.
After keeping a clean sheet for four consecutive home games, Novara conceded in their last game at their own ground (1-1 v Genoa).
The last Lazio striker to score a goal was Miroslav Klose on February 26 - since then the Biancocelesti have scored 10 times.

Palermo - Parma
Parma lead by four wins to three against Palermo in Serie A, with six draws (including the 0-0 of the reverse fixture) completing the form.
Parma have failed to score against Palermo just twice over their 13 previous meetings in Serie A.
Parma have won just once in Palermo: 4-3 in 2006/07.
Parma's last eight goals against Palermo have been scored in the second half.
Palermo have taken just one point from their last four home fixtures; previously the Rosanero had notched-up four wins in a row at the Barbera.
The Ducali have won three of their last four league games, without conceding in the last two.
Parma have won just two games on the road this season, only Palermo have a worse away record in this Serie A campaign.
Last December's 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture saw only 577 passes: the Serie A game with the fewest passes in this campaign.
Fabrizio Miccoli has been involved in 52% of Palermo's 46 total goals (scoring 12 and making as many assists); Sebastian Giovinco has been involved in 43% of Parma's goals (12 goals and seven assists).
Against Palermo Giovinco scored his first Serie A goal, in September 2007 for Empoli.

Roma - Fiorentina
Fiorentina lead by 45 wins to 43 against Roma in Serie A, with 57 draws so far.
Both sides have drawn against each other more than against any other Serie A opponent.
At the Olimpico, Roma have won 32 out of 72 previous meetings, with the guests having the better only 13 times.
Roma have won their last five home meetings against the Viola, and are unbeaten in this fixture in the last 16 meetings at the Olimpico.
Roma lost 3-0 in the reverse fixture in Florence, ending the game with three players sent off.
Fabio Simplicio has already scored five goals against Fiorentina (for three different sides) - more than against any other Serie A opponent.
By beating AC Milan at the San Siro, Fiorentina ended a six-game run without a win away from home.
The Viola have the second-worst attack away from home in this campaign (only 10 goals scored).
Roma have drawn just five games so far, fewer than any other side in this competition.
71% of Roma's goals this season have come from new signings (37 out of 52).

Siena - Bologna
This will be the 10th meeting between these two sides: Bologna lead by three wins to two, with four draws rounding off the record.
These two sides have not shared a draw in their last four meetings; previously, they had drawn three in a row.
The first three meetings between these sides in Siena ended as draws, while the Tuscans had the better in the last meeting at home (1-0).
Novara were the only side able to score more than one goal in Siena's last nine home games in Serie A.
Bologna have won four away games this season, as many as they had won on the road in the 2010/11 campaign.
Last Sunday against Genoa, Siena scored four goals for the fourth time in this campaign: previously the Tuscans had never scored four goals in a game more than twice in the same season.
Against Genoa, Franco Brienza scored his 3rd Serie A brace, and his 3rd and 4th goals of this campaign.
Brienza has also made four assists - all his goals and assists of the season came in 2012.
Bologna have scored just three goals in their last five games, enough to manage a win and two draws.

Udinese - Inter
Inter have won 36 of their 77 previous meetings against Udinese in Serie A, the Friulani have had the better on 17 occasions, with 24 draws rounding off the record.
However, Udinese have won their last two meetings against Inter, after failing to win for 13 games in a row against the Nerazzurri in Serie A.
AC Milan have been the only side able to win at Udinese's ground so far this term.
Udinese have won just one of their last eight league games, losing three.
Antonio Di Natale has already scored four times against Inter in Serie A, three of which have come for Udinese.
Giampaolo Pazzini has also netted four goals against Udinese, but never for Inter.
Should Inter win this game, Udinese would become the Italian side against which Diego Milito has won the most games in his career (five).
Milito has recorded a conversion ratio of 40% this term, better than that recorded in 2009/10 under Josè Mourinho (31%), when the Nerazzurri won the league and the Champions League.
Both Milito and Di Natale have reached the 20-goal tally for the third time in their Serie A careers.
Inter have faced 10 penalties this season - a league-high; four of these have not been scored by their opponents, including that against Fiorentina on Sunday.