26.09. (Sun) 12:30 Cesena - Napoli

Wings Clipped
Newly promoted Cesena have been flying high in Serie A until midweek when they were brought down to earth by Sicilian side Catania. The Seahorses went down 2-0 away from home to suffer their first league defeat of the campaign.

However, Massimo Ficcadenti's side are still among the European places as they are sixth in the league standings with seven points from four matches. Cesena have a very good defensive record too as the goals they conceded on Wednesday evening were the first they had shipped in all season.

Nevertheless, Cesena are not getting carried away with early season success with midfielder Ezequiel Schelotto claiming after their defeat to Catania, "We will store this defeat and turn our attentions to Napoli. We are fighting for salvation and that is our only goal."

False Start
Napoli appeared to have revived themselves from early season blues last weekend when they won a dramatic match against Sampdoria in Genoa but in midweek the Azzurri were hammered 3-1 by Chievo in Naples.

The defeat was the Partenopei's first of the season and has pushed them down to 11th place with five points from four matches. The three goals they conceded at the Stadio San Paolo mean that Napoli have the joint-second worst defensive record in the league having shipped in seven goals.

Coach Walter Mazzarri is fully aware that they will have to recover soon and will hope to catch Cesena off their guards on Sunday in the lunchtime kick-off.



TEAM NEWS

Cesena
Chiavarini, Budan, Fatic and Piangerelli are out with injuries.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Antonioli, Ceccarelli, Pellegrino, Von Bergen, Lauro; Appiah, Colucci, Parolo; Schelotto, Bogdani, Giaccherini
Napoli

Lucarelli is unavailable because of injury.

Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): De Sanctis, Grava, Cannavaro, Aronica; Maggio, Yebda, Gargano, Dossena; Hamsik, Lavezzi; Cavani

Prediction

Both sides have their own reasons to go for a win and indeed it promises to be an interesting match. Cesena have looked very strong at home and they will be marginally favourites to get maximum points. However, Napoli could just make their superior quality count and return to Naples with a point.

Cesena 2-2 Napoli

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25.09. (Sat) 22:00 Athletic Bilbao - Barcelona

Confident Mood

Athletic Bilbao pride themselves on making San Mames a difficult venue for any side to visit, and even Barcelona will not find life at all simple when they visit the Basque arena on Saturday evening.

Los Leones had started the season in rather mundane form, picking up one win, one draw and one defeat in their opening three matches, but after Tuesday evening’s fine 3-0 success at home to Mallorca they will be in confident mood. David Lopez opened the scoring only seconds before the break, and once Mikel San Jose had converted a second half penalty the result was a mere formality. Still, the hosts finished with a deserved flourish thanks to Inigo Perez’s late strike.

“I'm very happy,” coach Joaquin Caparros grinned. “Now it's up to us to recover and prepare for a nice game on Saturday against Barcelona. If we get it right we can get a positive result against the best team in Europe.

“We were better defensively, we have not been troubled at any time and our persistence helped us get the first goal.”

Atletico Madrid have already gone to San Mames and picked up three points this season, but the hosts are rarely hospitable. Real Madrid failed to win at the venue last season, and the same can also be said for Barcelona, who could only pick up a 1-1 draw. Los Leones would probably settle for a repeat result on Saturday.

Perfect Attitude

Barcelona’s form at the outset of the Primera Division season has been questioned on the back of a shock defeat to Hercules, but Pep Guardiola’s side have otherwise stood up well to the rigours of league football in the opening month of the campaign.

The defending champions bounced back from their eyebrow-raising loss impressively last weekend, defeating a much-praised Atletico Madrid 2-1 away from home. An injury to Lionel Messi rather blighted their trip to the capital, but la Blaugrana shrugged off that blow in midweek, when they were able to overcome Sporting Gijon 1-0 at Camp Nou.

A solitary strike from David Villa was all that Barca could muster, and although Guardiola was certainly not blown away by his side’s performance, he appeared pleased that they had the guts to come through unscathed.

“The attitude has been perfect and I'm sure the next day we'll do better,” he mused. “This time we didn't get after the opposition which is what you need to do against opponents who sit back and don't come at you. We lacked a second goal which would have given us peace.”

Guardiola has hinted that the World Cup, which disrupted pre-season preparations, is particularly hurting his side at this hectic time of the season. “This is the way it goes and we have to get used to it,” he stated. “The worst thing, rather than the accumulation of matches is the lack of training. There are players who are still lacking strength and endurance work.”

Once Athletic are out the way, the difficult run of fixtures Barcelona are presently in the midst of continues in midweek, when they meet Rubin Kazan in the Champions League in Russia.

TEAM NEWS

Athletic
Toquero remains absent due to injury, though home boss Joaquin Caparros should otherwise be able to name his strongest line-up to face Barcelona. Susaeta, who was on the bench in midweek, may well be the man to play closest to Fernando Llorente in attack.

Barcelona

Pep Guardiola has not pushed his side too hard following their midweek exploits. Lionel Messi will be absent once again due to his ankle injury, which is expected to keep him out until the middle of next week, while Carles Puyol and Xavi have both been in the gym doing specific recovery work.

Prediction

As ever, life will be tough for the Catalans against their Basque opponents. The direct, physical approach adopted by the home side certainly won’t be to Barca’s liking, and without Lionel Messi to open up the home defence it could be a long 90 minutes for the guests. However, Atletico Madrid have already won at San Mames, and la Blaugrana still possess the weapons to match that achievement.

Athletic Bilbao 1-2 Barcelona

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25.09. (Sat) 20:45 Roma - Inter

One More Chance
Last season's Serie A runners-up Roma have been struggling both in the league and in the Champions League since the start of the season, and things went from bad to worse in midweek when they were defeated by newly promoted Brescia. It was a controversial game in which refereeing decisions were scrutinised after the match and words were exchanged.

Nevertheless, the result of that match cannot be changed and the 2-1 defeat means that Roma are second from bottom with just two points from four matches. The Giallorossi are a massive eight points off the pace and things need to improve from right now.

However, coach Claudio Ranieri is confident of starting afresh against the champions on Saturday evening and says, "I can say I have the Roma which has done so well over the past few years. It's a difficult moment for us, and Inter are doing well.

"It's not more difficult now because we showed a positive response against Brescia. We know it's hard, but the difficulties just won't disappear. But the determination we showed in Brescia offers hope."

Gaining Momentum With Ease
Inter commenced the Serie A season on a slow note but since then the Nerazzurri have picked up momentum. Diego Milito and Samuel Eto'o scored a brace each against Bari at the San Siro in midweek in what was a superb performance.

The 4-0 win against Bari was Rafael Benitez's side third successive win in the league and one that took them to the top of the table in Serie A. Inter currently possess 10 points from four matches and are one point clear of second-placed Chievo.

Inter forward Eto'o, who has been in excellent form for the Nerazzurri so far this season, is looking forward to Saturday evening's clash and says, "Saturday's game will be a difficult one as Roma will go out for their first win of the campaign. It's nice to play at the Olimpico. Roma will have, as always, the support of their fans.''



TEAM NEWS

Roma
Rodrigo Taddei and Julio Sergio are out with injuries and Philippe Mexes is suspended. Left-back John Arne Riise has been passed fit to play and it is likely that he will start against Inter. Daniele De Rossi is on course to recover for Saturday's big match.

Probable Lineup (4-3-1-2): Lobont, Cassetti, N. Burdisso, Juan, Riise; Perrotta, Pizarro, De Rossi; Menez; Borriello, Totti

Inter

Thiago Motta, Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel and Marco Materazzi are injured and will miss the trip to Rome.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Cordoba, Chivu; Stankovic, Cambiasso; Pandev, Sneijder, Eto'o; Milito

Prediction

Roma are under pressure and need to win but Inter are the in-form side. It promises to be an interesting clash and a loss for the Nerazzurri doesn't look very likely. The maximum Roma can do is eke out a draw.

Roma 1-2 Inter Milan

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25.09. (Sat) 18:30 Werder - Hamburger SV

Looking For Some Spark

Hamburg began the season well with two convincing wins against Schalke 04 and Eintracht Frankfurt, which tentatively marked them out as a side to keep tabs on this season. However, since then they have had two disappointing draws with Nuernberg and St Pauli followed by a home defeat to Wolfsburg. The win for die Woelfe was a bitter pill to swallow for Armin Veh, as his side had dominated the game and deserved to come away with three points. However they were undone by a sucker punch in the form of a Grafite second-half brace.

"It is a terribly bitter feeling to lose such a game. We clearly dominated the match and had so many chances to score," Veh said after the final whistle.

"I have seen an HSV team, who combined well in their play and played with their hearts. Unfortunately we could not take our many chances. Today the best team lost."

The crux of the problem lies with Hamburg's failure to get enough service to Ruud Van Nistelrooy, undoubtedly their best finisher. Neither Mladen Petric nor Jose Paolo Guerrero have flourished in the playmaking role and thus Hamburg have struggled to kill teams off in their last three games.

Of course, it should not be forgotten that die Rothosen conceded three goals to Wolfsburg, at home. Marcell Jansen was responsible for the first goal when his loose ball allowed Pieter Pekarik to break forward and cross to Edin Dzeko. For the third, he was caught in possession by Grafite. Of course in a side struggling for goals and lacking a Diego or a Shinji Kagawa, Jansen's constant bursts forward are vital to breaking down the opposition. As such, Heiko Westermann and Joris Mathijsen have to be rock solid. Nevertheless, HSV are still sixth in the table and at least are putting in good performances, something their opponents tomorrow are not.

Getting Back To Full Strength

Bremen, like Schalke, were expected to run Bayern the closest this season. However, also in common with die Knappen, Werder have started the season badly with just four points from five games and they sit in fourteenth spot. It all looked so rosy in the garden after they bounced back from an opening day defeat to beat Koeln and secured qualification for the Champions League group stage.

Since then, it has been an uphill struggle for die Gruen-Weissen. They fought gamely at the Allianz Arena to gain a point, but then suffered two extremely disappointing defeats. Matchday four brought a convincing 2-0 defeat at home to Mainz, which Torsten Frings labelled the worst of his career and in midweek they went down 4-1 in the northern derby in Hannover. Werder's slide down the table has resulted in crisis talks with coach Thomas Schaaf although it has to be said it is not the first crisis he has faced during his eleven year reign and it will doubtless not be the last.

"Even if everything runs smoothly, sometimes bad luck will hit you from nowhere and you end up in a negative spiral," Schaaf was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

"It is now our top priority to arrest this negative spiral and the perfect way to achieve this is by picking up the full three points at the weekend.

There may be light at the end of the tunnel as Bremen welcome back two key members of their spine against Hamburg - none other than towering centre-half Per Mertesacker to restore confidence to a shaky backline and Claudio Pizarro, who needs one goal to become the Bundesliga's outright all-time leading foreign scorer, ahead of Giovane Elber.

"We are of course very glad that both are back in the squad. However, we need to be careful to manage the high expectations. Their mere presence is not enough; they also have to contribute to the team," Schaaf said ahead of their return.

Another crumb of comfort to Schaaf comes in the shape of Bremen's recent record at the Weserstadion against Hamburg. They are unbeaten in the last three Bundesliga encounters at home, with Hamburg's last win coming in February 2007.

TEAM NEWS

Werder Bremen

Werder have a number of injuries in defence to Naldo and Sebastian Boenisch (both knee) and most recently to Petri Pasanen who picked up a ligament tear in training yesterday. On the other hand, Per Mertesacker is back and he should start in central defence. Furthermore, the attack receives a shot in the arm with the inclusion of last season's topscorer Claudio Pizarro. Thomas Schaaf is likely to stick to 4-2-3-1 in spite of his side's heavy defeat in Hannover.

Probable Starting XI: Wiese - Fritz, Mertesacker, Proedl, Silvestre - Bargfrede, Frings - Hunt, Wesley, Marin - Pizarro

Hamburg

Armin Veh has a number of absentees, most notably Dennis Aogo though also Romeo Castelen, Miroslav Stepanek, Heung-Min Son and Tunay Torun. Guy Demel should keep his place at right-back ahead of Tomas Rincon while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting was impressive against Wolfsburg and should keep his spot. Mladen Petric should also edge out Paolo Guerrero, who alongside Piotr Trochowski and Eljero Elia, is pushing for a place in the starting eleven.

Probable Starting XI: Rost - Demel, Westermann, Mathijsen, Jansen - Jarolim, Ze Roberto - Pitroipa, Petric, Choupo-Moting - Van Nistelrooy

Prediction

Bremen will be undoubtedly boosted by the return of Mertesacker and Pizarro, although the Peruvian will be unable to last the full ninety minutes. Hamburg have looked a more organised unit throughout the season and were by far the better side against Wolfsburg, even in defeat.

Werder Bremen 1-2 Hamburg 

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25.09. (Sat) 16:00 Liverpool - Sunderland

Both Liverpool and Sunderland will be looking forward to getting back to Premier League action on Saturday after suffering midweek defeats in the League Cup.

Liverpool were dumped out of the cup by League Two side Northampton Town on penalties, while Sunderland were knocked out of the competition by Premier League strugglers West Ham United.

Can The Reds Halt The Slide?

It’s been a tough week for the Liverpool squad and their fans after defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United in the Premier League was followed by a humiliating midweek defeat on penalties to Northampton Town in the Carling Cup.

The Reds weren’t at their best against United but Roy Hodgson will take heart from the fight back from his side put up, although he will be concerned that his side conceded a third goal and that all three of United’s goals came from crosses.

Things didn’t get better on Wednesday night when the Cobblers knocked the Reds out of the League Cup. Despite making 11 changes Liverpool fans were expecting a victory but it wasn’t to be as they were outplayed by Northampton, who were deserving of their victory on penalties.

Reds fans will at least be buoyed by their record against Sunderland in the Premier League at Anfield and will hope the return of their more senior players sees an improved performance and a much needed victory.

Black Cats Aiming To Keep Unbeaten League Run Going

Sunderland are on a bit of a high in the Premier League at the moment, following their victory over Manchester City, a strong performance against Wigan and their dramatic injury time equaliser against Arsenal.

Confidence was high at the Stadium of Light, but a surprise defeat to West Ham United in the League Cup will have dented that a little.

The form of Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan will be something Steve Bruce will be happy with — between them the strikers have bagged seven of the eight goals scored by the Black Cats this season. Bruce will be hoping his new look strike partnership continues to flourish as Sunderland go in search of their first victory at Anfield in the Premier League.

TEAM NEWS
Liverpool

Roy Hodgson is expected to recall his senior players for this match and that could mean 11 changes to the side beaten by Northampton Town.

Liverpool fans will be expecting to see Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Fernando Torres and Joe Cole back in the starting line-up and will hope they can turn around the Reds form.

Potential starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Konchesky; Cole, Poulsen, Meireles, Babel; Gerrard; Torres.

Sunderland

Steve Bruce played a full strength side for the Carling Cup defeat against West Ham so he may not make any changes to his starting line-up.

Captain Lee Cattermole will be available again after serving a one match suspension following his red card against Wigan, however Titus Bramble may not be involved following his recent arrest on suspicion of rape.

Potential starting XI: Mignolet; Onouha, Ferdinand, Bramble, Richardson; Henderson, Cattermole, Riveros, Malbranque; Bent, Gyan.

Prediction

Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland  

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