19.11. (Sat) 22:00 Valencia vs Real Madrid

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

VALENCIA GuaitaMiguel, Ruiz, Rami, Alba Topal, Costa Pablo Hernandez, Piatti, MathieuSoldado

REAL MADRID   Casillas Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo Xabi Alonso, Sahin Ozil, Kaka, Ronaldo Benzema

Jose Mourinho will be sweating on the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Arbeloa, both of whom returned from international duty with thigh and hamstring strains respectively. However, the two players are expected to shrug off the knocks to start against Unai Emery's men. Angel Di Maria is however out for a month with a knee problem, meaning Kaka will likely start, with Mesut Ozil edged out to the right hand side.

Real Madrid have several players returning from injury including Ricardo Carvalho and Fabio Coentrao, although the pair are likely to sit out the visit to Valencia.

Marcelo will be back in contention following an injury, while Nuri Sahin could start his first game in the white shirt of Madrid.

One man who will not be featuring for Valencia is Sergio Canales, who is on loan from Madrid and will miss most of the season with a serious injury. The home side are also unable to call upon Ever Banega or Hedwiges Maduro.

Despite his double on international duty for Brazil, Jonas is likely to be named as a substitute with Pablo Piatti a candidate to play behind Roberto Soldado. Pablo Hernandez could come into the team on the right wing.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Valencia have lost their last three meetings against Real Madrid in La Liga, losing 6-3 to Los Blancos the last time the teams met in April.

• The last four encounters between the two sides at Mestalla have produced a total of 23 goals.

• Valencia are unbeaten at home in La Liga this season, winning four and drawing two out of their six games at Mestalla.

• Real Madrid are on a run of seven consecutive wins in La Liga. An eighth would be their best run under Jose Mourinho since the coach took over the club in 2010.

• Los Blancos have scored 39 goals after 11 matchdays, their second-highest tally at this stage of the season since 1950-51, where they had bagged 42.

• Gonzalo Higuain has scored seven goals in seven appearances against Valencia.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction
Valencia 1-2  Real Madrid

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19.11. (Sat) 20:45 Napoli vs Lazio

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NAPOLI De Sanctis Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica Maggio, Gargano, Inler, Dossena Hamsik, Lavezzi Cavani

LAZIO Marchetti Konko, Diakite, Biava, Radu Brocchi, Ledesma, Lulic Hernanes Klose, Cisse

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri will have the luxury of choosing from a fully-fit squad as Walter Gargano and Salvatore Aronica will return to the starting XI. However, Mario Santana is still suspended and will miss the encounter.

Lazio boss Edy Reja will be without the services of influential attacking midfielder Stefano Mauri, who is sidelined with an injury. Andre Dias will not feature due to a thigh strain while Javier Garrido and Libor Kozak are also nursing injuries.

DID YOU KNOW

• Napoli have only picked up two wins in their last seven Serie A matches (W2 D2 L3).

• Walter Mazzarri's men have kept two clean sheets in their past three games at home.

• The southern Italian outfit ran out 4-3 winners in last season's encounter with Lazio at the San Paolo.

• Lazio have lost only three times in their last 13 Serie A matches against Napoli (W6 D4 L3).

• The capital city side are currently riding an eight-game unbeaten streak in league play. (W6 D2 L0).

• Edy Reja's men have won their last four matches away from the Stadio Olimpico.

Prediction

The joint leaders are unbeaten in their last eight games but face a daunting trip to the Stadio San Paolo. Klose continues his fine form as the capital-city side prove that they are legitimate contenders for the Scudetto.

Editor's Prediction

Napoli 2-3 Lazio

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19.11. (Sat) 20:45 Fiorentina vs AC Milan

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FIORENTINA Boruc Romulo, Gamberini, Nastasic, Pasqual Behrami, Montolivo, Munari Lazzari Gilardino, Jovetic

AC MILAN Abbiati Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini Aquilani, Van Bommel, Nocerino Seedorf Robinho, Ibrahimovic

Fiorentina look set to make two changes from the side that lost 1-0 to Chievo a fortnight ago, which cost Sinisa Mihajlovic his job and allowed Delio Rossi to come into the hot seat.

Defender Matija Nastasic should replace the suspended Cesare Natali at centre-back, while Mattia Cassani's extended spell on the sidelines means Romulo will slot into right-back. The reshuffling of the pack thus paves the way for Gianni Munari to be given a rare start in midfield, but there is no such luck for Per Kroldrup, who is approximately around a month away from a return to full fitness. Stevan Jovetic picked up a muscle strain on international duty with Montenegro, but the club are hopeful he will be fit in time to take his place in the starting XI.

Meanwhile, Massimiliano Allegri is expected to make alterations of his own, headlining with Alessandro Nesta, who should reclaim his place alongside Thiago Silva in the heart of AC Milan's defence.

Furthermore, Antonio Nocerino is back from his ban and should replace Urby Emanuelson, while Massimo Ambrosini is set to be axed for Mark van Bommel as the midfield anchor. However, Antonio Cassano, Gennaro Gattuso and Mathieu Flamini remain out for the foreseeable future, but Philippe Mexes is nearing a comeback from a wrist injury, as Kevin-Prince Boateng sees out the last match of his suspension.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Fiorentina have lost 67 times to AC Milan, more than against any other Serie A opponent.

• The Viola have scored just two goals in the last seven games played against the Rossoneri in the league.

• Against Fiorentina, Alexandre Pato has already scored five goals, one in each of his five appearances; only against Udinese has he scored more in Italy, with six.

• AC Milan are currently on a run of five consecutive wins; the last time they managed six in a row was during the 2005/06 season.

• The champions have scored two or more goals in each of their last five games, the first time this has happened since 1930-31; only Juventus and Torino have managed to score more than two goals per game in six consecutive Serie A matches.

• Milan have the most prolific attack in the league with 23 goals to their name, at least seven more than any other side.

• Since then, Milan have notched up eight victories and three draws against Fiorentina, winning their last seven.

Prediction

The arrival of the former Palermo man should give Fiorentina a timely boost, as the appointment of a new coach always brings new energy and ideas to the table. However, with a Milan side currently at the peak of their powers, combined with a number of key performers coming back into the fold, they should be able to eventually overcome the hosts and make it a super six.

Editor's Prediction

Fiorentina 1-2 AC Milan

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19.11. (Sat) 20:00 Barcelona vs Zaragoza

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BARCELONA Valdes Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta Messi, Cesc, Villa

REAL ZARAGOZA Roberto Juarez, Meira, Lanzaro, Paredes Barrera, Micael, Ponzio, Juan Carlos Luis Garcia Postiga

Barcelona have three first team players currently recovering from injury. Ibrahim Afellay is back in light training but is still some way away from returning to action after his cruciate injury.

Pedro is still recuperating from a knee problem, while Adriano suffered a leg muscle injury whilst on international duty with Brazil and is expected to be sidelined for 10 days.

Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano returned to training on Thursday after their World Cup qualifiers but the former Liverpool man limped off in his last match for Argentina and is a slight doubt. Alexis Sanchez made a late return from international duty with Chile and may be rested by Pep Guardiola.

For Javier Aguirre's side, Abraham Minero and Adam Pinter took part in a training session on Monday and look to have fully recovered from their respective injuries.

However, there's bad news for Real Zaragoza this week as Paraguayan defender Paulo Da Silva has reportedly suffered a break in his right leg and looks to be missing for the foreseeable future.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The last match between Barcelona and Real Zaragoza was a 1-0 victory for Pep Guardiola's side, in which Seydou Keita scored the all important goal.

• Barcelona have notched up 34 goals so far in La Liga this season, Zaragoza have managed to score just 12 times.

• Barcelona have welcomed Zaragoza to Camp Nou 57 times, and only lost twice.

• The Aragon outfit's last win at Camp Nou was a 1-0 victory 46 years ago.

• Javier Aguirre's side have conceded nearly double the amount of goals than they have scored this season, netting 12 times and leaking in 22 goals.

• Zaragoza's top goalscorer this season is Helder Postiga with four goals. Lionel Messi has scored 14, which is three more than the entire Zaragoza side.

Prediction

Barcelona usually struggle slightly after international matches, but you still feel they have far too much quality for Zaragoza to handle. The visitors at Camp Nou have not there in 47 years and it does not look likely that they will end this streak. Apart from one blip against Sevilla, Barcelona have been tremendous at home in La Liga this season and another comfortable win looks to be on the cards.

Editor's Prediction

Barcelona 3-0 Zaragoza

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19.11. (Sat) 18:30 Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund

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BAYERN MUNICH Neuer Boateng, Van Buyten, Badstuber, Lahm Luiz Gustavo, Alaba Muller, Kroos, Ribery Gomez

BORUSSIA DORTMUND Weidenfeller Piszczek, Felipe Santana, Hummels, Lowe Bender, Leitner Gotze, Kagawa, Grosskreutz Lewandowski

With Anatoliy Tymoshchuk suspended, Luiz Gustavo takes his place as Bayern's anchor. Some would expect Kroos to set up shop next to him as the Bavarians' second pivot after his glittering displays for Germany, but Jupp Heynckes publicly stated on Wednesday that young Toni would not be taking Bastian Schweinsteiger's place – so David Alaba starts in central midfield.

In defence, Jerome Boateng returns from suspension, so expect Rafinha to drop to the bench. In attack, Arjen Robben has been passed fit, although Heynckes may wish to use the Dutchman sparingly.

Having fractured his cheekbone in a clash with Wolfsburg's Sotirios Kyrgiakos at the start of the month, while Neven Subotic is still a few weeks from a return to action for Dortmund. Felipe Santana will deputise at centre-back, and elsewhere in the back line, Marcel Schmelzer's availability will be subject to a late decision by Jurgen Klopp.

DID YOU KNOW

• These two teams have met each other a total of 85 times. Bayern are in the lead in terms of games won with 39, while Dortmund have only 20.

• Dortmund can close in on Bayern's lead at the top of the Bundesliga to a meagre two points if they pick up an away win at the Allianz Arena, although Bayern still have a vastly superior goal difference with +28 to BVB's +17.

• From 1995-2009, Dortmund star Mats Hummels, now considered to be amongst the best defenders in the Bundesliga, was a Bayern Munich youth and fringe player.

• Mario Gomez is amongst the very top scorers at club level in Europe this season with a mammoth tally of 13 goals. Dortmund's closest is Robert Lewandowski with eight.

• Dortmund are unbeaten in seven games, while Bayern are on a four-match winning streak.

Prediction

Bayern have been playing with a swagger for months now and will be difficult to stop, especially at the Allianz Arena. The hosts will undoubtedly find the net, so the result may be dependent on whether Dortmund can keep up with the pace.

Editor's Prediction

Bayern Munich 3-1 Borussia Dortmund

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