Saturday, August 21, 2010

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21.08. (Sat) 16:00 Arsenal - Blackpool

Tangerine dreams of Emirates upset

Having soared to joint first place in the Premier League table by comprehensively beating Wigan Athletic on the opening day, Blackpool travel to the Emirates for what is likely to prove a sterner examination of their top-flight credentials against Arsenal.

Goals from Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Marlon Harewood – who netted twice – and Alex Baptiste gave the Tangerines a dream debut in the Premier League, and they will be hoping to draw on that momentum to spring a major surprise this Saturday.

Arsenal began their own campaign on Merseyside, where they salvaged a 1-1 draw against Liverpool with help from an uncharacteristically clumsy Pepe Reina. It was not a wholly convincing performance from Arsene Wenger’s side, though a point at Anfield is a decent return, and they should feel happier on home turf where many teams have been eclipsed by the Gunners’ fluent passing game in the four years since they moved into the stadium.

Arsenal have not, though, enjoyed the best of weeks. Central defender Laurent Koscielny, who avoided serious injury from the rash challenge that saw Joe Cole sent off at Anfield, was himself dismissed in the closing minutes when he was somewhat harshy adjudged to have handled the ball deliberately. But while his absence will be temporary, those of two midfielders will be longer. Samir Nasri, who looked sharp in pre-season and also impressed against Liverpool, had to undergo surgery on a knee surgery and is likely to be out for a month, while promising youngster Emmanuel Frimpong injured cruciate knee ligaments in training and has been ruled out for up to nine months.

Meanwhile, Wenger’s efforts to strengthen his squad in the transfer market were frustrated when Fulham rejected a second bid for Mark Schwarzer, meaning that Arsenal’s goalkeeping problems remain unresolved; incumbent Manuel Almunia was beaten at his near post by David Ngog last weekend. Arsenal also reportedly made an offer for Sevilla’s centre-half Sebastien Squillaci in midweek, but at the time of writing no deal has been struck or the France international.

However Wenger shuffles his pack for the Seasiders’ first league meeting with Arsenal since March 1971, he knows that his side must win if their title bid is not to stall early on; the emphatic victories already secured by rivals Chelsea and Manchester United have confirmed that there is no margin for error, especially in home matches.

On a wave of euphoria following their outstanding start to Premier League life at Wigan, Blackpool will be gunning for a bigger scalp in north London this weekend. They may not have beaten Arsenal away since 1958, but that won’t daunt manager Ian Holloway, currently perceived to be a miracle worker at Bloomfield Road. Some concerns were raised about Holloway’s future in midweek following the resignation as chairman and director of the club by Karl Oyston, though the manager himself insists it’s business as usual.

And he succeeded in adding to his squad by signing Israel defender Dekel Keinan from Maccabi Haifa in midweek. Keinan became the Seasiders' seventh summer arrival – along with utility player Chris Basham, striker Marlon Harewood, French trio Ludovic Sylvestre, Elliot Grandin, Malaury Martin and defender Craig Cathcart – and goes straight into the squad for the Arsenal game.

In addition, Bournemouth have accepted an improved bid from Blackpool for striker Brett Pitman, who is now discussing personal terms with the Lancashire club. Holloway said of Pitman: "He epitomises us - we are a bunch of people who need to make a name for ourselves." And that’s what they’ll be aiming to do at the Emirates.



TEAM NEWS

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger could bring in five players as he changes his starting XI from the Liverpool game. Alex Song (calf), Johan Djourou (hamstring) and Denilson (abdominal) all missed that match, as did captain Cesc Fabregas who was short of match fitness and suffering from a throat infection. Robin van Persie came on as a substitute but is also regaing match fitness following the World Cup.

All could be involved this weekend, though Denilson is the least prepared. Wenger has said he won't rush Fabregas and Van Persie back, suggesting they could be on the bench, though he may be tempted to play them as he aims to get off to winning start at home.

Nicklas Bendtner (groin), Samir Nasri (knee), Emmanuel Frimpong (knee) and Aaron Ramsey (leg) will all be missing, as will Laurent Koscielny, suspended after his dismissal at Liverpool.

Possible Starting XI: Almunia; Sagna, Djourou, Vermaelen, Clichy; Walcott, Rosicky, Song, Diaby; Arshavin, Chamakh.  

Blackpool
Ian Holloway will be tempted to keep faith with the starting XI that did him so proud at Wigan last weekend.

New signing Dekel Keinan will come into contention, along with the likes of Chris Basham, Jason Euell and Ludovic Sylvestre, who all came on as substitues during the course of Blackpool's historic 4-0 triumph at the DW Stadium.

Holloway's recent flurry of signings has given his squad greater depth and affored him more options, but he will be reluctant to drop any of the players who performed so well on the club's Premier League bow. He may opt to stiffen his midfield or defence to counter Arsenal's renowned passing game, though Holloway's tactical instincts are to attack, and he is unlikely to abandon them.

Possible Starting XI: Gilks; Baptiste, Evatt, Cathcart, Crainey; Taylor-Fletcher, Adam, Vaughan, Grandin; Ormerod, Harewood.


Arsenal 3-1 Blackpool

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21.08. (Sat) 18:15 Wigan Athletic - Chelsea

Tough task to make amends
After last week's 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of newly-promoted Blackpool, it's safe to suggest the very last team Roberto Martinez and Wigan Athletic would choose to face next would be champions Chelsea.

But that is exactly the task that faces them this Saturday — the only saving grace being that at least it is in front of the home fans at the DW Stadium.

The Latics go into the game with grave defensive concerns, even before considering that their opponents scored six in their last game, and eight in the previous meeting between the two sides. The one positive, which the Spanish boss can be given for clinging onto, is that his side romped to a 3-1 win in the corresponding fixture last term.

On that occasion, a sending off for goalkeeper Petr Cech and a fine individual performance from Hugo Rodellega helped grab the three points. Martinez will be hoping for a similar turn of events this time out, as he looks to win back some trust from the fans (and, by proxy, the board) who were so disappointed with the Blackpool opener.

After being exposed so cruelly by Marlon Harewood (hardly a hitman at the highest level) in the season opener, it would be something of a surprise if 'parking the bus' isn't the order of the day for the home side.

Hit the ground running

By contrast, champions Chelsea began their title defence the way they earned the crown in the first place, with as comfortable a 6-0 beating of West Bromwich Albion as you are ever likely to see.

Of satisfaction to Carlo Ancelotti, he saw key striker Didier Drogba get a hat-trick, while Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda — two key midfield contributors from last season — also opened their accounts at the earliest opportunities. It all bodes well for a similarly ruthless season this time round.

The Italian might be forgiven for heading to the DW with a little apprehension, however, given that it was the ground that he suffered his first defeat as a manager in England. Ancelotti is too savvy a tactician to concern himself with something as petty as revenge, but he will likely remind his side that a loss of focus can have crucial consequences.

Major summer signing Ramires is likely to be available for selection for the first time, but the Brazilian shouldn't be required to get another early-season victory, if everything goes according to plan.


TEAM NEWS

Wigan


Newly-appointed club captain Gary Caldwell will miss the game — through both suspension and injury, as he recovers from off-season hip surgery.

Charles N'Zogbia remains at loggerheads with the club, and although Martinez has played down the dispute it is hard to imagine that the recently capped French international will return to the first XI this weekend.

Possible Starting XI: Kirkland; Stam, Boyce, Alcaraz, Figueroa; Thomas, Diame, McCarthy, Moses, Rodallega; Boselli.

Chelsea

New signing Ramires is available and might well go straight into the matchday squad, although a start might be a bit premature at this stage.

Defender Branislav Ivanovic is back to full fitness after picking up a slight knock while on international duty before the West Brom game, and his return gives Ancelotti a full-strength squad to pick from — at least while the slowly-recovering Jose Bosingwa remains out of sight and out of mind.

Possible Starting XI: Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole; Mikel, Essien, Lampard; Malouda, Anelka, Drogba.


Wigan Athletic 0-3 Chelsea   

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21.08. (Sat) 20:30 Barcelona - Sevilla

Staring At Defeat
Spanish champions Barcelona remain arguably the best footballing team on the planet and are once again favourites to win every competition in 2010-11, but the Blaugrana may well have to suffer a big disappointment at the start of the new season.

Last week coach Pep Guardiola fielded a young and pretty much second-string team against Sevilla in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup and Barca lost the match 3-1 in Seville. The former European champions were without the likes of David Villa, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Carlos Puyol and Victor Valdes but still took the lead in the 20th minute through Zlatan Ibrahimovic and were the better side in the first half. However, Sevilla scored thrice in the second session, with Frederic Kanoute coming off the bench to net a brace.

Barca are very strong at home and the away goal will give them hope and optimism. However, several of their players have only just started training and although a 2-0 win is the least the Blaugrana actually need to win the Super Cup for the second year in a row, they will have to be careful of the fact that in Kanoute, Luis Fabiano and Alvaro Negredo, the Rojiblancos have a very potent forward line that is ably supported by Diego Perotti and Jesus Navas on the wings.

Mixed Week
Sevilla lost the first half of the first leg meekly last week but were by far the superior team in the second 45 minutes. A 3-1 lead does put them in a very advantageous position but they cannot take anything for granted given that several of Barcelona's first string players will be back for the second leg.

Moreover, Antonio Alvarez's side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Portuguese side Braga in the Champions League play-off round first leg match away from home and will have an eye on the return leg at home in midweek. It's been a mixed week for the former UEFA Cup winners and the coming four or five days could be very crucial for them in 2010-11.

However, with the quality of players Sevilla have at their disposal they should be confident. Last season they knocked Barca out of the Copa del Rey, becoming the first team to send them out of a competition since 2008, and they have the means to deny the Catalan club their first silverware of the new season.


TEAM NEWS

Barcelona

Coach Pep Guardiola is likely to recall his main players for this fixture as they need two or more goals. Lionel Messi will be unleashed upon Sevilla from the beginning and David Villa should make his debut for his new club. Xavi and Andres Iniesta are also set to start on Saturday evening.

Probable Line-up (4-3-3): Valdes, Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Ibrahimovic, Villa

Sevilla
Coach Antonio Alvarez could field a one-man strike force given that they are away from home. Luis Fabiano could be given the nod ahead of Kanoute, but given that the Mali international scored twice last weekend he may well be given a starting berth, although he is partaking in Ramadan.

Probable Line-up (4-5-1): Palop, Konko, Fazio, Escude, Dabo; Navas, Zokora, Romaric, Renato, Perotti; Kanoute 

Prediction
Sevilla will count themselves as favourites in the second-leg but they must be wary of conceding an early first goal to Barcelona. Moreover, the Blanquirrojos will also be looking ahead to their midweek fixture against Braga in the Champions League qualifier and could be distracted. However, Sevilla do have it in themselves to score a goal and it is unlikely that they will concede four.

Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla  

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21.08. (Sat) 20:45 Inter - Roma

Lay Down A Marker

It’s not yet been three months since deadly Diego Milito shot Inter to the Champions League title, capping a remarkable campaign that saw Jose Mourinho’s side scoop a historic treble. With the World Cup and the drama of the transfer window, it feels an age ago that Javier Zanetti held aloft the ‘Big Eared Trophy’ and it is time for Calcio to return with its now traditional curtain raiser.

Much has changed in Pinetina since that joyous evening in Madrid, with Jose Mourinho choosing to remain in the Spanish capital and Rafael Benitez taking charge in Milan. Aside from the change in the dugout, the most dramatic event of the summer was Mario Balotelli’s long-winded switch to Manchester City, while the only money the Nerazzurri have parted with has secured the permanent signings of Andrea Ranocchia and Parma duo MacDonald Mariga and Jonathan Biabiany.

Pre-season has seen a sprinkling of wins, draws and losses, but now it’s time to put these mere warm-up encounters to one side as Benitez leads his men into a competitive 90 minutes for the first time.

Adding to the spice of the tie are Francesco Totti’s claims that Inter have been “protected”, a claim denied by Dejan Stankovic, who is looking forward to the fixture.

“The matches between Inter and Roma will continue and on Saturday night it will be beautiful. I don't believe Inter have been protected, Inter won because they deserved to and Totti knows this,” he told Sky Sport 24.

Inter, therefore, will not be taking this fixture lightly.

Create A Watershed


Last season Roma were the only side who could get near to Inter in Serie A. A strong finish to the campaign saw Claudio Ranieri’s men go on the charge, forcing Inter into something of a wobble and closing the gap on the champions to just two points by the end of the campaign. Had it not been for a dire start, the Scudetto would have been even more intensely contested by the Giallorossi.

Now with Ranieri in place from the outset of the campaign, the ultimate goal is to dethrone Inter, and Italy boss Cesare Prandelli believes that the Lupi are the best placed side to achieve such a feat over the course of a 38-game campaign.

“Roma remain the most fierce anti-Inter,” the Azzurri coach stated to La Stampa before quashing any real hopes of title success. “For the championship, I don't think there are alternatives to Inter.”

Having failed to lure Nicolas Burdisso from Inter over the course of the transfer window, Roma are already one psychological batter down against the European champions, but they won’t let that deter them going into this fixture.

Victory could give the Lupi the belief they need to compete with an Inter side still coping with the loss of talismanic coach Mourinho to Real Madrid, putting a cat amongst the pigeons and causing a little panic in the ranks of their northern cousins. The Lupi will be going out to win this game.


Prediction
Matches between these two sides last season were invariably tight, and there will be little between them once again. Though Inter are the better side, they are in something of a transitional phase and Roma will fancy themselves to catch their opponents a little cold. Inter lost this fixture to Lazio in China last season, but with home advantage this time around should have just about enough to edge their opponents.

Inter Milan 2-1 Roma