| Everton - Liverpul | 2 | 2.74 | |
| Blekpul - Mančester Siti | 3+ | 1.63 | |
| Katanija - Napoli | 3+ | 2.00 | |
| Sampdorija - Fiorentina | 0-2 | 1.67 | |
| Soccer | 16.59 | ||
Sunday, October 17, 2010
17-10-2010 Tiket
17-10-2010 Olympique Lyonnais - Lille Metropole
Olympique Lyonnais remain under the most intense of scrutiny as they welcome unbeaten Lille to the Stade Gerland on Sunday night. Lying 17th in the league, les Gones have made a disastrous start to the campaign and anything short of three points will simply heap pressure upon the side prior to a Champions League clash against Benfica.
The international break should have been a chance for Lyon coach Claude Puel to rest up and take things easy, but the pressure is so intense on the coach’s shoulders that OL fans held a demonstration at one of the club’s youth matches, urging the former Lille boss to resign.
Prior to the off-week, OL had actually got themselves back on track to some extent, defeating Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Champions League away from home before getting the better of Nancy, also on the road. The manner of the two victories, particularly the latter, was wholly unconvincing and certainly not befitting a side who recently won seven league titles in success.
With local rivals Saint-Etienne revelling in their position near the summit of the table, the masses in Lyon have quickly grown restless. President Jean-Michel Aulas remains unmoving, insisting that he will only pass decisive judgement on Puel’s performance after the Arles-Avignon clash on October 24.
The tight nature of Le Championnat means that OL’s title prospects will not be completely shot even if they lose at the weekend, but defeat would surely be the final nail hammered into Puel’s coffin, ironically by the club he abandoned to join the Rhone giants.
Unbeaten But Not At Their Best
Lille are one of only two Ligue 1 sides undefeated through eight matches of the season (the other being Stade Rennais) but have found their path rutted as they have picked up draws in matches they would have expected to win, claiming only three victories in their formative fixtures.
Coach Rudi Garcia commands one of the most potent arsenals in France, but les Dogues are yet to display this quality this season. LOSC finished ahead of even Olympique de Marseille in the goal scoring charts last term, but they’ve strangely misfired in the early weeks of this season, finding the net a relatively disappointing 11 times, despite keeping the same personnel largely together over the close-season.
Slow starts have been a feature of les Dogues’ recent campaigns, and it’s interesting to note that this is reflected to some extent in individual matches as they’ve only been leading after 45 minutes on three occasions this season. By contrast, they’ve won five of the eight second halves they’ve played.
With wingers such as Eden Hazard and Gervinho, who was this week placed under a one year suspended prison sentence after knocking down a motorcyclist, they should pose a threat to any Ligue 1 opponents, particularly as the midfield remains one of the best in France, even if it is not quite reaching its top gear at present.
On each of Lille’s last three visits to Lyon, they’ve earned a point, and if they were to fall short of that on Sunday then they would be disappointed.
TEAM NEWS
Lyon
OL will sweat over the fitness of tenacious midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, who didn’t train on Thursday due to a metatarsal injury. Cesar Delgado is making progress following his early season injury problems but won’t feature, while long-term issue Ederson is still missing.
Lille
Tulio de Melo is the only player who will miss out for les Dogues. Mickael Landreau and Florent Balmont have both overcome hamstring issues that hindered them over the international break, while Franck Beria and Ludovic Obraniak are both back in the reckoning too.
Lyon
OL will sweat over the fitness of tenacious midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, who didn’t train on Thursday due to a metatarsal injury. Cesar Delgado is making progress following his early season injury problems but won’t feature, while long-term issue Ederson is still missing.
Lille
Tulio de Melo is the only player who will miss out for les Dogues. Mickael Landreau and Florent Balmont have both overcome hamstring issues that hindered them over the international break, while Franck Beria and Ludovic Obraniak are both back in the reckoning too.
Prediction
Lyon don’t have a happy recent history against Lille, and given their recent form that’s unlikely to change a great deal. LOSC remain one of the most dangerous forces in France, but unless they can find top gear a victory is unlikely. The points have been split each time the teams have met at Stade Gerland since 2006, and it would be little surprise if that statistic was to remain untroubled come full-time.
O. Lyon 1-1 Lille 
17-10-2010 17:00 Mallorca - Espanyol
Mallorca may not be anything like a super power in the Spanish game, yet over the last 14 months they have made their ONO Estadi home one of the toughest venues to visit in la Primera Division for opposing teams. Very rarely do els Barralets slip in front of their own fans, and coach Michael Laudrup will fully expect three points from the visit of Espanyol.
For anyone who though last season’s home form was sheer fluke, they would have been given a wake-up call on the opening day of the season, when the Balearic club pooped the party of new Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho by holding los Blancos to a scoreless draw on the Portuguese’s debut in the dugout. Victories over Osasuna and Real Sociedad, both 2-0, have since followed at home.
Laudrup has targeted an improvement in the club’s sluggish performance on the road, which has yet to come about, though a fine 1-1 draw against Barcelona prior to the international break suggests that progress is being slowly made. In the meantime, the Dane is tasked with maintaining the club’s remarkable performances at the ONO Estadi, as these have been the bedrock of their success.
“They still have a lot to improve,” the coach explained to the media on Tuesday. “We may have achieved a great draw at the Camp Nou, but we suffered two losses versus Sporting Gijon and Athletic Bilbao.”
With Spain’s strongest two clubs out the way, Mallorca can now focus on establishing themselves as a force in the top half of the table, and in order to achieve that, victory is required on Sunday.
Travel Sickness
However good Mallorca are at home, Espanyol are poor on the road. Over the course of last season, the Barcelona-based club picked up only a couple of wins away from the Cornella-El Prat, and when they did draw, it was generally by stifling their hosts to a 0-0. The early weeks of this campaign have not promised anything better, with three defeats from three away games.
Thankfully for coach Mauricio Pochettino, los Periquitos can get the job done at home, picking up a full complement of points in front of their own supporters, and he actually has a little reason for encouragement going by the Catalans three performances on the road this term.
In Villarreal, where Espanyol were humbled 4-0, the coach could justifiably argue that his side didn’t deserve to be on the end of such a stern beating, while refereeing decisions certainly counted against the Blanquiblaus as they were defeated 3-0 by Real Madrid. Against Real Sociedad, the Catalans defended well but succumbed in the dying minutes to an own goal.
No points therefore doesn’t mean no hope going into this game for Pochettino’s men, though they will certainly need a good dose more luck than they’ve had in recent away trips if they are to earn anything at one of Spain’s most formidable venues.
TEAM NEWS
Mallorca
Dudu Aouate and Emilio Nsue have both been given the all-clear to play, leaving only Nunes as doubtful for the Balearic side.
Espanyol
There is some good news for los Periquitos going into the weekend in that Sergio Garcia has been passed fit. Carlos Kameni is said to be making good progress from his injury worries, but he will continue to miss out, as will Ivan de la Pena and Ivan Alonso.
Prediction
Though Espanyol haven’t been as bad away from home as their results might suggest, they’ve now got a mental block when on their travels. Meanwhile, Mallorca are exceptionally confident at home and should be bullish about their chances of picking up all three points.
Mallorca 2-1 Espanyol 
17-10-2010 17:00 Blackpool - Manchester City
Ian Holloway’s Blackpool side have made an impressive and unexpected start to the season as the largely inexperienced squad have seemingly adapted to Premier League life ahead of schedule and have claimed the scalps of both Liverpool and Newcastle in recent weeks, fuelling the fairytale feel surrounding Bloomfield Road.
Should Holloway’s men claim yet another unexpected victory this weekend they will move to within one point of the Manchester side and will have amassed a respectable total of thirteen points from eight games.
Holloway, however, remains cautious about the rapid progress of his team and has remained true to his expectations and hopes from the start of the season. In his eyes, a successful season for the men in tangerine would be to safely secure their Premier League status for another year. Anything that is achieved after that would be seen as a bonus by the former QPR and Plymouth Argyle manager.
Roberto Mancini, on the other hand, knows that anything else than a win would be seen as a disaster for his heavily experienced side. The Manchester men are currently second in the Premier League but already find themselves four points and fifteen goals behind reigning champions Chelsea.
Another concern for the City manager may be the mental state of midfielder Nigel De Jong. The Dutch player was recently dropped from the national team squad following a rash challenge on Newcastle forward Hatem Ben Arfa in City’s recent 2-1 win, and Mancini may see fit to allow De Jong some time away from the spotlight by resting him from this weekend’s clash. The extent of the reaction by the media has been no less shocking than the actual challenge itself with even on-loan Ben Arfa’s parent club Marseilles threatening to take legal action against De Jong.
How Times Have Changed
The last time Manchester City travelled to the seaside town of Blackpool, the year was 1999 and the Manchester club had just sunk to 12th in the third tier of English football, the lowest point in their long and sometimes painful history.
The scores were level at 0-0 on that bitterly cold January day and as the seaside mist drew ever closer both sides contemplated a less than successful existence, Blackpool, plying their trade in the ruins of their old stadium and City sinking further and further into the mire.
Manchester City climbed out of the division that year, with a memorable play-off final victory over Gillingham, as the point gained at Blackpool launched a twelve-match unbeaten run that propelled Joe Royle’s side up the table and into the play-off places.
Blackpool, the former club of greats such as Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield, remained in the lower tiers or English football mediocrity until the combined efforts of Simon Grayson and more recently the charismatic Ian Holloway propelled this once famous club to the glitz and glamour of the Premier League.
The Manchester City captain that day, Steve Morrison, now assistant manager at non-league Northwich Victoria, recently spoke about the dark days that faced his beloved club.
Speaking to MEN Sport, Morrison revealed the key part the Manchester City fans played in their eventual play-off success that season as the penalty heroics of Nicky Weaver and Paul Dickov secured promotion.
“There was no Plan B. If we hadn’t got out of that division that year, Lord knows what would have become of City,” Morrison said.
“The City fans don’t forget it, because that season there was a coming together of everyone at the club. The camaraderie we found in that adversity was amazing – but we all knew how bad things were.
“The City fans were brilliant. They knew the score, and got right behind us, which is exactly what we needed.
“There were no superstars and the fans knew it – but they also began to believe that we had a team that could start to get them back to where we belonged.”
The former Citizens captain, who also played for Blackpool, made his feelings clear on the momentous rise of the seaside club.
“I don’t think, back then, there were many people who would have guessed this would happen,” he added.
“City’s rise has been staggering, and Blackpool’s even more so, in some ways – a real fairy tale."
TEAM NEWS
Blackpool
The Seasiders will look to continue their impressive early season form on Sunday with a win over the Premier League’s heavy spenders Manchester City. One key figure in Blackpool’s rise from Championship mediocrity to Anfield victory fame will, however, be missing for the ninth-placed Premier League side.Blackpool manager Ian Holloway will serve his one-match touchline ban at the weekend after appearing to call referee Mike Dean “useless” in the tunnel following the 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Holloway was fined £9,500 after the incident and has since apologised. It remains to be seen how his absence from the touchline will affect the performance of his side.
In terms of playing staff, Blackpool are without two first-team players for the visit of City. Long-term absentee Billy Clarke continues his prolonged spell on the sidelines as the former Ipswich striker endures a frustrating start to Premier League life with a knee injury. In a knee injury of far less severity, Alex Baptiste, used both in defence and midfield this season, will miss the clash with the Manchester side.
Possible starting XI: Gilks; Eardley, Evatt, Cathcart, Crainey; Grandin, Adam, Vaughan; Harewood, Varney, Campbell.
Manchester City
Roberto Mancini’s cash giants Manchester City have made an excellent start to the season, already felling last season’s champions Chelsea in a highly competitive affair and rising to second in the Premier League.Mancini, however, will be concerned with the fitness levels of his, so far, watertight defence in which Belgian international Vincent Kompany has excelled in a central role this season.
The City boss will be without four full-backs for the Blackpool clash as left-backs Alexandar Kolarov and Wayne Bridge miss out as well as the right-back pairing of Pablo Zabaleta and Micah Richards who is rated doubtful and likely to face a late fitness test.
Another late fitness test will be needed for summer signing Yaya Toure who is doubtful with a knee injury. The former Barcelona midfielder is yet to make a significant impact since his big money move and any injury lay-off is likely to disrupt his progress in a Manchester City shirt.
Possible starting XI: Hart; Boateng, Toure, Kompany, Lescott; De Jong, Barry, Milner; Johnson, Tevez, Silva.
Prediction
It's hard to see Ian Holloway's men getting anything from an experienced and well-drilled Manchester City side. Blackpool's buccaneering attacking tactis may cause the Manchester City defence some problems as the home crowd will provide vocal support with every single pass.
Roberto Mancini's men need to win these sort of games if they are to challenge for a top four spot and beyond, and with the relatively inexperienced Blackpool side faced with the likes of David Silva and Carlos Tevez, the possibility of a goalscoring flurry is high.
Roberto Mancini's men need to win these sort of games if they are to challenge for a top four spot and beyond, and with the relatively inexperienced Blackpool side faced with the likes of David Silva and Carlos Tevez, the possibility of a goalscoring flurry is high.
Blackpool 1-4 Man City 
17-10-2010 15:00 Sampdoria - Fiorentina
Sampdoria are one of the ten clubs in the Italian top flight fighting for a place in the top four in Serie A but their start to the 2010-11 campaign has been far from impressive. Just one win out of a possible four means that Domenico Di Carlo's side are currently 14th in the league standings with seven points from six matches, just two points above the relegation zone.
Samp's last match before the international break ended in a 1-1 draw with lowly Bologna away from home and their game prior to that finished in a goallless draw with Udinese in Genoa. As a matter of fact, the Blucerchiati have not won in Serie A since the opening weekend of the season.
However, Fiorentina themselves are struggling too and playing at the Marassi, Samp will be confident of picking up maximum points.
Struggles Know No Bounds
Fiorentina's struggles in the Serie A campaign know no bounds as the Viola continue to plummet towards the foot of the table. At the moment the Florence-based side are just a place above the relegation zone but level on points with Parma, who have five from six matches and are third from bottom.
The Viola chiefs have dismissed suggestions that coach Siniaa Mihajlovic will be given the sack anytime soon but the Serbian must know that he has to repair the damage as soon as possible. Fiorentina are expected to fight for a place in the top four in Serie A and they need to rack up points.
The Viola lost to Palermo before the international break but prior to that they had won against Parma at home. Fiorentina will hope to invoke that winning spirit in Genoa on Sunday.
TEAM NEWS
Sampdoria
There are no injury or suspension worries for Samp. The Genoa-based side will line up in a 4-4-2 formation that will have Pazzini and Cassano up front. Poli will start on the bench and so will Guberti.
Fiorentina
Jovetic, D'Agostino and Bolatti are out injured. Montolivo is suspended and so is Mutu.
Prediction
A win for Sampdoria looks likely as they are good at home while Fiorentina have struggled on their travels.
Sampdoria 2-0 Fiorentina 
17-10-2010 15:00 Catania - Napoli
Catania are one of the clubs who are expected to struggle for survival this season and the way the league table is at the moment, they appear to be doing just that. The Sicilians may be ninth in the standings but with eight points from six matches, they are just three points above the relegation zone.
Catania are, of course, one of several clubs on eight points in a very congested league standings, so from that perspective they are not alone, and new coach Marco Giampaolo has already started weaving his magic. However, the Etnei will have to improve if they want to stay afloat in the Italian top flight.
Playing an in-form Napoli isn't an ideal way to pick up points but Catania are playing at home and this could act as an advantage. Striker Giuseppe Mascara is urging his side to do all they can to eke out a win and says, "At Lecce, we did not do well against a team that is not of the same quality as us. Now, we must win against a complete and competitive Napoli side.
"Even if we are playing at home, knowing we can do well here, we cannot commit the same errors that we did against Lecce. We cannot underestimate our opponents."
Aiming High
Napoli started the 2010-11 campaign with two successive draws but have since then racked up the points. Currently on a two-game winning run, Walter Mazzarri's side have 11 points from six matches and are third in the table.
More interestingly perhaps, Napoli are level on points with Italian giants Inter and Scudetto challengers Milan and just two points behind leaders Lazio. The Neapolitans have been going great guns in the Europa League too and will be looking forward to regaining their momentum after the international break.
Defender Christian Maggio has lavished praise on coach Mazzarri and says that he is the reason behind their success, enthusing, “The secret of this Napoli is Mazzarri. The coach is very close to the players. He gives us confidence and manages to motivate us in moments of difficulty."
TEAM NEWS
Catania
Sciacca and Augustyn are injured for Catania. Maxi Lopez and Mascara will start upfront.
Napoli
Lucarelli and Aronica are out injured. Mazzarri is likely to go with a 3-4-2-1 system that will have Cavani upfront on his own with Hamsik and Lavezzi just behind him.
Prediction
Napoli should win this match but they are prone to slip-ups. Catania do look strong at home and they could give the Naples-based side a hard time.
Catania 1-2 Napoli 
17-10-2010 14:30 Everton - Liverpool
Never has a Merseyside derby been so important yet so little talked about. After an unprecedented week of boardroom drama at Liverpool finally finished on Friday, Everton will be keen to extend their misery on the pitch.
Both sides head into the fixture on six points and lurking at the foot of the table and with questions being raised over whether one of the Merseyside giants could end up in a relegation battle this season.
David Moyes’s hosts sit 17th in the table after finally notching their first win of the season at Birmingham last time out, in the process becoming the first team in more than a year to leave St Andrew’s with three points.
However, the Toffees are still without a win on home soil this season and have a dismal recent record against their bitter rivals at Goodison, losing six of the last eight Premier League fixtures between the sides.
Everton have struggled in front of goal this term, netting only six times in seven league games. If they are to record their first back-to-back wins since April, midfielder Tim Cahill could be the key. The Australian has scored four goals in Merseyside derbies, the same number as Steven Gerrard.
Introducing A New Era
The positive vibe around Liverpool following the NESV takeover could quickly evaporate should they lose a match which has far more at stake than just local pride.
The Liverpool players have looked sorry for themselves so far this season and sit 18th in the Premier League, the first time they have been in the relegation zone in the top flight since October 1984.
The players can no longer blame the uncertainty over the club’s ownership for their worst start to a season in 56 years, a campaign that ended in relegation. Captain Steven Gerrard has been leading the calls for the men on the pitch to now drive the club forward. “We've all suffered in this, especially the supporters, and now it's time for us all to pull together and help move the club forward,” he said.
Manager Roy Hodgson is already asking new owners NESV for time to complete the ‘major job’ he has on his hands to turn Liverpool’s fortunes – but the jeers he received from the Kop during the 2-1 defeat to newly-promoted Blackpool last time out suggest he might not be afforded that luxury.
Hodgson will want his players to show spirit but will be wary that this hotly contested derby has seen 19 red cards in 36 Premier League meetings between the clubs – more than any other fixture in the division.
After the week Liverpool have had, predicting how the players will react in a Merseyside derby is the £300 million question.
TEAM NEWS
Everton
David Moyes will make a late decision on defender Phil Jagielka ahead of Everton's clash against city rivals Liverpool. Jagielka was forced out of England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro with a hamstring injury and is a major doubt for the match at Goodison Park.The Scot will certainly be without midfielder Marouane Fellaini, who played on for Belgium with a hamstring injury and now faces six weeks on the sidelines. "I thought he should have come off immediately and he didn't,” fumed Moyes. “It's probably made his injury worse. I'll write a letter of disappointment to the Belgian FA.”
Striker Louis Saha (calf) is almost certain to miss out while Steven Pienaar is sidelined with a groin problem. Jack Rodwell is still more than two months away from returning from a long-term ankle injury.
Possible starting XI: Howard; Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Heitinga, Arteta, Osman; Cahill; Yakubu.
Liverpool
The big news for the visitors is that star striker Fernando Torres has been declared fit to play in the 214th Merseyside derby. Roy Hodgson says the Spain forward has recovered from the adductor injury sustained in the 2-1 defeat to Blackpool just before the international break.Full-back Paul Konchesky is also available after recovering from a hamstring strain while Fabio Aurelio is on the verge of returning from the Achilles injury that has kept him sidelined since August.
Dirk Kuyt is out for at least three weeks after suffering an ankle injury playing for the Netherlands while centre-back Daniel Agger is doubtful with a back complaint.
Possible starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Konchesky; Lucas, Poulsen; Cole, Gerrard, Jovanovic; Torres.
Prediction
After such a turbulent week, Liverpool will be glad to get back to matters on the pitch. But they could wish for a less emotive occasion than the Merseyside derby - which Everton will see as an opportunity to exploit against a team possibly distracted by all the ownership wrangles. However, the resolution of that damaging issue might now galvanise the team and they could show the cohesion and conviction that has been sadly lacking thus far this season. The Toffees will ensure it's a hotly contested affair, but Liverpool's underachievers should be determined to give Roy Hodgson a break and present him with a priceless win.
Everton 1-2 Liverpool 
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