05-12-2010 20:45 Catania - Juventus

Pushing Towards Safety

Catania are one of the potential relegation candidates but the Etnei are holding their own well. With sides around them suffering from inconsistency and dropping points at regular intervals, Catania are maintaining some regularity.

Currently placed in mid-table with 18 points from 14 matches, the Sicilians are a healthy six points from above the relegation zone and are seemingly safe. With the likes of Bari, Lecce, Cesena, Brescia, Bologna and Parma all below them and in desperate situation, Marco Giampaolo's side will have the assurance that come the end of the campaign they will not be one of the three worst sides in the division.

Nevertheless, Catania cannot become complacent in these early stages of the campaign and must continue to garner points at the Stadio Angelo Massimino. The Rossazzurri have not lost a single league match at home this season and have conceded just thrice. With last weekend's heroic performance in Rome against Lazio that saw them pick up a point still fresh in their mind, Catania will be confident of an upset against Juventus on Sunday evening.

Recovering From European Blues

Juventus' recent disastrous form in European competitions continued on Thursday as they crashed out of the Europa League after a 1-1 draw with Lech Poznan in Poland. It was the former Italian and European champions' fifth successive draw in the competition and proved to be less than enough to see them through to the next phase of the competition.

However, this European exit could prove to be a boon for Juventus as far as challenging for the Scudetto is concerned. Luigi Del Neri's side may not be a fearsome force at the moment but having gone 14 competitive games unbeaten they are certainly building momentum. With 24 points from 14 matches, the Old Lady are six points behind league leaders Milan - the Scudetto challenge is on.

Nevertheless, Juve have to keep on winning matches and not drop points like they did last weekend when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fiorentina in Turin. Juve do have an encouraging record on the road, though, as they have won three and lost just one of the seven games on the road.

TEAM NEWS

Catania

Bellusci, Augustyn and Spolli are out injured for Catania but Maxi Lopez is back from suspension. The Argentine will be deployed as the lone striker in a 4-1-4-1 set-up.

Juventus

Buffon, Legrottaglie, Rinaudo, Grygera, De Ceglie, Martinez and Amauri are unavailable for the trip to Sicily as they are injured. Marchisio is suspended.

Prediction

Juventus suffered a disappointing exit from the Europa League on Thursday but they should still be strong enough to win in Catania. However, the hosts will make things difficult for the Bianconeri and could even score a goal.

Catania 1-2 Juventus

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05-12-2010 19:00 Villarreal - Sevilla

Comfortable At Home

Sunday’s concluding fixture pits Champions League hopefuls Villarreal against Sevilla, a team who had such aspirations at the start of the season but who are struggling to live up to their billing as one of Spain’s top sides.

Under Juan Carlos Garrido, Villarreal have increased in strength, particularly at El Madrigal, where they have only failed to win a couple of matches since the former reserve team coach took over in the spring. The Yellow Submarine’s strength at home was further underlined in midweek, when they recorded a routine 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb.

“We had time to grow into the match against Dinamo, and we had to get over the constant fouls,” Garrido explained after the match. “The most important thing is that we strived to get some fluency into the game, despite our opposition's aim to slow it down.”

Meanwhile, Giuseppe Rossi, who scored a brace against the Croats, has hinted at the potential this team has. “Villarreal have a strong enough team to go far, but we must keep our feet on the ground and stick with the hard work if things are to go that well,” he explained.

Already they have climbed into third spot in La Primera Division, and given the manner in which the Yellow Submarine are playing, it would be something of a surprise if they failed to finish in the top four come the spring.

Difficult Times

The honeymoon period is well and truly over for new Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano, who has seen his team slide to a couple of disappointing defeats in the last week. At home against Mallorca in the league, los Nervionenses went down 3-1 against a team they would have expected to master, while the midweek performance against Paris Saint-Germain ended in an ugly 4-2 defeat.

A complete lack of defensive acumen was the striking feature of the loss at the Parc des Princes, which could have been even heavier had les Parisiens been more ruthless. Frederic Kanoute struck twice in the space of five first half minutes for the guests, but this was rare respite on a forgettable evening.

“We are very disappointed that we have conceded four goals in a game that was very difficult,” Julien Escude said. “We started well, with intensity, trying to take the lead, but in two minutes they have scored two goals, and that has done us damage.

“Yet we came back to tie, but the fourth goal has killed us. It is a pity because we went out to win and we didn’t want to wait until the last games to progress to the next round. We wanted to end our losing streak in the league.

“Now what we have to do is look forward. We know it’s complicated. We have to fix it through work.”

Sevilla are not yet in crisis, but Manzano, for all his five league wins and relative success in the Europa League, doesn’t have the club moving forward as quickly as he might like. The visit to Villarreal offers los Nervionenses the opportunity to quickly gain some momentum, though it’s more likely to end in further disappointment.

TEAM NEWS

Villarreal

Joan Capdevila is expected to be the only major absence for the home side, who will also be without Oriol due to injury. No fresh problems have been reported after the midweek clash against Dinamo Zagreb, in which the Yellow Submarine featured something of a fringe side.

Sevilla

There is still a significant list of injury problems in the Sevilla side, with the most notable problems Jesus Navas and Luis Fabiano. Federico Fazio, Ivica Dragutinovic and Tiberio Guarente are other troubling issues, while Javi Varas and Lautaro Acosta are also missing.

Prediction

Goals would seem to be on the cards for Sunday’s game, and given recent form Villarreal have to be hot favourites to pick up three points. With almost a full complement of players at the disposal of the home coach, don’t expect an upset at El Madrigal.

Villarreal 3-1 Sevilla

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05-12-2010 17:30 Nurnberg - Borussia D.

Ready To Welcome The League Leaders

Although their bubble has been burst with three defeats in the last four, including a thumping three-goal reversal at the hands of Thomas Tuchel's Mainz, FC Nuernberg are one of the Bundesliga's success stories to date this season. Having been widely tipped as relegation candidates before a ball was kicked, Dieter Hecking's men go into tomorrow's game in eleventh spot with eighteen points from eleven games. Their good start has relieved some of the pressure and as such they are looking forward to hosting Borussia Dortmund tomorrow afternoon.

"We are really looking forward to the game. We can not barricade ourselves inside our own penalty area. We are instead looking upon the game as a challenge - to be the first side (since Leverkusen) to beat Dortmund. Therefore we will be very motivated for this game," Dieter Hecking told the pre-game press conference.

Andreas Wolf, who has been a cornerstone of Nuernberg's success this season at the heart of their defence, echoed the sentiments of his coach and set out just what the Bavarian side need to do to upset the league leaders.

"Dortmund is a well-functioning team. We want to get a shock result and therefore we have worked very hard towards that this week. We want to win all our individual battles, stop them playing and take our opportunities when they arise."

Although their recent form is anything but sparking, Nuernberg do have a good record from six matches at the Easy Credit Stadion with four wins and two losses to their name. One thing is for sure, they won't go down without a fight.

Taking Each Game As It Comes

Der BVB continue to win plaudits at both home and abroad for the exciting manner in which they have taken the Bundesliga by storm. One aspect they have struggled with is juggling three competitions but they managed a much-needed 3-0 win over Karpaty Lviv in midweek, which keeps their Europa League hopes alive. They now turn their attentions once more to domestic matters and they will almost certainly have to make do without their leading striker Lucas Barrios. Nevertheless, they have an able deputy in Robert Lewandowski and he boosted his confidence by scoring in midweek.

"It was more a case of relief than joy for Robert when he scored because he was not so relaxed," Klopp explained, referring to the fact that the €4m summer signing has mostly had to come off the bench towards the end of games to make an impact.

Nuernberg will be looking to capitalise on weary Dortmund legs but Juergen Klopp places huge importance on fitness and does not believe the schedule will take its toll on his young squad.

"We have compiled our dossier on our opponents and we will be aware of exactly what we need to do against them. Nuernberg will do everything they can to knock us off our stride and it will be our task to ensure we do not fall over," Klopp said.

Klopp still refuses to get carried away and after dead batting all talk of the title, he is also refusing to attach any significance to the possible honour of Herbstmeister (winter champions).

"It has zero significance for us. I have never seen a pennant handed out, which said "Herbstmeister 2010". "

TEAM NEWS

Nuernberg

The home side have several injury concerns heading into Sunday's crunch tie with Dortmund. Albert Bunjaku is unlikely to appear for der Club until March after undergoing knee surgery. Left-back Javier Pinola has a knee injury so Bieler is likely to deputise fore the Argentinian. Per Nilsson will undergo a late fitness test after suffering a ligament strain yet the Swede is rated highly doubtful for the game with Maroh set to take his place in the centre of defence.

Probable Starting XI: Schaefer – Judt, Wolf, Maroh, Bieler – Hegeler, Simons – Ekici, Gundogan, Frantz – Schieber

Dortmund

Die Borussen will be without the injured Lucas Barrios who has a knee injury so Robert Lewandowski will continue up-front where he will hoping to add to the goal he scored versus Karpaty Lyiv in the Europa League on Thursday. Sebastian Kehl (tendon tear) and Patrick Owomoyela are both ruled out until early 2011 while Florian Kringe has resumed training but is unlikely to feature in this one. Mohammed Zidan made an impressive cameo on his return midweek and is expected to play some part in the game.

Probable Starting XI: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Hummels, Subotic, Schmelzer - Kehl, Bender – Goetze, Kagawa, Grosskreutz - Lewandowski

Prediction

Dortmund may be without Barrios but Lewandowski is a very fine replacement who would be first-choice in many Bundesliga teams. I expect their depth to come to the fore and that they will inflict another defeat on Nuernberg although it will not come easily since Dieter Hecking's men are no pushovers on home soil.

Nürnberg 0-2 Borussia

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05-12-2010 15:00 Sampdoria - Bari

Pushing For Europe Again

Sampdoria suffered a cruel exit from the Europa League on Thursday as they tasted a 2-1 defeat to Dutch giants PSV in Genoa. Not that the Blucerchiati had taken Europe's second-tier club competition with utmost seriousness, but they would have liked to prolong their European adventure for a while.

Which means that Domenico Di Carlo's side will be keen to return to Europe next season and for that they need to step up their game. Samp are currently in eighth place in Serie A with 20 points from 14 matches, just three off a Europa League place, and gained an encouraging result last weekend when they held league leaders Milan to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Interestingly, Sampdoria's home and away record in the Italian top flight this campaign are identical - two wins, four draws and one loss. But Doria will be favourites on Sunday against Bari, who are languishing at the foot of the table and are now one of the favourites to slip to the Italian second division.

Coppa Triumph Encouragement

There is no doubt who have been the worst team so far in the Italian top flight. Stationed at the foot of the table having scored just 10 points from 14 matches, Bari are struggling and are suffering from the 'Second Season Syndrome'.

However, in midweek Giampiero Ventura's wretched side discerned some light at the end of the tunnel when they hammered Livorno 4-1 in the fourth round of the Coppa Italia. Granted, Livorno are a Serie B team but that large-margin victory should inject a healthy dose of confidence in the Galletti.

Bari, though, have a poor record on the road as they have yet to register a victory away from the Stadio San Nicola and have lost four matches in the league on their travels.

TEAM NEWS

Sampdoria

Lucchini, Zauri, Semioli, Padalino, Obiang and Pozzi are injured and will miss the encounter with Bari. Cassano remains out of the squad.

Bari

Salvatore Masiello, Castillo, Barreto, Ghezzal and Kutuzov are injured. Parisi is suspended.

Prediction

Sampdoria have had mixed form since Antonio Cassano was ostracised from the squad and were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday. Samp are looking far from confident in their game but they should still muster a win against Bari.

Sampdoria 2-0 Bari

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