16-02-2011 20:45 Arsenal - Barcelona

In Good Shape

Arsenal’s punishment for failing to finish top of their Champions League group is a difficult encounter against Barcelona, which is a fixture to excite neutrals, even if it is a tie that must already have the Gunners seriously considering their longevity in the competition.

The Londoners haven’t had much success against the Catalans in the recent past, with the most recent clashes between the pair ending heavily in favour of la Blaugrana. Arsene Wenger’s men were fortunate to earn a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, but at Camp Nou they were blown away by a margin of four to one, despite Nicklas Bendtner opening the scoring in favour of the Premier League club.

Wenger remains optimistic approaching Wednesday’s clash, believing that his side approach the fixture in a healthy state following their 2-0 weekend win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“We are different because we are in better form going into this game than we were last year and in a better shape physically,” the Frenchman argued, according to the club’s official website. “Going into this game last year we had some players who were not available, some who were not 100 per cent going into the game. I believe we are more mature as well.

“Having said that, I concede as well that Barcelona are even stronger than last year. But I think we can give them a very interesting test.”

The Gunners believe they have learned lessons from last season’s defeat, but applying themselves successfully on Wednesday will nevertheless remain a huge challenge.

Fighters

Barcelona made a rare slip at the weekend, when their record breaking run of consecutive victories came to a halt against Sporting de Gijon at El Molinon. After falling behind in the first half, la Blaugrana struggled to haul themselves back into the match, and it took until the 80th minute for David Villa to strike the levelling goal.

“Now we have to recover to play in London,” Guardiola said after the match, looking ahead to a testing European affair. “The fault is not with the team; when you are at this club you know you will have to play every three days. In sport there are always things to overcome.

“We may lose this league, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, but we will make sure that we fight until the end.”

Barca are presently favourites to scoop the treble after a remarkable campaign to date. Over the course of 23 Primera Division fixtures, only a meagre seven points have been spilled, and while their form is not quite as remarkable in Europe, particularly on the road, the Camp Nou outfit are still regarded as the benchmark of quality in the world game.

After losing to Inter in last season’s semi-final, Pep Guardiola’s men return to centre stage in Europe hungry to achieve more success. Not only did they beat Arsenal in last season’s quarter-finals, they scored a memorable win over the Gunners in the 2006 final, and it is those emotions that the Catalans want to experience come late May.

TEAM NEWS

Arsenal

Samir Nasri has been named in the Arsenal squad to travel to Spain, while Tomas Rosicky is another struggling with a knock.

Thomas Vermaelen and Lukasz Fabianski are injured, while Bacary Sagna is suspended.

Barcelona

Carles Puyol has been ruled out of this encounter, and Jeffren is the other visiting player who will be sidelined.

Prediction

When these sides met previously, Barcelona proved to be far too good for Arsenal. That’s likely to be the case once more. They tend to respond well after poor results, which should be a worry for home boss Arsene Wenger, whose side will be looking at a mountain to climb if they’re to recover in Spain. The Gunners don’t have the defensive strength to rebuff the Catalans regularly.

Arsenal 2-3 Barcelona

Read More

16-02-2011 20:45 Roma - Shakhtar

Going On An European Adventure

Roma's Scudetto challenge in Serie A appears to be over but tonight will be about European romance and adventure. The Giallorossi are not one of the clubs tipped to win the Champions League but having been drawn against Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16, they will be hopeful of progressing to the quarter-finals at least.

Claudio Ranieri's team, though, haven't had the best of build-ups to this encounter, having fallen down 5-3 to Inter before losing 2-0 to Napoli at home on Saturday evening. Back-to-back defeats have left the Lupi outside the top-six in the league standings, and tonight's game will give them a chance to distract themselves and recover the reason to rejoice.

Playing the first-leg of their last 16 encounter at home will be a disadvantage and coach Claudio Ranieri is fully aware of the task at hand and said on Tuesday, “Shakhtar are a big club. A lot of Italian journalists were happy when we got them in the draw in Nyon, but I knew we were up against an excellent team. We will have to play a great match. We take a lot of care when it comes to this competition.”

Conquering Rome

Like like Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk will know that they do have a genuinely good chance to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Playing Roma away in the first-leg of their last 16 tie is going to give them an advantage as a draw will be enough to boost their confidence for the return game in Ukraine.

However, the Ukrainian champions have not played any competitive football since December and have been on a winter break domestically since November. This will be Shakhtar's first appearance in the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition and coach Mircea Lucescu says that there is no room for overconfidence.

“It's hard starting to play again after more than two months,” admitted Lucescu. “In fact, our last official match was on 8 December against Braga in the UEFA Champions League. That was a great performance, and was followed by a long holiday. After a break like that it's not easy to find your match fitness and you have to work a lot to get the team right.”

He added, “AS Roma are not used to losing three successive matches, because I think the draw against Brescia was the equivalent of a defeat, and their pride will have been hurt. We will be better organised tactically than Roma, even if they have a lot of good players, but we know that the game will be played over 180 minutes and not only 90.”

TEAM NEWS

Roma

Striker Marco Borriello is sidelined with a muscular injury. Doni will start in goal instead of the injured Julio Sergio and midfielder David Pizarro will be rested because of a knee problem. Francesco Totti is set to make a start.


Shakhtar Donetsk

Fernandinho is sidelined and so is Olexandr Kucher with a knee injury.

Prediction

Shakhtar will play for a draw in Rome while Roma need to win as they will know that winning in Ukraine will be immensely tough. This will be an interesting encounter and will not involve too many goals. One reckons that the Lupi will just about nick it in the end.

Roma 1-0 Shakhtar

Read More

16-02-2011 18:30 Fiorentina - Inter

Brimming With Confidence

Fiorentina's 4-2 defeat of Palermo in Sicily at the weekend was the Viola's first away win of the season in the league. In what was one of the most exciting games in the Italian top flight, Sinisa Mihajlovic's side displayed a refreshing performance and further increased the distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

At the moment the Florence-based side are 10th in the league standings with 32 points from 24 matches, and are a massive ten points above the dropzone. Fiorentina have collected seven points from a possible nine in their last three fixtures and are unbeaten at home since the first week of October.

Coach Mihajlovic is looking forward to today's match and is hopeful of a victory and said on Tuesday, “Tomorrow is a very important match against a great team that can give us a sense of consistency in our results.

"Winning would be wonderful and I hope to prepare for it well, but will try to stay out of the emotional sphere surrounding this fixture for me. I am concentrated and calm, so I hope the lads are too.”

“I know Inter well,” he continued. “We must stop them playing to their best, especially those three up front. Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o and Giampaolo Pazzini are very dangerous, as are those less visible talents.

“We’ve got to learn to watch our opponents when defending and not just the ball. Eto’o and Sneijder pass it quickly and then continue their runs, so we can’t follow the ball. The same is true of crosses for Pazzini.”

Getting Back On Track

Juventus always tend to lift themselves for the Derby d'Italia and the Bianconeri did exactly that on Sunday evening as they defeated Inter 1-0 in Turin to refurbish their top-four chances and dealt a blow to the Nerazzurri's title hopes.

The defeat left Leonardo's side eight points behind league leaders Milan in the Serie A table with 44 points from 24 matches. Inter have played a game fewer than the Rossoneri but that match is today against Fiorentina; originally slated for December but rescheduled because of the Italian and European champions' Club World Cup commitment, the encounter in Florence could prove to be decisive in the title race.

Leonardo knows the significance of today's match but is insistent that the Beneamata are not out of the title race and said on Tuesday, "Everything is still open, no-one can claim to have won. We're playing well and we're the best team in the world. I can't get involved in these dramas, either accept me as I am or leave me alone.

"Often people exaggerate, I'm asking for a bit of coherence. I defend the team, talking about me won't change much. It makes me angry to hear people talk about this team as they have been, there's no [Diego] Milito issue or Eto'o issue or an issue with anyone, I can't accept this.

"I don't intend to hide a problem, we struggled also against Palermo but look at the numbers. I would sign on the dotted line for seven wins in our next nine matches, I'd like to see where we will be and where the others will be."

TEAM NEWS

Fiorentina

Vargas, Kroldrup, Jovetic and Frey are injured for the Viola.

Inter

Thiago Motta is suspended and so is Chivu. Lucio, Samuel and Milito are injured.

Prediction

Fiorentina won at the weekend and will be keen to follow that up with a victory at home. Inter lost at the weekend and need maximum points to bounce back. It will be a close encounter and one suspects that the Nerazzurri will eventually win it.

Fiorentina 1-2 Inter Milan

Read More

16-02-2011 18:30 Sampdoria - Genoa

Lion In One's Own Backyard

Sampdoria's season has collapsed and from being a side who could have competed for a top-four place in Serie A they have been reduced to a team scrapping for mid-table respectability. Heading into today's Genoa derby, the Blucerchiati find themselves in 12th place with 30 points from 24 matches.

Today's Derby della Lanterna is the first of the 2010-11 season and was originally slated to be held in December but had to be postponed because of bad weather. However, the timing isn't bad for Samp, who defeated Bologna 3-1 on Sunday to garner their second victory in nine matches and put an end to a three-game losing streak.

Coach Domenico Di Carlo wants to build on the victory and establish themselves as the better club in Genoa and says, "After a difficult week, we got back on track. This win was important for the morale of the team and for the standings. Now we must build on this result.

"[Strikers] Massimo Maccarone and Jonathan Biabiany have started to find each other and this is a good sign. But we cannot think that all of our problems are solved. The derby is a crucial game for us and I expect to see a further improvement from my team.''

Winning The Derby

Genoa's 2010-11 campaign hasn't been that dissimilar from that of Sampdoria. Much was expected of the Grifoni at the start of the season but like Samp their ambitions have withered and they are now battling for a top-half finish.

At the moment Davide Ballardini's side are stationed a point and a place below Sampdoria and head into the encounter on the back of a disappointing goalless draw with bottom side Bari. It was the second successive draw for the Rossoblu, who have scored just once in their last three matches.

Coach Ballardini, though, believes that the derby will be much different from normal matches and says, "The derby is a different ball game altogether with respect to our match at Bari. We created many goalscoring chances against Bari but we lacked the finishing touch and we must improve in front of goal.''

TEAM NEWS

Sampdoria

Semioli and Pozzi are injured and are unavailable for tonight's fixture.

Genoa

Boselli and Destro are injured for the Grifoni.

Prediction

This is the Genoa derby and it is very difficult to call indeed. Whichever side takes the initiative on the day will win it. Sampdoria and Genoa both need points and this fiercely fought encounter could eventually end in a draw.

Sampdoria 1-1 Genoa

Read More

16-02-2011 18:45 Hamburger SV - St. Pauli 1910

It's About Time!

Hamburg's impressive run of three wins in four matches to start the spring campaign has left the Rothosen in quite a good standing indeed; should they win their game in hand on Wednesday, HSV will move to within a point of Mainz, who now occupy the fifth and potentially final Europa League spot.

Their run of form coincides with a sharp increase in squad competition among the Hamburg ranks.
In recent weeks, Mladen Petric, Joris Mathihsen, Marcell Jansen, Gojko Kacar, Collin Benjamin, Dennis Aogo and Eljero Elia have returned from lengthy absences, and are now fighting for spots in Armin Veh's first team.

"At last, we have the situation that we had hoped for last summer in terms of the composition of the squad," Bastian Reinhardt said according to HSV.de. "Competition is good for business," he added.

Looking forward to the Hamburg Derby, which was recently postponed due to heavy rainfall, Reinhardt relished the atmosphere that has been building up for many days.

"For more than a week, I have felt a Derby atmosphere. It was a strange situation after the cancellation. Therefore, I am pleased with the fast make-up scheduling. It is time that it finally takes place."

Fifteenth Place (Or Better?) Is Ours!

One week before the original scheduling of the Hamburg Derby, the match programmes at the Millerntor Stadion depicted St Pauli shoving Koeln aside, accompanied by the caption: "Fifteenth place is ours!"

Der Kiezclub went on to win that match against Koeln, by the rather emphatic margin of 3-0. After having a week off due to the canceled derby with Hamburg, St Pauli earned a comeback 3-1 win against Gladbach, propelling the relegation battlers into 12th place, albeit only by a two-point margin ahead of Kaiserslautern.

Their last two matches have been at home, meaning that St Pauli will have to find a way to replicate their form away from the Millerntor. The counter-culture side has a reputatin for mustering up immense motivation ahead of big matches, and there is no greater stage than the Hamburg derby. Ahead of Wednesday's match, Fabian Boll was diagnosed with a severe contusion in his foot, but said: Unless I am missing a leg, I will not miss the Derby."

St Pauli led the way and almost earned three points in last fall's installment of the Derby; they will be keen to put their game in hand to good use and inch further from the relegation zone.

TEAM NEWS

Hamburg

Gojko Kacar returns from suspension following a red card against Nuernberg, meaning that Armin Veh will be spoilt for choice in both midfield and central defence. The coach may grant a start to in-form winger Eljero Elia, but the Dutchman will have to first prove his value ahead of Marcell Jansen.

Probable Starting XI: Rost - Demel, Westermann, Mathijsen, Aogo - Ben-Hatira, Jarolim, Ze Roberto, Elia - Petric, van Nistelrooy

St Pauli

Bastian Oczipka and Florian Lechner missed out on Saturday's match, and their availability for Wednesday remains doubtful. Marius Ebbers is available once more, but may be forced to settle with a role off the bench as he did against Gladbach. Meanwhile, long-term casualties Fabio Morena and Carsten Rothenbach remain sidelined.

Probable Starting XI: Kessler - Thorandt, Zambrano, Gunesch, Volz - Boll, Lehmann - Bartels, Takyi, Kruse - Asamoah

Prediction

As both coaches have said in the build-up, this should be a more open game than the first derby earlier in the season. St Pauli are on a high and will give it a go in attack. Hamburg have underperformed after the winter break and not been consistent but in front of 55,000 and with Mladen Petric back in the team, with something to prove, they should nick the three points.

Editor's Prediction

Hamburg 2-1 FC St. Pauli

Read More