01.10. (Sat) 20:45 Inter - Napoli

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

INTER Julio CesarNagatomo, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu Zanetti, Cambiasso, Obi ForlanZarate, Milito

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

Claudio Ranieri will be without the services of influential midfielders Wesley Sneijder, Dejan Stankovic and Thiago Motta who are all out injured. Maicon, Ivan Cordoba and Emiliano Viviano are still sidelined with knee problems while Andrea Poli is not yet ready to feature for the first team. Andrea Ranocchia is suspended for picking up a red card against Novara. Giampaolo Pazzini will have to pass a late fitness test to face Napoli on Saturday.

Walter Mazzarri will be unable to call on his star striker Edinson Cavani, who limped off in the second half of the Champions League win over Villarreal midweek with an ankle injury. Defender Miguel Britos and midfielder Blerim Dzemaili will also miss the crunch class at San Siro.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Inter are unbeaten in their last 14 Serie A matches at San Siro.

• The Nerazzurri have won two games in a row in all competitions since Claudio Ranieri replaced Gian Piero Gasperini as coach.

• Napoli have failed to score in two of their first four Serie A encounters this season.

• The Coppa Italia holders beat Walter Mazzarri's men 3-1 at San Siro before playing out a 1-1 draw at the San Paolo during the 2010-11 campaign.

• The southern Italians have only win in their last five league games away from home (W1 D1 L3).

• Inter have scored 10 goals in their last five home Serie A matches (W4 D1 L0).

Prediction

Claudio Ranieri's appointment seems to have stabilised Inter and they will continue to climb up the Serie A table with a crucial win over Napoli thanks to goals from Milito, Forlan and Lucio.

Editor's Prediction

Inter Milan 3-1 Napoli

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01.10. (Sat) 20:00 Valencia - Granada

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

VALENCIA GuaitaMiguel, Ruiz, Rami, Mathieu Abelda, Banega Canales, Costa, PiattiSoldado/Jonas

GRANADA RobertoNyom, Diakhate, Mainz, Jaime Moises, Yebda Jara, Geijo, BenitezUche

Roberto Soldado, after scoring midweek against Chelsea, may start but Unai Emery could opt for Jonas to give his star striker a rest.

Vicente Guaita will likely return as goalkeeper despite Diego Alves' stellar performance against the English giants.

Adil Rami, who has shown quality in his first season in Spain, should start in defence days after earning a call-up to the France national team by Laurent Blanc.

For the visitors, on-loan attacker Franco Jara will be called upon to contribute in the attack, especially to send balls forward to Ikechukwu Uche if they have any hope of knocking of the home side.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Valencia have not lost at home this season in four fixtures, three in La Liga and one in the Champions League.

• Soldado is the team's leading scorer in the league this campaign with five goals, three behind La Liga's top marksman Lionel Messi.

• Emery's men are in seventh place in the league, two points behind leaders Real Betis. The Mestalla club were near the top of the table for most of the season before falling to Sevilla last week 1-0.

• Granada are in 17th place in the league with four points. 

• In the promoted club's five league fixtures, they have failed to score three times, only netting once in the other two match. Coach Fabri Gonzalez (pictured right) has yet to see his men score away from home this term. 

• Dutch legend Johan Cruyff made his Barcelona debut against Granada, bagging a brace in a 4-0 victory on October 28, 1973.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 


Valencia 2-0 Granada 

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01.10. (Sat) 16:00 Blackburn Rovers - Manchester City

PROBABLE LINEUPS

BLACKBURN ROVERS Robinson Givet, Samba, Dann, Petrovic N’Zonzi, Grella Rochina, Formica, Hoilett Yakubu

MANCHESTER CITY Hart Richards, Kompany, Lescott, ClichyYaya Toure, BarryMilner, Silva, Nasri Aguero

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Steve Kean not only has to pick his side up following their disappointing 3-1 defeat at Newcastle, but he'll need to apply bandages to his back four.

With the experienced Michel Salgado sidelined with a hamstring injury picked up at St James' Park, Gael Givet is set to feature at right back - albeit that the Frenchman has impressed in the centre-back role of late, particularly against Arsenal.

This spot will be reserved for Scott Dann, who despite nursing a knee injury from last weekend, is expected to start at Ewood Park.

Kean will be without Martin Olsson however, following his sending off for two bookable offences at Newcastle.


MANCHESTER CITY

One absentee is certain this weekend... Carlos Tevez will be nowhere near Ewood come kick-off on Saturday, having been suspended by the club.

Edin Dzeko is also expected to start from the bench, as the Bosnian serves the final stretch of his punishment following his own, albeit less controversial, petulance in Munich.

Joleon Lescott, dropped for the returning Kolo Toure in midweek, is expected to rejoin captain Vincent Kompany in defence, while Owen Hargreaves and Nigel de Jong will both have to settle for a place alongside Roberto Mancini at best, with the Italian awaiting the midfielders returns to full fitness.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Rovers have managed to keep only one clean sheet in their last eight matches at Ewood Park.

• City meanwhile have already scored 19 league goals this season, with 10 of them netted on their travels.

• Joe Hart is set to make his 47th consecutive Premier League appearance for City Since returning from his successful loan spell at Birmingham.

• Manchester City’s biggest triumph in this fixture was 5-2 victory at Blackburn in 1904.

• For Rovers, their most convincing victory over City at home came three years later, with a 4-0 win in 1907.

Prediction

As with all teams, the good ones still suffer setbacks, but it is the best sides who come back fighting.
Manchester City are, without question, a quality side, and they will show their desire and spirit with a hard-fought, but convincing, victory at Ewood. Don't rule out a moment of magic from Mr Hoilett, however.

Editor's Prediction

Blackburn 1-3 Man City

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01.10. (Sat) 16:00 Manchester United - Norwich City

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

MANCHESTER UNITED De Gea Fabio, Ferdinand, Jones, Evra Nani, Anderson, Fletcher, Young Berbatov, Hernandez

NORWICH CITY Ruddy Naughton, Martin, Barnett, Tierney Bennett, Fox, Johnson, Pilkington Hoolahan Morison

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will miss Wayne Rooney, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Javier Hernandez suffered a dead leg against Stoke City and was substituted during the opening stages of that clash, but some reports point towards the Mexican being ready to return.

Chris Smalling (groin) remains a doubt, while Nemanja Vidic (calf) is still some way from being ready. Rafael is out with a shoulder injury while Jonny Evans (ankle) remains a doubt.

Norwich City boss Paul Lambert also has some worries of his own as defender Daniel Ayala is out due to a knee injury sustained during the League Cup clash against MK Dons. Elliott Ward, James Vaughan (both knee) and Zak Whitbread (hamstring) are also in the treatment room with their respective injury problems.

Ritchie De Laet - who is on loan from the United - will not be able to play.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Manchester United are currently unbeaten in 24 Premier League games at Old Trafford, and have 18 consecutive wins.

• The Red Devils have lost only one of their last 12 league meetings with the Canaries. United lost the last game between the two sides, in 2005.

• United have been highly impressive in front of goal at home, and they have hit the back of the net 71 times in their last 25 league games on their own turf.

• In that same stretch of games, Rio Ferdinand and Co. have only allowed 18 goals.

• Norwich have scored seven goals in their six matches so far in the top flight, which is better than fellow newcomers Queens Park Rangers (five) and Swansea City (four).

• But the Canaries have been far from prolific at Old Trafford, as they have hit the back of the net on only 13 occasions when playing the Red Devils in a league game away from home.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 

Man Utd. 3-0 Norwich City

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01.10. (Sat) 15:30 Borussia D. - Augsburg

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BORUSSIA DORTMUND WeidenfellerPiszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer Gungodan, Bender Gotze, Kagawa, PerisicBarrios

AUGSBURG JentzschHosogai, Mohrle, Sankoh, De Jong Brinkmann, Callsen-Bracker Gogia, Baier, BellinghausenMolders

Jurgen Klopp is expected to make some major changes to the team which lost 3-0 to Olympique Marseille on Wednesday, with Sebastian Kehl mostly likely to be relegated to the bench. Ilkay Gundogan is expected to take his place next to Sven Bender, while Ivan Perisic could displace Kevin Grosskreutz, who had poor game in France.

Lucas Barrios already has already made two substitute appearances, and given the fact that his recovery is well on track, he is in the running for a starting place on Saturday. The only absentees for Dortmund are Julian Koch and Marvin Bakalorz, who are both still working their way back to fitness.

Augsburg face an injury crisis as no less than seven players have been ruled out for the match against the German champions. Defenders Paul Verhaegh and Dominik Reinhardt, midfielders Andrew Sinkala, Marcel Ndjeng and Dawda Bah, as well as strikers Torsten Oehrl and Stephan Hain will be forced to watch from the sidelines.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Dortmund are yet to win two league games in a row this season. They can do that on Saturday by beating Augsburg at the Signal-Iduna Park.

• BVB are set to play their 1500th game in the Bundesliga. Only Hamburg, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and Stuttgart reached that landmark before them.

• Jurgen Klopp's men have failed to win in their last two home games, drawing 1-1 with Arsenal, and losing 2-1 to Hertha Berlin.

• Augsburg are the only team yet to win in this season's Bundesliga.

• Jos Luhukay's men have achieved four draws, more than any other team in the league.

• Only Kaiserslautern have scored less goals than Augsburg this season. Of the six goals scored by Jos Luhukay's men, three came from striker Sascha Molders, who has not scored a goal since round 2.

Prediction

Editor's Prediction 

Borussia D. 3-2 Augsburg

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01.10. (Sat) 15:30 1899 Hoffenheim - Bayern Munchen

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

HOFFENHEIM StarkeBeck, Vorsah, Compper, Braafheid Rudy, Kaiser Obasi, Firmino, BabelSigurdsson

BAYERN MUNICH NeuerRafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm Luiz Gustavo, Schweinsteiger Robben, Muller, RiberyGomez

Holger Stanislawski will have to do without the services of defenders Matthias Jaissleand Manuel Gulde, midfielders Sejad Salihovic, Fabian Johnson and Boris Vukcevic as well as striker Vedad Ibisevic. Youngster Dominik Kaiser is set to deputise for the Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder, while Gylfi Sigurdsson is expected to spearhead the attack.

Partners in crime Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are set to finally reunite right from the start, meaning Toni Kroos is likely to settle for a place on the bench. Following his impressive performance agains Manchetser City, Jerome Boateng is set to retain his place in the team, meaning Daniel van Buyten would make way for the returning Holger Badstuber.

Defender Breno and striker Ivica Olic have been ruled out of the match as they are still recuperating from injuries.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Hoffenheim have never won against Bayern Munich, drawing twice and losing four times.

• In the last home game against the Bavarians, Vedad Ibisevic scored the fastest goal in the Sinsheim outfit's history in the Bundesliga. It took the Bosnia-Herzegovina striker just 36 seconds to pierce Bayern Munich's defence, but his team could not hold on to the lead, and eventually lost 2-1.

• Hoffenheim's Edson Braafheid joined from the Bavarians in last season's winter break together with David Alaba, while Luiz Gustavo went the other way. Since then the Austria international returned to Bayern and is set for a reunion with his former club.

• Bayern Munich have twice won against Hoffenheim thanks to an injury-time strike.

• The Bavarians have conceded only one goal in their opening seven games in the Bundesliga, a record bested only by Stuttgart in season 2003-2004.

• Jupp Heynckes is yet to win as Bayern Munich coach against Hoffenheim. In his second spell as coach of the club, he managed a 2-2 draw against the Sinsheim outfit, with the Bavarians twice coming from behind through Franck Ribery and Luca Toni after goals from Demba Ba and Carlos Eduardo.

Prediction

Holger Stanislawski's men could have hardly chosen a worse time to look for their first ever win against the Bavarians as Bayern Munich are in blistering form currently. Coming on the back of 2-0 win over Manchester City, while Hoffenheim had a reversed result against Koln last week, it is hard to overlook FC Hollywood as favourites for Satruday's clash.

Editor's Prediction

Hoffenheim 0-2 Bayern Munich

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01.10. (Sat) 13:45 Everton - Liverpool

PROBABLE LINEUPS

EVERTON Howard Hibbert, Distin, Jagielka, Baines Coleman, Neville, Fellaini, Rodwell, Drenthe Saha

LIVERPOOL Reina Kelly, Skrtel, Carragher, Enrique Henderson, Adam, Lucas, Downing Suarez, Carroll

Everton find themselves without lynchpin Tim Cahill after he picked up an injury against Manchester City, but David Moyes is unlikely to defer from his usual method of flooding the midfield, potentially handing attack-minded Royston Drenthe his first start at Goodison Park. For the visitors, captain Steven Gerrard is unlikely to start in the derby, but may still make an impact as sub, while young Martin Kelly should again deputise for Glen Johnson, who is out with a rib injury. Andy Carroll started against Wolves last week and could again be in line to partner Luis Suarez, although Dirk Kuyt does have a formidable scoring record in the derby.

DID YOU KNOW?

• There have been 10 red cards in the last 13 Premier League Merseyside derbies.

• Kenny Dalglish has won 54 per cent of the Merseyside derbies he as overseen as Liverpool manager, winning 12 of 22 meetings, drawing seven and losing just three times.

• Tim Cahill, Dirk Kuyt and Dalglish have exactly the same goal tally in games between Liverpool and Everton, with five each.

• Everton have not won both Merseyside derbies in one season since 1984/85, whereas Liverpool have managed it six times since then, most recently in 2009/10.

• Liverpool have only managed to keep one clean sheet so far this season, and that was against Arsenal.

• No Everton player has scored more than one goal this season as of yet, with six players scoring in the Premier League.

• Everton have only won one home game so far this season and Liverpool have the same amount of away wins to their name.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction 

Everton 1-2 Liverpool 

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Serie A Round 6 - Preview

Saturday OCTOBER 1	KO	Sunday OCTOBER 2	KO
Roma - Atalanta	1800	Novara - Catania	1230
Inter - Napoli	2045	Udinese - Bologna	1500
		Parma - Genoa	1500
		Palermo - Siena	1500
		Lecce - Cagliari	1500
		Fiorentina - Lazio	1500
		Cesena - Chievo	1500
all times in CET		Juventus - AC Milan	2045

Roma

vs

Atalanta

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Lobont Casetti, Burdisso, Heinze, Jose Angel Pizarro, De Rossi, Pjanic Osvaldo, Totti, Bojan		Consigli Masiello, Capelli, Manfredini, Bellini Schelotto, Cigarini, Brighi, Padoin Moralez Denis
TEAM NEWS
Erik Lamela, Leandro Greco and Fernando Gago are all out, while Simone Perrotta will require a late fitness test. Roma earned their first win of the season last weekend, beating Parma 1-0. You would have to go back to February for Roma's last away win with a clean sheet... against Bologna.		Carlos Carmona, Adriano Ferreira Pinto, Stefano Lucchini and Leonardo Pettinari are unavailable, but Federico Peluso returns to the fold. Atalanta made it three wins on the bounce after a 2-1 victory over Novara last week. If it wasn't for their six-point deduction, the Bergamo club would be two points clear at the top of the Serie A table.

Inter

vs

Napoli

Claudio Ranieri has the chance to make it three successive wins as Inter coach, when his side face Napoli on Saturday at San Siro. Both clubs did Italy proud midweek, after impressive victories over CSKA Moscow and Villarreal in the Champions League respectively, and it has all the makings of a mouth-watering encounter in Milan. A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

Novara

vs

Catania

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Ujkani Dellafiore, Ludi, Paci, Gemiti Marianini, Porcari, Rigoni Pinardi Meggiorini, Morimoto		Andujar Marchese, Bellusci, Spolli, Capuano Almiron, Lodi, Delvecchio Gomez, Maxi Lopez, Catellani
TEAM NEWS
Andrea Lisuzzo and Andrea Mazzarani are confirmed absentees, but Achille Coser will have a late fitness test. The new boys couldn't replicate their stunning victory at Inter a fortnight ago, after being defeated 2-1 by Atalanta. Novara have failed to keep a clean sheet this season.		Pablo Alvarez, Nicola Legrottaglie and Cristian Llama are on the sidelines, but Marco Biagianti and Alessandro Potenza are touch-and-go. Catania currently languish in 14th place after a 1-1 draw with Juventus last Sunday. The Sicilians have lost their last two away matches in Serie A.

Udinese

vs

Bologna

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Handanovic Benatia, Danilo, Domizzi Basta, Isla, Pinzi, Asamoah, Armero Torje Di Natale		Agliardi Garics, Portanova, Antonsson, Raggi Pulzetti, Mudingayi, Perez, Kone Diamanti Di Vaio
TEAM NEWS
Andrea Coda, Damiano Ferronetti and Giovanni Pasquale are still on the sidelines, while Antonio Floro Flores and Paulo Barreto are doubts. Gabriel Torje returns after a rest midweek. Udinese are only one of three sides in Serie A who are unbeaten; the other two are Juventus and Atalanta. Antonio Di Natale has scored in three of his last four games against Bologna.		It has been a disastrous start under Pierpaolo Bisoli, losing three out of four as they sit second from bottom in Serie A. Federico Agliardi replaces Jean-Francois Gillet, who has a dislocated shoulder, while Niccolo Cherubin, Saphir Taider, Jose Angel Crespo and Alvaro Cruz are all out. action. Archimede Morleo is suspended for one more match, but Andrea Raggi is expected to return at left-back. Bologna's last win at the Friuli was in March 2005, where they secured a 1-0 victory.

Parma

vs

Genoa

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Mirante Zaccardo, Paletta, Lucarelli, Gobbi Biabiany, Blasi, Galloppa, Modesto Giovinco Floccari		Frey Rossi, Bovo, Kaladze, Moretti Constant, Veloso, Kucka Jorquera Palacio, Caracciolo
TEAM NEWS
Graziano Pelle may feature after returning to training, but Hernan Crespo is likely to be forced to miss out. Parma lost their second consecutive match, once more without scoring, in a 1-0 reverse to Roma last week. Franco Colomba's side have lost three of their four games in the league this season.		Cesare Bovo will replace Dario Dainelli, who is banned. Giandomenico Mesto and Ze Eduardo are still out and not due back for a few more weeks. Alberto Malesani's side suffered their first loss of the season last week, losing 2-1 to Chievo. Genoa have only ever won at the Tardini on one occasion; a 3-2 victory over Parma in April 2010.

Palermo

vs

Siena

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Tzorvas Pisano, Silvestre, Migliaccio, Balzaretti Bertolo, Barreto, Della Rocca, Zahavi Hernandez, Miccoli		Brkic Vitiello, Rossettini, Terzi, Rossi Mannini, D’Agostino, Gazzi, Brienza Calaio, Destro
TEAM NEWS
Edgar Alvarez is Palermo's only injury worry, but has a very slight chance of featuring, as Fabrizio Miccoli should replace Mauricio Pinilla in attack. Palermo drew against Lazio, in a goalless encounter at the Olimpico last weekend. However, Denis Mangia's side are aiming to maintain a 100 per cent record at the Renzo Barbera this season.		Angelo remains injured, as is fellow defender Cristian Del Grosso. Siena, who thrashed Lecce 3-0 last matchday, have won at Palermo just twice in Serie A; in 2006 and 2008. Franco Brienza prepares to face his former employers, whom he represented between 2001 and 2008.

Lecce

vs

Cagliari

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Julio Sergio Oddo, Tomovic, Ferrario, Brivio Obodo, Giacomazzi  Piatti, Bertolacci, Pasquato Di Michele		Agazzi Pisano, Canini, Astori, Agostini Biondini, Conti, Nainggolan Cossu Nene, Thiago Ribeiro
TEAM NEWS
Moris Carrozzieri is the only injury victim, but Carlos Grossmuller and Andrea Esposito are suspended. Lecce are trailing in 17th place, having lost three of their four Serie A games thus far, including their last two. However, they have only failed to beat Cagliari at the Via del Mare on just two occasions in the top-flight.		Moestafa El Kabir and Sebastian Eriksson remain their only casualties, as Cagliari are expected to start with the same team that drew a blank against Udinese last week. Before their goalless draw, Massimo Ficcadenti's side had not kept a clean sheet in 11 competitive games. Cagliari's only win at Lecce came in 1994; a 1-0 victory for the Sardinians.

Fiorentina

vs

Lazio

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Boruc Cassani, Gamberini, Natali, Pasqual Behrami, Montolivo, Vargas Cerci, Santiago Silva, Jovetic		Marchetti Konko, Diakite, Dias, Radu  Gonzalez, Brocchi, Ledesma Hernanes Cisse, Klose
TEAM NEWS
Per Kroldrup and Alberto Gilardino continue to be Fiorentina's only injury victims. Sinisa Mihajlovic's side have kept clean sheets in three of their four games this season, including last week's 0-0 draw at Napoli. The Viola have won three of their last five Serie A meetings with Lazio on home soil.		Matuzalem, Stefano Mauri, Giuseppe Biava and Simone Del Nero form a long injury list for Edy Reja. Lazio failed to make it consecutive wins in the league after drawing 0-0 to Palermo. More alarmingly, they have won just one of their last six games.

Cesena

vs

Chievo

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Ravaglia Comotto, Von Bergen, Rodriguez, Lauro Parolo, Guana, Candreva, Eder, Mutu, Martinez		Sorrentino Sardo, Morero, Cesar, Jokic Bradley, Rigoni, Hetemaj Cruzado Paloschi, Thereau
TEAM NEWS
Cesena will be without the services of Francesco Antonioli and Vincenzo Rennella, but Adrian Mutu looks likely to feature from the offset. The Seahorses are rock bottom, losing all four games. However, the last time they failed to score at home was against Udinese in February.		Sergio Pellissier faces a late fitness test, along with Luciano, but Francesco Acerbi remains out of contention. Chievo have won their last two matches, including a 1-0 win over Napoli during the middle of last week. They are also currently riding high in third place, on seven points, along with five other teams.

Juventus

vs

AC Milan

Another potential classic is in the offing involving two of Inter's arch-rivals, Juventus and AC Milan. The late kick-off on Sunday promises to be the showdown that it has been billed by Italian football enthusiasts, but Antonio Conte's side will seek a victory to consolidate their position as Serie A leaders, while the visitors look to achieve a third successive win of the season at Juventus Stadium. A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

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