26.02. (Sun) 21:30 Atletico Madrid - Barcelona

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

ATLETICO MADRID Courtois Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Tiago, Gabi Arda, Adrian, Koke Falcao

BARCELONA Valdes Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta Messi, Fabregas, Sanchez

Diego Simeone will be without the services of Brazilian playmaker Diego, who has been ruled out for a month. However, Arda Turan returned from injury to feature from the bench in the Europa League victory over Lazio on Thursday.

Radamel Falcao was rested from the starting XI in midweek but the prolific Colombian will return to starting line-up for the game against Barca.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola's only two injuries to deal with are long-term absentees Ibrahim Afellay and David Villa, who are both still unavailable but are beginning to work out in the gym as they attempt to recuperate.

The Catalan side were outstanding in their last match against Valencia, so it is unlikely that much tinkering will be made. However, Xavi is fully fit again and Dani Alves returns from his suspension, so expect the duo to return to the starting XI.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Atletico are unbeaten in their last seven matches in La Liga (3-4-0), keeping a clean sheet in six of those fixtures.
  

• Radamel Falcao has scored 19 goals in 29 appearances for Atlético in all competitions this season, which includes two hat-tricks in La Liga.

• Atletico have kept 11 clean sheets this season - only Barcelona have more with 12.

• The last time that Barcelona lost back-to-back away matches in La Liga was in April-May 2008, 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna and 4-1 at Real Madrid.

• Lionel Messi has scored 14 league goals against Atletico, including two hat-tricks in his last two encounters with Los Rojiblancos.

• Barça have lost only one of the 94 league matches in which Messi has scored (85-8-1) - which was against Atletico Madrid (4-3) on March 1 2009.

Prediction

This game has the potential to be a very tight affair. Atletico have been watertight at the back since Diego Simeone's appointment but they have not yet faced a side with the attacking quality of Barca. The Catalan side were impeccable against Valencia, scoring an impressive five goals against Unai Emery's outfit, but their away form has been poor this season. Barcelona may just sneak a narrow win at the Vicente Calderon.

Editor's Prediction

Atl. Madrid 1-2 Barcelona

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26.02. (Sun) 20:45 Lazio - Fiorentina

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

LAZIO Marchetti Konko, Zauri, Diakite, Lulic  Gonzalez, Ledesma, Candreva, Mauri Hernanes  Kozak

Fiorentina Boruc  Camporese, Nastasic, Natali  Behrami, Montolivo, Salifu, Lazzari, Vargas Amauri, Jovetic

Edy Reja's troops will go into Sunday's clash without a host of first team regulars, with Lorik Cana, Christian Brocchi and Miroslav Klose all sidelined with various injuries, while Andre Dias and Francelino Matuzalem are suspended for the tie.

However, the hosts will welcome back Abdoulay Konko and Modibo Diakite, after the defensive duo served their domestic suspensions, while Stefano Mauri is in line to start his first league game since the 2-2 draw with AC Milan back in September after recovering from a thigh problem.

The visitors will travel to the capital without the suspended trio of Mattia Cassani, Alessandro Gamberini and Ruben Olivera, while Houssine Kharja will also miss out as the former Genoa midfielder is still nursing an ankle sprain.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Lazio have won three of their last four meetings with the Viola.

• The hosts have only managed to win half of their 24 league games so far this season.

• The Biancazzurri have both drawn and lost six times in Serie A this term.

• Fiorentina have only managed to win once on the road in Serie A this season.

• The visitors have conceded one goal more than they have scored in league play in 2011-12.

• The Viola have both won and drawn seven times this season.

Prediction

Lazio being in real need of a reaction following their humiliating 5-1 defeat to Palermo last weekend and subsequent Europa League exit to Atletico Madrid, coupled with the Viola's poor away form this term, suggests that a victory for the hosts should be the most probable outcome.

Editor's Prediction

Lazio 2-0 Fiorentina

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26.02. (Sun) 20:45 Napoli - Inter

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PROBABLE LINE-UPS

NAPOLI De Sanctis Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica Maggio, Gargano, Inler, Zuniga  Pandev Lavezzi, Cavani

INTER Julio Cesar Nagatomo, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu Zanetti, Cambiasso, Poli Sneijder Milito, Pazzini

The biggest blow for Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri is the absence of Marek Hamsik, who is suspended. The Slovakia international will likely be replaced by Goran Pandev.

Hugo Campagnaro should be able to shrug off the head injury that he picked up in the 3-1 triumph over Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday and feature at the San Paolo on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Inter coach Claudio Ranieri will be without a handful of first-team regulars for the crunch clash. Maicon has been ruled out for two to three weeks after sustaining a knee injury in the midweek setback to Marseille, while Fredy Guarin is still nursing a calf injury and will have to wait to make his debut for the Nerazzurri.

Ricky Alvarez has still not recovered from his muscle injury and Andrea Ranocchia pulled out of training on Thursday with a thigh problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Napoli beat Inter 2-0 in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals on January 25, eliminating the holders from the tournament.

• The Partenopei have kept four straight clean sheets in Serie A action.

• Mazzarri's men have outscored their opponents 8-1 in their last three competitive games.

• Napoli's 41 goals scored is the second-highest total in Serie A, behind only leaders AC Milan.

• Inter have failed to pick up a win in their last five Serie A encounters, conceding 13 goals during that span.

• The Nerazzurri have been held scoreless in their last four matches in all competitions.

• Ranieri's side have been outscored 8-0 in their past four games away from San Siro.

Prediction

The Nerazzurri are ripe for the picking and the southern Italians will heap more misery on Claudio Ranieri with a comfortable win for the Partenopei. 

Editor's Prediction

Napoli 3-1 Inter

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26.02. (Sun) 18:00 Valencia - Sevilla

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

VALENCIA Alves Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Mathieu Albelda, Tino CostaFeghouli, Jonas, Piatti Soldado

SEVILLA Palop Coke, Spahic, Fazio, Navarro Navas, Medel, Rakitic, Reyes Kanoute, Negredo

For the Europa League contenders, Roberto Soldado, fresh from his first call-up to the Spain national team since 2007, will likely be in the starting XI after coming on as a substitute on Thursday.

On the injury front, Sergio Canales and Hedwiges Maduro are still recovering from serious problems and will not feature, while Miguel is set to miss a month after suffering an injury to his right leg last weekend. With the recent bizare damage to Ever Banega, the Argentine will miss the rest of the season and Tino Costa looks to replace him.

For Sevilla, the team looks fairly healthy entering the contest, though Gary Medel, Ivan Rakitic, Frederic Kanoute and Federico Fazio practiced separate from the rest of the team early in the week, but they are all expected to be fit for the contest.

However, the mid-table side will be without the services of defender Alexis, who was sent out on loan to Getafe until June.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Valencia currently sit in third place in La Liga with 40 points, seven ahead of Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao.

• On Thursday, a goal from Jonas saw Los Che defeat Stoke City in the second leg of their Europa Leage round-of-32 clash. The Spaniards advanced 2-0 on aggregate.

• In their last four games, Emery's side have kept three clean sheets, two coming against the English side in cup play.

• Sevilla, who sit in 11th place in the league with 29 points, are only four away from fourth.

• The visitors have beaten Valencia twice this season, 1-0 in their first league match and 2-1 in a Copa del Rey clash

• Before beating Osasuna 2-0 last week in league play, the visitors had gone eight La Liga fixtures without a win.

Prediction

Valencia have played well at home as of late and the trend should continue against the desperate visitors, with Roberto Soldado playing a big role after being called up to the Spain national team.

Editor's Prediction

Valencia 2-1 Sevilla

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26.02. (Sun) 17:30 Borussia D. - Hannover 96

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BORUSSIA DORTMUND Weidenfeller Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer Bender, Kehl Kuba, Kagawa, Grosskreutz Lewandowski

HANNOVER Zieler Cherundolo, Eggimann, Pogatetz, Schulz Schmiedebach, Pinto Schlaudraff, Pander Diouf, Abdellaoue

Shinji Kagawa is set to return to the staring line-up for Dortmund after sitting out last weekend's win over Hertha Berlin with an knock.

Germany international Mario Gotze, however, is still recuperating from an injury, and will join Julian Koch in the stands.

It is not yet clear who is going to partner Emanuel Pogatetz at the heart of Hannover's defence as both Mario Eggimann and Karim Haggui are in with a chance of appearing in the starting XI.

Mario Slomka has a near-full-strength squad at his disposal, with only Leon Andreasen and Carlitos unavailable for the game against Dortmund.

DID YOU KNOW

• Dortmund have scored in all but one of their last 36 games against Hannover.

• BVB have won their last two home matches against Sunday's visitors. Before this pair of victories, Dortmund had failed to win against Hannover at the Signal Iduna Park on five occasions.

• Jurgen Klopp's men have netted the first goal in each of their last 11 league games.

• Hannover are the last team to defeat Dortmund in the Bundesliga this season, triumphing 2-1 in September.

• Mirko Slomka's men are on a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, second only to Dortmund's, which stands at the astonishing 16 matches.

• The away side, who defeated Club Brugge 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday, have never lost in the Bundesliga immediately after a European game.

Prediction

Hannover are certainly underdogs coming into this game but they have proven in the past that they can more than match Dortmund. BVB's winning streak cannot go on forever, and the away side might just be the team to end it.

Editor's Prediction

Dortmund 1-1 Hannover 96

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25.02. (Sat) 17:00 Cardiff City - Liverpool

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

CARDIFF CITY HeatonMcNaughton, Hudson, A Gerrard, Taylor Cowie, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, McPhail, Conway Miller

LIVERPOOL ReinaJohnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique Adam, S Gerrard Bellamy, Suarez, KuytCarroll

Cardiff goalkeeper Tom Heaton has recovered from an ankle injury and will start ahead of regular Championship starter David Marshall. Stephen McPhail is a doubt with an immune system disorder while club captain Mark Hudson will face a late fitness test to see if he can overcome a calf problem. Daniel Agger is set to return to the heart of Liverpool’s defence after Kenny Dalglish opted to rest him in the side’s 6-1 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend in the fifth-round of the FA Cup. Craig Bellamy is available to face the club he played forv on loan last season, after being given an injection to soothe a back problem.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The last trophy Liverpool won – six years ago – was won in Cardiff, at the Millennium Stadium. Pepe Reina, Agger and Jamie Carragher were the only men to start in that FA Community Shield victory over Chelsea who might feature on Sunday. Steven Gerrard came off the bench in the 2-1 win, as did Bellamy in his previous spell at Anfield.

• Cardiff have not won in six matches outside of Wales in 2012. Malky Mackay’s men have won every single home game, however.

• Both clubs have top goalscorers on 10 for the season – Luis Suarez for the Reds and Kenny Miller (pictured right) for the Bluebirds.

• The Merseyside club beat Manchester City over two legs to qualify for this Wembley showdown, their first appearance at the stadium since the 1996 FA Cup final. Cardiff beat Crystal Palace in a penalty shoot-out to become the first Championship side since Birmingham City in 2001 to reach the League Cup final. Coincidentally, the team who defeated the lower league club on that occasion were Liverpool.

• The Bluebirds have a remarkable record against the Reds, having won double the amount of games (18) than Liverpool have (nine), with two drawn matches.

• Last year Birmingham City won the League Cup – three months later they were relegated from the Premier League. Arsenal were seriously in the running for four separate trophies before their late loss against the Midlands club. Could this final be a poisoned chalice perhaps?

• The Welsh club have never appeared in a League Cup final before. Liverpool, on the other hand, are the most successful club in the cup’s history, winning on seven occasions (most recently in 2003) and finishing as runners-up three times.

• The only time the two teams have faced off in the League Cup was in 2007: Liverpool beat Cardiff 2-1 in a fourth-round clash at Anfield. However, in the previous five games between these two sides Cardiff finished as winners.

• Reds' goalkeeper Pepe Reina and City left-back Andrew Taylor are the only players to have played every minute of every League Cup match this season.

• Only once in the last seven instances has a side from outside the top flight won the League Cup, when Sheffield Wednesday triumphed over Manchester United in the 1990-91 season.

• Liverpool are only the second side ever (after Arsenal five years ago) to have reached the final of this competition having played just one home match.

Prediction

A lot depends on how the Reds mentally approach the match. The Merseyside club have been far too profligate in front of goal at times this season and manager Kenny Dalglish will be crossing his fingers that his side can score goals. If they can, like they did against Brighton last weekend, expect the Bluebirds to be caught like a deer in the headlights. The Welsh side will be hoping the Premier League club do not bring their top form, in which case they could sneak under the radar and be carrying to trophy back to Cardiff. However, it would take a rousing performance on Sunday evening at Wembley from the Championship contenders to see the League Cup snatched away from Liverpool.

Editor's Prediction

Cardiff 0-3 Liverpool

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26.02. (Sun) 16:00 Rayo Vallecano - Real

Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid

PROBABLE LINEUPS

RAYO VALLECANO Joel Tito, Arribas, Pulido, Casado Movilla, FuegoPiti, Michu, Trashorras Costa

REAL MADRID Casillas Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo Granero, AlonsoOzil, Kaka, Ronaldo Higuain

Rayo Vallecano are boosted by the return from suspension of key trio Michu, Jose Casado and Alejandro Arribas for the visit of Real Madrid on Sunday.

Captain Michel is unlikely to feature after pulling up in training with a hamstring problem, while defender Mikel Labaka is also a doubt with a muscle injury.

The game is likely to come too soon for goalkeeper Dani Gimenez, who has returned to training after four weeks on the sidelines with a thigh injury. Atletico Madrid loanee Joel is expected to continue in goal in his place.

Real Madrid have been hit by the news that Angel Di Maria could be sidelined for up to four weeks after he aggravated a leg injury in last weekend's win over Racing Santander.

In-form striker Karim Benzema will also miss the weekend clash due to a groin injury sustained in the 1-1 Champions League draw at CSKA Moscow, while Lassana Diarra is a doubt as he struggles to shake off a back problem.

Coach Jose Mourinho could opt to rotate his squad for the trip to the Vallecas after a tiring midweek game in the bitter cold of the Russian capital. Defender Alvaro Arbeloa is available again after serving a one-match suspension and may feature.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Rayo Vallecano are on a three-game winning streak that has seen them climb to eighth in the Primera Division standings.

• Los Franjirrojos have lost six of their last 10 league fixtures played at the Vallecas.

• Rayo midfielder Michu (pictured) scored against Real after just 17 seconds in the reverse fixture in September - the fastest-ever goal scored at the Bernabeu by a visiting team.

• Real Madrid have won eight of their last nine meetings with Rayo Vallecano.

• The Castilian club's last defeat at the Vallecas came way back in 1997, when Lorenzo Sanz was club president and Fabio Capello was in his first coaching spell at the Bernabeu.   

• If Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat-trick, he will become the first player in 18 years to score two hat-tricks against the same opponent in a single La Liga season.

Prediction

The trip to Rayo represents a potential banana skin for the league leaders, who are coming into this derby after a draining midweek game in Moscow. However, the gulf in class between the two teams is vast, and, barring a dramatic reversal of the hosts' woeful home form, Real should run out comfortable winners and go 13 points clear at the top of the table.

Editor's Prediction

Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Real Madrid

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26.02. (Sun) 15:30 Bayern Munchen - Schalke 04

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BAYERN MUNICH Neuer Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm Luiz Gustavo, Kroos Robben, Muller, Ribery Gomez

SCHALKE Hildebrand Howedes, Papadopoulos, Metzelder, Fuchs Matip, Hoger Farfan, Raul, Draxler Huntelaar

Fresh from their 1-0 Champions League loss in Basel, Bayern Munich are still without the talismanic Bastian Schweinsteiger as the influential midfielder continues to recover from an ankle injury sustained in the Bavarians' 2-0 Pokal win over Stuttgart.

At the back, Jerome Boateng is likely to line up next to Holger Badstuber once more in the centre of defence as Daniel Van Buyten continues to toil with a broken metatarsal, while additional absentees include Breno and Diego Contento, who are both working on regaining match fitness.

For Schalke, Jermaine Jones continues his suspension for deliberately stomping on Marco Reus' broken toe, and will be joined on the sidelines by a torn-ACL-nursing Ralf Fahrmann.

Finally, coach Huub Stevens is unable to call upon the services of Lars Unnerstall and Sergio Escudero who will also miss the clash through injury.

DID YOU KNOW

• In the 41 occasions that Bayern have hosted Schalke over the years, the Gelsenkirchen side have only managed to take home three points on six occasions. Most recently, the Bavarians have won their last two clashes against Sunday's visitors – both home and away.

• While FCB have been struggling for form of late, the hosts have actually won their last five matches at the Allianz Arena in all competitions.

• In their last 19 trips to Bayern, Schalke have only managed to score more than one goal on one occasion: a 3-1 win in April of last year.

• If the Royal Blues can repeat the feat and score three goals on Sunday, they will reach a tally of 100 goals against Bayern in the Bundesliga.

• Both sides boast the Bundesliga's top scorers for the season as Mario Gomez and Klass-Jan Huntelaar have each notched an impressive 18 goals in 21 appearances so far.

Prediction

With Bayern in a slump and Schalke able to seemingly pull a result from nowhere, this tie is a difficult one to call.
However, after the Bavarians' Champions League loss against Basel, the club's hierarchy will no doubt have given the squad a stern talking to, so a narrow win for the hosts is not out of the question.

Editor's Prediction

Bayern 2-1 Schalke

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26.02. (Sun) 15:00 Atalanta - Roma

PROBABLE LINEUP

ATALANTA Consigli Lucchini, Stendardo, Manfredini, Peluso Carrozza, Cigarini, Brighi, Moralez Marilungo Denis

ROMA Stekelenburg Rosi, Juan, Heinze, Taddei Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic Lamela Borini, Osvaldo

Just the one change is anticipated for Atalanta ahead of Sunday's visit of Roma, as Ezequiel Schelotto is to be replaced on the right side of midfield by new signing Alessandro Carrozza.

The Varese midfielder arrived on loan until the end of the season as a replacement for Simone Padoin in January and will make his Serie A bow at the age of 30, after speaking of completing his dream move.

Meanwhile, for Roma, Francesco Totti's suspension means that Erik Lamela will make a return to the starting XI, playing behind Fabio Borini and Pablo Osvaldo in attack, as Luis Enrique is expected to make just the single alteration from the 1-0 victory over Parma last time out.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Atalanta have scored 102 goals against Roma in Serie A, making them their second most profitable opponent.

• The Nerazzurri have not conceded in any of their last three games.

• However, they also have scored just one goal in their last four Serie A fixtures.

• Roma have won six of their last seven games against Atalanta.

• The Giallorossi have also scored at least once in 19 of their last 20 league outings against the Bergamese side.

• Luis Enrique's side have accumulated just one point from their last three matches away from home.

Prediction

Both teams have had trouble scoring goals in the past few matches, so expect a tight game when also taking Atalanta's fortress-like performances at home into account. However, the visitors have been boosted by the return of Pablo Osvaldo in attack, and their creativity in the forward areas should be enough to give way to a winner.

Editor's Prediction

Atalanta 0-1 Roma

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