26.08. (Thu) 20:45 Manchester City - FC Timisoara

City slickers

Maybe money can buy you happiness after all. Three games into the new season and Roberto Mancini's expensively assembled side are unbeaten and have comfortably dispatched Liverpool - a signal that perhaps it really is time to start taking City seriously.

Missing out on Champions League football last season would have been seen as a big blow, no matter how brave a face Mancini put on it and after shelling out over £100 million on new talent Sheikh Mansour will want some silverware, any silverware.

The Europa League is probably Mancini's best chance to finally lift a trophy in City colours, with the big guns or Europe occupied with the Champions League, but they'll need to despatch with Romanian minnows Timisoara first, and needed a late Mario Balotelli goal to turn the tie in their favour in eastern Europe last week.

Penalty pain for Timisoara

Timisoara could make it two cup exits in a matter of days after crashing out of the imaginatively titled Romanian Cup on penalties to Arad ACU on Tuesday.

But in the league they continue to push the big boys at the top, thanks to Ianis Zicu's second late goal in two weeks, which earned a 2-1 win over Victoria Branesti.

Sadly it looks like they won't get to better their Europa League group stage last season, unless they can pull off the shock of shocks with a 2-0 or better win at Eastlands.


TEAM NEWS

Manchester City

Mario Balotelli will miss out - the knee injury picked up in the first leg in Romania proving serious enough to keep him out of the return.

England midfielder James Milner will also sit out the match as he was not registered in time while Aleksander Kolarov, Jerome Boateng and Wayne Bridge are all ruled out through injury.

Possible Starting XI: Hart; Richards, Kolo Toure, Kompany, Lescott; Wright-Phillips, Barry, Yaya Toure, De Jong, Silva; Tevez.

FC Timisoara

Defender Marian Cisovski won't be available, after suffering what the Romanian's delightfully refer to as "muscular tension", picked up in the weekend's win over Victoria.

Lukas Magera is expected to come in for the injured Timisoara man.

Possible Starting XI: Pantilimon, Luchin, Mera, Magera, Sepsi, Alexa Bourceanu, Curtean,  Cons, Goga, Axente.

Prediction 
 

Man City 3-0 FC Timisoara

Read More

26.08. (Thu) 19:30 Trabzonspor - Liverpool

Big guns missing

Liverpool visit Trabzonspor looking to protect a slender 1-0 advantage in this Europa League play-off second leg but they will have to do so without influential duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

A draw or win will see the Reds qualify for the group stages of the competition although the job becomes decidedly more difficult with both Gerrard and Torres out of contention, as well as a number of other first team members including the likes of Javier Mascherano, Maxi Rodriguez, Milan Jovanovic and Daniel Agger.

It's been something of an uncomfortable start to life in the Anfield hotseat for new boss Roy Hodgson with Liverpool having failed to register a win in their opening two Premier League games that included a dismal 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

The Reds are undoubtedly still favourites to progress and avoid the humiliation of a pre-group stage exit after Ryan Babel's solitary strike in the first leg secured victory although, as Hodgson himself confessed, Liverpool still have it all to do having failed to kill off their Turkish opponents last week.

Down but not out
While the Merseyside outfit are stuck on one point in 17th place after two games in England's top flight, Trabzonspor have picked up maximum points in Turkey having won both their opening two league fixtures of the season, including an impressive 3-2 win over rivals Fenerbahce on Monday.

Defeat for Hodgson and his charges resulting in Europa League elimination would be a bitter pill to swallow after all the disappointment associated with Monday's visit to Eastlands although Trabzonspor will certainly fancy their chances of progression given the Reds' somewhat depleted squad.

TEAM NEWS

Trabzonspor

Having decided to switch things around for Monday's meeting with Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor coach Senol Gunes could be tempted to go with the same starting XI that only narrowly lost out at Anfield in the first leg.

After missing out on a starting spot against the Reds last week, Ibrahima Yattara will be desperate to get the nod having found the net against Fener.

Striker Umut Bulut will be hoping for a recall to the side while Burak Yilmaz will be another looking to be included having not featured on Monday night.

Possible Starting XI: Kivrak; Korkmaz, Glowacki, Gulselam, Cale; Yilmaz, Balci, Inan, Colman; Gutierrez, Bulut.

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Liverpool will be without both captain Steven Gerarrd and Spanish striker Fernando Torres. England midfielder Gerrard is struggling with a back problem, while Hodgson is reluctant to field Torres for three consecutive games as he continues his recovery from last season's injury problems.

Wantaway Argentina international Javier Mascherano has again been left out of the Reds' squad heading for Turkey, while Daniel Agger (concussion) and Maxi Rodriguez (illness) are also absent.

Forward Milan Jovanovic has also been left out of the travelling party, seemingly being rested after the club's hectic start to the new season.

Possible Starting XI: Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio; Lucas, Poulsen; Kuyt, Cole, Babel; Ngog.

Prediction 

 

Trabzonspor 1-0 Liverpool

Read More

26.08. (Thu) 20:30 Utrecht - Celtic

Both sides in good form
Neil Lennon’s new-look Celtic travel to the Stadion Galgenwaard with a two goal cushion ahead of the second leg of their Europa League tie with FC Utrecht.
Celtic, who were defeated in the Champions League qualifying rounds by Portuguese side Braga, come into the game as firm favourites following the win at Celtic Park, a game in which new signing, Beram Kayal, impressed Hoops fans and manager Neil Lennon.
Utrecht come into the tie having impressed in their domestic fixture against Willem II this weekend. The Dutch team recorded a comfortable 3-0 win to continue their good form in the Eredivisie. Striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel looked threatening as he netted two goals, whilst midfielder and former FC Copenhagen player Michael Silberbauer picked up the man of the match award for an elegant display.

Celtic also arrive in Holland on the back of good form after recording a 4-0 win over St Mirren in the Scottish Premier League, a game in which Joe Ledley opened the scoring on four minutes.

TEAM NEWS
Celtic 
Striker Gary Hooper remains on the sidelines due to a six week lay-off and is joined by Marc Wilson and Niall McGinn.
Cha Du-Ri also misses out after Lennon’s admission that the player was struggling with a hamstring problem, while Jos Hooiveld returns from his one match suspension and could be in line for a starting place.
Celtic do, however, have a problem at left-back as with Charlie Mulgrew injured and with Honduran international Emilio Izaguirre still dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s on his work permit, Joe Ledley may be asked to fill in.
Possible starting XI: Zaluska; Juarez, Majstorovic, Hooiveld, Ledley; Kayal, Brown; Fortune, Maloney, McCourt; Samaras
Utrecht
Utrecht are likely to name a reasonably similar side to the one that defeated Willem at the weekend. Michael Silberbauer and van Wolfswinkel will be looking to build upon their positive performances to help Utrecht overturn the first leg deficit.


Possible starting XI: Vorm; Schut, Cornelisse, Wuytens, Nesu; Lensky, Silberbauer, Mertens, Asare; Mulenga, Van Wolfswinkel.

Prediction

Utrecht 2-2 Celtic

Read More

26.08. (Thu) 20:45 Juventus - Sturm

Not Yet Relaxed

Juventus are still working at fine tuning their squad before the start of the Serie A season this weekend, with rumours still abound as to who may or may not be joining the Turin outfit before the close of the transfer window next Tuesday. Yet for 90 minutes of Thursday evening that will all take a back seat as they aim to close out their Europa League fixture against Sturm Graz.

A stoppage time goal from Amauri at the UPC-Arena has done much to ensure Juve’s continuing presence in the competition as it would take the Austrians to score twice without reply for the Italians to slip out. Times have been tough on the field for the Nerazzurri in recent times, but not so tough that such a result wouldn’t register as a shock of seismic proportions.

“We suffered,” coach Luigi Delneri confessed to his club’s official website after the first leg. “We can do better. The team must forget the past. We are still not playing in a serene manner. After their equaliser we were a bit shaken. We must eliminate this in order to see the Juve I want.”

The Bianconeri were playing their first competitive game under Delneri, but already he has set the bar with regards to the level of performance he expects from his players. Ahead of Sunday’s clash against Bari, he will want to see his players gel further and improve their match fitness, not to mention record a morale boosting victory.

Little Hope

With Juventus just preparing to kick-off their new campaign, Sturm Graz are already in full swing, having played four Austrian Bundesliga fixtures. Their start has been rather inauspicious, with two wins and a draw record from their opening fixtures, leaving them sixth in the table, albeit measuring up against several sides who have played a match more.

The Graz side may make the short hop over the Alps on Thursday, but they’ve got a massive mountain of their own to climb once they reach the field. Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Franco Foda’s outfit, who qualified for the competition by virtue of their Swiss Cup win last season, will likely have to win by two clear goals to earn outright progression.

Dinamo Tbilisi have been eliminated by the Austrians 3-1 on aggregate but Juve pose a very different and very much tougher challenge. Gordon Schildenfeld’s first leg goal seemed to have earned them a late tie, which would have given die Schwoazn an outside chance of an upset, but Amauri’s late winner seems to have poured cold water on those.

Graz are not a side totally bereft of a European pedigree. They have competed in the Champions League and have even progressed by the first group stage, but those exploits were over a decade ago and it is now a very different side gracing the UPC-Arena on a weekly basis. An away win over Galatasaray in this competition last term does provide some foundation for hope.

TEAM NEWS

Juventus

There are a handful of selection problems for Luigi Delneri to cope with on the eve of this game, and these are added to by a suspension for Claudio Marchisio.

Gianluigi Buffon remains injured, and Vincenzo Iaquinta is out too.

Probable Starting XI: Storari; Motta, Bonucci, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Lanzafame, Sissoko, Marchisio, Pepe; Diego; Amauri
 
Sturm Graz

The visiting side haven’t registered any fresh injury or suspension problems following the first leg. Mario Kienzl remains a long-term problem.

Their side is unlikely to be altered a great deal after a battling showing in Austria.

Probable Starting XI: Gratzei; Strandfest, Schildenfeld, Feldhofer, Purcher; Weber; Holzl, Bukva, Muratovic; Kienast, Szabics

Prediction

Juventus 2-0 Sturm Graz

Read More

24.08. (Tue) 20:45 Sampdoria - Werder

Correct The Mistakes

Sampdoria will have to complete a memorable comeback if they are to progress to the Champions League group stage, having been dispatched comfortably 3-1 by Werder Bremen in their first leg meeting in Germany.

Giampaolo Pazzini may just have wrestled Samp back in with a chance of coming out on top as he struck in stoppage time during the first leg to give the Italians a precious away goal that means they need only win 2-0 on Tuesday evening to book their place amongst Europe’s best.

“Losing 3-1 is better than losing 3-0,” the scorer told Tuttosport after the fixture. “From the field, I cannot understand how we could concede three goals. It's a shame - it could have been a better result for us.

“I hope that at least my goal is a positive signal. We will now try to correct our mistakes and I hope that we will try to make it up at the Marassi.”

With little competitive football under their belts this season – Serie A will only begin on Sunday for the Doriani – Tuesday’s encounter is sure to be a colossal test of resolve and fitness as much as anything else for Domenico Di Carlo’s transitional outfit.

Still On Their Toes

Werder Bremen, on the other hand, have already got their domestic campaign underway, having played matches in both the DFB Pokal and the Bundesliga. Opening their campaign against minnows Ahlen away from home proved a relatively simple task for Thomas Schaaf’s side as they marched to a 4-0 success, though that was followed up by a crushing 4-1 loss to Hoffenheim at the weekend.

Saturday’s match will have to be quickly shaken from WB’s system if they are to enjoy a comfortable progression in Italy, though they are always a side capable of conceding a high number of goals.

Sandwiching their two domestic affairs is their fine 3-1 success over Samp. A stunning strike from Clemens Fritz got Werder on the road to victory, and once Claudio Pizarro had struck after Torsten Frings had converted a penalty for which Stefano Lucchini had foolishly see red for committing, it was simply a matter of how many for the Germans, which is why Pazzini’s late strike will irk Schaaf so much.

The coach nevertheless tried to put a positive spin on the affair, stating: “We knew beforehand that Pazzini is good in the air but we have earned an excellent result,” he was quoted by the Weser-kurier.de as having said. “But perhaps this result keeps us aware, so we must stay focused in the second leg.

“Everyone in the team now wanted to prove what they are capable of. This made me very happy.”

Having already flexed their muscles once, they will have to do so again as Samp are a side capable of breathtaking offensive football.

TEAM NEWS

Sampdoria

Pietro Accardi returned to training on Sunday and could be used in the squad in midweek, though there is less encouraging news over the fitness of Andrea Poli and Jonathan Rossini, who continue to follow a specific training program.

Stefano Lucchini is of course banned after his first leg indiscretion.

Probable Starting XI: Curci; Volta, Stankevicius, Gastaldello, Ziegler; Mannini, Tissone, Palombo, Semioli; Cassano; Pazzini

Werder Bremen

Once again Naldo sits out, so Sebastian Proedl, who got the nod over Sebastian Boenisch last weekend, will likely continue.

There are no other serious worries for the visiting side, though back-up forward Hugo Almeida is not expected to play any role in this game due to injury.

Probable Starting XI: Wiese; Fritz, Mertesacker, Proedl, Pasanen; Frings, Bargfrede, Borowski, Marin; Hunt, Pizarro 

Prediction

Sampdoria are not known for being an especially conservative side at the best of times, so needing to score two goals it’s likely that they’ll adopt an attacking stance. Domenico Di Carlo will be aware of the importance of not conceding, but given the deficit he will have to trust to luck somewhat. The German side have built themselves a platform that should ensure qualification, but there are sure to be a few thrills on Tuesday night.

Sampdoria 2-1 Werder Bremen

Read More