29-11-2010 21:00 Barcelona - Real

Burning Desire

Even in the great history of El Clasico, this is a match anticipated like no other. Barcelona, still considered by many to be the greatest club side on the planet, pit themselves against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid, expensively assembled and the pretenders to Barca’s throne both domestically and in the eyes of the planet-wide public.

La Blaugrana have tried to step out of the whirlwind of publicity before Monday evening’s match, the timing of which has caused a great deal of controversy. Coach Pep Guardiola will certainly be happy with the talking his players have done on the field, with last weekend’s quite remarkable 8-0 victory over hapless Almeria a warning shot to their Castilian rivals.

Not taking their eye from the ball for a second, Barca produced a performance of almost equal power when they defeated Panathinaikos 3-0 in Athens on Champions League duty on Wednesday evening, serenely booking themselves a place in the last 16 with an utterly dominant performance.

Looking ahead to Sunday’s match, Xavi explained to the media: “In this game Barcelona are favourites. We play at home, we are in very good shape and we have a burning desire to win.”

These sentiments were echoed by Dani Alves, who stated: “Monday will be a tough match, a very intense match, so hopefully we can keep up our form because our opponent is motivated, but we know our own level and we will strive to meet our objective.”

Defeat would leave Barcelona trailing their great rivals by four points and heavily second favourites in the race for the Primera Division.

Great Potential

Barcelona may have been performing almost flawlessly of late, but so too have Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Fears that a flair-packed side could be reduced to a ruthlessly efficient unit have proven to be unfounded as los Blancos have out-scored every Primera Division side this term aside from Barca, whose 33 goals they are the equal of.

Just as one would expect from a side marshalled by the great Portuguese coach, they have proven to be immensely mentally resilient, holding out defensively when required but also showing an appetite to gamble and really make things happen on the rare occasions they have been in tricky positions. A Pedro Leon equaliser deep in stoppage time saved them from defeat in Milan and as yet Mourinho, who was once on the staff of Bobby Robson's Barca, is unbeaten in the Bernabeu hot-seat.

Mirroring their great Catalan adversaries, los Blancos have attained two terrific results over the course of the last week. A potential banana skin in the form of Athletic Bilbao was smashed clear with a very proficient 5-1 win at the Bernabeu, and then Ajax were hammered 4-0 in a match that will be best remembered for the controversial red cards of Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos.

Alonso, under scrutiny from UEFA because of the manner of his dismissal in the Netherlands, is nevertheless confident that his side have the tools to best Barca. “This team has great potential in attack, with great scoring ability. If we play well, and are strong in attack and defence, that is the recipe to win at the Camp Nou,” he explained to the media.

“This Barcelona team are very good, and are still very good. In recent years they have won many titles, and we will fight hard to beat us because it will be crucial. The two matches, both at the Camp Nou and the return will be very important.”

Mourinho’s presence will add extra spice to the affair as it was his tactical masterplan as Inter coach last season that thwarted Barcelona’s attempts to reclaim the Champions League. Relations between the Portuguese and Guardiola are frosty, so expect fireworks on and off the field.

TEAM NEWS

Barcelona

Gabriel Milito is the only first team regular missing for Barca approaching Monday's big clash.

Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho has a few more concerns approaching the match, but Ricardo Carvalho, Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuain have all overcome problems to be named in the squad.

Kaka and Fernando Gago miss out because of injury.

Prediction

Jose Mourinho hasn’t suffered defeat as Real Madrid coach as yet, but Monday’s match is his greatest test to date. Both Barcelona and los Blancos are in magnificent form. It’s the Catalans who have been more impressive in recent weeks, but it’s Madrid who have been stronger overall. Opinions will vary widely, but Barca should be considered favourites to snatch the most anticipated match of the season to date.

Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid

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28-11-2010 20:45 Palermo - Roma

Ambition Remains Intact

Ambitious Italian side Palermo continue to keep their dreams intact despite enduring a roller-coaster season that has seen them have spells of high and spells of dry. At the moment the Sicilians are in robust health as they are very much within touching distance of a European place.

Last weekend's narrow 2-1 defeat of Cesena on the road was Palermo's second in a row in the league and third in four matches and stationed them on 20 points from 13 matches, level with Italian and European champions Inter, who are sixth, and just three points behind fourth-placed Juventus.

Palermo's home form too has improved and they will be confident of giving it a go against in-form Roma at the Stadio Renzo Barbera. However, the Rosanero haven't fared very well against Serie A's big boys so far this campaign as they lost to Inter, Lazio and Milan but won against Juventus. Yet with Javier Pastore and Josip Ilicic in defiant form and Fabrizio Miccoli back from injury and scoring the goals, Delio Rossi's side will have all the confidence in the world to register a win on Sunday afternoon.

Living Life In Thrilling Style

Over the past four or five seasons Roma have been arguably the most entertaining Italian side to watch and on Tuesday evening they exhibited once again just why. 2-0 down to Bayern Munich at the Stadio Olimpico in the Champions League, Claudio Ranieri's scored thrice in the space of ? minutes to register arguably the best victory in Europe this season.

The win was their second in a row in Europe's premier club competition and also extended the Lupi's unbeaten run in all competitions to five matches. Last weekend Roma overcame Udinese 2-0 in Rome to rise up to fifth in the league with 22 points 13 matches, just a point off a Champions League place and seven behind league leaders Milan. Talks of a Scudetto challenge are beginning to become louder as Roma continue to play entertaining football and get the results too.

Winning against Palermo in Sicily on Sunday night, though, is not going to be very easy as Roma have a less than impressive record on the road in the league. The Giallorossi have won just once in six attempts away from Rome and have conceded a whooping ten goals.

TEAM NEWS

Palermo

Liverani, Hernandez, Pinilla and Darmian are injured and will miss the visit of Roma. Delio Rossi will deploy a 4-3-2-1 system that will have Miccoli as the lone striker upfront with Pastore and Ilicic as the two playmakers behind him.

Roma

Okaka, Taddei and Perrotta are out because of injuries while Burdisso is suspended. Ranieri's 4-3-1-2 formation will have Menez deployed as the playmaker behind Totti and Borriello.

Prediction

This promises to be a very entertaining game and one can expect a few goals. Both Palermo and Roma are committed to attacking football and are defensively susceptible. This is a tough one to call and it could well end in a draw.

Palermo 2-2 Roma

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28-11-2010 17:30 Koln - Wolfsburg

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

It has been a rather difficult but eventful season for the supporters for FC Koeln, a club who continually attract gates of around 50,000 despite no top-half finish in the Bundesliga in almost twenty years. The club has lurched from one crisis to another with Lukas Podolski criticising the club's defensive style of play, Faryd Mondragon being sent home from the team hotel, coach Zvonimir Soldo being sacked and most recently a management crisis involving president Wolfgang Overath and general manager Michael Meier.

However, all that was forgotten when Koeln gave their best performance of the season last week to stun a resurgent Stuttgart and record a 1-0 victory in the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Caretaker coach Frank Schaefer was anxious to stress the recent positive development of his team.

"Of course it's going a bit better for us now after our win in Stuttgart. It's also true that we can only maximise the true worth of our win against Stuttgart if we are successful again this Sunday. If we succeed, then we will be able to make great strides forward," he told the pre-game press conference.

"For me it is important that the team are fully aware why they won in Stuttgart. The team can now understand that it is possible to play successful football, even when the team is going through a tough period."

Schaefer went on to explain what he saw against Stuttgart and what he expects once more against Wolfsburg - team unity, compactness on the field of play in defence as well as in attack and a high level of discipline. The latter will be particularly important given that Wolfsburg have what Schaefer describes as "the best strike-partnership in the Bundesliga.". And even if Grafite doesn't make it, don't bet on an easy ride for the Koeln defence.

How To Solve A Problem Like Diego

Wolfsburg had been expected by many to challenge at the very least for a Europa League place and most probably the top three given the significant sums of money with which Dieter Hoeness parted in the summer. Of the close season acquisitions, Diego was the most expensive and most high-profile. A proven performer in German football, the ideal replacement for and perhaps maybe an upgrade on, Zvjezdan Misimovic. He has perhaps not lived up to the hype but he has nevertheless contributed three goals and four assists in twelve games. However, his suspension will leave a gaping hole in the Wolfsburg line-up as they look to haul themselves up the table and emerge from a poor run of form. Last time out, they laboured to a 1-1 draw at home to relegation candidates St Pauli and only intermittently looked like a team playing to their potential. Coach Steve McClaren is as yet unsure how to alter his side in the absence of the Brazilian playmaker.

"On Sunday I will know exactly how the team will shape up. I will make a decision after I have seen the training session on Saturday, " he told the pre-match press conference.

There is feverish speculation that the Englishman will hand a debut to young 18-year old midfielder Tolga Cigerci, which McClaren played with a straight bat, offering a perfect example to England's under-pressure batsmen in the Ashes.

"I have come across many young prospects like Tolga in my coaching career. They were all of course capable of playing football but we only know how they will cope on the big stage of the Premier League or Bundesliga once they actually take to the field. Tolga has trained very well and is close to the team. We will give him a chance soon. We are not sure exactly yet when though."

McClaren then turned his attentions to his underperforming team and acknowledged that it will be no easy task to turn the season around but he remained nonetheless upbeat.

"It is important to have expectations and feel perssure but it is equally important to know how to win football matches. To do that, the performance is just as important as the result. There are no easy games here and everyone can beat everyone else. It becomes even more difficult away from home."

"If we do the right things then we can take a victory away from Koeln. It's a case of how we play because lately we have been conceding far too many goals. However, we will soon find a solution for it."

TEAM NEWS

FC Koeln

Die Geissboecke are without Martin Lanig who is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card, the outcast Adil Chihi and Manasseh Ishiaku who is undergoing rehabilitation work. Adam Matuschyk is the most likely candidate to deputise for Lanig while Lukas Podolski should take up a more central role, freeing up a space on the left flank for Mato Jajalo.

Probable Starting XI: Mondragon - Brecko, Geromel, Mohamad, Ehret - Petit, Pezzoni - Matuschyk, Jajalo - Podolski, Novakovic

VfL Wolfsburg

Die Woelfe are still of course missing Arne Friedrich with Fabian Johnson and Ashkan Dejagah also joining the German international in the physio's room. Most crucially, stellar playmaker Diego is suspended after picking up five bookings and Thomas Kahlenberg will attempt to fill his shoes. Grafite is still doubtful with Mario Mandzukic on standby and young midfielder Tolga Cigerci could make his Bundesliga debut tomorrow.

Probable Starting XI: Benaglio - Pekarik, Kjaer, Barzagli, Schaefer - Josue, Riether, Cigerci - Kahlenberg - Dzeko, Grafite

Prediction

I expect Koeln to continue their improved form they showed in Stuttgart last week but Wolfsburg's individual quality, even without Diego, should earn them a point in the Rhein-Energie Arena.

FC Köln 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg

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28-11-2010 17:00 Mallorca - Malaga

Confident

Mallorca may have been expected to flag after a difficult summer, but they are instead thriving in La Primera Division and find themselves eighth. On the other hand, hopes were high that Malaga could achieve a strong finish this term, but that doesn’t look at all likely after a dreadful start to the campaign. Having experienced contrasting seasons to date, the two sides face-off on Sunday.

This campaign has already had some highs for Michael Laudrup’s side, drawing against both Real Madrid and Barcelona, but arguably their best result to date was their 2-1 victory in Sevilla last weekend. Michael Pereira put els Barralets ahead at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, though the three points seemed to have been squandered when Luis Fabiano struck an 88th minute leveller. Pierre Webo was on hand to strike a dramatic late winner for the Islanders, however.

“We were convinced we could win, and we did. It was an important game and we responded, so we are happy and satisfied,” the Cameroonian frontman explained to Diario de Mallorca. “We did not lose our cool. We knew that we could build our strategy. We had patience and got a positive result.”

While the Balearic side have undoubtedly made strides with regards to their away form, they haven’t been quite as strong as they were last season at the Iberostar Estadio. Nevertheless, they’ve only slipped to one reverse in front of their home support this term and will be confident of earning another positive result on Sunday afternoon.

Cut Out The Errors

If former Real Madrid and Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini expected that he could step into the Malaga dugout and immediately change the fortunes of the Andalucian club he has been proven wrong. A 1-0 win at home against fellow strugglers Levante was certainly cause for optimism, but last weekend’s heavy loss away to Deportivo La Coruna was a stark reminder of the deficiencies of his squad.

Pellegrini will have been especially concerned at the state of his side’s defending from set-pieces following the loss at the Riazor. An early penalty was conceded for a needless tug in the box from a corner, and then the Galicians’ second goal, which arrived on the half hour mark, was a header into the net from an identical situation. Malaga have to get the basics right before they can start moving up the table.

“The defeat is just, but what was amazing was to lose 3-0,” Pellegrini lamented after the fixture. “For the first and the second goals there were big errors that unbalanced the game because until then we had chances.”

Travelling had appeared to be a strong suit of Malaga in the early weeks of the season under Jesualdo Ferreira, but after starting so positively on the road, the Boquerones’ poor form has seeped into this aspect of their play too. Presently on a run of three successive away day losses, the Andalucians make the weekend’s journey simply trying to break that run.

TEAM NEWS

Mallorca

Gonzalo ‘Chori’ Castro is doubtful due to an adductor injury. Sergi Enrich is absent because of a hamstring problem. He will miss around 10 days of action.

Tuni, Enrique Corrales and Marti are out.

Malaga

Patrick Mtiliga is los Boquerones freshest injury concern. He is toiling with a hamstring problem in his right leg and is rated as a doubt. Edinho has been suffering from gastroenteritis but should feature.

Apono faces three weeks on the sidelines with adductor problems, but there is some good news as Ruden Martinez and Jose Rondon have both returned to training.

Sandro Silva is suspended.

Prediction

Malaga certainly won’t get any worse under the charge of Manuel Pellegrini, but it’s a tough assignment to go to Mallorca and earn a positive result. Nevertheless, a draw’s not out of the question for the visitors due to the home side’s slightly more erratic performances at the Iberostar Estadio.

Mallorca 2-1 Malaga

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28-11-2010 17:00 Tottenham Hotspur - Liverpool

Title Challengers?

Tottenham will be expected to showcase their title credentials following last week’s 3-2 derby day victory against Arsenal.

With the Premier League as unpredictable as ever, manager Harry Redknapp believes that Spurs have as good a chance as anybody to claim the ultimate prize, and given Chelsea and Manchester United’s far from convincing form of late, who could argue with him?

Up until last Saturday’s victory at the Emirates, their first win at Arsenal in 17 years, Spurs had notoriously failed to achieve a result against any of the traditional top four away from home, but the result against their North London neighbours is a perfect example of how Harry Redknapp’s team has progressed under his guidance.

The destruction of European Champions Inter at White Hart Lane in the Champions League, just two weeks prior to that derby day victory, pinpoints the fact that this Tottenham team have to be taken seriously as the season enters its crucial stage.

Road To Recovery

Liverpool have embarked on a small road to recovery in recent games following a dismal start to the season under Roy Hodgson.

The highlight of their campaign thus far was a recent victory over Chelsea at Anfield. However, they then dropped four points on their travels to Wigan and Stoke City, before a convincing victory over West Ham United at home provided three much needed points.

Consequently, they are now just six points off fourth place, and victory over Spurs could inspire the kind off run that is needed if the team are to live up to the expectations of their supporters, who have endured a torrid 18 months. The key, clearly, is to improve their hitherto tepid away form.

TEAM NEWS

Tottenham

Rafael van der Vaart is rated at 50-50 in his bid to regain match fitness in time to face Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. The Dutch international, who has arguably been the signing of the season so far since his £8 million switch from Real Madrid, did not play on Wednesday night as Spurs eased their way into the last 16 of the Champions League.

Fellow midfielder Jermaine Jenas is considered a major doubt for Harry Redknapp’s high flyers after limping off in the 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen.

Jermain Defoe is vying for a return to the team after impressing as a second half substitute in the remarkable comeback win against fierce rivals Arsenal at the Emirates.

Harry Redknapp also welcomes back Michael Dawson but is still without long term injury victims Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate and Jamie O’Hara.

Probable starting XI: Gomes; Hutton, Kaboul, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Palacios, Modric, Bale; Defoe, Crouch.

Liverpool

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is contemplating whether to reinstate Joe Cole into his starting line-up. The former Chelsea man has missed the last five games for the gradually improving Reds.

Captain Steven Gerrard is still injured after damaging his hamstring during England’s defeat by France last week, but Fabio Aurelio is back and Brazilian midfielder Lucas returns to the fold after serving his suspension.

Jamie Carragher will make his 450th appearance in the Premier League when he captains Liverpool in Gerrard’s absence.

Probable starting XI: Reina; Konchesky, Carragher, Skrtl, Johnson; Maxi, Meireles, Poulsen, Cole, Kuyt; Torres.

Prediction

Tottenham haven’t always demonstrated the ability to play well after midweek Champions League games. Liverpool have improved of late and will do enough to get a hard earned point at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham 1-1 Liverpool

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