18.08. (Thu) 20:45 Hearts - Tottenham Hot.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

HEARTS


Kello
Hamill, Jonsson, Zaliukas, Grainger
Mrowiec
Templeton, Robinson, Driver
Sutton, Stevenson


TOTTENHAM


Gomes
Walker, Dawson, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto
Lennon, Palacios, Modric, Bale
Pavlyuchenko, Defoe

Hearts defender Eggert Jonsson and winger Arvydas Novikovas are both doubtful with rib and ankle injuries respectively after the pair went off during the Tynecastle side’s 3-0 win over Aberdeen on Saturday.

Paulo Sergio will also have to do without the services of long-term absentees Calum Elliot (knee), Kevin Kyle (hip) and David Obua (hamstring) while Andy Webster and wingers Mehdi Taouil and Suso Santana are approaching full fitness and should be available for the second leg.

Tottenham will arrive in Edinburgh without centre-backs William Gallas (calf) and Ledley King (knee), and also Steven Pienaar, Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone and Sandro, who are all on the sidelines for Harry Redknapp’s side.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hearts made their way into the Europa League playoff round by defeating Hungarian side Paks SE 4-1 at Tynecastle with Ryan Stevenson scoring twice and Andy Driver and Rudi Skacel getting the other goals after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

The second leg in Edinburgh was Sergio’s first game in charge of the club after owner Vladimir Romanov dismissed former manager Jim Jefferies after only two games of the Scottish Premier League season.

The Jambos recorded their first league victory of the season on Saturday, beating Aberdeen 3-0, with Novikovas opening the scoring before former Spurs trainee John Sutton scored his first two goals for the club.

Tottenham will play their third Scottish side in European competition, after having been involved in two ‘Battle of Britain’ ties against Rangers in 1962 and Aberdeen in 1973, where the White Hart Lane side came out on top 8-4 and 5-2 on aggregate in each respective fixture.

The Tynecastle fixture will be Spurs' first competitive game of the season, after their game with Everton on Saturday at White Hart Lane was postponed on police advice due to the recent riots in the local area.

Redknapp’s side come into the playoff round first leg after recording five friendly victories in a row over Athletic Bilbao, Brighton and Hove Albion, Leyton Orient, Milton Keynes Dons and Orlando Pirates.

Prediction 

Editor's Prediction 
Hearts 1-3 Tottenham  

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18.08. (Thu) 20:30 Fulham - Dnipro

PROBABLE LINEUPS

FULHAM

Schwarzer
Baird, Hughes, Hangeland, J.A. Riise
Dempsey, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff
Zamora, Johnson

DNIPRO

Lastuvka
Inkoom, Mandzyuk, Cheberyachko, Strinic
Giuliano, Rotan, Konoplyanka, Boateng
Matheus, Kalinic

Fulham boss Martin Jol is expected to name a similar line-up to the one that started in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at the weekend. The most likely of the starters to miss out from Saturday is centre-back Philippe Senderos, who has had an injury-hit spell at Craven Cottage and may not be risked ahead of Sunday's clash with Wolves.

Meanwhile, Dnipro, who go into the game off the back of a 3-1 loss to rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, look set to welcome defender Samuel Inkoom back to the starting line-up, while former Blackburn Rovers striker Nikola Kalinic could also start.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fulham have qualified for Europe three times, including this current campaign. Their first appearance was in the now defunct Intertoto Cup, but their most successful attempt in Europe came during the 2009-10 season, when they lost to Atletico Madrid in the final of the Europa League.

The Cottagers have never been beaten on home turf in European competition, winning 15 and drawing four of their matches at Craven Cottage.

Including qualifying games, Martin Jol’s side have lost just five games out of 39 on the continent.

Dnipro’s best season in Europe’s second tier competition came in the 2004-05 campaign when they reached the last 16 of the then Uefa Cup, but the Ukrainian outfit have failed to pass the play-off stages in their last three attempts.

However, they were quarter-finalists on two occasions in the European Cup in 1985 and 1990, losing to Marseille on penalties and Benfica.

Dnipro’s name has changed since the team was initially founded, originally starting out as BRIT, relating to the Petrovsky factory that formed the club. At one point the side was sponsored by one of the most powerful factories in the Soviet Union and funded by the state’s Ministry of Defence, until the Ukraine finally became a separate entity and they became Dnipro.

Prediction 

Editor's Prediction 
Fulham 1-0 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk  

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17.08. (Wed) 23:00 Barcelona - Real

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-1-2-3)
Valdes; Dani Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal; Fabregas; Xavi, Iniesta; Sanchez, Messi, Villa

Barcelona have no fresh injuries worries following the 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu but the Blaugrana are expected to field a makeshift defence as they did in the first leg.

Gerard Pique is likely to start at Camp Nou after making an appearance from the substitute’s bench in the first leg following his recovery from a tear to his hamstring. With Eric Abidal unable to cope with Karim Benzema’s trickery on Sunday, it is likely Javier Mascherano will partner Pique with the Frenchman being pushed to the left, replacing the Brazilian Adriano.

Club captain Carles Puyol has yet to prove his fitness following a knee operation during the summer but will hope to do so ahead of La Liga's first set of fixtures.

Barcelona confirmed the signing of Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas on Monday and Pep Guardiola has suggested that the midfielder could make his debut against Real Madrid.

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1)
Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo; Alonso, Khedira; Coentrao, Ozil, Ronaldo; Benzema

Jose Mourinho may opt to field the same starting XI as he did on Sunday following an impressive performance from his side. The 11 in question were the same players that were destroyed 5-0 in El Clasico last season but it was a stark improvement for los Blancos.

Fabio Coentrao could be preferred to Angel di Maria, who struggled to impact the game at the Bernabeu, as Madrid hope to stem any early Barcelona pressure at Camp Nou.

DID YOU KNOW?

Barcelona were the last team not to win at home before going on to win the trophy, a feat managed back in 2005.

The Catalans have won the last two matches at the Camp Nou in the Supercopa between the Liga giants.

Lionel Messi will move to joint sixth in the all-time top goal scorer chart in El Clasico meetings with one goal at the Camp Nou.

Cesc Fabregas could make his debut for Barcelona following his move from Arsenal, with the Catalan side confirming his transfer during the first leg at the Bernabeu.

A Barcelona victory would see Pep Guardiola’s side lift the trophy for the 10th time in their history; whilst Real Madrid would equal Barcelona’s nine triumphs if they overcome the hosts.

The Blaugrana are seeking to become the first team since Real Madrid to win the Supercopa for a third time in a row.

Real Madrid were the last team to win the Supercopa despite failing to win the first leg in 2008 when los Blancos overturned a first leg 3-2 loss against Valencia.

Mesut Ozil became the first German to score in the Supercopa with his first half strike in the first leg.

The Supercopa has not witnessed a draw since the first leg of the 2001 Supercopa when Real Zaragoza drew against los Blancos.

Only a score of 2-2 will see the Supercopa go to extra-time; if the scores are level after 90 minutes the away goals rule comes into effect.

If the score finishes 2-2 at Camp Nou it will be the first time that the Supercopa has not been settled in normal time.

Prediction 

Editor's Prediction 
Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid   

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17.08. (Wed) 20:45 Bayern Munchen - Zurich

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Bayern Munich:
Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Badstuber, Lahm; Luiz Gustavo, Schweinsteiger; Robben, Muller, Ribery; Gomez

After missing Saturday's clash with Wolfsburg with a back injury, Arjen Robben has recovered and will be fit to play. With only Breno still on the mend, Jupp Heynckes has an all but full squad available for the game.

Zurich:
Leoni; Koch, Beda, Teixeira, Rodriguez; Schonbachler, Aegerter, Margairaz, Djuric; Mehmedi, Alphonse

Zurich received some disturbing news from the treatment table on Monday when it was revealed that midfielder Stjepan Kukuruzovic is suffering from cruciate ligament damage and will miss the majority of the season. The central midfielder is expected to be replaced by either Xavier Margairaz or youngster Oliver Buff.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bayern Munich have participated in the Champions League group stage regularly since 1997-98, only missing out on the proper tournament on one occasion, in 2007-08.

The Bavarians have twice participated in Champions League qualifiers in the past, beating Obilic in 1998-99 and Partizan in 2002-03.

New coach Jupp Heynckes has trained Bayern in this competition twice in the past. Under his watch, the German side have won 13 games, drawn three, and lost just twice.

While at Hamburg, Ivica Olic scored against Zurich in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup round of 32. HSV won the match 3-1 in Switzerland.

Zurich have never faced Bayern in a competitive match.

The Swiss side have twice beaten German competition in 11 matches against opponents from their neighbouring country.

Urs Fischer's side have previously competed in three Champions League qualifying campaigns. After falling short in their first two encounters, they advanced to the 2009-10 Group Stage, before finishing last in Group C.

Defender Ludovic Magnin has enjoyed a relatively successful record against Bayern, having won twice and drawn once in six appearances against the German giants during spells at Werder Bremen and Stuttgart.

Prediction

Bayern are notoriously slow starters and tend to struggle in matches in which they are favourites, but following their win over Wolfsburg, will be encouraged. The Swiss are not to be under-estimated, but having had a rocky start to their Super League campaign, may struggle.

Editor's Prediction

Bayern Munich 1-0 FC Zurich

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17.08. (Wed) 20:45 Odense - Villarreal

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Odense (4-2-3-1):
Wessels; Moller, Christensen, Reginiussen, Ruud; Sorensen, Djemba-Djemba; Johansson, Andreasen, Kadrii; Utaka

Former PSG winger Bernard Mendy is the only absentee from Henrik Clausen's squad, as he is suspended for this fixture, after being shown the red card late on in their third qualifying round victory against Panathinaikos. Also, new signing Morten Skoubo is included, but is expected to settle for a place on the substitute's bench.


Villarreal (4-3-1-2):
Lopez; Oriol, Gonzalo, Marchena, Zapata; Bruno, Senna, Cani; Valero; Nilmar, Rossi

Coach Juan Carlos Garrido has picked a near full-strength 21-man squad for their trip to Denmark, with just Angel Lopez, who is in the final stages of recovering from a cruciate ligament injury he picked up back in January, unavailable. In addition, Cristian Zapata is set to be given his competitive debut for Villarreal, whilst Joan Oriol prepares to become his side's first-choice left-back in the wake of Joan Capdevila's departure to Benfica.

DID YOU KNOW?

Odense have lost just once in their last 14 European home fixtures; a 2-1 loss to Stuttgart in last season's Europa League group stage.

OB's 4-3 third qualifying round win at Panathinaikos FC ended a run of three straight away defeats in European competition, as they look to reach the group stages for the first time in their history.

Odense are the only side in the league draw of the playoffs to have never qualified for the group stage, featuring in groups for just the 2006-07 Uefa Cup and the 2010-11 Europa League.

Villarreal have featured in the Champions League group stage twice, reaching the semi-finals in 2005-06 and the quarter-finals in 2007-08, with Arsenal eliminating them twice.

The Yellow Submarine have won their last eight matches at home in Europe, dating back to December 2009.

The teams met in the second round of the 2004 Intertoto Cup, with Manuel Pellegrini's side winning 5-0 on aggregate, on the way to winning the only trophy of their history.

Prediction

The visitors should have too much in attack to overcome the Danes, as Odense may miss the pace and tenacity of Mendy, who could have given young full-back Jose Oriol a very stern test indeed. Despite losing creative hub Cazorla in the summer, Valero will assume responsibility as chief playmaker in the side, playing behind their prolific duo of Nilmar and Rossi in attack, with Marcos Senna working his way back into midfield, after being linked with a move away from the Madrigal.

Editor's Prediction

Odense 1-2 Villarreal

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