10.01. (Tue) 22:00 Malaga - Real

Copa del Rey: Real Madrid-Malaga: Celebrate

PROBABLE LINEUPS

MALAGA Caballero Sanchez, Demichelis, Mathijsen, Monreal Cazorla, Apono, Toulalan, Isco Van Nistelrooy, Fernandez

REAL MADRID Casillas Diarra, Ramos, Albiol, Marcelo Xabi Alonso, Khedira Callejon, Ozil, Ronaldo Benzema

Jose Mourinho has a few injury concerns going into the second leg of this Copa del Rey encounter against Malaga. Pepe missed the match against Granada at the weekend but Sergio Ramos is back to full fitness after missing the first leg and should be partnered by Raul Albiol.

Lassana Diarra should come in to the right-back position with Sami Khedira partnering Xabi Alonso in midfield. Angel Di Maria and Ricardo Carvalho are injured and there are some doubts over the fitness of Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao, who missed the win over Granada.


Elsewhere, in-form striker Karim Benzema looks set to overcome a minor injury picked up against Granada at the weekend and is likely to start on Tuesday.

Joaquin is out of contention as the winger has been ruled out for a month with a strained muscle. Julio Baptista will also miss the match for Malaga.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The first leg between the sides saw Real Madrid come from two goals behind to win 3-2 against Malaga thanks to strikes from Sami Khedira, Gonzalo Higuain, and Karim Benzema.

• Real Madrid's match in between the Copa del Rey legs was against Granada in La Liga. A brace from Karim Benzema and goal each from Sergio Ramos, Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo saw Madrid cruise to a 5-1 victory.

• The last time that Madrid lost a Copa del Rey match was last season when they were defeated 2-0 in a second leg against Levante. Lucky for Jose Mourinho's side, they had already won the first match 8-0.

• In La Liga, Malaga have scored under a third the amount of goals that Real Madrid have notched up. Jose Mourinho's men have netted 61 times compared to the 20 scored by Manuel Pellegrini's side.
  
• Malaga's match in between the Copa del Rey fixtures was against Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, which ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
  
• Malaga's entire squad has not scored the amount of goals that Cristiano Ronaldo has notched up himself in the Spanish Primera Division so far.

Prediction

The first leg proved that when Real Madrid are not on song, they can be hurt. Malaga were outstanding in the first half and got at the capital club through intense pressing. However, the rally of Jose Mourinho's side in the second half shows their true quality and determination, which eventually earned them the win. Expect a tight game but with Real Madrid ultimately progressing in the end.

Editor's Prediction

Malaga 1-2 Real Madrid

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10.01. (Tue) 21:00 Lazio - Hellas Verona

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

LAZIO Carrizo Cavanda, Stendardo, Zauri, Del Nero Gonzalez, Ledesma, Lulic Hernanes Klose, Rocchi

VERONA Rafael Ceccarelli, Mareco, Abbate Tachtsidis, Halfredsson, Russo, Scaglia Gomez Bjelanovic, Ferrari

Lazio coach Edy Reja is set to ring the changes from the demoralising 4-0 reverse to Siena on Saturday, as a second-string XI is expected to line up at the Olimpico midweek, with up to eight alterations potentially being made.

It is likely to be all change at the back, as Juan Pablo Carrizo, Luis Pedro Cavanda, Guglielmo Stendardo, Luciano Zauri and Simone Del Nero are all ready to step into the side, replacing Albano Bizzarri, Lionel Scaloni, Giuseppe Biava, Marius Stankevicius and Stefan Radu.

Elsewhere, Alvaro Gonzalez and Hernanes were rested for the trip to Tuscany, and should come back into the fold, with Lorik Cana and Giuseppe Sculli dropping to the bench. Last but not least, Tommaso Rocchi is expected to be picked ahead of Djibril Cisse.

Meanwhile for Verona, spirits are high in the camp of Andrea Mandorlini's outfit. Currently second in Serie B, and just a single point behind leaders Torino, they have taken their return to the top flight by storm, with 10 wins in their last 11 matches, including a run of nine straight victories.

Just two alterations for the Bentegodi club from the last-gasp 2-1 win over Modena should see midfielder Giuseppe Russo and ex-Genoa striker Sasa Bjelanovic replace Roma loanee Marco D'Alessandro and Brazilian youngster Frello.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Lazio have not won in their past three games, but the 4-0 loss to Siena marked their first defeat in six matches.

• In addition, the reverse to the Tuscan side was their heaviest since their 5-1 mauling to AC Milan in October 2007 - almost five years ago.

• Bar the Roman derby, Lazio have not conceded in any of their competitive wins at home this season.

• Verona have won 10 of their past 11 fixtures, including a run of nine straight victories.

• They have had previous experience of beating Serie A opposition so far in the Coppa Italia, defeating rivals Parma 2-0 in the last round.

• Before their goalless draw to Varese on December 18, Verona had scored in every away fixture of the campaign.

• The home team have won the five previous meetings between these two sides, but you would have to go back to April 2002 for the last: a 5-4 victory to Lazio at the Olimpico.

Prediction
Editor's Prediction
Lazio 3-1 Verona 

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09.01. (Mon) 20:45 Arsenal - Leeds United

Arsen Wenger - Arsenal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

ARSENAL Almunia Koscielny, Squillaci, Miquel, Hoyte Oxlade-Chamberlain, Song, Coquelin, Benayoun, Chamakh, Park

LEEDS UTD   Lonergan Connolly, Lees, O’Dea, White Townsend, Clayton, Brown, Pugh McCormack, Becchio

The headlines for Arsenal this week have been dominated by the return of Thierry Henry on a two-month loan, but the Gunners’ legend is unlikely to make the starting XI, with Marouane Chamakh - who is yet to depart for the African Cup of Nations - likely to partner Chu-Young Park in attack. Gervinho is on Afcon duty with Ivory Coast. The midfield is likely to feature youngsters Francis Coquelin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while Yossi Benayoun may also be handed a start after some impressive recent performances. In defence, Thomas Vermaelen (calf) and Bacary Sagna (ankle) join Andre Santos (ankle), Carl Jenkinson (back) and Kieran Gibbs (groin) on the sidelines, while Johan Djourou is suspended.
Leeds United were rocked by news on Tuesday that centre-back Patrick Kisnorbo will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. The visitors are also without in-form midfielder Robert Snodgrass and club captain Jonny Howson.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Arsenal have lost just one of their last 35 FA cup games at home - a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Leeds in 1997.

• Thierry Henry (pictured right) has scored a phenomenal 11 goals in 11 games against the visitors, bagging four in his last match against them in April 2004.

• Arsenal have made it past the third round in each of the last 15 seasons, a better record than any other side.

• The hosts have scored at least three goals in four out of five of their last matches against the visitors.

• However, Arsenal have averaged just one goal per game in their last seven fixtures in all competitions.

• This is the second season in a row that the two sides have been drawn against each other at this stage of the competition, with Arsenal winning a replay at Elland Road 3-1 in last season’s tie, after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.

• Leeds have been drawn against a ‘top four’ club for the third season in a row at this stage of the FA Cup, facing Arsenal in 2011 and Manchester United in 2010.

• The away side have won just one of their last 13 encounters with top-flight opponents, beating Manchester United 1-0 in 2010.

Prediction

Both sides come into the match without a number of crucial players, but I think that the squad depth required in the Premier League will give Arsenal that edge, as they have a number of quality players ready to fill the gaps. I’m backing a 3-1 win for the Gunners, with Thierry Henry to make an appearance and snatch a fairytale goal against the side he seems to love scoring against so much.

Editor's Prediction

Arsenal 3-1 Leeds

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09.01. (Mon) 17:00 Tunisia - Sudan

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

TUNISIA MathlouthiIfa, Haggui, Abdennour, JemalKorbi, Saihi Msakni, Chikhaoui, Dhaouadi Khelifa

SUDAN MahgoubBalla, Albasha, Massawi, Musaab Badreldin, Youssef, Bakkhit, Tahir Mustafa Careca

After their successful Spain-based training camp, during which they beat Basque Country 2-0 and held Catalunya to a goalless draw, Tunisia are in Dubai for the first of two scheduled friendlies against Sudan and Cote D’Ivoire.
Sami Trabelsi has called up a 26-man roster and will use the next two matches to decide which three players he will leave out of his final squad list which must be communicated to the Confederation of Africa Football (Caf) by January 11.
Trabelsi has continued his strategy of relying on a core group of players from African champions Esperance. With the exception of an out of form Walid Hichri, all their players look sure to take part.
On the other hand, the upcoming week will be an especially important one for Tunisia’s all-time leading scorer, Issam Jemaa, who struggled mightily during the trip to Spain due to a lack of playing time at club level. On the health front, Ousamma Darragi may be exempted from this match since he's missed two training sessions with flu.
Meanwhile, Sudan are fresh off a training camp of their own. Mohammed Abdalla Mazda’s men beat Qatari club side Al-Jaish 2-1 in Doha before being unable to put any goals past second division side Musaimir. The Falcons’ coach has been fielding various lineups in order to come closer to cutting his 29-man roster down to 23 players.
In terms of player news, the big story so far is that team captain Haitham Mustafa is back in the squad after reconciling his differences with the coach, who excluded him from participation at the LG Cup in Morocco for making derisive comments to the press.
The Sudanese FA has put in some solid preparation in order to have their side be as prepared as possible for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). After facing Tunisia, Sudan face Senegal in Dakar on January 12, and then co-hosts Gabon on January 16 in Bitam.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The last time these two teams faced each other in a friendly was on June 20, 2010, when the Carthage Eagles downed the Sudanese by a whopping 6-2 score-line in Omdurman.

• There has never been a draw between the two sides in the seven times they’ve faced each other.

• Sudan’s most famous victory over Tunisia was a 3-2 home triumph when the Falcons finished ahead of them in the preliminary stages of 2008 Afcon qualifying.

• The all-time record between the two sides favours the north Africans: Tunisia has won five times while the Sudanese have two victories to their name.

• Coach Mazda included two Nigerian-born players who ply their trade in Sudan (Kelechi Osunwa and Kayode Sherif Sule) in his provisional squad for the continental showpiece.

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08.01. (Sun) 21:30 Espanyol - Barcelona

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

ESPANYOL Alvarez Galan, Moreno, Forlin, VilaGarcia, Verdu, Romaric, Weiss Thievy, Alvaro

BARCELONA Valdes Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta Messi, Cesc, Alexis

Espanyol go into the Barcelona derby with a number of players suffering from niggling injuries. Walter Pandiani is still a doubt as he continues to battle back from a sore thigh muscle. Javi Lopez may be out until next week with a bruised left fibula and Juan Albin is still recovering from the surgery he underwent in September on his right abdominal muscle.

There is still some concern over the fitness of Raul Baena who is struggling with a left quadriceps injury, but on a positive note goalkeeper Carlos Kameni is back in training after his hamstring problem.

Pep Guardiola only has two injury problems in the Barcelona squad; Ibrahim Afellay and David Villa remain long-term absentess and will be out of action for the foreseeable future. 

Victor Valdes, and Andres Iniesta returned to training on Thursday after sitting out the session on Wednesday.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The last time Barcelona played Espanyol, Pep Guardiola's side won the match 2-0, with Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique both scored to seal the victory.

• Barcelona's first La Liga match of 2011 saw them defeat Levante 2-1 at Camp Nou, with Pedro bagging a brace to see his side to victory.

• The Camp Nou giants have scored well more than double the amount of goals that Espanyol have notched up in the league so far. Pep Guardiola's side have netted 50 times but their rivals have only scored 17.

• Espanyol's entire squad has scored the exact same amount of goals that Lionel Messi has scored in La Liga this season.

• Espanyol's last match saw the Catalan side lose 2-1 against Spanish Seguna B outfit Cordoba in the Copa del Rey.

• Joan Verdu plays his former side in this match. The Espanyol midfielder was a product of Barcelona's youth system and even made an appearance in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Prediction

Apart from a 5-1 victory for Barcelona against Espanyol in December 2010, the Catalan derbies have been relatively tight affairs in recent years with one or two goals usually proving to be the difference. However, if Guardiola's side are in the mood that they displayed against Osasuna in their last match, it will be a long night for the hosts.

Editor's Prediction

Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona

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