A handful of big
fixtures across Europe over the next couple of days – Marseille
face PSG, Sporting entertain Benfica and Catania travel to Lecce. La
Gazzetta dello Sport hailed the last fixture as the biggest game
since the 1934 World Cup final where, of course, Squadra Azzurra won
their first World Cup title.
Let's have a look
at some selected games then.
Stoke v Blackburn (26.11, 12:45)
1 (1.75)
Both sides are struggling, with Stoke
seemingly unable to match their very succesful European campaign with
the domestic duties and Blackburn...just generally being painfully
average at best (and just very bad most of the time). 14 conceded in
the last 4 games and back to back defeats at home mean The Potters
really need to find form or else it might be too late. With Peter
Crouch doubtful they'll have to rely on the services of messrs
Fuller, Walters, Jerome and Jones and Blackburn are likely to miss
Samba and Olson. Stoke could seek consolation in the fact they've had
only 1 point more at that stage last season but it's a bit like
comparing saying that despite a bad start you're still doing better
than, say Wigan – this is not an excuse. Speaking of which, Tony
Pulis is not a man looking for them – however if his team fail to
bounce back now (with an entire week to prepare for it) he might just
start blaming the towel boys for not providing Rory Delap with
perfectly dry ones.
Chelsea v Wolverhampton (26.11,
15:00) Daniel Sturridge to score any time (1.75)
Chelsea had the worst start to the
season since Roman Abramovich took over in 2003 and their Champions
League problems are only making it worse. Villas-Boas claims he
doesn't need help but it seems that if Chelsea do not win this
fixture he might need Usain Bolt's advice, especially keeping in mind
what happened to previous, mildly unsuccessful Chelsea managers.
Daniel Sturridge is one of the players who still look menacing and
with Anelka's impending departure combined with the need to get 3
points I think AVB might start the young striker. Wolves are without
Jamie O'Hara and Stephen Hunt which is definitely going in Chelsea's
favour.
Norwich v QPR (26.11, 15:00)
both teams to score (1.65)
Norwich only once failed to score at
home (v WBA, back in early September) and QPR have registered 3 of
their 4 wins on the road this season, twice scoring 3 goals (v Stoke
last week and v Wolves 2 months ago). I think it's going to be an
open game with both teams really going at it and extending their
dream of finishing in the top 10.
Sunderland v Wigan (26.11,
15:00) 1 (1.67)
Sunderland have difficulties finding
the net however Wigan have managed to concede nearly 2 goals a game
on average....which is extremely worrying when you think we're fast
almost in December. Sunderland have only lost 2 out of 6 games at
home soil. Steve Bruce won only 28% of games at Sunderland but with
the return of Seb Larsson – who normally inspired the side to at
least try to play attacking football – they should have just enough
to win and make that winning record look a tad more respectful. Also,
Mohamed Diame has scored in each of his two visits at Sunderland.
Fact.
Liverpool v Manchester City
(27.11, 16:00) X (3.20)
The big question is how Mancini's boys
are going to bounce back after the mid-week defeat at Napoli? Last
time (0:2 v Bayern, when the whole Tevez saga really kicked-off) they
went on to demolish Blackburn 4:0. However Liverpool haven't lost
since the mid-Septmeber 0:4 drubbing at White Hart Lane and have
produced football of a very high tactical quality at Stamford Bridge
which proved enough to get a vital 2:1 victory. Much ink has been
spilled (including the virtual one which yours humbly has engaged in,
too) over the attacking prowess of The Citizens and it's going to be
extremely interesting to see them clash with the defensively resolute
and dangerous on the break Liverpool. Charlie Adam's searching
passess will be extremely dangerous, espcially when one realised how
adventurous City's full back are; but then again, Aguero could quite
literally turn Skrtel upside down with his ability to change
direction in a split second.
Atalanta Bergamo v Napoli
(26.11, 19:45) X either at halftime or fulltime (1.60)
Napoli are surely going to be elated
with their victory over Man City on Tuesday. A really good all-round
performance from the entire team – with special mentions going to
Cavani, de Sanctis and midfield general Gargano – has seen off an
incredibly potent force. However Atalanta are unbeaten at home and
have lost only 2 games so far; don't be deceived by their 13th
position, it's just that the Serie A table is flat like Ally McBeal.
There won't be many goals scored – Napoli conceded only 7 overall
and Atalanta scored a misrable 5 at Atleti Azzurri d'Italia – and
noe also needs to take into consideration that Napoli have a very
important game v Juventus next week.
Lazio v Juventus (26.11, 19:45)
under 2,5 goals (1.75)
The second takes on the first. Lazio
haven't lost in 9, Juventus are yet to find a side better than them
in the league. Lazio don't score much at Stadio Olimpico; Bianconeri
aren't exactly Real Madrid of the 50's away from their ground (I was
this close to writing Delle Alpi, sadly it's not with us anymore...).
Antonio Conte, himself a strong and spirited midfielder for Juve,
recently masterminded a back to back wins over Fiorentina, Inter and
Palermo owing much to the great form of his attacking midfielder
Claudio Marchisio. Only Napoli and...Juve are better defensively than
Edoardo Reja's side (8 as opposed to 7 conceded). I believe we're in
for some solid football here albeit not one with many goals. Under
2.5 goals seems like a safe prospect.
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid
(26.11, 19:00) over 4,5 goals (2.65)
El Madrileno derby, something at least
half of the city looks forward to every half a year or so (or, well,
most of the seasons when they are in the top flight). Real are
enjoying a superb spell of form, beating every opposition. Atletico,
on the other hand, are typically inconsistent – 4 wins, 4 draws and
guess what, 4 defeats. Their games are usually very exciting for
neutrals and this one should provide a lot of goals too although this
could quickly turn into one way traffic, provided the three attacking
muskeeters Arda Turan – Jose Antonio Reyes – Diego will be cut
off this should be more than enough to nullify the threat posed by
Adrian (who will most probably start, in light of Falcao's continuing
health issues). Atletico last beat their arch-rivals back in the
99/00 season so when they boasted players like Jimmy-Floyd
Hasselbaink and Kiko up front (and, funnily enough, got relegated)
and no one expected Clarence Seedorf to lose those beautiful
dreadlocks.
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke 04
(26.11, 14:30) Robert Lewandowski to score any time (2.45)
One of the biggest rivalries in
Bundesliga. Schalke have got a far better record agains Jurgen
Klopp's side, losing only 3 of the last 25 games! Borussia have
beaten Bayern last week only to minimise their chances of progression
to the knock-out stages of the Champions League by losing 2:1 to
Arsenal (mathematically they can still go through with other results
going their way). They have not only lost on the pitch but have also
lost Sven Bender who have arguably been one of the strongest links in
Dortmund. Schalke will probably play Raul lurking just behind
Huntelaar which, in the absence of Farfan, works quite well for them.
However, Lewandowski has scored all his 8 goals at Signal Iduna park
and having only assisted to his teammates lately is most definitely
wanting to finally leave his mark in a massive game like this one.
Toulouse v Valenciennes (26.11,
18:00) under 2,5 goals (1.50)
Valenciennes have won 2 of their last
32 (!) away games. Now that's a shocking bit of statistics. Toulouse
haven't been impressive as of late either, scoring a laughable 1 in 6
of their last games. Toulouse manager, Alain Cassanova, has been
experimenting with the out-of-favour 4-1-4-1 formation but with
Daniel Braaten often acting as a second striker and the midfield
looking quite compressed. There's also a man called Pele in the
Toulouse team, any relation to either the Brazilian Pele or Abedi
Pele has not been established. There really isn't that much you can
say about this game.
And finally some more fixtures I had a
closer look at:
Bolton v Everton (26.11, 15:00)
Klasnic to score any time (3.00)
Manchester United v Newcastle United
(26.11, 15:00) over 1,5 goals in the 2nd half (1.95)
Palermo v Fiorentina (27.11, 14:00)
1 (2.20)
Siena v Inter Milan (27.11, 14:00) X
(3.25)
AC Milan v Chievo (27.11, 19:45) 1
to score in both halves (2.05)
Rayo Vallecano v Valencia (26.11,
17:00) both teams to score (1.95)
Lille v Brest (26.11, 20:00) Eden
Hazard to score any time (2.70)
PSV Eindhoven v FC Groningen (26.11,
19:45) Wijnaldum to score any time (no odds on bwin)
FC Twente Enschede v Vitesse Arnhem
(27.11, 15:30) 1 to win and over 1,5 goals combined (1.65)
FC Porto v Braga (27.11, 18:15) 1
(1.44)
Celtic v St. Mirren (26.11, 15:00)
Anthony Stokes to score at any time (no odds on bwin)
Korona Kielce v Legia Warszawa
(26.11, 17:00) X/2 (5.00)
Lech Poznan v Widzew Łódź (27.11,
16:00) 1 (1.50)
Lechia Gdańsk v Ruch Chorzów
(28.11, 17:30) under 2,5 goals (1.62)
Bonne chance!
