Historic rivals AFC Ajax return to face Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ajax was a force to be wreckoned with in 1970′s and the 1990′s. Not so much in recent times. Last time these two teams faced each other in the 2010-2011 Group Stage, Los Merengues were able to finish off the team from Amsterdam with ease. That said, Ajax have started their Champions League campaign reasonably well and were able to hold Lyon to a nil nil draw in the home opener.
Ajax are currently in third place in the Eredivisie after 7 games in a very tight race. However they drew on the weekend against Twente, who currently are on top of the table. With a win, Ajax could have leapfrogged to the top. Unfortunately, they allowed in a late equalizer with their eyes on the Champions league game. Meanwhile Los Blancos have recouped after their recent blip and thrashed Rayo Vallecano at home, scoring for the fun of it with a secondary backline due to injuries.
Key Matchups:
Ajax defense vs Ronaldo, Di Maria, and Benzema. Ajax has a very young, speedy backline consisting of Van der Wiel, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, and Boilesen. Van der Wiel has been courted by Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham this past summer. This match will be no cakewalk, but I still believe that the powerful counterattack of Los Blancos will be successful against the young backline.
Ajax strike force vs Ramos, Albiol, Varane, and Arbeloa. AFC Ajax normally plays a 4-3-3, which means at least one of the Madrid fullbacks Ramos or Arbeloa will need to stay back. Arbeloa is not a natural leftback, while Ramos might need to stay back due the makeshift Madrid backline. Both Albiol and Varane and decent players, however they have played very few games and are still learning each other’s moves and positioning. Sulejmani, Sigthorsson, and Boerrigter will be a handful for the team. This probably is the area where Real Madrid is most vulnerable. But it is a home game and as the cliche goes the best defense is a good offense.
Probable Line Up for Real Madrid:
Marcelo was sent off against Dinamo Zagreb and will miss this game due to suspension. Pepe, Carvalho and Coentrao are all still doubtful due to injury. The only change in the backline from the Rayo Vallecano game is at left back. I expect Arbeloa to play there as he does from time to time for Vicente Del Bosque. Khedira will most likely pair up with Xabi Alonso in the double pivot as I expect Mou to come out defensive initially. I expect Kaka to start on the bench, but come in during the second half, especially if El Madrid needs creativity and goals.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Manchester United – Basel Preview: The Red Devils look for their first win in the Champions League this season
De Gea
Valencia, Jones, Evans, Evra
Nani, Giggs, Carrick, Park
Berbatov, Owen
The Red Devils are missing a number of players including Wayne Rooney who missed the trip to Stoke, which will make it difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson to rest many of his starting Premier League XI.
BASEL
Sommer
Steinhofer, Kovac, Dragovic, Voser
Shaqiri, Yapo, Tembo, Zoua
Frei, Streller
The Swiss side have a relatively full squad to choose from but will be without central midfielder Benjamin Huggel who was sent off in the win over Otelul Galati. Former West Ham defender Radoslav Kovac is expected to start.
Manchester United continue to roll and come into their next match against Basel with a perfect record in the Champions League.
The Red Devils are a dangerous team that seems to be hitting their stride. They have a perfect combination of talented youth and veteran presence that is making them incredibly difficult to stop.
While Basel have the pieces and players in position to compete, the fact of the matter is that they are going to struggle to even compete with this rolling United Club.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been pushing all the correct buttons so far, but he's going to have to keep his club focused and determined as they head into this matchup.
It may be easy to sleep on Basel, but counting them out completely would be foolish.
Valencia, Jones, Evans, Evra
Nani, Giggs, Carrick, Park
Berbatov, Owen
The Red Devils are missing a number of players including Wayne Rooney who missed the trip to Stoke, which will make it difficult for Sir Alex Ferguson to rest many of his starting Premier League XI.
BASEL
Sommer
Steinhofer, Kovac, Dragovic, Voser
Shaqiri, Yapo, Tembo, Zoua
Frei, Streller
The Swiss side have a relatively full squad to choose from but will be without central midfielder Benjamin Huggel who was sent off in the win over Otelul Galati. Former West Ham defender Radoslav Kovac is expected to start.
Manchester United continue to roll and come into their next match against Basel with a perfect record in the Champions League.
The Red Devils are a dangerous team that seems to be hitting their stride. They have a perfect combination of talented youth and veteran presence that is making them incredibly difficult to stop.
While Basel have the pieces and players in position to compete, the fact of the matter is that they are going to struggle to even compete with this rolling United Club.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been pushing all the correct buttons so far, but he's going to have to keep his club focused and determined as they head into this matchup.
It may be easy to sleep on Basel, but counting them out completely would be foolish.
Champions League Preview: CSKA Moscow vs Inter
WATCH HERE>>>
Inter (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Nagatomo, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu; Coutinho, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Obi; Pazzini, Milito
Wesley Sneijder has been ruled out of the upcoming clash with a muscle problem. Maicon, Thiago Motta and Dejan Stankovic will also miss the encounter in Russia due to an assortment of injuries, while Diego Forlan is cup-tied.
CSKA Moscow (4-3-1-2): Gabulov; V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, Nababkin, A.Berezutski; Aldonin, Cauna, Tosic; Dzagoev; Love, Doumbia
Vagner Love is reportedly being tracked by Serie A club Roma after CSKA president Yevgeny Giner admitted that the Brazilian will likely be sold in January. Igor Akinfeev is out with a long-term knee injury and will miss the match.
Inter (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Nagatomo, Lucio, Samuel, Chivu; Coutinho, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Obi; Pazzini, Milito
Wesley Sneijder has been ruled out of the upcoming clash with a muscle problem. Maicon, Thiago Motta and Dejan Stankovic will also miss the encounter in Russia due to an assortment of injuries, while Diego Forlan is cup-tied.
CSKA Moscow (4-3-1-2): Gabulov; V. Berezutski, Ignashevich, Nababkin, A.Berezutski; Aldonin, Cauna, Tosic; Dzagoev; Love, Doumbia
Vagner Love is reportedly being tracked by Serie A club Roma after CSKA president Yevgeny Giner admitted that the Brazilian will likely be sold in January. Igor Akinfeev is out with a long-term knee injury and will miss the match.
Europa League Preview: Napoli – Villarreal
Though the Europa League is often looked down upon, it is a competition that can still throw up some tremendous fixtures, and one such encounter is set to be played out in Naples on Thursday evening, when Napoli host Villarreal.
Walter Mazzarri has guided the Azzurri into second position in Serie A, and unbeaten at home since the middle of October, the Italian outfit will be confident of laying a strong foundation for the second leg of this encounter after only qualifying to this stage thanks to a win over Steaua at the San Paolo back in December.
The league is Napoli’s main objective for this campaign, and to that end they took a step towards leaders Milan and Saturday evening as they defeated Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Edison Cavani caught the headlines at the weekend at the continued his strong form with a brace, and the 24-year-old will be the main threat to Villarreal in midweek should he be deployed.
“It's a high level game, and for them it will be game of the year, and so the game will be even more interesting,” Mazzarri explained to the media. “We are moving forward and we always getting better.
“It will be a fascinating duel and I want to see an important performance from my team.”
Napoli’s side are greener than their guests when it comes to European competition, and though they are underdogs to progress, a good performance Campania on Thursday could be enough to turn the tables going into the second leg.
Hurt By Injuries
Recent weeks have seen a slip in the standards of the Yellow Submarine. Right up until the end of January, they still commanded a strong third position in the Primera Division, even if Real Madrid and Barcelona had worked themselves out of sight. Back-to-back 1-0 losses against Levante and Deportivo La Coruna have served to shock the east coast club, who will try to bounce back in Europe.
Head coach Juan Carlos Garrido was disappointed with the tame nature of his side’s display in Galicia last weekend and wants better on Thursday.
“In the match we have worked hard, but this defeat hurts, and we must now react quickly both in Europe and in La Liga,” he explained. “We need to give maximum performance, when we play so many games with such intensity it is normal to have these problems with injuries, and we have accumulated many. This affects the performance of the team.”
With pundits salivating over the prospect of an open and entertaining encounter in midweek, exciting attacking midfielder Santi Cazorla has stated he feels the same. “It is a very nice game for everyone; for our opponents and the fans. We know many of their players like [Marek] Hamsik or [Edinson] Cavani, and we know that they are very dangerous. They are second in Italy, which means we know that they are doing very well.
“Right now, we are only thinking of the Europa League. It is an important game for us because we have had two games without a win. There is no need to panic, and there is no talk of crisis.”
Away from home, Villarreal tend not to hit their best form, so keeping the match close ahead of the second leg must be their target.
Walter Mazzarri has guided the Azzurri into second position in Serie A, and unbeaten at home since the middle of October, the Italian outfit will be confident of laying a strong foundation for the second leg of this encounter after only qualifying to this stage thanks to a win over Steaua at the San Paolo back in December.
The league is Napoli’s main objective for this campaign, and to that end they took a step towards leaders Milan and Saturday evening as they defeated Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. Edison Cavani caught the headlines at the weekend at the continued his strong form with a brace, and the 24-year-old will be the main threat to Villarreal in midweek should he be deployed.
“It's a high level game, and for them it will be game of the year, and so the game will be even more interesting,” Mazzarri explained to the media. “We are moving forward and we always getting better.
“It will be a fascinating duel and I want to see an important performance from my team.”
Napoli’s side are greener than their guests when it comes to European competition, and though they are underdogs to progress, a good performance Campania on Thursday could be enough to turn the tables going into the second leg.
Hurt By Injuries
Recent weeks have seen a slip in the standards of the Yellow Submarine. Right up until the end of January, they still commanded a strong third position in the Primera Division, even if Real Madrid and Barcelona had worked themselves out of sight. Back-to-back 1-0 losses against Levante and Deportivo La Coruna have served to shock the east coast club, who will try to bounce back in Europe.
Head coach Juan Carlos Garrido was disappointed with the tame nature of his side’s display in Galicia last weekend and wants better on Thursday.
“In the match we have worked hard, but this defeat hurts, and we must now react quickly both in Europe and in La Liga,” he explained. “We need to give maximum performance, when we play so many games with such intensity it is normal to have these problems with injuries, and we have accumulated many. This affects the performance of the team.”
With pundits salivating over the prospect of an open and entertaining encounter in midweek, exciting attacking midfielder Santi Cazorla has stated he feels the same. “It is a very nice game for everyone; for our opponents and the fans. We know many of their players like [Marek] Hamsik or [Edinson] Cavani, and we know that they are very dangerous. They are second in Italy, which means we know that they are doing very well.
“Right now, we are only thinking of the Europa League. It is an important game for us because we have had two games without a win. There is no need to panic, and there is no talk of crisis.”
Away from home, Villarreal tend not to hit their best form, so keeping the match close ahead of the second leg must be their target.
Bayern Munich vs Manchester City Preview: Roberto Mancini Tests Credentials in Germany
If Napoli impressive counter-attack and tactical nous is not surprising enough, a trip to the Allianz Arena Manchester City will not leave any doubt about what it takes to make it to the table soccer.
City supporters are licking their lips about what might lie ahead, after five wins from their opening six Premier League matches, scoring 19 goals.
But Bayern, four-times European Cup winners, boast the kind of pedigree it will take City decades to match.
And the current crop are living up to their illustrious name, having won their last nine matches in a row without conceding a single goal.
Forget Barcelona for once, some of the finest attacking talent in world football will go head to head in Bavaria, with Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez going head to head with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri.
Watch the Bayern Munich vs Manchester City in your home, make the for your favorite game match in this day. who will be the winner in the game match the Bayern Munich vs Manchester City? We hope it will be your team.
City supporters are licking their lips about what might lie ahead, after five wins from their opening six Premier League matches, scoring 19 goals.
But Bayern, four-times European Cup winners, boast the kind of pedigree it will take City decades to match.
And the current crop are living up to their illustrious name, having won their last nine matches in a row without conceding a single goal.
Forget Barcelona for once, some of the finest attacking talent in world football will go head to head in Bavaria, with Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez going head to head with David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri.
Watch the Bayern Munich vs Manchester City in your home, make the for your favorite game match in this day. who will be the winner in the game match the Bayern Munich vs Manchester City? We hope it will be your team.
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