Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Match Day 3 Preview

Share




Bayern v Fiorentina



21 October 2008 20:45 (CET)
Fußball Arena München - Munich



FC Bayern München coach Jürgen Klinsmann believes his team can cast off their faltering domestic form and maintain their unbeaten start to the UEFA Champions League when they entertain ACF Fiorentina on Tuesday.

Klinsmann's major concern is the fitness of Luca Toni, who was forced off after bruising ribs in the first half on Saturday. "If Luca can play, he will play," said his coach, who can fall back on Lukas Podolski to partner Miroslav Klose if the Italian is unavailable to face his former club. "We're going to treat Fiorentina with respect, but we are going to impose ourselves on the game and not wait for Fiorentina to attack," added Klinsmann, who confirmed that Franck Ribéry has shaken off a shin injury.

Fiorentina have drawn their two Group F fixtures to date, but following some sparkling domestic form – with three wins in as many Serie A matches – they arrive in Bavaria in buoyant mood. "We're up against a team with many great players, but we're going to try and impose our own personality on the game," said Cesare Prandelli. The coach is without flu victim Martin Jørgensen, but is hopeful his decision to rest Adrian Mutu for Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Reggina Calcio will pay dividends.

Should the Romanian fail to recover from a knee injury sustained on international duty, Montenegrin Stevan Jovetić will start on the right side of a three-pronged attack alongside Mario Alberto Santana and the prolific Alberto Gilardino. The former AC Milan striker scored twice at the weekend to take his season's tally to nine in all competitions and bring up 100 goals in Serie A. With key defender Per Krøldrup missing after injuring an ankle in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, though, Prandelli is preoccupied with his defence


Juventus v Real Madrid

21 October 2008 20:45 (CET)
Stadio Olimpico - Turin



Despite enduring his most turbulent spell since taking charge at Juventus, birthday boy Claudio Ranieri was in confident mood ahead of the visit of Real Madrid CF, insisting his side had "absolutely nothing to lose". The Bianconeri are in the throes of a five-match winless sequence .

Ranieri's cause has not been helped by a crippling injury crisis, which worsened on Saturday when Christian Poulsen (thigh) joined a casualty list including David Trezeguet (knee), Jonathan Zebina (achilles), Cristiano Zanetti, Tiago, Mauro Camoranesi, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Nicola Legrottaglie and Olof Mellberg (all thigh) in the treatment room. There are hopes, though, that the last three will recover in time, while Mohamed Sissoko returns from the suspension that forced him out of the Napoli defeat.

Morale is high in the Merengues camp following their last-gasp victory in Saturday's Madrid derby. Ruud van Nistelrooy's early opener and a stoppage-time penalty from Gonzalo Higuaín sealed a 2-1 success at Club Atlético de Madrid, stretching the side's unbeaten run to eight matches, including the wins against BATE and Zenit.

We know that three points here will be a huge step towards qualifying," said Schuster, who may be deprived of Arjen Robben who has tweaked a thigh muscle. "The onus is on the hosts to get something, which could work in our favour. Their injuries have mounted up of late, but that could be dangerous for us. They are a resourceful side who know how to react to adversity."

Fenerbahce v Arsenal

Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, Istanbul

Kolo Toure has been ruled out of Arsenal's Champions League game at Fenerbahce after injuring his shoulder in Saturday's win over Everton.

Arsenal are also minus captain William Gallas and full-back Bacary Sagna.

Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner and Johan Djourou should recover from knocks in time to make the game in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce, who needed an injury-time winner to beat Turkish strugglers Kocaelispor at the weekend, could be without the injured Gokhan Gonul.

They are likely to with start with Spain striker Daniel Guiza up front on his own and Semih Senturk in a supporting role

Fenerbahce are bottom of Champions League Group G with one point from two matches, leaving manager Luis Aragones, who took over after winning Euro 2008 with Spain, fighting to save his job.

"We are going to play possibly the best team in the group," said the Spaniard. "That is why our fans have to build a good platform for us."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger knows their task will be made easier if they can silence the Turkish side's fans at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

"I have been involved in many games in Turkey. What is important is that you always have on the pitch the potential to quieten the supporters," said the Frenchman.



Man Utd v Celtic


Old Trafford
Tuesday, 21 October Kick-off: 1945 BST


Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo may be rested for Tuesday's Champions League tie against Celtic as he is still recovering from ankle surgery.

Patrice Evra (hamstring) is definitely out so John O'Shea is set to come in.

Midfielder Marc Crosas did not travel with Celtic's squad after suffering an injury in Saturday's win at Inverness, but Andreas Hinkel has made the trip.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Georgios Samaras and Chris Killen are out, but Gary Caldwell is expected to play.

United, meanwhile, can welcome Carlos Tevez and Anderson back from international duty, although Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves are still missing.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Brown, Neville, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Gibson, Park, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney, Manucho.

Celtic (from): Boruc, Caldwell, Wilson, McManus, Loovens, Naylor, McGeady, S Brown, Hinkel, Hartley, Robson, McDonald, Sheridan, Maloney, M Brown, McCourt, Hutchinson, Nakamura, O'Dea.



Steaua - Lyon

21 October 2008 20:45 (CET)
Steaua Stadium - Bucharest


FC Steaua Bucureşti head into Tuesday's meeting with Olympique Lyonnais knowing it is high time they scored in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage.

The root of Steaua's woes is their failure to score, with the side managing only two goals in their last five outings in all competitions. On that front Lăcătuş can at least take comfort in the fact his team have been creating chances: now he needs the likes of António Semedo, Dayro Moreno and Arthuro to take them. "I hope the goals we need come against Lyon," the coach said. "Every player wants to score, but it means making the right choice when they're face to face with the keeper. We've had a lot of chances, but we've not taken them. I think it's a lack of experience at this level – some of the players have never played in the Champions League before and it's not easy. But they're quality players and now they have to start showing it."

Lyon also had their advantage at the Ligue 1 summit cut to a point after drawing 2-2 against LOSC Lille Métropole on Saturday, and though they beat Steaua 3-0 when the clubs met two years ago they are unlikely to be so comfortable this time around. "Steaua are a lot better organised than they were. They're very disciplined and have great technical quality," warned Puel, whose team suffered their first defeat of the season on their return to domestic action after Matchday 2, losing 3-0 at Stade Rennais FC. "I said after the draw [for the group stage] that the four clubs are pretty much on the same level and that's what we're finding now. There are no favourites, but we've come here to win." Unlike Lăcătuş, Puel is having to cope with a growing injury list and John Mensah, Mathieu Bodmer, Fábio Santos and Sidney Govou are all out.

Villarreal - AaB

21 October 2008 20:45 (CET)
El Madrigal - Villarreal

Along with sustained success comes a flood of new challenges and for Villarreal CF coach Manuel Pellegrini that is all part of the fun of riding high in the UEFA Champions League and sitting joint second in the Liga.

Villarreal have injury doubts over Joan Capdevila, Santi Cazorla and Edmílson while Guille Franco should be fit to play. Sebastián Eguren, on the other hand, will miss both this and the return game against AaB in November. For visiting coach Bruce Rioch, at least the stream of injuries are decreasing to a trickle. "We are getting close to a full squad which is a relief," said the former Scottish international midfielder who has Andreas Johansson in contention and Jeppe Curth ready to play on the right. The biggest blow is the absence of Kasper Risgård who scored three times in ushering AaB through the qualifying rounds

Rioch believes that attitude, above all, will determine whether his team, who lie second from bottom in the Superligaen after Saturday's home loss to FC Nordsjælland, can take anything from El Madrigal. "The nature of football is that it's down to us to surprise everyone because this is a fantastic occasion but a really tough challenge," he said. "One has to have belief.

"Every single time I've left a dressing room as player or coach I've believed my side can win or at least get a result. Not many gave us a chance at Parkhead but I knew that night that my players believed." Defender Michael Jakobsen returns after a suspension incurred that evening and Rioch added: "We have learned through recent adversity and I'm looking forward to a great game of football."


Porto - Dynamo Kyiv


21 October 2008 20:45 (CET)
Estádio do Dragão - Porto


Jesualdo Ferreira is confident the pressure of needing to win will inspire his FC Porto side when they take on FC Dynamo Kyiv at the Estádio do Dragão.

Jesualdo, who hopes to be able to include Cristián Rodríguez but will be shorn of injured pair Fucile and Helton, is in his third season at the Dragão and is therefore well-versed in the unique demands of the competition. He is also pragmatic enough not to read too much into one result. "It's much too soon to start doing the maths – Arsenal have only one more point than us, so it's premature to say that Porto and Dynamo are battling for second place behind them," he pointed out. "The Arsenal game will mean nothing when we go into this one. We'll have a better idea of where we after this match."

Much of Dynamo's improvement can be put down to Yuri Semin. The 61-year-old coach was appointed last December just as the Ukrainian outfit were becoming only the eighth team to lose all six group matches, a humbling comedown for a club who were semi-finalists in 1998/99. Semin hopes for a better return than on Dynamo's last trip to Portugal, a 3-0 loss at Sporting Clube de Portugal, but is under no illusions. "Porto are a very strong side and are used to representing Portugal in Europe," he said. "They are well-organised and stick together as a group."

The former FC Lokomotiv Moskva boss, however, is relaxed after Dynamo's unbeaten opening, even if they are still to win in the group. "We have four games left, all of equal importance," he said. It is hardly a surprise that Semin is so sanguine – he won two Russian titles and guided Lokomotiv to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League in 2003/04, so knows what to expect. "Of course, there are some nerves, this is the Champions League," he said. "But we go into the match with optimism."




Zenit - BATE

21 October 2008 18:30 (CET)
Petrovsky - St Petersburg

With his team having failed so far to transfer their attacking brand of football to the UEFA Champions League, coach Dick Advocaat is urging caution from FC Zenit St. Petersburg as they host Group H's surprise package, FC BATE Borisov

Zenit are still without a point in their debut campaign in Europe's élite club competition after losing their opening two games, against Juventus and Real Madrid CF, and prop up the section after BATE got off the mark with an eye-catching 2-2 draw with the Italian giants last time out. "BATE are quick, very aggressive and have a lot of movement," warned Advocaat. "It's difficult to defend against sides like that and, though I don't think they will be as open as they were against Juventus, we will have to be very sharp and focused."

Kim Dong Jin and Viktor Fayzulin are knocking on the door of the first team, and Advocaat has all but Nicolas Lombaerts at his disposal. BATE counterpart Viktor Goncharenko is similarly blessed, with Aleksandr Ermakovich his only absentee, and the Borisov side arrive in St Petersburg in high spirits after taking another step towards the Belarussian title on Friday. A goalless draw away to nearest rivals FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk leaves the Vysshaya Liga leaders needing just six points from their five remaining matches to reclaim the crown


0 Comments:

World Of Currencies | Formula One RAcing