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Preview
Shakhtar Donetsk have already qualified to the next stage of the tournament, but the situation in the group is still relatively delicate. If the outcome of this game is a draw, Juventus will finish second and the current
champions will have to say goodbye to the Champions League. Furthermore, if the guests win this match, they will replace Shakhtar in the first position and enjoy the advantage of winning the group.
However, after the fabulous performance of the hosts in this severe group, it is unlikely that they will hand out the first place easily. Rafa Benitez is certanly hoping for Shakhtar to win, which will give Chelsea the opportunity to
take the second place in the group. The Champions League is a specialty of Rafa Benitez and after the poor results in the Premier League, the strongest tournament in the world remains a great option for Londoners to please their supporters.
Borussia have secured the first place in the group and Real the second. The only question in Group D is, which team will occupy the third position giving the right to participate in the Europa League. Manchester City is behind only one point the third-placed Ajax and victory in this visit is a must for the team. It would be rather interesting to see Mancini's team approach in this game, because some experts suggest that the manager prefers to leave the League in order to concentrate solely on the Premiership.
Udinese did not manage to win a single game out of their last 5 league matches. Furthermore, the team have lost their last two Europa League games. After the poor results Udinese gradually droped
in the table and are now just five points from the 18th Siena. Coach Francesco Guidolin is facing one of the most difficult
times leading the team as once again he won`t be able to rely on 6th players, which are injured. These are Luis Muriel, Giampiero Pinzi, Andrea Lazzari, Maurizio Domizzi, Mehdi Benatia and
Dusan Basta.
Manchester City have won 29 of their last 31 home games in the Premiership. Mancini's players are devastating most of their opponents, while playing at home.
In turn, Everton are unbeaten in 21 of their last 23 league games. However, there have been a lot of draw matches for Everton as 4 out of their last 6 games have resulted in draws.
For the past decade, the derby for Madrid have never seemed so challenging and unpredictable than the one this Saturday. The guests from Atletico Madrid do not have a single win in the last 20
matches against Real Madrid in La Liga. Back in 1999 was the last victory for Atletico Madrid. Perhaps the time for the "Rojiblancos" to triumph has come as the amazing Radamel Falcao leads their attack.
The current form of Atletico is probably the best in recent years. The ranking in La Liga is eloquent enough as Atletico are at the second place with 8 points ahead of Real Madrid and by only 3 behind the leader Barcelona.
The fight in the Premiership for Liverpool continues with a home game agaist a team that won 8 points of their last 4 matches(2 wins;2 draws). For Liverpool, however, the statistics are not so promissing as the team have
won only once in their last 6 games. If Southampton takes the three points from this match, this will put them just one point behind Liverpool. Both teams have not met since 2005 as 3 of their last 4 matches agains each other
have resulted in a Southampton win.
Newcastle's long injury list is the main reason for them to lose their last 3 games in a row. This losing streak and the inability to score goals have seen the team drop down the table
and leaves them in desperate need of a win. The poor performance of Newcastle have resulted in them droping down to the
14th place in the table and qualifying for the Europa League will be merely impossible, if they lose once again. There are five key players injured in the Newcastle squad - Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa,
Haris Vuckic, James Perch, Dan Gosling. Furthermore, Gabriel Obertan, Shola Ameobi and Ryan Taylor are doubtful to take part in this match.
Parma have won just two points from their last three games, but still remain in the top half of the table. The home team performes quite efficiently so far and thus
it is in the battle for the first 6 places. Inter also lost some points in recent matches of Serie A, therefore the victory in this game is a must. Inter players
did a good job so far and it would be a shame, if they lose points again and leave Juventus undisturbed at the top ot the table.
Chelsea FC and Manchester City face each other in a direct clash of the battle for the Premiership title.
If City wins this game, the team will again take the first place in the table, while the three points for Chelsea would put them close to
the first two teams. Rafael Benítez has a difficult debut as manager of Chelsea against the current champions of the league.
The outcome of this match is of great importance to Benitez, because he was not welcomed well by the
Chelsea fans. The main reason for the negative attitude of the fans towards the manager is his stay at the rival Liverpool.
This season Wigan is not convincing in their home games as until now the team has won only one of them (Wigan - West Ham: 2-1). Reading on the other hand, have not won a single game
as a guest in the league. Furthermore, the first win for Reading, overall in the Premiership, occured in the last round against Everton. Undoubtedly, this match is very important for both teams, as they are expected to be
direct rivals in the fight to stay in the Premier League.
The team of Hamburger already has two wins against teams at the bottom of the table as a guest - Augsburg and Greuther Fürth. In this round Hamburger again is visiting a team, which is threatened by
relegation - Fortuna Dusseldorf. Hamburger`s defence is one of the strongest in the league as in five of their last seven league games they have not conceded a goal. However, the attack of the team is rather inefficient
so far. The statistics shows only 12 goals in 12 matches in the Bundesliga, but those 12 goals have brought the team a total of 17 points and the ninth position in the table. In comparison, the 6th-placed Hannover is also with 17 points.
Lazio coach - Vladimir Petkovic will be able to rely on all his players for this game as there are no injured or suspended ones. For Tottenham Ekotto, Parker and Kaboul are going to miss
this match and Mousa Dembélé and Steven Caulker are questionable. Victory for the hosts would assure them going ahead in the next round of the Europa League. The same goes for the Spurs, but only if Maribor
does not win their game against Panathinaikos.
Anderlecht faces Milan in a direct clash for qualifying in the Champions League eliminations stage. For the team of Anderlecht the dream of the 1/8 finals seems rather achievable now, but they must win this match.
Only one point separates these two teams and the home win would put Anderlecht in a very favorable position, since in the next match they will visit the already qualified Malaga.
Winning this game for any of these teams will be decisive in the battle for continuing to the next stage of the Champions League. Valencia and Bayern share the first place with a total of 9 points, but BATE Borisov is
only 3 points behind and in this round has the achievable task to beat Lille and stay in the fight for the top of the table. Bayern München has easily won the previous match against Valencia, but must pay attention to the fact
that the Bats are very successful in their home games(seven wins and a draw in the last eight home matches).
The champions of Italy face the Champions League trophy holder in a direct match for the first two standings in the group. The situation in Group E is quite complicated and even this game will not give complete clarity about who will continue on to the elimination phase. Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk have 7 points, while Juventus has a total of 6 points. Success in this match is crucial for both teams, and the draw could cost them the first place in the group in favor of Shakhtar.
The games between these two teams were always very tough as 42% of them ended in draws.
The table positions occupied by Mainz and Hamburger enable them to try to get at the top 6 teams in the league. The direct clash between these two teams can play a
major role in the final standings and this fact no doubt is being considered by both coaches.
Two of the most aggressive team formations in La Liga face each other this Saturday. Aggression unfortunately does not apply to attacking and spectacular football, but to a lot of hard tackles and consequently
many yellow and red cards for the players. The statistics are as follows: for Valencia 38 yellow cards and 4 red, while Espanyol - 41 yellow and 5 red cards.
Espanyol`s style of play provokes rough football at their rivals and keeping in mind that Valencia is not much of a fair play team, we can expect a brutal encounter.
After the thrilling London derby between Arsenal and Fulham last week, there is one more to come for Arsenal, but this time the opponent is Tottenham.
If there is one thing that we can state for sure, it is that both teams play an attractive football as they score a lot, but often conceide a lot goals.
In their previous last 6 games, both teams have kept only one clean sheet. All the football fans are certainly expecting this match to end with many goals
and great doze of emotions. Since 2009, all the games between Arsenal and Tottenham in the Premier League, have ended with at least three goals scored.
Sunderland’s style of play is not bad, but the results are yet to come, as in Sunday`s match against Fulham, Martin O’Neil’s players will seek for the first of the season win as a guest. The attack quality of Sunderland is beneath criticism, as the team strikers Louis Saha, Coner Wickham and Ji Dong-Won have not scored a single goal yet. Still the players tend to join the matches as substitutes so far, and 5 out of the 6 goals for Sunderland are scored by Steven Fletcher who is now taking the position of a forward despite the fact that he is very effective attacking midfielder.
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Quwa Al Jawiya are unbeaten in 36 of their 40 most recent matches (Premier League) Zawra'a Baghdad haven't lost any of their last 18 matches in Premier League Nautico have achieved just 2 wins in their 15 most recent games in Serie C Under 2.5 goals were seen in Londrina's last 7 matches in Serie C A series of 7 consecutive 2. Division wins mark IL Hodd's latest record In their last 4 games in Premier League, FK Atyrau have managed to keep a clean sheet We have seen 3 consecutive defeats in the most recent games in Nacional B of Quilmes AC No goals have been scored in the last 3 K League 2 matches of Gyeongnam Nautico have achieved just 2 wins in their 15 most recent games in Serie C Palmeiras have a good record of 10 undefeated games of their last 12 home encounters in Brasileiro Serie A Brasiliense/DF have not been beaten in their last 8 straight clashes in Serie D Under 2.5 goals were seen in Londrina's last 7 matches in Serie C CRB/AL have succeeded in keeping a clean sheet in their most recent 5 home Serie B games Netherlands have achieved a run of 4 straight away wins in all competitions Confiança are on an unfortunate streak of 3 Serie C games where they have not managed to score a goal We have seen 3 consecutive defeats in the most recent games in Nacional B of Quilmes AC In all of their last 3 home games in Serie B, CRB/AL have managed to win at both half time and full time There are no losses for IF Elfsborg in 18 of their most recent 20 home games (Allsvenskan) In their 4 most recent home matches of Allsvenskan, IF Elfsborg have managet to win by 2+ goals There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Mjällby AIF's last 3 league games Quwa Al Jawiya are unbeaten in 36 of their 40 most recent matches (Premier League) Zawra'a Baghdad haven't lost any of their last 18 matches in Premier League Nautico have achieved just 2 wins in their 15 most recent games in Serie C Under 2.5 goals were seen in Londrina's last 7 matches in Serie C A series of 7 consecutive 2. Division wins mark IL Hodd's latest record In their 4 most recent home matches of Allsvenskan, IF Elfsborg have managet to win by 2+ goals In their last 4 games in Premier League, FK Atyrau have managed to keep a clean sheet No goals have been scored in the last 3 K League 2 matches of Gyeongnam Confiança have lost at HT/FT their last 3 league games We have seen 3 consecutive defeats in the most recent games in Nacional B of Quilmes AC
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