Valencia v Atlético Madrid: Preview
Last 3 Matches
Real Madrid v Valencia (L- 1:0) Espanyol v Atletico Madrid (W- 2:3)
Valencia v Espanyol (W- 2:1) Atletico Madrid v Real Betis (W- 2:0)
Barcelona v Valencia (L- 4:0) Sporting Gijon v Atletico Madrid (W- 2:5)
Valencia goalkeeper Renan Brito has urged the fans to turn the Mestalla into a “fortress” as they look to see off Atletico Madrid. Victory would send fourth-placed Valencia into second place ahead of the bulk of the weekend’s fixtures on Sunday.
Los Che are behind third-spotted Atletico on goal difference alone but have dropped points against the rest of the top five – drawing against Sevilla and losing heavily to Barcelona, before suffering a narrow defeat at Real Madrid.
They trail runaway Primera Liga leaders Barcelona by 11 points and Brito has encouraged the supporters to be in full voice tomorrow as they aim to narrow the gap.
“The only thing we want is to win to reach second spot and reduce the points advantage that Barca have,” he said. “We want to have a great game and for the Mestalla to be a fortress. With the strength of the fans I am sure that we will play better. “La Liga is characterised by having great players in attack. Atletico Madrid have players like Sergio Aguero, Diego Forlan and Simao. “We also have great players and they also have to worry about David Villa, Juan Mata, etc.
“It will be a great challenge for us to play against a club like this. I hope the fans see a good match.” Such is the importance of the match, Valencia were the only team to train in the morning on New Year’s Day – something Brito feels they were right to do.
“We had to train on January 1 because we have very important games,” said the young Brazilian. “We have to have the mentality that in our job we depend on being physically fit and it is normal that we train.”
Long-term absentees Pablo Hernandez, Edu and Miguel Angel Angulo all miss out again, while Nikola Zigic has rejoined Racing Santander.
Atletico are on an impressive run at the moment having won four league matches in a row and they are unbeaten in all competitions since losing at home to Real Madrid back in October. Midfielder Raul Garcia hopes they can continue their good form into the new year.
“Last year was a good year for the team,” he said. “When the season began we had a few difficult games, but we knew how to recover and began to climb up the table so we reached third spot.
“I believe you have to have patience with the technical staff and with the players. We are working well and this is having its results. “We have to continue in the same way as the last few games and do things as well as we can. “We have a difficult game now, against a direct rival in Valencia and we have to pick up the three points.”
Sergio Aguero has recovered from a knock and is back in the starting line-up, while Georgios Seitaridis could also feature following several weeks on the sidelines.
Maxi and Maniche will not make the trip to Valencia as they have slight injuries and coach Javier Aguirre does not want to risk them ahead of the cup clash against Barcelona. The pair will be replaced by Luis Garcia and Raul Garcia.
Back From Holidays!
I have been away for holidays for more than 2 weeks, but I still kept a closed eye on what’s happening in top division football leagues. I have to say that the results have caught me by surprise, especially on the poor form of Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea (the away form in the Champions League), and also the “resurrection” of Tottenham Hotspur.
Nevertheless, we shouldn’t feel paranoid. When there’s up, there’s always down, as it’s true in the law of physics. Just watch out for Real Madrid, as they’ll bounce back, especially after the winter break. So, at the moment, don’t “touch” Real Madrid. Also, be careful of Chelsea’s poor away form in the Champions League. The lost of Arsenal to Aston Villa was another shock after their defeat to Hull City about a month ago. Arsenal’s title hope was OVER!!! But, it’s worth supporting them in the Champions League.
I’ll share with all of you my weekly football match predictions on this coming weekend. Surely, there’ll be more dramas as we come to the end of the first half of 2008/09 season.
36 goals scored during tonight’s Champions League matches
I would predict that tomorrow’s Champions League matches will have much less goals scored in total. This is a very strange phenomenon because it has happened before in past matches.
I made superb predictions tonight and won £1300. These are my predictions:
Single bet (accumulator) – Bayern Munich & Juventus & Lyon & Arsenal
Multiple bets (Super Yankee) – Bayern Munich or Draw, Arsenal or Draw, Juventus (Asian handicap 0, +0.5), Villarreal and Arsenal (Asian handicap +0.5)
I will be away on holiday. Thus, there’s no match predictions given on Champions League (matchday 3) and weekend’s football.
Newcastle United v Manchester City: Preview
Last 3 matches
Everton vs. Newcastle United (D- 2:2) Man City vs. Liverpool (L- 2:3)
Newcastle United vs. Blackburn Rovers (L- 1:2) Man City vs. Omonia Nicosia (W- 2:1)
Newcastle United vs. Tottenham Hotspur (L- 1:2) Wigan vs. Manchester City (L- 2:1)
History: Win (Newcastle United 6x, Man City 3x), Draw (1x)
GET ALL THE WEEKLY FOOTBALL MATCH PREDICTIONS + FREE PREDICTIONS NOW
Newcastle will be without Michael Owen for Monday night’s Barclays Premier League home match against Manchester City at St James’ Park. The 28-year-old striker could be out for up to 10 days with a groin strain, although a scan has at least shown there is no tear.
Habib Beye (Achilles) and Jonas Gutierrez (fractured collarbone) could return from their injuries, while Obafemi Martins (groin) is rated at 50-50. Midfielder Joey Barton will complete his six-game FA ban, while Mark Viduka (Achilles) and Alan Smith (stress fracture) remain on the long-term casualty list. Forgotten man Shola Ameobi is desperate for a chance to prove he can be Newcastle’s saviour. The 27-year-old has enjoyed the one-to-one attentions of interim manager Joe Kinnear at times in the last week after he vowed to turn him into a modern-day John Fashanu.
Ameobi, who might have left the club during the summer as a succession of Championship suitors tested the water, is ready to remind people of the player he believes he can be.
He said: “Football is a funny game at times. A week is a long time in football and I just take every week as it comes. “The game is about moving on and certainly, I thought that was the case for me, but it wasn’t to be. “I have just got to make the most of where I am, I have always said that, and hopefully I can help this team climb up that table. “We have got a couple of important games coming up and I want to be as fit as possible to help us achieve maximum points in those two games.”
Ameobi has not scored a league goal for his home-town club – he arrived on Tyneside from Nigeria as a child – since his penalty in a 2-1 home defeat by Bolton on October 15, 2006, and his last from open play came against Everton three weeks earlier.
However, with Australian Mark Viduka sidelined indefinitely, his physical prowess could be an asset, and that has been the focus for Kinnear.
Ameobi said: “It’s playing my position, it’s getting me into the old habits again, the old routines I used to have and playing as a centre-forward, which is obviously where I want to play.
“It’s getting me playing up top and staying there and being a target man for the team. “I certainly enjoy playing that role and hopefully I will get a chance to play there a bit more.”
Manchester City will be without winger Martin Petrov after the Bulgarian sustained knee ligament damage on international duty. City will also be without defender Pablo Zabaleta as he begins a three-match suspension after being sent off in the defeat by Liverpool.
Manager Mark Hughes expects Robinho to be available despite the Brazilian being substituted after taking a knock in his country’s international against Colombia.
Hughes is looking for his side to build up a head of steam and climb the table. He said: “We are not there yet. On our day we can give anyone a game because of the attacking and technical ability we have in the side.
“But if we are to challenge the top four, we have to win on a consistent basis. That’s what the top four teams do.
“We do not have that capacity yet. We are working on that and trying to get better. We could do with winning five or six games on the trot as that would help our cause.”
Former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Hughes came up against Kinnear in the 1990s when he was manager of Wimbledon. He believes the 61-year-old has a different kind of job to perform now on Tyneside.
Hughes said: “Joe’s teams had a certain style of play you had to combat. You had to stand up to the fight.
“I think what he is trying to do now is instil a little bit more confidence into a very good group of players.
“What Newcastle lack is that confidence of winning games, week-in, week out.
“There is a lot of pressure on them from lots of outside influences and from themselves as well.
“They are good players who maybe have not performed as people would expect them to. It is a case of building their confidence.”
