Fleetwood Town can consolidate pole position at the top of the Blue Square Premier on Friday – and Stuttgart should not be scoffed at at odds-on to beat rock-bottom Kaiserslautern in Germany’s Bundesliga.
Kidderminster v Fleetwood
Conference table-toppers Fleetwood look well priced at evens to collect maximum points away to Kidderminster on Friday. The Cod Army have not lost on the road since early September last year and have only conceded two goals in their last six away trips. They could go eight points clear of nearest-challengers Wrexham at the top of the Blue Square Premier and in midweek proved the can go to the final whistle when securing a last-gasp win at home to Grimsby Town.
Andy Mangan and Jamie Vardy have more than 40 goals between them so far this season and, given that Kidderminster have not kept a clean sheet at home in five in the Conference, will again be looking to get among the goals.
Even relegation-threatened Hayes and Yeading managed to find the net at Aggborough Stadium and the recent home form about Steve Burr’s men does not bode well for the visit of the league leaders. Harriers (9/4, draw 9/4 – totesport match prices) have lost their last two on home soil and have only won one of their last seven games in all competitions.
Chievo v Inter Milan
Claudio Ranieri will roll out his big guns when Internazionale make the trip to the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in Verona to take on Chievo attempting to end a nine-game winless run. The Nerazzurri ended a five-game losing stretch with a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Catania last Sunday, but it was not enough to stop speculation about the future of under-pressure coach Ranieri.
Goals have become a major issue for Inter – prior to last weekend they had not scored in five games in all competitions – but the Italian will again turn to Diego Forlan and Diego Milito for a solution. Inter also have the small task of overturning a 1-0 first-leg defeat by Marseille in the Champions League next week, but Ranieri cannot afford to be tinkering at such a critical stage of his Nerazzurri tenure.
Chievo must not be underestimated home – they have only lost three in Serie A all season – but they have only scored 11 goals in the top flight in Verona, only Cesena (nine) have scored less goals at home, so it may play to go with a low-goals projection.
Stuttgart v Kaiserslautern
Free-scoring Stuttgart will view the visit of basement club Kaiserslautern as a perfect opportunity to make it three wins on the bounce at Mercedes-Benz-Arena.
The recent visits of fellow strugglers Hertha Berlin and Freiburg can be used as collateral lines of form and Die Roten run out comfortable winners, prevailing 5-0 and 4-1 respectively, with in-form striker Martin Harnik helping himself to five goals over the two games.
Kaiserslautern simply do not travel well – they have won only one game on the road this season – and have conceded in every away trip in Bundesliga. They have only won three top-flight games all season and not scored in 180 minutes, while they are also the joint-lowest scorers on the road with Nurnberg with nine.
As such Stuttgart are priced accordingly (4/7 draw 14/5 Kaiserslautern 9/2 – totesport match prices), but it may pay to follow the 5/4 about Stuttgart half-time/full-time given that this would have landed in their last two games.
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