Liverpool

The two sides do battle again on Thursday having been involved in a closely fought contest two weeks ago, with a goalless draw in Italy.

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson could be tempted to play a stronger side for this clash, having fielded a number of youngsters for the away game in Naples.

Jonjo Shelvey, Jay Spearing,  Martin Kelly  and David Ngog all played at the San Paolo Stadium, but the likes of Christian Poulsen and Milan Jovanovic could come into the starting eleven.

Liverpool are dealing with a number of injuries including England winger Joe Cole, who is expected to be sidelined for two weeks, and Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who is also a doubt.

With a Premier League clash with defending champions Chelsea on Sunday and Liverpool still in the bottom half, several key players could still be rested.

The Reds have only conceded a single goal in the competition and they look a decent bet to win in front of their home fans without conceding a goal (Napoli 10/3 to score an away goal).

As for big spenders Manchester City, they travel to Poland to face Lech Poznan in what looks another tough test for Roberto Mancini’s men.

City have lost their last two league games and although they beat Lech 3-1 at home, the Polish outfit created several chances in the Eastlands clash.

The visitors will be without top goalscorer Carlos Tevez, who is not likely to return to action until his side’s derby clash with Manchester United on November 10.

Emanuel Adebayor is likely to start for City, after scoring a hat-trick in the last meeting, while Mario Balotelli is also available.

A fiery atmosphere at the Stadion Miejski will certainly aid the home side, who will feel they can cause a major upset (Poznan 9/2 to win) on Thursday.

The other stand-out fixtures this week see Italian giants Juventus taking on Salzburg at the Stadio Olimpico in City’s group. With the home side sitting fourth in the Serie A, they look too strong on paper for the Austrians.

Meanwhile, defending champions Athletico Madrid face Rosenburg and after a poor 1-1 draw with Almeria in La Liga, a difficult trip to Norway could see the Spanish side struggle (Rosenburg 13/5 to win).

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