Tag Archives: without

Can Spain reign without Villa?

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Reigning champions and 5/2 favourites Spain have been dealt a huge blow with the news star striker David Villa will miss this summer’s European Championship.

The Barcelona forward suffered a fractured tibia in December and has been sidelined since.

Vicente del Bosque had stated he would give Villa every chance to prove his fitness but the Spain coach, who will name his 23-man squad on Sunday, has now confirmed the striker will not be heading to Poland and Ukraine.

A Spanish Football Federation statement said: “David Villa spoke with Del Bosque, who relayed that although it was Villa’s wish to be with the team in Poland and Ukraine, that his physical state was ‘not as good’ as would be desirable.”

Villa’s goals were crucial for Spain in their Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 successes.  The former Valencia man was the top scorer in 2008 and joint top scorer in 2010, narrowly missing out on the golden boot to Germany’s Thomas Muller, who had more assists.

It remains to be seen if Spain can be as dominant as they have been in recent years without Villa’s goals, but they have plenty of quality in other areas and other forwards who could step up and shoulder the goal scoring responsibility.

Chelsea’s Fernando Torres had been considered a doubt for selection after a disappointing campaign at Stamford Bridge but Del Bosque could hand the former Atletico Madrid frontman a place in his 23-man squad with Villa unavailable.  Torres appeared to be recapturing his form towards the end of the season and could view an international competition as a chance to re-establish himself as one of the most feared marksmen in the world.

Torres’ lack of action at club level could be of benefit to Spain, as he will not be suffering the same kind of fatigue other players who have played regularly over the season will be feeling and the Chelsea man can be backed at 20/1 to be the top scorer at Euro 2012.

Another man who could step up and fill the void left by Villa is Athletic Bilbao forward Fernando Lorente, who has seven goals in 20 caps to date and impressed for Bilbao this season as they reached the Europa League final.  Lorente, who is 16/1 to be the top scorer at Euro 2012, is a different type of forward to Villa and Spain may have to adapt their style to get the best out of the Bilbao star, but he is certainly a world class striker who is more than capable of firing Spain to glory at Euro 2012.

Other options include Barcelona’s Pedro, Atletico Madrid’s Adrian and Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, who has enjoyed a fantastic campaign at the Mestalla and has three goals in three Spanish caps to date.

Adrian is yet to receive a call up for the Spain squad, having represented them at youth level, but he has been included in the squad for their friendly fixtures against Serbia and South Korea ahead of Euro 2012, as has Soldado, Torres and Sevilla’s Álvaro Negredo, who has five goals in seven caps to date.

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Rangers to cope without Miller

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It is another action-packed weekend across Scotland and things are closing up at the top and the bottom of the SPL. Lets take a closer look at the games and see who will be celebrating on Saturday night.

Hearts v Rangers

Rangers will be looking to jump ahead of Celtic at the top of the table, even if it is just for a few hours, when they travel to Tynecastle to take on a Hearts side, who are enjoying a great run. Walter Smith’s side have won three games on the bounce to ensure they sit only two points behind their Old Firm rivals having played two matches less.

The Gers will be without Kenny Miller, who has completed a move to Turkish champions Bursaspor, but even without their 21-goal striker you would expect Rangers to field a strong forward line.

Hearts are in a good run of form and have won nine of their last 10 SPL matches, and it is a run which should give Jim Jeffries and the Jambos reason to be confident.

Prediction: Rangers have not lost on the road all season in the league and that should continue with an away win priced at 5/6.

Celtic v Aberdeen

Celtic demolished Aberdeen 9-0 the last time these two teams met and Swedish star Freddie Ljundberg seems set to make his home debut in the game. That hammering back in November started the end of Mark McGhee’s time in charge but Craig Brown has steadied the ship since he arrived and they are now unbeaten in four games.

Neil Lennon will know his side cannot afford to slip-up and let Rangers get ahead of them in the title race and this is the first of three games between Celtic and Aberdeen to take place over the next 11 days.

Prediction: A win for Celtic at 2/9, but don’t expect another 9-0 at 125/1.

Inverness CT v Hamilton

Inverness continue to ride in the top half of the SPL but have a poor home record and that could give rock-bottom Hamilton some reason to feel confident of adding to their two wins so far this season.

However, the visitors cannot seem to stop conceding on the road so far this term and they face a side that were unlucky not to take points off Rangers in their last game. Terry Butcher has spoken this week of feeling like Inverness were “not wanted” in the SPL, but that could change if they keep on impressing this season.

Prediction: Inverness have only won 2 of 10 games in front of their home fans but Hamilton won’t stop them getting a result here at 4/5.

Kilmarnock v Dundee Utd

Kilmarnock have been struggling to find some form in recent games but are still holding onto their fourth-placed spot. Dundee United beat Motherwell in their last game and boast the dangerous David Goodwillie up front.

Prediction: Both sides are capable of winning, but a draw at 23/10 is a likely outcome.

Motherwell v Hibernian

Motherwell have signed Mike Grella and Steve Jones on loan until the end of the season and both players could make their debuts at Fir Park. Both of these teams are struggling, with Hibernian in particular under-performing this season. It is likely to be a tight match between the two but Motherwell should be buoyed by the fact Hibs are on a run of nine games without a win.

Prediction: Motherwell will edge it, priced at 10/11.

St Johnstone v St Mirren

Both teams are struggling for form and points and look destined for a long and painful relegation battle between now and the end of the season.

Prediction: All signs point to a bore draw at 5/2.

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United labouring without Rooney

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Manchester United (9/2 to win 2010-11 Premier League) need Wayne Rooney more than Wayne Rooney needs Manchester United -  that is providing of course that he returns to the sort of form he showed last year.

Yes, they won. Yes, they remain unbeaten but they are not exactly pulling up trees at the moment and looking like they are going all the way – in any competition.

Rooney seemingly has not been back to his best, having endured a torrid World Cup campaign and mustering only one goal in five appearances this season for United, with the England man now facing another spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

Dimitar Berbatov’s extra fitness work over the summer appeared to work dividends, as he started the season on fire and looked set to justify the hype over his big-money move in 2008.

The Bulgarian bagged seven goals in his first six games, culminating in his hat-trick which secured the 3-2 win over Liverpool. However, he has not scored in the six games since and certainly does not provide the work-rate that Rooney also offers – normal service has resumed and Fergie needs to get him on the treadmill again.

There is a school of thought that says foreign players need time to adjust to the Premier League, so what can be expected of Javier Hernandez. Although the “Little Pea” has scored five goals in his last eight games, he gives the impression of being the “new” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – ie: an impact substitute from the bench.

Luis Nani is trying to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford and has contributed a lot this season already, but he is far too inconsistent for United to be able to depend on him in the same way – despite his own belief that he is now “one of the top players in the world” – where did that come from.

Although unbeaten, United have slipped five points behind Chelsea already in the table and need a fully fit and firing Rooney (16/1 Premier League Top Goalscorer) if they are to have any realistic chance of regaining the title.

Speaking of strikers, Liverpool (6/4 for a Top Six Finish), who have now won two on the bounce, need one! Fernando Torres has not quite recovered from injury and looks a shadow of the player that has tormented the Premier League in the past. A guaranteed starter for the club, injury-permitting, but if he is not doing it, who else can Roy Hodgson call upon?

David Ngog, Ryan Babel or Milan Jovanovic? Bring back Robbie Keane! I am expecting Hodgson to make some moves in the January transfer window – if he is still there!

Refereeing decisions are coming increasingly under the spotlight but let’s make one thing clear, referees, at one point or another, are always going to make a strange/wrong/downright stupid decisions – generally in favour of the “big teams”.

How Bolton did not get one of two penalty decisions on Sunday is anyone’s guess, but the answer is they were playing Liverpool.

Mark Clattenburg realised the error of his ways on Saturday after not giving Nani a penalty against Spurs, by allowing him to stroke home unimpeded immediately afterwards as Heurelho Gomes foolishly thought a free-kick had been given in his favour. It was at Old Trafford, Heurelho.

Tuncay’s ‘goal’ against Everton was ruled out at Goodison Park, presumably because Leighton Baines was put off by the breathing on his neck, although Andrei Arshavin must realise only Maraoune Chamakh at Arsenal is going to get penalties when there is no/little contact.

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Mancini – We can cope without Carlos

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has revealed he will rest Carlos Tevez for either the Europa League tie against Lech Poznan on Thursday or Sunday’s showdown with title rivals Arsenal (City 11/2 – Premier League outright).

The Argentine striker has been the focal point of Mancini’s attack this season, with seven league goals so far, and has played in all but two of City’s fixtures to date but the Italian boss believes his squad can cope without the talismanic presence of Tevez.

The 26-year-old came to City’s rescue last weekend with a brace as the Eastlands side recorded a 3-2 victory over Blackpool despite a below-par performance but Mancini is confident the likes of David Silva, who also netted in the victory over the Seasiders, and former Arsenal frontman Emmanuel Adebayor can step up and fill the void left by Tevez.

“I will probably rest Carlos on Thursday or Sunday,” Mancini told the Daily Mirror.

“I will speak with Carlos and we will decide. Out of the games, there will probably be one for which Carlos will stay on the bench, because he needs to recover.

“Carlos is a key player for us, but then for us all the players did well at Blackpool. There were other good performances as well as Carlos.

“Manu Adebayor worked so hard, probably the defenders were tired by the time Silva came on. Silva is also very important for us. He’s a fantastic player.”

Mancini claims he could rest the striker in Sunday’s crucial Premier League encounter with Arsenal at Eastlands but it would appear more likely Tevez will sit out on Thursday against Lech Poznan (Match Betting – City 2/9, draw 5/1, Lech Poznan 12/1).

The Italian tactician has named strong starting line-ups for both the Europa League group fixtures his side have played so far, against Juventus and SV Salzburg, but the Polish outfit are perhaps the weakest team in Group A and Mancini may decide to hand some of his fringe players the chance to shine on Thursday.

City currently lie second in the Europa League Group A table, level on four points with current leaders Lech Poznan who have drawn with Italian giants Juventus and beaten SV Salzburg in their two European encounters so far (City 5/1f – Europa League outright).

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