Italy’s Invincibles, England’s ‘eroes and Spain’s Shockers

As we welcome the last round of weekend fixtures prior to the International break, I’ve sat back and taken stock of what’s going on in the “major” European Leagues whilst asking myself whether the current trends could continue.

For instance, we only have 2 Serie A games on Saturday, as usual. We have high-flying Lazio under new talisman Mauro Zarate who host newly-promoted Lecce whilst champions Inter Milan host newly-promoted Bologna and are looking to bounce back from their midweek disappointment of drawing at home to the ever-unpredictable Werder Bremen in the Champions League. Will we see Lazio and Inter Milan continue to spearhead Serie A? Or will Roma and AC Milan, who have both finally started to find form, finally launch an assault on the top of Serie A? Perhaps it’s unfair of me to not include Juventus but their recent performances in any competition have been dire at best, but of course, they’re certainly acting the heavyweights in Serie A that they certainly were prior to the issues that saw them relegated by the Italian FA to Serie B.

Then we have the English Premier League. As usual in this league, the number of sides playing on a saturday continues to be random or more accurately jumping through hoops for the greedy, rich TV companies with approximately half playing on sunday. However, as I’m addressing saturday’s games, I’ll mention that Manchester United face a short trip to Blackburn Rovers, a venue that has proven difficult in the past few years. That said, under new management of former Manchester United footballer Paul Ince, Blackburn Rovers have been anything but the inpenetratable defensive fortress they used to be and a Manchester United side that are finding form should face little difficulty securing a win here. The same can also be said for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal who face a lengthy trip north-east to the ever-tenacious Sunderland. Naturally, this isn’t the easiest of venues, but after Arsenal took a whipping off Wenger for their howler of a result losing at home to Hull City (and consequentially annihlated Portuguese Champions Porto in the Champions League), I cannot help but feel sorry for Sunderland as they’re surely going to be ripped apart by a rampant Arsenal.

Last but not least, we take a brief look at the silly Spanish. “Why are they silly?” I hear you ask? Allow me to explain. We have last season’s overwhelmingly overachieving side Villarreal hosting one of last season’s underachievers Real Betis. On paper, this spells out “home win”. However, what I have noticed over the past few weeks of this season is that Villarreal aren’t very good. Is that harsh? Probably. The reason they do well in Spain is because they don’t play Spanish football, they play English football, which enables them to generally halt the Spanish from scoring against them which is always useful when you’re trying to win a match. We saw them labour past Celtic who are like a really shit English Premier League side mid-week in the Champions League at El Madrigal and they now host a Real Betis side who travelled to play Barcelona at Nou Camp last week. I happened to be in the pub to watch this match and Real Betis can count themselves highly unlucky not to have won the game having had a cast-iron penalty turned down as well as missing various chances. So…as you can clearly see, this fixture isn’t as easy as you might imagine. Don’t get me wrong, I have indeed backed a home win in this fixture, but this match shouldn’t be as straightforward as you might think. I’m just awaiting the day that Villarreal get the battering that really is rather overdue for them as they’re not really good enough to be as highly praised as they are. Take this fixture, and then pair it with a fixture containing a Barcelona side that has no consistency whatsoever this season other than in their continuity of not being consistent at home to an Atletico Madrid side who played phenomenally last season or should I say Sergio Aguero played well last season and are also largely unpredictable. However, all that aside, I’ve backed another home win in this fixture purely because Barcelona, playing well or not, have match-winners across the park – Atletico Madrid have 1 and if he is nullified, I daresay they’ll lose.

Anyway, I’m done, onwards to the picks!

 

 

Bylis vs Tirana (Deffo) (8)

Shkumbini vs Lushnja (Should) (7)

Flamurtari vs Partizani (Risky) (3)

Dinamo Tirana vs Vllaznia (Risky) (4)

Besa vs Elbasan (Risky) (4)

 

 

Sturm Graz vs Austria Karnten (Should) (6)

 

 

Genk vs Mechelen (Should) (6)

Kortrijk vs Germinal (Should) (5)

Gent vs Lokeren (Risky) (4)

Westerlo vs Zulte Waregem (Risky) (3)

Mons vs Charleroi (Risky) (2)

Tubize vs Dender (Risky) (3)

 

 

Sarajevo vs Sloboda (Should) (5)

Zrinjski vs Zeljeznicar (Should) (7)

Siroki Brijeg vs Travnik (Should) (7)

Borac vs Velez (Should) (5)

Slavija vs Zvijezda (Risky) (4)

Celik vs Posusje (Risky) (4)

Leotar vs Modrica (Risky) (4)

Orasje vs Laktasi (Risky) (2)

 

 

Belasitsa vs Chernomorets Burgas (Should) (5)

Sliven vs Botev (Should) (7)

Slavia Sofia vs PFC Minior Pernik (Should) (5)

Spartak Varna vs Blagoevgrad (Risky) (4)

 

 

Zlin vs Viktoria Plzen (Risky) (3)

 

 

AaB vs Horsens (Should) (5)

 

 

PSV vs De Graafschap (Deffo) (9)

Heracles vs Roda (Risky) (4)

Vitesse Arnhem vs Willem II (Risky) (3)

 

 

Blackburn Rovers vs Manchester United (Should) (6)

Sunderland vs Arsenal (Should) (6)

Wigan Athletic vs Middlesbrough (Risky) (4)

West Brom vs Fulham (Risky) (3)

 

 

Swansea City vs Wolves (Should) (6)

Sheff United vs Bristol City (Should) (5)

Coventry vs Southampton (Should) (5)

Birmingham City vs QPR (Should) (5)

Reading vs Burnley (Should) (5)

Charlton Athletic vs Ipwsich Town (Risky) (4)

Norwich City vs Derby Country (Risky) (3)

Plymouth Argyle vs Sheffield Wednesday (Risky) (2)

Barnsley vs Doncaster Rovers (Risky) (4)

Watford vs Preston (Risky) (3)

Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace (Risky) (2)

Blackpool vs Cardiff City (Risky) (2)

 

 

Leyton Orient vs Scunthorpe United (Should) (6)

Peterborough United vs Leeds United (Should) (6)

Yeovil vs Southend (Should) (5)

Huddersfield Town vs Leicester City (Should) (5)

Carlisle United vs Tranmere Rovers (Should) (7)

Millwall vs MK Dons (Should) (6)

Brighton vs Cheltenham (Risky) (3)

Crewe vs Northampton (Risky) (2)

Colchester vs Bristol Rovers (Risky) (4)

Hereford vs Walsall (Risky) (3)

 

 

Wycombe vs Bournemouth (Deffo) (8)

Brentford vs Macclesfield (Should) (6)

Bradford vs Luton (Should) (5)

Chester vs Lincoln (Risky) (4)

Rochdale vs Dagenham (Risky) (4)

Rotherham vs Grimsby (Risky) (3)

Morecambe vs Chesterfield (Risky) (2)

Barnet vs Accrington (Risky) (2)

Aldershot vs Bury (Risky) (4)

Port Vale vs Notts County (Risky) (3)

Darlington vs Shrewsbury (Risky) (2)

Exeter City vs Gillingham (Risky) (4)

 

 

Flora Tallinn vs Tallinna Kalev (Deffo) (10)

Maag Tammeka Tartu vs Levadia Tallinn (Deffo) (9)

Vaprus Parnu vs Nomme Kalju (Should) (7)

TVMK Tallinn vs Trans Narva (Should) (7)

Sillamae Kalev vs Tulevik (Should) (6)

 

 

Grenoble vs Nantes (Should) (7)

Marseille vs Caen (Should) (7)

Nice vs Sochaux (Should) (6)

Lille vs Valenciennes (Should) (5)

Toulouse vs Auxerre (Should) (5)

Le Havre vs Le Mans (Risky) (3)

Lorient vs Bordeaux (Risky) (4)

 

 

Hoffenheim vs Frankfurt (Should) (7)

Leverkusen vs Hertha Berlin (Should) (6)

Bayern Munich vs Bochum (Should) (6)

Stuttgart vs Werder Bremen (Risky) (2)

Moenchengladbach vs Koln (Risky) (4)

 

 

Ergotelis vs PAOK (Risky) (3)

Larissa vs OFI Crete (Risky) (3)

Aris vs Iraklis (Risky) (4)

 

 

Debrecen vs REAC (Deffo) (9)

Haladas vs Kaposvar (Deffo) (8)

Nyiregyhaza vs Diosgyor (Should) (6)

Fehervar vs Paks (Risky) (4)

Kecskemet vs Vasas Budapest (Risky) (3)

 

 

Cobh Ramblers vs Shamrock Rovers (Risky) (4)

 

 

Kiryat Shmona vs Beitar Jerusalem (Should) (6)

Maccabi Haifa vs Maccabi Petach-Tikva (Should) (7)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs Bnei Yehuda (Should) (6)

Hakoah Maccabi Amidar vs Bnei Sakhnin (Risky) (3)

 

 

Lazio vs Lecce (Deffo) (9)

Inter Milan vs Bologna (Deffo) (9)

 

 

Pisa vs Triestina (Should) (6)

Avellino vs Ascoli (Should) (5)

Sassuolo vs Treviso (Should) (7)

Parma vs Modena (Should) (5)

Brescia vs Frosinone (Should) (5)

Piacenza vs Salternitana (Risky) (3)

Ancona vs Rimini (Risky) (4)

Cittadella vs Vicenza (Risky) (3)

Grosseto vs Albinoleffe (Risky) (4)

 

 

Daugava vs Ventspils (Should) (6)

Liepajas Metalurgs vs Skonto Riga (Should) (5)

FK Riga vs Dinaburg (Risky) (4)

 

 

Vardar vs Turnovo (Deffo) (8)

 

 

Sliema Wanderers vs Tarxien (Deffo) (8)

Marsaxlokk vs Hibernians (Should) (5)

 

 

Lovcen vs Buducnost Podgorica (Should) (6)

Petrovac vs Grbalj (Should) (5)

Jezero vs Decic (Should) (5)

Mogren vs Kom (Should) (6)

Zeta vs Jedinstvo (Risky) (4)
Sutjeska vs Rudar (Risky) (4)

 

 

Coleraine vs Ballymena (Deffo) (8)

Crusaders vs Cliftonville (Should) (6)

Glenavon vs Newry (Risky) (4)

Glentoran vs Linfield (Risky) (4)

Institute vs Dungannon (Risky) (2)

Bangor vs Lisburn (Risky) (4)

 

 

Staebek vs Ham-Kam (Deffo) (10)

 

 

Piast Gliwice vs LKS Lodz (Should) (5)

Polonia Warsaw vs Odra Wodzislaw (Risky) (2)

Belchatow vs Ruch Chorzow (Risky) (4)

 

 

Naval vs Belenenses (Should) (6)

 

 

Steau Bucharest vs Otopeni (Deffo) (10)

Otelul vs Cluj (Should) (7)

Pandurii vs Rapid Bucharest (Should) (6)

Brasov vs Vaslui (Should) (5)

Unirea vs Poli Iasi (Should) (7)

Dinamo Bucharest vs Farul (Should) (7)

Poli Timisoara vs Gloria Bistrita (Risky) (4)

 

 

Rubin Kazan vs Spartak Nalchik (Deffo) (8)

Dinamo Moscow vs Saturn (Deffo) (10)

Tom Tomsk vs Lokomotiv Moscow (Should) (5)

 

 

Celtic vs Hamilton (Deffo) (10)

Dundee United vs Inverness (Should) (6)

Hearts vs Kilmarnock (Should) (5)

 

 

Rad Belgrade vs OFK Belgrade (Should) (5)

Red Star Belgrade vs Partizan Belgrade (Should) (5)

Vojvodina vs Napredak (Should) (7)

Borac vs Banat (Risky) (4)

Javor vs Kula (Risky) (3)

Cukaricki vs Jagodina (Risky) (2)

 

 

Banska Bystrica vs Spartak Trnava (Should) (6)

Ruzomberok vs Slovan Bratislava (Should) (5)

Kosice vs Tatran (Should) (7)

Dubnica vs Nitra (Risky) (2)

 

 

Koper vs Interblock (Should) (6)

Rudar vs Gorica (Risky) (2)

Drava vs Maribor (Risky) (3)

 

 

Villarreal vs Betis (Should) (5)

Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid (Should) (5)

 

 

Xerez vs Levante (Should) (5)

Tenerife vs Alicante (Should) (5)

Eibar vs Albacete (Risky) (3)

Hercules vs Zaragoza (Risky) (4)

Girona vs Rayo Vallecano (Risky) (4)

 

 

Helsingborg vs Elfsborg (Risky) (4)

Gefle vs Ljungskile (Risky) (3)

 

 

Aarau vs Vaduz (Should) (6)

 

 

Konyaspor vs Trabzonspor (Deffo) (8)

Ankaraspor vs Sivasspor (Should) (6)

Antalyaspor vs Gaziantepspor (Risky) (4)

 

 

Kharkiv vs Dyanmo Kiev (Deffo) (8)

Karpaty vs Vorskla (Should) (6)

Zorya Lugansk vs Tavriya (Should) (7)

Kryvbas vs Lviv (Should) (5)

 

Enjoy