TFT Issue 367!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Ok, there are a lot of games that I like today and I don’t put them up here for the hell of it. It’s highly unusual to find so many good games mid-week so we should have a fun day today at least.
Advice – don’t bet in Italy today unless taking the tip I’ve given or betting in-play. Why? Crap odds. Atrocious odds, really. There are some games that I’d like to take there, to be honest, but the odds are just not worth it!
Featured game
Wigan Athletic vs Manchester United – away win to nil at 6/5.
Today’s featured game is the English Premier League game between relegation battlers Wigan Athletic and reigning champions Manchester United.
In the Premier League, there is only one side that I am 100% confident of my beloved United beating every season and that’s Wigan. It just doesn’t seem to matter how well Wigan play (and they have played well against United a few times) – they just lose. In fact, Wigan have lost every competitive game that they have ever played with Manchester United, dating right back to the founding of the two clubs. That’s a quite remarkable record, although they’ve not been in the same division for long during that period, it must be said.
Still, United just have that voodoo sign over Wigan and I expect to see it again today. The quality gap isn’t something you need me to tell you about between these two sides. I won’t underestimate Wigan’s excellent performances of late as they’ve hardly lost any games and they’ve not deserved to lose the games that they have lost. Therefore, I would avoid the handicaps here.
However, United have been so strong, efficient, and reliable of late that you really feel that they must win here. Wigan have been playing extremely well lately, which has helped to pave over the cracks. However, their defence is one of the weakest in the Premier League and I expect that to be exposed here. Although Wigan can occasionally produce a bit of magic in attack, they’re generally short at the goalscoring end of things and thus I will be very surprised to see them beat a United defence that is growing and growing in strength, cohesion, and belief.
Ferguson will take this game seriously because he knows exactly what he is doing. Look at his pre-match comments for the game against QPR at weekend – he mentioned how hard the game with QPR and the game with Wigan were because the two sides needed points. He knows United can and should win those games but he won’t allow his players to become complacent.
Therefore, I expect a professional and efficient United display here. I don’t expect a footballing feast but a respectful 0-1 or 0-2 win for the league leaders would be the most likely outcomes for this game and the fact that United are priced at 6/5 to win to nil after some very strong defensive displays just looks excellent to me.
Verdict: Manchester United to win to nil at 6/5.
Additional games
Orebro vs Helsingborg – away win at 11/10.
The artificial turf of the Behrn Arena should be the main difficulty for Allsvenskan giants Helsingborg here but it isn’t. The main difficulty is themselves. Artificial turf is not easy to play on when you’re used to natural turf but the way that Orebro have played since the start of the season means that only Helsingborg will stop themselves from winning this game.
I like Orebro but they have one replacement for two departed players. I’m not mathematics expert but you need two players to replace two players. Bedoya and Gerzic left; Grahn came in. Grahn was a good signing as he’s got bags of experience and ability but he’s fighting a losing battle because Orebro are not packed with quality this year. Their defence is a mess and their strikers show up when they feel like it. If Orebro aren’t careful, they’ll be dragged into a relegation dogfight and I’m not sure they’d have the experience to get out of it if they were involved.
Visitors Helsingborg are simply a better side than their hosts; that’s undeniable. On paper, Helsingborg should beat Orebro every day of the week. Helsingborg must work hard, though – they’re not good enough nowadays to ease to a win without working hard and they forget that sometimes. Their 1-0 loss at IFK Norrkoping was probably the worst I’ve seen them for some time and yet they followed it up with a good win against Elfsborg Boras, who arguably possess a better squad than them this season. That momentum should inspire them to glory here, with a bit of luck. In Finnbogason, they’ve arguably got the best striker in the Allsvenskan. I don’t know why Lokeren have loaned him here because he’s too good for the division. He was too good for the Landsbankdeild Karla and showed his worth in the Eerste Klasse when allowed to. The Allsvenskan is a step down for him, which doesn’t make sense. Either way, Helsingborg could and should profit from this move as he’s already proven to be a real handful for the Swedish clubs. There’s bags of experience in this Helsingborg side so you really have to think that they’ve got enough to win this game.
Again, the artificial turf and battling qualities of their hosts makes this far from a dead cert but there looks value in taking Helsingborg to gain three points in an experienced manner at 11/10.
Verdict: Helsingborg to win at 11/10.
RKC Waalwijk vs PSV Eindhoven – home win with a +1 Asian Handicap at 5/6.
My usual bet stands here, as ever! I maintain that RKC have played some of the best football in the Eredivisie this season and only their lack of a clinical finisher has hindered them from being much, much higher in the league table. They outplayed AZ away from home recently and were desperately unlucky to lose 1-0. RKC are a very good side, in my eyes. They’ve got tremendous determination, team spirit, and organisation. This side does not know when they’re beaten and will give any side a good game. PSV have done alright under Cocu but they haven’t been anything special. They’ve still got some of the best attackers in the Netherlands but they’re all rather youthful and it often shows on the road with some naive displays hindering their campaign considerably. Defensively, PSV are a wreck and will often concede on the road. There’s zero cohesion at the back and it doesn’t just happen overnight, either. PSV are clearly the better of these two sides on paper but that’s the only place that they’re the better side right now, in my opinion. I’d give RKC a +1 Asian Handicap against any Eredivisie side at home this season and this game is no exception despite PSV’s lofty status in European football.
Verdict: RKC Waalwijk to win with a +1 Asian Handicap at 5/6.
AZ Alkmaar vs Twente Enschede – lay AZ Alkmaar at 9/10.
This is fairly risky when you consider how strong AZ have been when facing good sides at home. That additional motivation that they seem to produce works wonders for them sometimes. However, I can’t work off that alone, and the fact is that AZ have looked tired lately. Is it any wonder? They’ve played a lot of games with a very thin squad. Their starting eleven is excellent but the same cannot be said for their bench. Indeed, Holman is out today and given what a key player he is for AZ, it’ll be interesting to see how they cope. AZ just seem bereft of ideas when attacking and look unconvincing in front of goal. We all know that they have the capability to win the game and I think it’s correct that they’re favourites but they simply look too short here.
True enough, Twente have a few problems of their own with regular defender Wisgherhof sitting this one out as well as Bulgarian number one Mihaylov. Indeed, the latter is supposedly injured but a Twente fans forum reports that he’s been seen in Bulgaria and the reasoning behind that is that he’s apparently been sleeping with one of the other player’s wife. I don’t know how true it is but it would certainly explain a lot. However, that didn’t prevent Twente from producing an amazing display against PSV and I think they’ll build on that here. Twente might not have a better starting eleven than AZ but they do have a more experienced and more consistent side than AZ, not to mention a bigger squad.
It’ll be a tight one, I’m sure, but I can’t accept AZ being as short as they are. For me, it’s worth laying AZ at 9/10 with Twente being good enough to take a draw here.
Verdict: Lay AZ Alkmaar at 9/10.
SSC Napoli vs Atalanta Bergamo – over 5 cards (Asian) at evens.
I don’t normally get involved on the cards market but this one just screams “value!” to me. Why? Well, these two sides are far, far up my list of Italian sides that cannot control their players. We have two very passionate clubs with passionate fans and temperamental players. Both clubs play good football when they want to but both receive a large number of unnecessary red cards. A draw would suit Atalanta well here and Napoli are unpredictable enough and in bad enough form to allow the visitors to get it. I expect a frustrating game for Napoli and Atalanta are the kind of side that can frustrate other sides alarmingly well. I therefore feel that the usual markets are better left alone for this game but taking over 5 cards (Asian) looks a steal at evens as both sides are simply masters of getting players booked unnecessarily.
Verdict: Over 5 cards (Asian) at evens.
Hannover 96 vs VfL Wolfsburg – over 3 goals at 6/5.
Goals, goals, goals! It’s not Hannover’s usual approach to blitz in the goals but they will do so if forced into it and that’s what I expect to happen today. Generally speaking, Hannover are a side that will try to score the first goal and hold it. I can understand that approach but they’re actually pretty good at playing the open game too. However, they’re not to be trusted at home right now due to fixture congestion and a thin squad. The quality is there and the heart is there but the players are struggling. Hannover have cleared 2.5 goals for eleven consecutive games now in all competitions, mostly through tired defending. This is their fifth game in thirteen days – I just don’t see how they’ll cope. Abdellaoue is out but Ya Konan and Diouf are more than capable of doing the damage here. I expect Hannover to score, as usual – the only side to prevent them from doing so at home this season was Bayer 04 Leverkusen. However, I can’t see them being composed enough to play their game so they should be dragged into a fast-paced open game and thus we should see goals.
Wolfsburg are the masters of making sides play open games. They’ve gone comfortably over 2.5 goals for five consecutive games now and their momentum is driving them on to bigger and better things. They’re scoring goals for fun but are defending like morons so we’re seeing lots of goals either way. The 1-3 scoreline against Dortmund was a shade flattering for the reigning champions, I felt, but Wolfsburg can’t defend and they were ultimately punished for it. I admire the spirit of Magath’s Wolfsburg, however – they now attack with purpose and belief and it really shows. Wolfsburg can and will score goals here, especially as the fresher side.
I’m not sure Wolfsburg are ready to win at difficult venues like this yet but they’re good enough to score goals so my call is for this game to go over 3 goals at generous odds of 6/5, especially with regular defender Madlung absent from Wolfsburg’s shoddy defence.
Verdict: Over 3 goals at 6/5.
Nurnberg vs Schalke 04 – away win at 7/5.
I really don’t like going against Nurnberg at home but this one just looks to have pure value in it. At home, Nurnberg can be superb – you don’t want to be on the side of the away team when Nurnberg are playing well. However, rather helpfully, they’re not playing well. In fact, they’re playing some pretty bad football right now. They really lack a cutting edge against good sides and that’s where they drop their points. Against sides of a similar quality level or sides that are inferior to them, Nurnberg tend to have the rub of the tactical green and can grind out 1-0 wins or frustrate their opponents into draws. However, in big games, they simply tend to be outclassed and outscored, which is precisely what I expect here. Nurnberg’s home record in the Bundesliga this season is a bit misleading as it’s showing them to be more dominant at home than they actually are. Well, for this season, at least – they usually are pretty dominant at home but they’ve not shown it so much this time around. Nurnberg have played six home games since the turn of the year, winning three times and losing three times. Whom did they beat? They beat sides that don’t score many goals, namely Borussia Moenchengladbach, Koln, and Hertha BSC Berlin. Whom did they lose to? Bayern Munich, VfL Wolfsburg, and Bv09 Borussia Dortmund, also known as “goalscoring sides”. You can see a familiar pattern emerging here, can’t you? If you score goals at Nurnberg then you’ll generally win the game, essentially.
Schalke are a bit of an enigma, really. This bet hinges on which Schalke shows up because the Schalke I’ve seen in recent weeks has generally been good enough to win games like this. Raul, Huntelaar, Farfan – there’s more than enough attacking flair and finesse there for them to win this game. There’s plenty of pace and tenacity in the squad and they’re not an easy side to play against. However, their defence is pretty poor on the road and they tend to concede daft goals – we just have to hope that that doesn’t happen against the average strikers of Nurnberg. If they manage to compose themselves, Schalke really should be able to win this one without too much fuss,
It’s a risk because if Schalke can’t be arsed then they’ll draw this game. However, with European football on the horizon again, I fancy Schalke at long odds of 7/5.
Verdict: Schalke 04 to win at 7/5.
Nacional Asuncion vs Corinthians – under 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Hmm! South America’s most prestigious competition Copa Libertadores is not the most friendly of places for the under 2.5 goals backers. However, Corinthians most certainly are because they’re somewhat…boring. It’s strange to think that so much money and talent could produce such uninteresting displays but that’s what happens with Corinthians. It’s almost like the millionaire club wanted to emulate their Argentinian rivals such as Velez Sarsfield or Estudiantes De La Plata – you know, sides that could win games without conceding goals very often. Corinthians do defend rather well, it must be said, but they’re not too convincing in front of goal. Asuncion is no place for the weak-minded, either. Although probably more toward the shallow end of the flair pool by South American standards, what Paraguayan sides do possess a lot of is tactical knowledge and they tend to make it count at home. You won’t often see Paraguayan sides slipping up on their own turf, especially not a big club like Nacional. They know Corinthians are the better side but there’s not much they can do about it. Corinthians manipulate the ball well and they know that a draw here puts them through. Nacional may try to force the issue in the latter stages of the game, which allows the Corinthians counter-attacking machine to awaken and potentially give the Brazilian giants a dubious win. Either way, though, we have two sides that are not the best in front of goal and a Corinthians side that lacks adventure and has no reason to attack here. For me, the best way to approach this game is to go under 2.5 goals.
Verdict: Under 2.5 goals at 4/5.
Catania vs Lecce – over 2.5 goals at 9/10.
Despite a lot of big games in Serie A today, I think this one will be the best of the bunch. We have two flair sides with lots of good players that both love to attack and score goals. Catania can relax and play football their way because they’re not going down and they won’t make a UEFA Europa League place because they have too many men sent off to mount a consistent and legitimate challenge for it. However, they never lose sight of their attacking mentality and their skill and they love to demonstrate it at home. Indeed, I doubt the Sicilian faithful would allow anything less than a 110% display from Catania and that’s what they’ll get here, I’m sure. Montella’s side are very entertaining to watch and it should be the same scenario again here. Catania tend to try and grind out the home wins with a degree of composure but without the suspended Spolli today, I find it hard to imagine them doing so, especially against a potent and hungry Lecce side. Lecce are a bit weak on the road and they’re defensively inept but you’re sorely mistaken if you think that they’re weak in attack. This Lecce side is very good on the ball and creates chances. You saw what happened when they actually took their chances – they trounced AS Roma 4-2 – and that gives them great momentum to bring into this difficult game. Cuadrado, Grossmuller, and Giacomazzi are all very experienced players and they know how to win the midfield battle, even against Catania’s flair players. Will it be enough? I couldn’t honestly say – please don’t bet on the 1×2 market here!
I really do think we’re in for a good game here as I expect both sides to score, plenty of cards, and plenty of drama. Lecce need the points and I kind of hope that they get them, too – they’d be missed from Serie A for their carefree attacking football. Still, from a betting perspective, the only way I can approach this game is to take over 2.5 goals at 5/6.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals at 5/6.
Roda JC Kerkrade vs Feyenoord Rotterdam – over 3 goals at 4/5.
Now this should be a fun game! Neither of these two sides can defend, which is why they can almost never hold leads. Feyenoord’s kids are talented but they are still kids – they make daft mistakes, especially on the road, and thus Feyenoord clean sheets are very rare indeed. Feyenoord are the better side here and the points probably do mean more to them. However, that’s not the end of the assessment, as we all know – it takes two to tango.
Feyenoord (or Guidetti-noord as they should be renamed!) play well when Swedish hitman Guidetti commands them to, such is the talent of this promising striker. It’s a shame that he’ll never be given a chance at Manchester City because they simply spend money on established players because he’s a really good prospect. Still, for the time being, he’s one of the hottest properties in the Netherlands and his killer instinct and movement in front of goal, not to mention his composure, are what makes him as he is. With him in their ranks, Feyenoord’s attack actually has a degree of surprising maturity and there’s enough quality around him to give him the chances that he needs to score goals.
However, no trip to Kerkrade is ever easy and I doubt I’ll be looking back on this game later on today and saying “Boy, was I wrong there – what a dominant win for Feyenoord!”. Football can be a harsh mistress from time to time but Roda are consistent at home; they concede stupid goals but score a lot of goals themselves. Mads Junker may be dormant this season but Syrian hitman Malki is in outstanding form, so much so that it’s beyond unlikely that he’ll be at Roda next season. For me, he should become an Ajax player but we’ll see how that goes. Either way, nobody can stop Malki scoring and this inspires his team. Roda attack well as it is but a lethal target man like that makes them hard to handle and I can’t see a youthful Feyenoord managing it.
Again, this is another game to avoid the 1×2 market of. However, taking over 3 goals looks great to me at 4/5 as I see both sides scoring and enough desire for there to be a winner, ultimately.
Verdict: Over 3 goals at 4/5.
Valencia CF vs Rayo Vallecano de Madrid – away win with draw no bet at 15/4.
This is by far and away my most risky and fun tip of the day but I like it a lot. Valencia are the bigger and better side here – no question. However, Valencia only tend to show up against sides that are better than they are. Look at how well they play against Barcelona and Real Madrid and then compare that to their displays at home against inferior opponents and you’d be amazed that you’re watching the same team. Just look at how Valencia have dropped points at home in the second half of this season:
Valencia 1 Levante 1
Valencia 1 Real Zaragoza 2
Valencia 0 Real Sociedad 1
They’re tiring, which is to be expected, as they don’t have a big squad any longer. The UEFA Europa League is high on their list of priorities as they have a legitimate chance of winning it but that involves sacrifices. Unai Emery will rotate players for his home games – he’d be mad not to after their tenacious display at the Santiago Berbaneu a few days ago – but their second string isn’t as impressive as their first string. This is Valenica’s fifth game in thirteen days; they just don’t have the squad for that. Canales and Banega are out; where will the creativity in the middle of the park come from?
So…the window of opportunity is there for the Spanish “crazy gang” – Rayo Vallecano – to upset the odds. A 6-0 drubbing of Osasuna gives them some momentum ahead of this game and they needed it after a barren run of form. Rayo Vallecano are new to the Primera Liga but they don’t fear anyone, which is useful and quite good fun here. In fact, this statistic may surprise you but the only sides to have scored more goals away from home this season than Rayo Vallecano are Barcelona and Real Madrid, which tells you about the belief and danger that Rayo Vallecano possess. Michu is the heartbeat of their attacks, of course, and Rayo Vallecano simply cannot defend, which is why they don’t win many away games. However, the motivation is high against a big club like Valencia and their hosts won’t have 100% focus on this game for varying reasons so why not another surprise at the Mestalla?
I think Rayo are well worth a punt with draw no bet at 15/4 because Valencia really are bottlers when “inferior” sides work hard against them. Rayo play some good football, too! I genuinely feel that Rayo can do the business here. Valencia are good enough to turn it on and win, if they feel so inclined, but I doubt that they will here as I don’t see any reason for them to. Therefore, my call is for Rayo to win with draw no bet at 15/4.
Verdict: Rayo Vallecano de Madrid to win with draw no bet at 15/4.
GAIS Goteborg vs Djurgarden – away win with draw no bet at 7/4.
I wonder if we’re finally seeing the end of Wandreson-borg? The Brazilian is quite simply the best player in the Allsvenskan when it suits him but GAIS keep selling good players and not replacing them and it’s starting to show. They failed to score against local rivals BK Hacken Goteborg in a 0-0 draw. They were struggling at newly-promoted Atvidaberg last time out, only managing to score thanks to a sweet strike from emerging talent Jakob Olsson, who cut inside from the right and blitzed home a left-footed beauty from some twenty-five yards out. Aside from that, GAIS couldn’t even penetrate one of the weakest defences in the Allsvenskan. To make matters worse, Atvidaberg actually attack a lot and GAIS still couldn’t exploit them! Is it that Celik thinks he’s too good for GAIS now that he’s had a brief stint at Rangers? Or is it that they’ve had to slow down to accomodate big Ijeh into their plans? Either way, GAIS are relying on Wanderson more than ever and it’s just not working right now.
Can Djurgarden take advantage of that? I think so. They’re not the most reliable of Allsvenskan sides but they’ve been bloody good so far. They were desperately unlucky to lose in Boras against Elfsborg against the odds but managed to continue their momentum into their following game, beating GIF Sundsvall 1-0 despite being reduced to ten men for the majority of the game. The signing of Ricardo Santos has really improved Djurgarden’s attacking movement and threat and that helps them massively as goalscoring is where they struggle the most. Chibsah’s experience in midfield has given them more depth there and we’re at a point now where we can easily say that Djurgarden has one of the top five or six midfields in Sweden, in my view. Hamalainen and Sjolund are unplayable on their day and there’s bags of experience in this Djurgarden side. Indeed, it’s a shame that we’ve not seen more of American youngster Span as he’s supposed to be a very good player indeed. Nonetheless, this excellent midfield now has lots of options up front with the pace of Youssef and the skill of new attacker Keene. Even big Nigerian striker Igboananike isn’t getting any playing time right now because of Djurgarden’s new attacking approach with plenty of pace and skill. The bottom line is that other sides are finding it hard to deal with them and with the proviso that Djurgarden take the chances that they will create here, I do fancy them to score a result tonight against the odds.
The other important thing to note about Djurgarden is that they finally got rid of their lunatic goalkeeper Touray and replaced him with Jensen. This has really settled down their defence so that they can build from the back with confidence now and that allows their attackers to roam with much more confidence too. Djurgarden have made some very wise moves pre-season and I think we may see an example of that today. There is always rivalry between clubs from Goteborg and Stockholm so we could see a few cards here but I still really fancy Djurgarden to win this one with draw no bet cover at 7/4.
Verdict: Djurgarden to win with draw no bet at 7/4.
Racing Genk vs Kortrijk – home win at 5/6.
Despite the absence of regular defender Simaeys, I still fancy Genk a lot here. After all, defending really isn’t a strong area of Genk’s so I’m not going to pay too much attention to his absence. What I will pay attention to, however, is their dynamic attacking line. Jelle Vossen isn’t a world-class striker as lots seem to think he is. However, he’s a very good poacher at Eerste Klasse level and the support he gets with the pace and skill of Camus, Hyland, Benteke, Buffel, Barda, de Bruyne, Tozser etc. etc. makes his life a lot easier. Unlike some of their contemporaries in Belgium, Genk actually have a finisher and that’s what has served them so well in the current campaign. They have good attacking players throughout their squad and despite their youthful age, I still like Genk. They’re not smart enough to win on the road very often but they do make home advantage count, just as they did last time out against Gent. Genk want to secure third place in the table and why not indeed? They’ve got a lot of what it takes to be there.
Can Kortrijk spring another surprise? I doubt it. I watched their game with Anderlecht which they drew 1-1 and credit to Kortrijk, you know – they play with so much heart that you can’t help but smile when they do well. This cash-strapped club from nowhere plays lovely attacking football and rightly deserves the plaudits that they receive for it. They’re not especially good but they do have a lot of cohesion and determination and that sometimes can elevate a side’s actual ability level, if only temporarily. Kortrijk wasted a few good chances against Anderlecht but Anderlecht wasted a few against them, too. On another day, a 4-1 scoreline would not have been unexpected. Kortrijk were fortunate to face Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadion after Anderlecht had been allowed to grow rusty for a few weeks. I doubt they’d have the same luck if they went there next week – let’s put it that way.
Props to Kortrijk, though – they really are good to watch and I wish them the best. However, they’re out of their depth in the top six of this league and it will show. They’re playing without pressure because they’ve already achieved far more than they’d hoped at the start of the season and that in itself can be a dangerous weapon. However, they can’t defend and they’re facing a much superior side today so it’s hard to envision a happy ending for little Kortrijk.
Genk will have their work cut out trying to deal with Veselinovic and Chavarria especially but Joseph-Monrose is also a threat despite his tender years. Get at the Kortrijk defence and your side will score a lot of goals, though. Taking both sides to score looks worthwhile here but I see far more value in taking superior Genk to win this game at generous odds of 5/6, which have no doubt come about because of Kortrijk’s recent results because on paper, Genk are streets ahead of Kortrijk. Therefore, my call is for Genk to take three points here in what should be a very entertaining encounter.
Verdict: Racing Genk to win at 5/6.
And one final tip…
This one is not one of my own but was recommended by one of our loyal Serbian followers – Miro. Having watched the first leg of the Serbian Cup game between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade, he felt that the scoreline was a little too kind for Red Star after Partizan had played very well. He feels that Partizan’s pace will be too much for Red Star to handle in this game and that their bitter rivals will simply want to defend their two-goal cushion, which looks likely to me. Red Star miss Milojevic but there aren’t any massive absentees for both clubs aside from that. Partizan have dominated Red Star in recent years and despite some recent dubious defensive displays from Partizan, you do have to fancy them to at least win the game so I’m with Miro here!
Team news
German Bundesliga:
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund – Bakalorz, Gotze, Koch, and Focher are absent.
Bayern Munich – Riedmuller, Sattelmaier, Breno, and van Buyten are absent.
Hannover 96 – Radlinger, Akdari, Plaschke, Aycicek, Stind, and Abdellaoue are absent.
VfL Wolfsburg – Chris, Klamt, Madlung, M.Schulze, Thoelke, Hitzlsperger, Kreuels, Medojevic, Schindzielorz, Helmes, and Scheidhauer are absent.
Nurnberg – Rakovsky, Judt, Plattenhardt, Feulner, Hlousek, Kamavuaka, Klement, Zeitz, Eigler, and Esswein are absent.
Schalke 04 – Fahrmann, Hildebrand, Kenia, and Wiegel are absent.
Hoffenheim – Casteels, Gulde, Jaissle, Klingmann, Vorsah, and Thomalla are absent.
Hamburger SV – Mickel, Aogo, Besic, Diekmeier, Labus, Rajkovic, Stepanek, H.Behrens, Bertram, Castelen, Ingreso, Lam, Nagy, Tavares, and Guerrero are absent.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen – Corluka, da Costa, Schwaab, L.Bender, and Sam are absent.
Kaiserslautern – Knaller, Heintz, Linsmayer, Lucas, Orban, Simunek, Borysiuk, Tiffer, Jorgensen, Kouemaha, and Shechter are absent.
Dutch Eredivisie:
Heerenveen – Svec and Janmaat are absent.
AFC Ajax Amsterdam – Sulejmani, Boilesen, and El Hamdaoui are absent. Sigthorsson and Boerrigter are doubts.
RKC Waalwijk – van Dijk, Ten Voorde, and Bandjar are absent.
PSV Eindhoven – Isaksson is absent.
Roda JC Kerkrade – Pluim, Staelens, and Donald are absent.
Feyenoord Rotterdam – Swerts, Mokotjo, Ramsteijn, and Schaken are absent.
AZ Alkmaar – Holman and Ortiz are absent.
Twente Enschede – Landzaat, Rendla, Mihaylov, Wisgerhof, Janssen, and Brama are absent.
NAC Breda – Janse and Zonneveld are absent.
Heracles Almelo – van der Linden, Ter Horst, and Overtoom are absent.
Spanish Primera Liga:
Sporting Gijon – Carmelo, Gregory, Mendy, and Eguren are absent. Bad atmosphere as players held a meeting about boss Clemente due to his harsh words about the team. Training ground bust-up between Andre Castro and either Sangoy or Trejo.
Levante – Del Horno is a doubt.
Granada – Roberto, Diakhate, Yebda, Pamarot, Fran Rico, and Henrique are absent.
Athletic Club de Bilbao – Inigo Perez, I.Martinez, Gurpegi, Ocio, and Castillo are absent. J.Martinez returns.
Valencia CF – Canales, Banega, and Brito are absent. Soldado is a doubt.
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid – Piti, Javi Fuego, Michel, Sueliton are absent. Armenteros is a doubt.
Atletico Madrid – Miranda, Mario Suarez, Salvio, Antonio Lopez, and Silvio are absent. Koke returns.
Real Madrid – No absentees.
Swedish Allsvenskan:
Helsingborg – Wahlstedt, Edman, Santos are doubts. Bergholtz is absent.
GAIS Goteborg – Spong and Tamadi are absent.