FTS European Football Weekly: Sixth Edition

From The Stands with the lowdown on this weekend’s European football action…

English Premier League

Swansea vs Southampton on Sunday at 12am AEST

 

Swansea have kicked off the campaign in impressive fashion winning three of their first four games. They did, however, succumb to the might of Chelsea last weekend but that wasn’t before they put in an extraordinary effort to lead for most of the first half.

Many predicted a difficult season for Southampton but so far things look just as good as last season if not better for the rejuvenated Saints. They come into this match after a mighty 4-0 win over Newcastle that saw Graziano Pelle bag a brace.

Prediction – Swansea 2 Southampton 3

Manchester City vs Chelsea on Monday at 1am AEST

Reignings champions have had a patchy start to the season but they would have been content with their 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend. The Citizens will be keen to make amends for their late defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League midweek.

Chelsea are the only team with a perfect record with 12 points and an imposing 15 goals for. This from a Jose Mourinho side that was criticized for being too defensive last campaign. Chelsea lead the league for shots on goal per game (20) and shots on target per game (7.5).

Prediction – Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1

Best of the rest

• Aston Villa vs Arsenal – The Villains have been solid and will look to keep their form going when they face an Arsenal side that may have a bare bones defence.
• Leicester City vs Manchester United – Leicester have only lost once so far but they face the daunting task of keeping out a lethal Manchester United attack.
• Newcastle vs Hull City – Newcastle need a win to boost morale after a poor start to the season but it will be tough against a side managed by Steve Bruce who is linked to being the next man in charge at St James Park.

Spanish La Liga

Atletico Madrid vs Celta Vigo on Sunday at 4am AEST

Atletico have picked up from where they left off last season and remain undefeated after three outings. They put Real Madrid to the sword at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend with a 2-1 win to move to points of league leaders Barcelona.

Celta Vigo are also undefeated and have scored six goals, and sit equal second in the league. Chilean forward Fabian Orellana leads the Pichichi with three goals and has looked to have developed a good partnership with Argentine Joaquin Larrivey who has two goals and an assist.

Prediction – Atletico Madrid 2 Celta Vigo 0

Levante vs Barcelona on Monday at 4am AEST

Levante have yet to record a win thus far and have been significantly out played in all three of their matches. Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar will be lamenting the missed opportunities of his side who manage 9.7 shots per game but only 1.3 on target.

Barcelona have barely shifted into second gear in any of their opening matches but still they have a perfect nine points from nine. The possession based team is top of the league with an average of 69% possession. Their defence too is sound, with the Catalans yet to concede a single goal this season.

Prediction – Levante 0 Barcelona 4

Best of the rest

• Deportivo vs Real Madrid – The pressure is on the unbalanced Galacticos and an away win at Deportivo is required to keep the fans satisfied.
• Getafe vs Valencia – Getafe will need to make full use of their home advantage against Valencia who are La Liga’s highest scoring team with seven.

German Bundesliga

Paderborn vs Hannover 96 on Saturday at 11.30pm AEST

Paderborn have had an impressive start after promotion to the top division. Their highlight so far was a 3-0 win over Hamburger SV – not bad for a side that ranks last for average possession (39%).

Hannover have also started the season in impressive fashion and are joint leaders of the league with two wins and a draw.

Prediction – Paderborn 1 Hannover 1

Hamburger SV vs Bayern Munich on Saturday at 11.30pm AEST

For a side with the likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Rene Adler and Marcell Jansen, it is incredible to see Hamburger at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. They rank second with possession (55.5%) but have lacked the efficiency up front with only 16% of their shots going on target.

Bayern are the only side that averages more possession than Hamburger but the key difference is that they manage to get more than half (52%) of their shots on target. Bayern have also suppressed teams conceding only eight shots against per match meaning Hamburger could struggle to register a shot on target.

Prediction – Hamburger SV 0 Bayern Munich 3

Best of the rest

• Mainz 05 vs Borussia Dortmund’s – Jurgan Klopp visits the club that he spent almost two decades with as a player and a manager and will be expecting his side to register their third win in succession.
• Wolfsburg vs Bayer Leverkusen – League leaders Bayer will look to build on their strong start when they face a Wolfsburg side yet to taste victory.
• Freiburg vs Hertha Berlin – Both sides have two defeats and a draw and will be desperate to claim three points in this bottom of the table six pointer.

Italian Serie A

AC Milan vs Juventus on Sunday at 4.45pm AEST

Both sides are two wins from two matches but it is AC Milan that have really rocked the boat having already knocked in eight goals. The Rossoneri had a dramatic 5-4 win over Parma last weekend with Jeremy Menez bagging a double. AC Milan have managed to get 64% of their shots on target, a league high.

Juventus have been steady in their opening encounters and are yet to concede a goal. They have a league high 64.3% possession and striker Carlos Tevez seems to be back to his best with a goal and an assist with an average of 4.5 shots per game.

Prediction – AC Milan 2 Juventus 2

Palermo vs Inter Milan on Monday at 4.45am AEST

The Serie B champions only have a point from their opening two games and will be looking to cause an upset at the Stadio Renzo Barbero. It has been questioned why they let pacey striker Abel Hernandez go to Hull City on transfer deadline day and it is up to the likes of Paulo Dybala and new signing Simon Makienok to fill the void.

Inter were held to a nil-all draw at Torino on the opening weekend but managed to thump Sassuolo 7-0 at the San Siro last weekend. Mauro Icardi knocked in a hat trick while Pablo Osvaldo managed a brace in a match where 70% of the shots on target resulted in a goal.

Prediction – Palermo 1 Inter Milan 2

Best of the rest

• Udinese vs Napoli – Both sides are coming of a defeat after a win on the opening weekend.
• Roma vs Cagliari – Roma have been strong in their first two games and will be looking to continue that against Cagliari who are one of eight sides yet to register three points.

French Ligue 1

Lille vs Montpellier on Sunday at 10pm AEST

Lille moved into top spot last weekend after their neat 2-0 win over Nantes. Their ball retention is second in the league at 60.8% and while they only average 1.2 goals per game they have only conceded once in five matches.

Montpellier were the last side to win Ligue 1 other than PSG and have had a decent start to this season with three wins. They have only scored a goal a game and this could be down to only managing 22% of their shots on target.

Prediction Lille 1 Montpellier 0

PSG vs Lyon on Monday at 5am AEST

The Paris giants are one of two clubs yet to chalk up a defeat yet they still remain in fifth position after being held to draws on three occasions. As most would suspect, Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the league with five goals in four matches which isn’t bad for a man turning 33 next month.

Lyon currently find themselves in 13th position. They lead the league for most shots on goal (16) per game they have only managed to get 25% on target.

Prediction – PSG 3 Lyon 1

Best of the rest

• Marseille vs Rennes – These two sides will be pleased with their opening five games but it is Marseille who could move into top spot if results go their way.
• Monaco vs Guingamp – Monaco have underperformed and sit in 19th but a win midweek in the Champions League could kick-start them to a run of form starting against 16th place Guingamp.

The top 5 matches across other European leagues

● Anderlecht vs Cercle Bruges in the Belgian Pro League on Sunday at 4am AEST
● CSKA Moscow vs Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Premier League on Sunday at 7.30pm AEST
● Dundee FC vs Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday at 9.15pm AEST
● Feyenoord vs Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday at 10.30pm AEST
● FC Porto vs Boavista in the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Monday at 5.15am AEST

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