Rosenborg seek upturn in Leverkusen fortunes

Rosenborg BK will look to improve on their previous meetings with Bayer 04 Leverkusen as the sides come face to face again in UEFA Europa League Group K.

Rosenborg BK will look to put their past meetings with Bayer 04 Leverkusen down to experience as the teams meet again in UEFA Europa League Group K.
Previous meetings
• Jupp Heynckes' Leverkusen beat a Rosenborg side coached by Nils Arne Eggen 4-0 at home and 1-0 away in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage.
• The teams for their first meeting on 16 September 2010, when Patrick Helmes scored a hat-trick at the BayArena, were:

Leverkusen: Adler, Schwaab*, Reinartz*, Hyypiä, Friedrich*, Bender* (Balitsch 67), Helmes, Sam*, Derdiyok (Vida 78), Castro* (Barnetta 78), Jørgensen.
Rosenborg: Örlund*, Lustig, Dorsin*, Annan, Bjärsmyr, Strand (Sare 56), Demidov, Iversen* (Trond Olsen 79), Skjelbred, Markus Henriksen (Jamtfall 72), Prica*.
• The teams for the return fixture in Trondheim on 1 December 2010 were:
Rosenborg: Örlund*, Lustig, Dorsin*, Annan, Bjärsmyr, Moldskred, Demidov, Iversen*, Skjelbred, Markus Henriksen, Prica*.
Leverkusen: Giefer, Reinartz*, Hyypiä, Friedrich*, Bender*, Helmes (Castro* 85), Balitsch, Vida, Sam* (Kaplan 68), Kadlec*, Jørgensen (Derdiyok 76).
* registered to play in 2012/13
• Sami Hyypiä, who is now in the dug-out at Leverkusen, played in both games.
Match background
• The games against Rosenborg represent all of Leverkusen's experience of Norwegian opposition.
• Rosenborg have played ten matches against German sides with the record W1 D3 L6 (W0 D2 L3 in Trondheim – W1 D0 L4 in Germany). They have not won in their last eight outings against Bundesliga opponents.
• Rosenborg and FC Twente are the only clubs who have battled their way to the group stage from the first qualifying round. The Norwegian side are unbeaten in nine European games in 2012/13 – five wins and four draws. They have not lost in five European home encounters – two wins and three draws.
• Rosenborg have been in this group stage on two previous occasions, but failed to reach the round of 32 in both 2008/09 and 2010/11.
• Leverkusen have not won in five European away games, a run comprising a draw and four defeats – including a 7-1 loss at FC Barcelona in last season's UEFA Champions League round of 16.
• Leverkusen are engaged in their fourth group stage campaign in this competition, and have never failed to progress to the round of 32.
Team facts
• Twente's Leroy Fer and Rosenborg's Czech forward Bořek Dočkal were the highest scorers in qualifying with six goals each.
• Rosenborg defenders Tore Reginiussen (FC Schalke 04) and Jon Inge Høiland (1. FC Kaiserslautern) have both played for German clubs, as has striker Rade Prica (FC Hansa Rostock).
• Rosenborg coach Jan Jönsson was a midfielder at Halmstads BK in his native Sweden from 1978-92, before moving to Japan, where he served as a player and assistant coach under Stuart Baxter at Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Vissel Kobe. He took command at Rosenborg in 2011 following fruitful spells with Landskrona BoIS (2001-04) and Stabæk Fotball (2005-10).
• Team manager Hyypiä leads Leverkusen in collaboration with coach Sascha Lewandowski. Former Finland defender Hyypiä won the 2001 UEFA Cup and the 2005 UEFA Champions League during a ten-year spell at Liverpool FC, moving on to Leverkusen in 2009. After retiring in 2011, Hyypiä took up coaching roles with Leverkusen and Finland and stepped in – initially on a caretaker basis – after the Werkself sacked Robin Dutt in April 2012.

article source:http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2013/matches/round=2000356/match=2009936/prematch/background/index.html

League preview Football news: Olympiacos FC vs. Schalke 04 2012-2013 UEFA Championship

Schalke 04‘s  last UEFA Champions League  foray  took  them all  the way  to  the semi-finals and  they will be dreaming of reaching those heights again when they kick off a new campaign with an away game against Olympiacos FC.

Schalke lost out to Manchester United FC in the 2010/11 last four and will be eager to make a positive start in Piraeus.

Previous meetings

This is the second successive season in which Olympiacos have faced German opposition in the group stage; 12 months ago they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-1 at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on matchday three.

The Greek club have enjoyed some remarkable home games against German teams, including a 6-2 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League first group stage and a 4-0 defeat by Hamburger SV in the 1982/83 European Champion Clubs’ Cup second round.

In six home competitive fixtures against Bundesliga opponents there have been a total of 29 goals scored, Olympiacos winning four of those matches with two losses.

Match background
Olympiacos are in their 14th participation in the UEFA Champions League and will be hoping to at least match their feats of both 2009/10 and 2007/08 when they reached the round of 16.

Last year’s defeat of Dortmund followed a 1-0 home loss to Olympique de Marseille on matchday one. They also beat Arsenal FC 3-1 in Greece, and have won five of their last six home group games in the competition. They still finished only third in Group F last term.

Schalke are making their fifth appearance in the competition; in their four previous campaigns they were defeated on matchday one without scoring a goal, against Olympique Lyonnais (0-1 away, 2010/11), Valencia CF (0-1 home, 2007/08), PSV Eindhoven (0-1 away, 2005/06) and Panathinaikos FC (0-2 home, 2001/02).

The German club recovered from that Lyon loss to win seven of their next nine fixtures with the other two drawn. They finished first in their group before overcoming Valencia and holders FC Internazionale Milano in the knockout rounds but then came unstuck against Manchester United, losing 2-0 at home and 4-1 away.

Football news: Olympiacos FC vs. Schalke 04 2012-2013 UEFA Champions League preview | Football News http://www.football-media.net/2012/09/18/olympiacos-fc-vs-schalke-04-2012-2013-uefa-champions-league-preview.html#ixzz26sVoDwNT

Naughton keen on left-back spot

Kyle Naughton has declared himself the man to fill the void left by Benoit Assou-Ekotto ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's UEFA Europa League opener against Lazio.

Tottenham is still waiting to discover how long left-back Assou-Ekotto will face on the sidelines amid fears he could be ruled out for up to a month.

The 28-year-old missed Andre Villas-Boas' first win in charge at Reading last weekend with a knee problem that may require a 'washout' procedure, ruling him out for around four weeks.

Losing Assou-Ekotto, who has barely missed a match in the last four seasons, would be seen as a blow to Tottenham's hopes of building on its opening Premier League victory this term.

Jan Vertonghen has filled in at left-back numerous times for Belgium but Villas-Boas decided to hand Naughton his full league debut for Tottenham at Reading.

Despite playing out of position, the 23-year-old proved up to the challenge at the Madejski Stadium and was hoping to have done enough to keep his place for Thursday's Europa League glamour clash against Lazio.

"It was great to get the three points and that the gaffer gave me a chance to show what I can do," he told his club's official website, www.tottenhamhotspur.com

"I played at left-back a few times for Norwich [on loan] last season and hopefully now I can carry on playing.

"Towards the end, I was tiring a little and they got in behind us a little but the more games I play, hopefully the stronger I'll get.

"Everyone's been brilliant and I just hope I can carry on now and play in the Europa League."

The Group J match is Tottenham's first ever competitive meeting with Lazio, to which it famously sold Paul Gascoigne20 years ago.

The draw last month prompted the Italian giant to offer to invite the former England midfielder to the reverse fixture inRome on 22 November.

Press Association Sport understands the 45-year-old was also invited to attend this week's match but he was unable to accept for personal reasons.

Gascoigne has struggled to deal with alcohol problems since retirement but his agent said this northern summer that he had embarked on a health drive.

It remains to be seen whether he will attend the game between the sides at the Stadio Olimpico.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas vowed to take the Europa League seriously ahead of his first match in the competition since winning it with Porto last year.

Harry Redknapp fielded a shadow side last term but Villas-Boas declared he would pick a 'strong team'.

"We want to do something special in this competition," he said.

"This competition is very important.

"It's a tough competition. You have to play 15 games before you reach the final, so it's hard and strenuous and the best teams out of the Champions League are playing.

"It gives access to the European Super Cup and, for me, I always thought it was a prestigious competition and it should be promoted like that because after the Cup Winners' Cup disappeared, it is not only about the Champions League.

"If we can win a trophy, that represents a lot for Tottenham Hotspur's history as well and would be something really special."

Lazio has begun Serie A with a hat-trick of wins and Tottenham's northern summer signing Gylfi Sigurdsson said: "They are a good team.

"It's great to play in Europe and we're looking forward to that game, trying to get off to a good start.

"It will be important to get three points at home."

article source:  http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/english-premier-league/news/1121013/Naughton-keen-on-left-back-spot

Málaga look for calm as Zenit call

"Euphoria does not win matches," said Manuel Pellegrini as he looked for cool heads from his Málaga CF side in their tough Group C opener against Luciano Spalletti's FC Zenit St Petersburg.

 Manuel Pellegrini is looking to maintain calm at Málaga

Having famously led Villarreal CF to the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Manuel Pellegrini is embarking on a new adventure with Málaga CF in Group C but warned that only with hard work will they prolong their flying start to the season. As for visitors FC Zenit St Petersburg, their coach Luciano Spalletti is in no doubt that they are in for a tough test in Spain.

Málaga 
Coach Manuel PellegriniZenit are the most dangerous rivals because they are our next opponents. They are here as champions of Russia and nobody has given them anything on a plate. They are here with the same objectives as us. We will look to go out and win the game and if we manage that then we will look to win our second game in the group and edge closer to qualification. It is OK for our fans to be excited right now but my squad knows well that euphoria does not win matches. We have to work hard if we want this good run we are on to continue.

We have to be very careful against our opponents in this group because all of them are difficult. It would be a mistake to think one of them will be an easier game than another. Every match is different. The most important thing is to keep doing what we have done up to now. If we want to be successful then we have to fight and play in the same way that we have been playing. When I was at Villarreal nobody expected us to reach the semi-finals of Champions League.

Weekend result
Saturday: Málaga 3-1 Levante UD (Saviola 27, Joaquín 59, Portillo 90; Míchel 46)Caballero; Sergio Sánchez, Demichelis, Weligton, Monreal; Camacho, Eliseu (Dudu 82), Portillo, Isco, Joaquín (Recio 74); Saviola (Santa Cruz 69)

• Despite being reduced to ten men following Sergio Sánchez's late dismissal, Málaga continued their best-ever start to a Liga campaign and moved up to second. Javier Saviola and Francisco Portillo scored their first goals for the club either side of Joaquín's second-half strike.

Team news
Jérémy Toulalan has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Pellegrini said: "Toulalan will be a big miss for us but we hope he is back for Sunday's league game."

Zenit 
Coach Luciano Spalletti
I like what Manuel Pellegrini is doing, he is doing a great job. Last season was fantastic and he has started this season very well. We will only be able to discover Málaga's weaknesses if we play our best for the entire game. They have good, experienced players like Isco, [Martín] Demichelis, [Nacho] Monreal, [Ignacio] Camacho, Toulalan and Saviola. This team always tries to control the game. Málaga have a great squad but we don't envy them – we are strong too. A coach has to instil a winning mentality, but the team has to win once the game starts.

I think AC Milan are the favourites to win this group, even though they have lost two important players. Zenit, Málaga and Anderlecht are teams that can cause problems for Milan. I know how I will motivate my players to reach the next stage.

Weekend result
Friday: Zenit 0-2 FC Terek Grozny (Aílton 85, Lebedenko 90)
Malafeev, Yanbaev, Bruno Alves, Lombaerts, Anyukov, Fayzulin (Hulk 46), Zyryanov (Witsel 69), Denisov, Shirokov (Semak 78), Bystrov, Kerzhakov

• Zenit suffered their second consecutive home league defeat.

• Three newcomers (Renat Yanbaev, Hulk and Axel Witsel) made their competitive debuts against Terek.

Team news
Witsel (hamstring) did not travel to Spain and nor did defender Domenico Criscito and midfielder Sergei Semak. Spalletti explained that the trio "were not in the best condition, so they stayed at home".

Match fact
This is only Málaga's second season of European football but they already have an impressive unbeaten home record. In 2002/03, they played eight fixtures from the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup through to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, recording five wins and three draws. Add this season's 2-0 play-off success against Panathinaikos FC and they have conceded only three goals in nine home outings.

article source: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2013/matches/round=2000347/match=2009500/prematch/preview/index.html

Wigan vs. Chelsea Match Preview

With Chelsea losing the community shield they will want to start the new Premier League campaign with a win. So I have them to score more than 2 here at Wigan.

Chelsea looked good in the first half against City causing a few problems for City but with the sending off City were just to strong to hang on to the 1-0 lead they had.

Maybe more importantly was seeing Torres net a goal, after last season he will want to start off well here and Wigan will be a perfect opportunity for him.

Wigan, while last season miraculously survived the drop with a great run of form towards the end but I can't see them starting as well this season.

Chelsea squad has strengthened in an attacking sense and Wigan are shaky at the best of times at the back so I see Chelsea scoring 2 or more here with ease. Wigan may get one back but they will need to out score an attacking Chelsea to stay in the match.

UEFA Champions League revenue distribution

UEFA has presented the revenue distribution system for the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League, allocating the estimated income from that competition and the UEFA Super Cup.

 UEFA has issued its UEFA Champions League revenue distribution system for the forthcoming campaign. The estimated gross commercial revenue from the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup is €1.34bn.

Of that estimated gross commercial revenue, €55m will be allocated exclusively to the play-off rounds, as was the case in the 2009–12 cycle: each of the 20 clubs participating in the play-offs will collect a fixed amount of €2.1m.

Furthermore, as decided by the UEFA Executive Committee at its meeting of 30 June 2012 on the recommendation of the Club Competitions Committee, a contribution of €40m will be made from the UEFA Champions League club share to the UEFA Europa League club share. In addition, €3m from the club share will be designated to subsidise the solidarity amounts for sides eliminated in the qualifying phase of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Some 75% of the total revenue from media rights and commercial contracts concluded by UEFA, up to a maximum of €530m, will go to the clubs, while the remaining 25% will be reserved for European football and remain with UEFA to cover organisational and administrative costs and solidarity payments to associations, clubs and leagues.

A total of 82% of any revenue received from the same stream in excess of €530m will be allocated to the clubs, with the other 18% allotted to European football and remaining with UEFA for the purposes listed above.

The net amount available to the participating clubs will be split – €500.7m in fixed payments and €409.6m in variable amounts (market pool). This will be distributed according to the proportional value of each television market represented by the clubs taking part in the UEFA Champions League (group stage onwards), and will be split among those sides competing from a given association.

The 32 clubs featuring in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage can anticipate a minimum €8.6m – and the team that goes on to win the trophy next spring could collect €37.4m, not counting the market pool share.

Each of the 32 sides involved in the group stage will collect a base fee of €8.6m. Performance bonuses will also see €1m paid for a win and €500,000 for a draw in the group phase.

The teams competing in the round of 16 can also expect to pick up €3.5m each, the quarter-finalists €3.9m and the semi-finalists €4.9m. The UEFA Champions League winners will receive €10.5m and the runners-up €6.5m.

Meanwhile, the winners of the 2012 UEFA Super Cup will earn €3m and the runners-up €2.2m.

Under the solidarity distribution system, every domestic champion club that fails to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage will be entitled to €200,000. In addition, each club that plays in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will receive €140,000 provided they do not qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Likewise, every team performing in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will earn €140,000 provided they do not qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage, while each side eliminated in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will get €140,000.

Euro 2012 Group Stage – Poland Vs Greece Match Preview

Euro 2012 EUFA bet on sport 12bet

Poland Vs Greece Match Preview

In the build-up to the first activity of this season's European Championships, the betting for the Greece vs. Poland has thrown on a variety of events. When the draw was declared and the accessories were set for each team, Greece were the possibilities on favorites to choose up a win in this fascinating first experience of the tournament.

Check back for the you win match preview guide for the Euro group A stage game of Poland Vs Greece.

A couple of days before the game kicks off, we’ll be giving you our exclusive betting guide to Poland Vs Greece, with an in depth look at all the components that are likely to affect the outcome of the match – including the team line up, latest happenings off the pitch, potential goal scorers and the likely Poland Vs Greece final score and how this could affect group A.

This will allow you to make an informed decision and take advantage of some of the very best odds on Poland Vs Greece with 12bet.com.

In the mean time you can check out more about each of the individual Poland football team and Greece football team by looking at our teams guide.

Euro 2012 EUFA bet on sport 12bet

Poland Vs Greece Match Preview

 

 

In the build-up to the first activity of this season's European Championships, the betting for the Greece vs. Poland has thrown on a variety of events. When the draw was declared and the accessories were set for each team, Greece were the possibilities on favorites to choose up a win in this fascinating first experience of the tournament.

Check back for the you win match preview guide for the Euro group A stage game of Poland Vs Greece.

A couple of days before the game kicks off, we’ll be giving you our exclusive betting guide to Poland Vs Greece, with an in depth look at all the components that are likely to affect the outcome of the match – including the team line up, latest happenings off the pitch, potential goal scorers and the likely Poland Vs Greece final score and how this could affect group A.

This will allow you to make an informed decision and take advantage of some of the very best odds on Poland Vs Greece with youwin.com.

In the mean time you can check out more about each of the individual Poland football team and Greece football team by looking at our teams guide.