Aberdeen v Dundee
Aberdeen
Injuries - Jack, Considine, Fallon
Available Squad - Langfield, Magennis, Robertson, Reynolds, Anderson, Osbourne, Rae,
McGinn, Hughes, Fraser, Hayes, Vernon, Smith, Jordon Brown, Jason Brown,
Clark, Milsom, Rogers, Shaughnessy, Naysmith
Probable XI - Langfield, Naysmith, Reynolds, Anderson, Robertson, Hughes, Rae, Osbourne, McGinn, Fraser, Vernon (4-3-3)
Dundee
Injuries - Kerr, Grassi, O'Donnell, Stewart, Finnigan, McCluskey
Available Squad - Douglas, McGregor, Lockwood, Easton, Irvine, Webster, Conroy, McAlister,
Baird, McIntosh, Davidson, Reid, Cavanagh, McBride, Riley, Milne,
Boyle, Nish, Toshney, Benedictus, Gallagher
Probable XI - Douglas, Irvine, McGregor, Benedictus, Lockwood, Riley, Davidson, McAllister, McBride, Nish, Milne (4-4-2)
Prediction : Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
Dundee
took a bit of a tonking last time out against Inverness losing 5-1 at
home. I think Aberdeen have been waiting for a game like this to hand
out a bit of a hiding to someone (Craig Brown has been dreaming of it
for a while). But I dont think it will be a hiding in terms of scoreline
but it might be in terms of the difference in the teams. Aberdeen still
really struggle to get the goals they deserve and you've got to think
Dundee have been practicing their defending all week so I think UNDER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.91 (William Hill) is worth a look in this match.
_________________________________________
Celtic v Kilmarnock
Celtic
Injuries - Stokes, Nouioui, McGeouch, Samaras
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Forster, Matthews, Mulgrew, Wilson, Izaguirre, Ledley, Kayal, Wanyama, Commons, Forrest, Hooper (4-4-1-1)
Kilmarnock
Injuries - N/A
Available Squad - N/A
Probable XI - Bell, O'Leary, Pascali, Nelson, McKeown, Pursehouse, Kelly, Harkins, Fowler, Sheridan, Heffernan
Prediction : Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock
Celtic
will be feeling it after the defeat to Barcelona and the travel etc but
they have a big enough squad to field enough fresh legs to still easily
win this match. Kilmarnock will be more competitive now with Heffernan
back to partner Sheridan up front. Still I can't see Killie getting much
out of this match but its a NO BET, no value for me!
_________________________________________
Hearts v Ross County
Hearts
Injuries - Ridgers, Hammill, Carrick
Available Squad - MacDonald, R McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Paterson, Barr,
Taouil, Novikovas, Sutton, Driver, Robinson, Holt, D McGowan, McHattie,
Stevenson, Smith, Enckelman
Probable XI - MacDonald, McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger, Driver, Taouil, Barr, Novikovas, Paterson, Stevenson (4-4-1-1)
Ross County
Injuries - Morrow, Scott, Cooper, Corcoran
Available Squad - Fraser, Tokely, Munro, Boyd, Fitzpatrick, Brittain, Quinn, Kettlewell,
Vigurs, Fotheringham, Glen, McMenamin, Dingwall, Ross, Macphee,
Kovacevic, Brown, Porrit
Probable XI - Fraser, Boyd, Munro, Kovacevic, Fitzpatrick, Kettlewell, Brittain, Vigurs, Quinn, Fotheringham, McMenamin (4-5-1)
Prediction : Hearts 2-1 Ross County
It
was back to winning ways for both these teams last week and sorely
needed for both. Probably more so Ross County who hadn't won a match in
the previous 6. They really have not been the same team since their long
unbeaten run came to an end. All of a sudden they have become severely
leaky at the back, shipping 12 goals in their last 4 games. I'm
expecting Hearts to be pretty much unchanged from the win over
Motherwell and with home advantage we really should be the dominant team
here. County might nick a goal but I see Hearts getting on the scoresheet
at least twice. HOME WIN @ 2.0 (William Hill)
_________________________________________
Inverness v St Johnstone
Inverness
Injuries - Foran, King, Hogg, Ross
Available Squad - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Blackman, G Shinnie, Morrison, A
Shinnie, Pepper, Draper, Tudur Jones, Doran, McKay, Cooper, Polworth,
Oswell, Brislen-Hall, Roberts, Sutherland, Esson
Probable XI - Reguero, Meekings, Raven, Warren, G. Shinnie, Doran, Tudur-Jones, Draper, Sutherland, A. Shinnie, McKay (4-4-1-1)
St Johnstone
Injuries - Pawlett, Beattie, Adam, MacLean, Cregg
Available Squad - Mannus, Mackay, C Davidson, Wright, Anderson, Millar, M Davidson, Tade,
Craig, Hasselbaink, Robertson, McCracken, Miller, Caddis, Scobbie,
Tobin, Kane, Tuffey, Gray, Vine, Moon
Probable XI - Mannus, C.Davidson, Anderson, Wright, Mackay, Hasselbaink, Millar, Craig, m.Davidson, Tade, Vine (4-4-2)
Prediction : Inverness 1-2 St Johnstone
Pretty
much a bit of an OMG this....These two teams are basically the 2 form
teams in the SPL at the moment, especially St Johnstone. After starting
the season badly all of a sudden they are invincible winning their last
SIX games on the trott! And I have no idea why!!! To be honest though,
since the home win over Celtic they have had a favourable run of
fixtures. Inverness also have won their last 3 in a row scoring
unbelievably 11 goals in the process so I really am expecting some goals
in this game and am a liitle surprised that I can get OVER 2.5 GOALS @1.91 (Paddy Power) I'll have a piece of that!
_________________________________________
St Mirren v Dundee Utd
St Mirren
Injuries - McGowan, McGregor, Adam
Available Squad - Samson, Dummett, Mair, van Zanten, McAusland, Goodwin, Carey, McLean,
Guy, Robertson, Thompson, Parkin, Imrie, C Smith, Teale, Barron, P
McGinn, J McGinn, Reilly
Probable XI - Samson, Van Zanten, Mair, McAusland, Barrow, Guy, Carey, McLean, Reilly, Imrie, Thompson (4-4-1-1)
Dundee Utd
Injuries - Vignal, Mackay-Steven
Available Squad - Cierzniak, Watson, Dillon, Gunning, McLean, Flood, Rankin, Ryan,
Russell, Daly, Dow, Armstrong, Millar, Gardyne, Robertson, Skacel,
Gauld, Douglas, Hilson, Banks
Probable XI - Cierzniak, Dillon, Watson, Gunning, Flood, Armstrong, Rankin, Gardyne, Robertson, Daly, Russell (4-4-2)
Prediction : St Mirren 1-2 Dundee Utd
Dundee
Utd find themselves 2nd bottom of the league, they do have 2 games in
hand but they are both tricky against Motherwell and Celtic so I dont
actually think their position is that false. They have simply not
produced the same performances as they achieved last year. The big news
is they have managed to sign Rudi Skacel until January much to the
disappointment of the Hearts fans who presumed he would rejoin at
Tynecastle. I nice touch for the Jambos though is the fact he has asked for his
number to be 51 after the famous 5-1 Hampden massacre he inflicted on
Hibs last year.....lol I imagine he wont start but has been training
recently with Hearts so will probably feature at some point. He will be a
useful fill in until Mackay-Steven returns. St Mirren were a hopeless
shambles against Celtic last week and looked a bit lost without McGowan.
Peter Houstons troops need a vital win and I think they will squeeze
it. DUNDEE UTD WIN @ 2.5 (Boylesports)
_________________________________________
Friday 26 October 2012
Monday 22 October 2012
Barcelona v Celtic
Barcelona v Celtic
Barcelona
Injuries - Puyol, Pique, Alves
Suspended - Busquets
Probable XI - Valdes, Montoya, Mascherano, Song, Alba, Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Alexis, Messi, Villa (4-3-3)
Celtic
Injuries - McGeouch, Nouioui
Doubtful - Commons, Forrest, Wilson
Probable XI - Forster, Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Mulgrew, Wanyama, Brown, Ledley, Samaras, Hooper (4-2-3-1)
Optimistic Celtic fans will go into this match rightly saying that Celtic are unbeaten in Europe this season after securing qualification into the group stages with impressive home and away wins in Helsinki and at Helsingborg. They followed that with a fantasic start to their group stage campaign securing a well earned draw against Benfica and then managing to take an unfancied 3pts back from Moscow (abeit with the aid of a red card). However, despite these recent improvements on their travels, people with a slightly longer memory will not have forgotten about that shockingly bad away record Celtic have in Europe. The hard facts are that the win against Spartak Moscow was their only win in their last 27 away matches in Europe proper (W1 D6 L20). So, probably the last place in europe you would want to be going to improve that record is Camp Nou where Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League home matches (W14 D3). Still Celtic's domestic form has been really good this season, if we ignore the hiccup against St Johnstone, they have gone all other games this season so far undefeated but some would argue this is to be expected in the SPL where they have a far superior squad to any rivals.
Clearly facing Barcelona is a daunting task, in my humble opinion Barca are still the best team in the world and best ever with arguably currently the 3 best players in the world in Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. In terms of ball retention, passing ability and vision I think you will struggle to see any better than Iniesta and particularly Xavi who is often the unsung meastro but only because Iniesta and Messi shine so brightly. If there are 2 better midfielders than Xavi and Iniesta in my era then simply they have not been born yet, as these guys are that good! I don't have to talk about Messi as it is all there to see, he is a freak of nature and has been the top scorer in the Champions League for the last 4 seasons in a row. Almost without fail he delivers in every, and I mean every, game he plays in breaking record after record in his extrodinary career.
If there was to be any glimer of hope for Celtic it would be that under Tito Vilanova, he has made Barca slightly more open at the back, in part due to injuries I suppose, but they are definately a little more vunerable now than they were under the charge of Pep Guardiloa. Vilanova has a more, "we'll score more goals than you" attitude and to be fair they normally do. There have been a few examples of this already, last time out against Deportivo it ended 5-4, at Sevilla it was 3-2 and on the opening night of the group stages they won a shot-out style game against Spartak Moscow 3-2 also. I imagine they will go with the partnership of midfielders Mascherano and Song in central defence again but mind you Mascherano is probably now more experienced in defence than in the middle of the park. Dani Alves will also misses the match so youngster Montoya is likely to step in at right back. These are the area that Celtic need to target if they get the chance as the defence will also not have the protection of Busquets who normally sits and holds letting the attacking players do what they are best at.
The shape that Lennon used in Moscow was a bit of a surprise from his usual 4-4-1-1 away tatics, he deployed more of a 4-2-3-1 formation using strangley Mulgrew and Wanyama to sheild the back four. Commons and Samaras give the width leaving Brown to roam free and add support to Hooper which oddly I reckon suits his style of play as he is not the best at sticking to a certain area of the pitch instead he chases the ball (some would say like a headless chicken....lol)
Anyway it wouldn't surprise me given the success they had in Moscow that Lennon tries this formation again.
However, I am a realist and the gulf in class between the 2 teams here is basically as big as you are likely to see in the Champions League this year. Barcelona have embarrassed and hammered far better teams than Celtic in the Champions League and I think if Celtic can escape with their dignity that might well be a good result. Their biggest worry apart from the possession that Barcelona will have is their passing accuracy, put simply they should be able to pass the ball around Celtic with ease. Messi is scoring for fun again this season and it is difficult to see any match where he is not going to net at least once. The attacking pace that Barca have whether the start with Pedro or Alexis out wide together with Villa will be too much for Celtics cumbersome centre halfs and I can see them being hopelessly exposed on numerous occassions. There should be no debate, well apart from may be in Glasgow's east end, as to who is going to win this match but instead I will focus on how many team goals Barcelona can score. It has been over a year since Celtic have let in more than 3 goals in any match but I think tomorrow night they may well be out of their depth without any armbands.......
Prediction : Barcelona 5-0 Celtic
BET : Barcelona team goals over 3.5
Barcelona
Injuries - Puyol, Pique, Alves
Suspended - Busquets
Probable XI - Valdes, Montoya, Mascherano, Song, Alba, Fabregas, Iniesta, Xavi, Alexis, Messi, Villa (4-3-3)
Celtic
Injuries - McGeouch, Nouioui
Doubtful - Commons, Forrest, Wilson
Probable XI - Forster, Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Izaguirre, Mulgrew, Wanyama, Brown, Ledley, Samaras, Hooper (4-2-3-1)
Optimistic Celtic fans will go into this match rightly saying that Celtic are unbeaten in Europe this season after securing qualification into the group stages with impressive home and away wins in Helsinki and at Helsingborg. They followed that with a fantasic start to their group stage campaign securing a well earned draw against Benfica and then managing to take an unfancied 3pts back from Moscow (abeit with the aid of a red card). However, despite these recent improvements on their travels, people with a slightly longer memory will not have forgotten about that shockingly bad away record Celtic have in Europe. The hard facts are that the win against Spartak Moscow was their only win in their last 27 away matches in Europe proper (W1 D6 L20). So, probably the last place in europe you would want to be going to improve that record is Camp Nou where Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 17 Champions League home matches (W14 D3). Still Celtic's domestic form has been really good this season, if we ignore the hiccup against St Johnstone, they have gone all other games this season so far undefeated but some would argue this is to be expected in the SPL where they have a far superior squad to any rivals.
Clearly facing Barcelona is a daunting task, in my humble opinion Barca are still the best team in the world and best ever with arguably currently the 3 best players in the world in Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. In terms of ball retention, passing ability and vision I think you will struggle to see any better than Iniesta and particularly Xavi who is often the unsung meastro but only because Iniesta and Messi shine so brightly. If there are 2 better midfielders than Xavi and Iniesta in my era then simply they have not been born yet, as these guys are that good! I don't have to talk about Messi as it is all there to see, he is a freak of nature and has been the top scorer in the Champions League for the last 4 seasons in a row. Almost without fail he delivers in every, and I mean every, game he plays in breaking record after record in his extrodinary career.
If there was to be any glimer of hope for Celtic it would be that under Tito Vilanova, he has made Barca slightly more open at the back, in part due to injuries I suppose, but they are definately a little more vunerable now than they were under the charge of Pep Guardiloa. Vilanova has a more, "we'll score more goals than you" attitude and to be fair they normally do. There have been a few examples of this already, last time out against Deportivo it ended 5-4, at Sevilla it was 3-2 and on the opening night of the group stages they won a shot-out style game against Spartak Moscow 3-2 also. I imagine they will go with the partnership of midfielders Mascherano and Song in central defence again but mind you Mascherano is probably now more experienced in defence than in the middle of the park. Dani Alves will also misses the match so youngster Montoya is likely to step in at right back. These are the area that Celtic need to target if they get the chance as the defence will also not have the protection of Busquets who normally sits and holds letting the attacking players do what they are best at.
The shape that Lennon used in Moscow was a bit of a surprise from his usual 4-4-1-1 away tatics, he deployed more of a 4-2-3-1 formation using strangley Mulgrew and Wanyama to sheild the back four. Commons and Samaras give the width leaving Brown to roam free and add support to Hooper which oddly I reckon suits his style of play as he is not the best at sticking to a certain area of the pitch instead he chases the ball (some would say like a headless chicken....lol)
Anyway it wouldn't surprise me given the success they had in Moscow that Lennon tries this formation again.
However, I am a realist and the gulf in class between the 2 teams here is basically as big as you are likely to see in the Champions League this year. Barcelona have embarrassed and hammered far better teams than Celtic in the Champions League and I think if Celtic can escape with their dignity that might well be a good result. Their biggest worry apart from the possession that Barcelona will have is their passing accuracy, put simply they should be able to pass the ball around Celtic with ease. Messi is scoring for fun again this season and it is difficult to see any match where he is not going to net at least once. The attacking pace that Barca have whether the start with Pedro or Alexis out wide together with Villa will be too much for Celtics cumbersome centre halfs and I can see them being hopelessly exposed on numerous occassions. There should be no debate, well apart from may be in Glasgow's east end, as to who is going to win this match but instead I will focus on how many team goals Barcelona can score. It has been over a year since Celtic have let in more than 3 goals in any match but I think tomorrow night they may well be out of their depth without any armbands.......
Prediction : Barcelona 5-0 Celtic
BET : Barcelona team goals over 3.5
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