Werder defeats Hamburg 3-2 to advance to finals of UEFA Cup

Despite being done a goal heading into second-leg of the UEFA Cup the Green Whites stormed into the Volksparkstadion and defeated HSV 3-2 to advance to the finals on aggregate. Werder will now face Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk in the finals on 20 May in Istanbul.

Werder posed the first threat of the day as twelve minutes in Claudio Pizarro sent Sebastian Boenisch's cross from right over the bar from close range. However a minute later as Joris Mathijsen supplied the always dangerous Ivica Olić a perfect through ball with the Croatian international driving into the net past keeper Tim Wiese. Just before the thirtieth minute Diego and Claudio Pizzaro linked up with the former sending the ball over Frank Rost to square the match. Both sides came close before break but most concerning was Diego receiving a yellow-card, disqualifying him for the final. After the break the fast-pace continued, with Werder dodging a bullet when Jonathan Pitroipa couldn't turn-in Marcell Jansen's low cross. Six minutes past the hour when Claudio Pizzaro drove from the circle and struck a soft goal from twenty-five plus metres to make it 2-1, tying the aggregate. With seven minutes left a peculiar incident occurred as a simple backpass was thrown off-course from a object thrown onto the pitch, resulting in a corner. From the resulting corner, Hugo Almeida flicked on the ball for Frank Baumann to head in for a confident 3-1 lead. Four minutes later Ivica Olić came roaring back to bring the match 3-2. In the final moments Hugo Almeida got into a modest pushing match with Jerome Boateng, earning a yellow card and like Diego will miss the final. That aside the match finished with Werder leaving with the win and making plans for Istanbul.

Shakhtar Donetsk advances to UEFA Cup final after defeating Dynamo Kyiv

The great battle between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup semi-finals has been hailed by many as a step of mainstream acceptance of the extraordinary level of football in the Ukraine. In historic competitions it is difficult to say there are "winners" and "losers" but instead the entire sporting community wins. That aside with Dynamo Kyiv running away with the domestic championship, Shakhtar Donetsk pulled off the upset many thought as inconceivable and now advance to the finals against Werder Bremen on 20 May.

With pride and honour on the line, it should come to no surprise the deciding goal came down to the final minute of competition. After Fernandinho's late leveler in Kyiv in the opening leg, Mircea Lucescu's side returned home with a firm advantage. After Dynamo threatened early Shakhtar opened the scoring seventeen minutes in as Darijo Srna's cross into the box wasn't cleared and Luiz Adriano provided Jádson the ball, who then drove the ball into the top corner. Chances were rare for Dynamo through the half but two minutes after the break Yuri Semin's men evened the match with their customary flourish. Ukraine internationals Artem Milevskiy and Oleksandr Aliyev linked up with the midfielder supplying the ball to Ismaël Bangoura who sent the ball over Shakhtar 'keeper Andriy Pyatov. Finally with a minute left Ilsinho received a long pass on the right and after circumventing Badr El Kaddouri and Ayila Yussuf he sent the ball into the far lower corner.

Gracious in defeat Dynamo's Yuri Semin said after the match:

"First of all I would like to congratulate Shakhtar on their victory and wish them good luck in the final. To my mind, it was an interesting and exciting match just as a UEFA Cup semi-final should be. We made two mistakes while Shakhtar made none. That is why we lost tonight. Everyone [from Dynamo] who was on the pitch today has something to reproach himself for. But there was nothing wrong with the level of commitment from my players. They prepared well and looked good physically, but we also have to remember that Shakhtar are a very strong side. It was a game of two equal rivals and we lost out."

Shakhtar Donetsk's Mircea Lucescu noted the historical importance of the victory:

"We achieved something great today. We are now a part of the history of European football. The fact we will play in Istanbul means so much for us. It was a tough game as Dynamo were at their best as well. Having drawn the first leg, tonight we tried to close down the space and managed to do it. We made just one mistake when, because of [Mykola] Ischenko's inexperience, we lost sight of Bangoura. The result is just and deserved. The level of football corresponded to the high status of a UEFA Cup semi-final. The fans were treated to both a show and a battle. We still have games to play against Dynamo [domestically] and that's good because they are always interesting and improve the level of the Ukrainian league. Both teams are quite young and I'm sure they will continue to perform well in Europe in the future."

CSKA Moscow v Aston Villa UEFA Cup match preview

CSKA Moscow travel to face Aston Villa Wednesday evening in a UEFA Cup match with the new Army-Men manager Zico anxious for his first victory under fire.

In the final stages of last years campaign the Army-Men were unquestionably the hottest team in the league. Following the retirement of Valery Gazzaev, the legendary Zico took the helm in what looks to be a powerhouse lineup. Along with Vágner Love and last years emerging Russian star Alan Dzagoev, the club has added Tomáš Necid from Slavia Praha and a reinvigorated Daniel Carvalho returns from Internacional.

For the match CSKA will be without the services of Cup-tied Tomáš Necid and both Anton Grigoriev and Deividas Šemberas are in the sin-bin. Villa's Martin O'Neill misses England international Emile Heskey to injury and Steve Sidwell is suspended.

The ultimate issue in this match is the preparedness of the Army-Men who last played a regulation match against Nancy in the first week of December. Whilst they have went through a full series of friendlies they are likely to have a solid build up of rust.

Heerenveen's UEFA Cup effort ends with loss to Portsmouth

As mentioned in my preview, I questioned how much energy would be expended for the Portsmouth UEFA Cup match and without surprise, Heerenveen’s UEFA Cup efforts ended with a 3-0 loss to the English side. Given the club is locked in a tie with PSV at twenty-six points and chasing Twente, Ajax and AZ the question was whether the club would prioritize the weekend match against Sparta Rotterdam or push forward for a victory.

With Geert Arend Roorda, Bonaventure Kalou and Croatian international Danijel Pranjić out of the lineup, Heerenveen pushed forward early and came close with Roy Beerens rattling the woodwork. However it was not too long before Peter Crouch began to take over on the attack and after a number of misses he headed Marc Wilson’s cross in five minutes before the break. Only two minutes later the English striker drove a close range rebound in to give Portsmouth the 2-0 lead at the break. Tarik Elyounoussi had a chance to bring a goal back were fifteen minutes after the restart but after it drifted wide, there were no further attempts. As time wound down Hermann Hreidarsson re-directed Glen Little’s free-kick in.

Repeating my original contentions, the priority must be the domestic season and continuing the winning streak with Sparta Rotterdam on Saturday.

After Lech Poznań, looking ahead to PSV

Excuse my pun but without a point earned prior to the Lech Poznań, their was little point of yesterdays match in consideration of the weekend's clash against PSV. However with the basic notion of playing for pride at De Kuip, Feyenoord put up a strong effort but came up short losing 1-0 to Lech Poznań. The match started tentative with both sides locking up in the midfield. Without a prior attempt on Henk Timmer's goal, the Polish side scored the lone goal of the match twenty-seven minutes in a Semir Stilić drew the ball into the center of the box where Ivan Djurdjević re-directed the ball in. With the goal Gertjan Verbeek tactics opened up in search of the equalizer and opportunities, while still not a open flood-gate of chances, were more frequent. However it was not till the final third of the match that Feyenoord looked to be in the match. with a beautiful play between Georginio Wijnaldum and Roy Makaay being passed to Luigi Bruins but his finish fell short and was easily saved. With twenty-six minutes remaining it was obvious that Gertjan Verbeek's focus is on the weekend as Leroy Fer and Georgino Wijnaldum were taken off with two eighteen year-old up and coming players Michal Janota and Kermit Erasmus introduced. That said, although Feyenoord put forth a good effort in the closing stages they were not able to level the match and it ended in a 1-0 loss. Of the positive sides you can take from this match is the commitment to younger developing players and while it is difficult to see through the cloudy days of losses, benefits will be reaped from this in the future.

Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović can't be stopped

The deadly combination of Bosnia and Herzegovina internationals Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović once again pulled Die Wölfe to victory as sent English side Portsmouth home with a 3-2 defeat. Twenty-two year-old Edin Džeko brought Volkswagen Arena to its feet only three minutes into the match as he redirected Christian Gentner's perfect cross to the back of the net. Three Lions capped Jermain Defoe brought the match level only eight minutes later, capitalized upon a poor clearance by Wolfsburg 'keeper Diego Benaglio. Clearly energized by the goal, Pompey took the lead a further three minutes later with Arnold Mvuemba's strike taking a gratuitous deflection from nearly twenty meters. To continue the goal made start, only twenty-three minutes after the start the match was brought level at two as Christian Gentner's shot that appeared for more like a cross than a attempt on the goal, somehow evaded everyone including Portsmouth 'keeper David James. While an agreement not to bother with defending seemed to be evoked the match was empty of goals till the sixteen minutes remained when David James handled a long ball horribly, gifting it to Zvjezdan Misimović for the winning strike. Ten minutes before time Sol Campbell was adjudged to fouling young Edin Džeko in the area but Zvjezdan's effort was stopped by the Portsmouth 'keeper however Wolfsburg held for the 3-2 victory.

Wolfsburg now advances to the round of thirty-two with a perfect record in three matches. Felix Magath's side returns to Bundesliga action against Hannover 96 on Sunday.

CSKA Moscow to make it a perfect run

Valery Gazzaev’s CSKA Moscow face Nancy-Lorraine in the UEFA Cup later today with his forces already guaranteed a spot in the next round as they have been perfect in three matches. Koni is showing little signs of weakening and are possibly the most likely of present clubs who could lift the hardware in May. With the domestic season complete, this the clubs final match before holidays, the club is fully-fit although I expect Anton Grigoryev and Deividas Šemberas to sit-out as they are one card away from suspension. Whilst this match means “nothing” to CSKA, they will not be satisfied with a draw as they head to their holidays. Lead by a Yuri Zhirkov and fellow Russian internationals Alan Dzagoev, Vasili Berezutskiy, Sergei Ignashevich, Aleksei Berezutskiy as well as Brazilian goal scorer Vágner Love, who may be in his final match for the club, I expect them to make an emphatic statement and defeat Nancy.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Tukkers are all business dumping Schalke

De Tukkers dispatched Schalke in a very efficient manner, winning 2-1 and booking passage to the next round of the UEFA Cup. Long-time Twente man, Fred Rutten, returned to Enschede in desperate need of a victory but his side looked off right away as a Manuel Neuer was victimized by Rob Wielaert’s close range effort in the second minute. Momentum was clearly on Twente’s side and with the support of the loyal home fans, they pressed on for additional goals. Attacking efforts were few and far between by Fred Rutten’s side, ironically the best effort from Orlando Engelaar who joined Schalke this year from Twente, but his attempt just before the half hit the post. Twente doubled the margin as Netherland U21 Eljero Elia was provider for Kenneth Perez ten minutes after the break, with the veteran driving the ball to the back of the net from just from outside the area. While Schalke drew one back with thirteen minutes left as Kevin Kurányi set up Gerald Asamoah for a easy goal, they were unable to break through on a consistent basis and Twente walked away with the great 2-1 victory.

Heerenveen - Sporting Braga match preview

Following a 3-1 loss to AC Milan and a 5-1 loss to Vfl Wolfsburg, Heerenveen sits at the base of Group E without a point. As visiting Portuguese side Braga is welcomed at Abe Lenstra Stadion, Trond Sollied's side is in desperate need of a victory if they are advance.

Following the foul 6-0 loss to Twente, Heerenveen responded with a 2-2 draw to PSV that sadly was marred with a late collapse that robbed them of victory. Jong Oranje Roy Beerens
and Norwegian international Tarik Elyounoussi continue to fulfill their great promise but as much as Trond Sollied will attack with endless passion, to be successful at this level they must be more disciplined in the match. Against Braga, their only absences will be Bonaventure Kalou and Geert-Arend Roorda, although Daryl Janmaat is doubtful

Braga is an enterprising side that sit seventh in the table domestically with a rock-solid defending side that as only allowed five goals in ten matches. With three points in their first three matches, they will look to secure their hopes for advancement with a victory and entrust Wolfsburg hand Portsmouth a loss. Their only only absence for the is defender Alberto Rodriguez.

I'll be online for those watching if you with to discuss.

the bitter truth

When Fred Rutten took over die Königsblauen last summer, I firmly believed it was the perfect move to help Schalke achieve its title aspirations. And while I still believe in his tactical approach with Schalke at ninth in the Bundesliga table, losers of their previous three matches including the 2-1 loss to Twente, I am not positive he will be with the club for very much longer.

Speaking directly of the match, Twente took the lead only two minutes in as Rob Wielaert, who was likely offside, drove a loose rebound off a free-kick in. Die Königsblauen looked numb dropping a goal down so quickly and looked empty of a fighting, if not professional spirit. After displaying a morbid pace for a while they slowly began to work into the attacking flow of the match. Oranje capped Orlando Engelaar came within a whisper of equalizing the match before the break as it shot rocketed off the post. However ageless striker Kenneth Perez, who joined Twente from Ajax last year, pounded a nail in Schalke's coffin ten minutes after the break as he exploded into a shot just outside the area and brought the match to a 2-0 margin. Call it the siege mentality or maybe just "a little too late" but Schalke woke up a bit more and started to prowl for goals. With thirteen minutes remaining Kevin Kurányi played a perfect ball to Gerald Asamoah who scored from close range and brought Schalke to within one but the could not find the tying goal.

The loss finishes die Königsblauen with a lowly four points after four matches and will require losses by both PSG and Racing Santander for them to advance in the next round of the UEFA Cup, rather undeservedly I add.

PSG cant find winning strike against Man City

In a superb showing, PSG, fought Man City to a nil draw at Eastlands. While the Parisian opening lineup was without Ludovic Giuly, Guillaume Hoarau, Stéphane Sessegnon and Clément Chantôme they showed extraordinary resolve and in-truth were clearly the dominant side with the English foes lucky to escape with draw.

Mark Hughes side started as the aggressor but squandered a number of glorious opportunities with either inefficient finishing or the match-saving work of PSG 'keeper Mickaël Landreau. England U21 Daniel Sturridge created a number of openings but failed with the final touch twice in the first fifteen minutes and Darius Vassell had a perfect scoring chance drift wide, although he was called curiously offside. As Man City's efforts fell short the Parisians grew in confidence with Serbian veteran Mateja Kežman in a brilliant display of leadership that defies simple statistics. Following the break, PSG kept the opposition on the back heels with the final twenty-five minutes a story of a perplexing inability not to finish the match off and the work of Joe Hart saving the day for Man City.

PSG's hopes for continuing in the UEFA Cup will come down to the final match as the club is tied with Racing Santander at two points. They will need to defeat Twente with the Spanish side not victorious against Man City.

Wolfsburg to deliver knockout punch

Die Wölfe welcome English side Portsmouth to Volkswagen Arena later today with an opportunity to seal their advancement to the next round of the UEFA Cup. While Felix Magath is more than aware that a draw will likely guarantee his club moving to the round of thirty-two, he will look to sever the hopes of the opposition and continue their dominance at home. Wolfsburg attacking force will sit Grafite again as he recovers fully from his training injury but will launch Ashkan Dejagah with the Bosnia and Herzegovina connection Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović forward against the defensively challenged Portsmouth. With Portsmouth’s high pedigree attack-force of Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Croatian international Niko Kranjčar, I expect the Wolfsburg back-line to be fortified with Cristian Zaccardo and Andrea Barzagli for the get-go.

I will report on the match as it concludes.

PSG v Manchester City UEFA Cup preview

I am going to shoot straight from the hip and tell you that I have significant questions if PSG will take this match with a resolve to be victorious. In the group stage’s first match against Bundesliga’s Schalke 04, PSG barely put forth an effort and were lucky to escape with only a 3-1 loss. In the most recent 2-2 against Racing Santander, Paul Le Guen went to great effort to say they “weren’t going to sacrifice” the UEFA Cup but still kept Claude Makélélé, Ludovic Giuly, Guillaume Hoarau and Stéphane Sessegnon out of the lineup in-order to focus on last Sunday’s match against Stade Rennais. With this mind, I do not believe the UEFA Cup is much of a concern for the club and Paul Le Guen’s comments were merely to deflect criticism from supporters and even regulatory bodies who question a club not taking European competition seriously.

Mimicking the Racing Santander match, PSG faces a very important match on the weekend against Le Mans who are only two points behind the Parisians. Couple into the fact the PSG is dead last in Group A with a thin hope to advance, I expect a very somber approach against Manchester City.

Mark Hughes club as been plagued with extraordinary inconsistency and regardless of the enormous headlines they attract, they are a club only two points from the relegation zone and one of the worst defending sides in the Premier League. While much has been said of their promising future and an ownership with open bank vaults ready to be purged for Football talent, they are showing painful signs of a lack of chemistry. While the clubs media arm will force-fed stories of former-Real Madrid man Robinho traveling on public transit to immerse himself into life of Manchester, comments of the club “thinking small” and the question that many of his teammates ask whether he is a “team player” is burning a hole in locker room solidarity. While Mark Hughes certainly is the man to lead them to championships, it needs to underscored, if he is allowed to lead a Football team.

Returning to the specifics of this match, I expect a severely limited PSG lineup that like the Racing Santander match will exclude Claude Makélélé, Ludovic Giuly and Guillaume Hoarau with Stéphane Sessegnon and Clément Chantôme out with injuries. This will however lead the attacking force into the very capable hands of Serbian capped Mateja Kežman, Fabrice Pancrate and Péguy Luyindula. Mark Hughes side is facing a series of injuries issues including Robinho and the England capped duo of Micah Richards and Shaun Wright-Phillips. PSG will likely deploy a more defensive approach and while I noted their less than whole-hearted approach for this match, if they are patient and tightly mark Man City they can definitely leave England with points.

I will report on the match after it concludes.

defensive errors preyed upon by Deportivo de La Coruña

Feyenoord's UEFA Cup chances came to an end as La Liga's Deportivo de La Coruña dominated play and preyed upon defensive errors. With losses to Nancy Lorraine and CSKA Moscow already, Feyenoord final match against Lech Poznań is a mere formality and they will not be advancing.

Deportivo were clearly the aggressor and showed a great deal more confidence from the start of the match. Attacking at free will, Feyenoord responded by moving on their back-heels and at thirty minutes Atlas product Andrés Guardado's cross was redirected in by Alberto Lopo. Whether it is biased optimism or not, Feyenoord seemed to slowly level the overall play of the match and were able show a few modest scoring opportunities including Luigi Bruins powerful drive that was nicked just wide. However after the re-start things took a turn for the worse as the lead was doubled with Kevin Hofland the victim of an own goal. Down by two, confidence died fast and within the minute the match was 3-0 as Andrés Guardado found the back of the net with Cristian Hidalgo providing the chance. Feyenoord re-grouped and while they weren't able to get on the score-sheet they held Deportivo, who were definitely looking to add to the score, off.

For Het Legioen, it is an obvious disappointment with another loss but I want to remind you this is a club of the future, who respects bringing Footballers up through developmental programs. I am far too biased to be honest of this but I appreciate their commitment to the youth and believe in their future.

a tough point against Sampdori

VfB earned a tough point in Markus Babbel's debut as they played Sampdoria to a 1-1 draw. As the new coach said before the match, die Roten were going to need to play more rugged when needed, which is precisely what they did against the Seria A side. Ciprian Marica provided VfB the lead eight minutes after the start as the Romanian national jumped on a loose ball and sent it to the back of the goal. The lead would not last long as six minutes before the break as Paolo Sammarco re-directed Antonio Cassano's corner past Jens Lehmann. Chances to take the lead were virtually non-existent in the final forty-five with Jens handling all attempts. While the three points would have (obviously) been welcomed, VfB played with such intensity and venom, success is surely in the future with Markus Babbel in-charge.

CSKA Moscow triumphs over hearty Lech Poznań

CSKA Moscow advances to the next round on the UEFA Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over visiting Polish giant Lech Poznań. The Polish side showed tremendous resolve in fighting back after falling 2-0 but could not overcome Valery Gazzaev's CSKA, which is looking more and more like a team of destiny.

In their final match of the year in-front of their faithful supporters at Luzhniki, CSKA displayed a passion for the attack all-the-while holding strong to rock-solid defending. Just past the half-hour mark, teen sensation Alan Dzagoev opened the scoring off a perfect feed from Vágner Love. Russian international Yuri Zhirkov continued his stunning year as he volleyed in Anton Grigoryev's pass in added-time to double the margin. After the break Franciszek Smuda's side dug-in and fought back into the match with Bosnia and Herzegovina international Semir Štilić perfect free-kick past Igor Akinfeev six minutes past the hour mark to bring the match within one. The visitors continued to apply pressure but could not break through again and CSKA took the 2-1 victory.

PSG - Racing Santander opening lineup

Clearly the biggest component of the PSG - Racing Santander UEFA Cup match is what importance Paul Le Guen will place upon the match. While certainly a surprise at the time, PSG treated the Schalke 04 match as a "run-out" and lucky only to lose 3-1 with a lineup certainly below par. Although Paul Le Guen noted this week that he would not "sacrifice" the UEFA Cup he equally reaffirmed that league-play was a priority. Although there has been no public commentary of whether regulatory bodies questioned PSG's approach for the match, it is unlikely for them to "call" another match in.

With that said the opening lineup has been just posted and it certainly appears that the Stade Rennais match on the weekend is still the priority. The lineup for Racing Santander is:

Mickaël Landreau
Ceará, Sammy Traoré,Mamadou Sakho, Sylvain Armand
Younousse Sankharé, Grégory Bourillon, Jérôme Rothen
Fabrice Pancrate, Mateja Kežman, Péguy Luyindula

I will report on the match as it concludes.

Lech Poznań v CSKA Moscow UEFA Cup

Poland's Lech Poznań travel to Luzhniki Stadium to face CSKA Moscow in a UEFA Cup later today that could see Koni's hopes for advancing to the next stage secured.

After guaranteeing a Champions League spot for next season Valery Gazzaev's forces are gearing up for a major run at continuing Russia's hold on the UEFA Cup. CSKA presently sits at the top of Group H after easily dispatching Feyenoord and Deportivo de La Coruña in prior matches, notable for Vágner Love offensive flourish and the typical hard-line defensive stance. Earlier this month Lech Poznań played Ligue 1 Nancy Lorraine to a peculiar 2-2 draw that featured a number of defending errors and is in desperate need of points if they are to advance.

This match will be impacted by the chill of late autumn in Moscow with temperatures slightly above freezing. The pitch at Luzhniki, which has seen extensive play on it this fall is in fine condition and should not be an issue. Vágner Love certainly has made a point to dispel the notion that Brazilian Footballers have problems in cold weather conditions and has been on fire of late. While they lost their final match of the year against now-relegated Shinnik Yaroslav, the match had no impact upon standings and as Russian international Aleksei Berezutskiy stated "we were not motivated" and "we could not forget that this match did not decide anything."

While a draw will see Koni through, Valery Gazzaev wants to win their group without a blemish and will be ruthless against the Polish side. CSKA is well rested and given that this the final match of the year and the last time they play before their legion of fans, a resounding victory is the only acceptable outcome.

Enjoy the match and I will report on it as it concludes. For those looking for updates during the match, please comment.

Het Legioen travels to A Coruña

After opening losses to Nancy Lorraine and CSKA Moscow, Feyenoord is in a "must-win" situation against La Liga's Deportivo de La Coruña. The Spanish side in their only group stage match were rough off the pitch by CSKA 3-0 and will be anxious to find the win column in-front of their home fans. The irony of this match cuts deep as veteran Roy Makaay has fond memories of his days in A Coruña.

He recalled:
"Obviously I'm looking forward to this match. I played here for four years, four beautiful years. My son was born there, we won everything there was to win at domestic level in Spain. We celebrated winning the Spanish title, we won the Spanish Cup, and did that in Madrid on the day Real celebrated their centenary. We won two Super Cups and in my final year I was the top scorer in Europe. I'm looking forward to going back there for the first time in almost six years. My return brings back emotions, both for me and the people here. Just going out on the pitch at the Riazor for training on Wednesday evening was very special to me. That was the moment to let all the memories and emotions take over. For me it is beautiful we drew Deportivo away, but for sporting reasons for Feyenoord it would have been better to play at home. From my own experience I know how hard it is to win here, but we will have to if we want to stay in the race."

Following this past weekends crowd pleasing 3-1 victory over ADO, Feyenoord is unbeaten in three matches and taking solid steps as their young guns continue to grow with confidence and prowl for victories.

Injuries are the concern as Gertjan Verbeek will not only be without Jonathan de Guzmán but Diego Biseswar, Serginho Greene, Denny Landzaat, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Ron Vlaar. The Spanish side is dealing with a number of injuries including Rodolfo Bodipo and Julian de Guzmán will need to meet his brother after the match as both are injured.

Enjoy the match and let me hear from Het Legioen

Schalke 04 UEFA Cup match preview

Mark Hughes leads his Manchester City in a tough UEFA Cup match against Bundesliga's Schalke 04 at their home grounds, Veltins-Arena. The home side comes into the match knowing full-well that three points would see them through to the next round with seven points, long before heading off to the extremely long winter break in the Bundesliga.

Schalke manager Fred Rutten will be without the services of Albert Streit and Serbian international Mladen Krstajić while Man City has a heavy injury list for the match including Robinho, Pablo Zabaleta and Gelson Fernandes. In addition to this concern Mark Hughes must balance the demands of this match with the high-priority derby against Man Utd this weekend.

Sparky's comments, "Ideally we would like to get qualification in the bag as quickly as possible. If you pick up a point somewhere on your travels and win your home games then it is often good enough to get you through to the knockout stages", lends you to believe that City will likely play with a heartier defensive minded approach.

Schalke enters the match with a roster boastful of brilliant talent including an attacking trident of Kevin Kurányi, Jefferson Farfán and Turkish international Halil Altıntop. While they have been under-performing at this stage they have the ability score with a flourish and to not give a blade of grass up in defense.

I will report on the match as it concludes.