Season 31 Week 14 processing...

Welcome to week 14, another big week for most of you.

The reset is underway...

Everybody's orders have arrived safely except for Real Madrid whose email was empty...

WATFORD

Getting to the business side of the season, where there is less games to play then have been played. Which makes each point vital now! This weeks opponents are Everton, who bolster veterans and world class players such as Rooney, Nasri and Pickford. Will make tough opponents for the Hornets who have suffered injury to Kevin De Bruyne, and still waiting for Bale to regain match fitness. Left the manager with a decision to make.. Hudson-Odoi comes in on Sublime form ahead of Ross Barkley at RH. However, should the game not go to plan will give opportunity for Barkley to come on and try make an impact. Kane has returned to form as of late with 3 goals in his last 2 games, a slight tweak to player commands to give Kane more of the ball. Partey is still learning the language so Rice gets the nod in at AM with the Task to control Rooney... Youth Vs Experience..  

In Champions Cup will see Watford take on Paris who Watford laboured to a bore draw last time the two teams met, so the manager is taking the game more seriously and has called on a more familiar/experienced line up to hopefully avoid a shock exit like last weeks Cup game.. Partey is getting the go ahead at AM in the Cup, along side the likes of Sterling.. Hopefully the team have enough fire power to make it to the next round! 

GENK

For only the second time this season Mechlen dropped points last week allowing the current Dutch-Belgian champions to create some space between 1st and 2nd. However, injuries to key players may impact the Belgium club as Griezmann and Neymar both injured as of late with Griezmann seeing a specialist last week still short of match fitness but is thrust back in the starting 11. Eriksen moves from LH to RH on his more natural foot allowing Hlozek to continue his great form at TM. This weeks opponents are Bruges who look like they have invested heavily in there youth setup, hopefully they can't find the balance of youth and experience and the Champions can take advantage! 

Tough opponents in Europe for Genk in the form of Liverpool, boasting the likes of Higuain, Zaha, Moses, Lallana and Can ... Genk are calling on all there star players available. With Jan Vertongen making his Debut in the Cup at CB and Moussa Dembele using his versatility to play LH with his natural left foot needed to deliver them crosses to Lewandowski! Hopefully Genks tight defence can prove too much for Liverpool who have only scored 3 goals in there last 5 games.... Game hangs in the balance.... hopefully Genk turn up and are able to take there chances and progress to the next round! As they continue to strive for European glory!

LEVERKUSEN

Top 3 teams in the second division haver managed to break away from the chasing pack for now... However the top 3 teams could end up chopping and changing before the end of the season! This weeks League opponents are Wolfsburg who the manager publicly turned down to continue his project at Leveruksen. This week see's Veteran Piotr Trochowski thrust into the team as Injury to Dendoncker in last weeks game rules him out this week. The team listened to the manager last week and netted 3 first half goals to secure the points while remaining a difficult team to score against. More of the same is expected from the manager this week. 

Cup opponents are the former English premier league champions..... Blackburn! Who look to be using Spanish flair to break down there opponents. With the likes of Suso, Negredo and Herrera all in the mix. With a bit of good old fashion English steal.. Jonjo Shelvey added for good measure. The german team have surpassed the managers expectations by reaching the knockout stages so anything beyond this point is for the Fans! Not much depth beyond the first 11 leaves the manager with little changes made... Heres to making a game of it!

BOTAFOGO

A crunching week for Botafogo with two extremely tough games this week.. First is Vasco! who have Kardec and Celsinho is stunning form scoring a combined 37 goals!! The Botafogo defence will certainly be tested, hopefully they can soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter attack with a settled unchanged side this week! Look forward to getting Moura and Anderson on the ball out wide to attack space behind the RKLK.. Tete keeps his place in the starting 11.. But for how long with rumours surrounding the Brazil club they are bringing in a more experienced player to take up the DY role... Will Tete play himself into the managers plans once more...  

Second game this week is Sao Paulo.... who ran Botafogo right to the wire last season for the Brazil title! With Agnaldo and Balada up from the manager has decided he can't risk taking things lightly and names a very strong line-up in the Cup, the board has instructed the manager if he can't win the Brazil title he must secure the Copa Liba for a second season as the manager promised more glory if the squad was invested in earlier in the season.. 

Good luck to everyone this week!!

Barcelona


Very nervy week and the third huge League game in a row for Barca although it does get easier after this week. Betis visit the Camp Nou sitting 4th in the table and playing a very expansive WIN tactic. Hopefully home advantage will kick in as Barca revert to their trusted SLO tactic and Ansu Fati steps in for a start at ST.
The Champions League sees the much anticipated Rob Wilson derby. Inter come to Barcelona flying in Serie A, 5 points clear and looking imperious. Who knows what will happen as the Barca manager has adopted a slightly more cautious approach for this big one off tie.
All of this is in the shadow of an injury to key creative force Fabian Ruiz. The big lad has been sent to a specialist in an effort to get him back on the training pitch and into contention as soon as possible.

Nacional


All is calm by the banks of the Rio de la Plata. Nacional sit 7 points clear and have a settled side going into the second half of the season. Thoughts are already moving to next season. Veteran centre back Raul Albiol has decided to accept an offer to return to Spain and see out his last few seasons. There are high hopes for young Ronald Araujo who has recently made his debut in the full international set up and he along with journeyman Cheik Kouyate will fill the gap left by Albiol for the remainder of the season. 
Vasco visit in the Libertadores. It'll be a big ask for this young Nacional team to get a result against the team currently sitting 2nd in Brazil but having already surpassed the Board's expectations in getting out of their group the squad are determined to make their mark for Uruguayan football. Diego Godin will proudly lead the lads out and hopefully to a place in the last 4.

Hannover


A settled side that is focused on preparing for the future. Hannover look forward to refining their tactics and building momentum to take them into next season. After weeks of chopping and changing this week sees the minor tweak of Marcelo Brozovic taking on the chief creator role. 

Akranes


This could be the end of the Akranes European adventure. The trip to Sevilla where they will meet Mark's excellent side is certainly a step too far. The young guns will have benefitted from the experience and will come back even stronger next season.
The club look good in the domestic league and again have an eye on next season and what needs to be done to make a stronger European impression.

Schalke

The squad have been preparing well for the CL qtr final match away at Plymouth this week. Injury forces Goretzka out of the team but Rodri will come in to keep things tighter in midfield as Schalke try to contain the rampant Plymouth forward line!

The league side are away at Jena with a couple of key positions freshened up to, hopefully, keep the side buzzing.

Goretzka is off to see a specialist and should be back next week and raring to go. A couple of NEW players should be added to the schoolboy squad this week, giving them a boost.

The squad are ready to tentatively try a new tactic, probably in the league at first, then rolled out to the cup matches depending upon how things go.

The board have also requested the manager to look into the benefits of Schalke using a feeder club, as the club have plenty of world-class youngsters that would benefit from first team football...

Thanks guys, all very interesting.

Friendly games have kicked off so I expect the euro quarter finals in the morning before the league games kick probably at 1000 hours...

European Champions Cup Quarter-Final results

Plymouth 1 Schalke 1 aet pens 6-5
Plymouth 2 Schalke 1
Barcelona 0 Inter Milan 1
Watford 0 Man United 0 aet pens 3-4
Man City 2 Paris 1

Semi-Final draw

Plymouth vs Inter Milan neutral ground
Man United vs Man City neutral ground

Europa Cup Q/F results

Genk 0 Liverpool 0 aet pens 2-0
Atletico 2 Spurs 0
Nantes 2 Dortmund 0
Valencia 2 Arsenal 2 aet pens 1-3

S/F draw
Genk vs Atletico neu
Nantes vs Arsenal neu

Copa Libertadores Q/F results

Nacional 2 Vasco 0
Botafogo 1 Sao Paulo 3
Fluminense 2 Palmeiras 0
River Plate 3 Flamengo 4

S/F draw
Nacional vs Sao Paulo neu
Fluminense vs Flamengo neu

Paul Hemmings wrote:

European Champions Cup Quarter-Final results

Plymouth 1 Schalke 1 aet pens 6-5
Barcelona 0 Inter Milan 1
Watford 0 Man United 0 aet pens 3-4
Man City 2 Paris 1

Semi-Final draw

Plymouth vs Inter Milan neutral ground
Man United vs Man City neutral ground

Penalties are not my Friend 

Copa Sudamerica Q/F results

Penarol 0 Independente 2
Gremio 2 Cristal 3
Corinthians 3 Defensor 2
Cruzeiro 4 Velez 1

S/F draw
Independente vs Cristal neu
Corinthians vs Cruzeiro neu

Paul Hemmings wrote:

European Champions Cup Quarter-Final results

Plymouth 1 Schalke 1 aet pens 6-5
Barcelona 0 Inter Milan 1
Watford 0 Man United 0 aet pens 3-4
Man City 2 Paris 1

Semi-Final draw

Plymouth vs Inter Milan neutral ground
Man United vs Man City neutral ground

Very surprised! Sorry Andy, looks like was a very close one!

Confederations Cup Q/F results

Cosmos 2 Melbourne 1
Enugu 1 Sydney 0
Chicago 3 Kansas 1
Chiefs 1 Mamelodi 0

S/F draw
Cosmos vs Enugu neu
Chicago vs Chiefs neu

Cup Winners Cup Q/F results

Chelsea 2 Gornik 0
Berlin 1 Red Star 0
Everton 1 Napoli 0
Soton 5 Roma 2

S/F draw
Chelsea vs Berlin neu
Everton vs Soton neu

European Cup Q/F results

Leverkusen 4 Blackburn 2
Leipzig 3 Zagreb 1
Coventry 1 Dresden 0
Westham 2 Jena 0

S/F draw
Leverkusen vs Leipzig neu
Coventry vs Westham neu

Fairs Cup Q/F results

Cagliari 3 Reykjavik 0
Birmingham 2 Newcastle 1
Leicester 1 Fiorentina 0
Norwich 2 Aberdeen 1

S/F draw
Cagliari vs Birmingham neu
Leicester vs Norwich neu

Europa Conference Cup Q/F results

Lazio 2 Derby 1
Anderlecht 2 Galatasaray 1
Wednesday 1 Coleraine 0
Betis 3 Mechelen 2

S/F draw
Lazio vs Anderlecht neu
Wednesday vs Betis neu

Intertoto Cup Q/F results

Sevilla 1 Akranes 0
Xamax 2 Dukla 1
Ruzomberok 1 Rotterdam 0
West Brom 1 Wimbledon 0

S/F draw
Sevilla vs Xamax neu
Ruzomberok vs West Brom neu

A few minor shocks amongst those results seemingly aided and abetted by injury to key players in some parts...

League games will kickoff at 1000 hours...

The players are lining up, the ref checks his watch and he blows to start this week's league games, good luck to everybody...

Cruzeiro 0 Sao Paulo 1 Agnaldo on 3 minutes.

Palace 1 Arsenal 0 Baines on 5 minutes.
Hannover 1 Munich1860 0 Jankto.
Valencia 0 Atletico 1 Gnabry.

Mechelen 1 Oostende 0 Yesil on 6 minutes.
Santos 1 Fluminense 0 Gabigol header.
Emelec 1 Fuerza 0 Galloway.
Paris 1 Marseille 0 Briand.
Bayern 1 Frankfurt 0 Rocha.
Ajax 1 Den Haag 0 Riedewald header.

Jena 0 Schalke 1 Torres header on 7 minutes.
Juventus 1 Foggia 0 Derdiyok freekick.

Bruges 0 Genk 1 Lewandowski header on 9 minutes.
Monaco 0 Etienne 1 Ganso freekick.
Sewe 0 Gagnoa 1 Dudu.