FC Barcelona VS Athletic Bilbao Copa del Rey Final 30-05-2015

FC Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao
Competition: Copa del Rey Final
Match date: 30-05- 2015

Kick Off Time: 15:00 BST

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain

FC Barcelona enter the weekend with 1 of their 3 targeted trophies obtained, and victory here would leave them with just the UEFA Champions League Final to clinch a treble-winning season. It has been a fantastic debut campaign for manager Luis Enrique, and while the boss may not get as much credit as he deserves, he will certainly be back next season. However, that could all change if FC Barcelona lose their final 2 matches, and considering the fine form that Athletic Bilbao are in, they would be wise not to look past Los Leones this weekend.

However, FC Barcelona will have their Copa del Ray Final defeat from last season still very much on their minds as Saturday approaches. They last claimed the cup in 2012 and will want to add to a league-best 26 Copa del Ray trophies, and confidence will come from the fact that they have won all 8 of their matches this season in the competition. Furthermore, they have put a lot into the cup having defeated top-flight opponents Elche, Atletico Madrid, and Villarreal, and they should have what it takes against Athletic Bilbao, who the hosts defeated in both meetings this season (2:0, 5:2). While Suarez is an injury doubt and will most likely sit out with an eye towards next weekend’s UEFA Champions League Final, Pedro has smashed in 5 goals in the competition so far and is a perfectly reliable replacement for the Uruguayan.

Athletic Bilbao team was able to salvage a horrendous start to their 2014-2015 campaign and can now put the icing on the cake with some silverware. While that may be a bit out of their reach, Los Leones will still take Europa League qualification no matter the result here, though with 7-straight unbeaten matches entering the weekend, they will be confident. Furthermore, their first trip to the Camp Nou this season saw them nearly stifle the Catalans as they finally conceded late into the 2nd half (lost 0:2), and coming off the back of a 4-0 thumping of Villarreal, a Los Leones title isn’t that farfetched of a proposition.

However, while Bilbao have claimed the 2nd-most Copa del Ray titles in history (23), they have not won one since 1984, and their 2 last visits to the title game have concluded in defeat to FC Barcelona. They lost both La Liga meetings with the Catalans by multiple-goal margins of defeat, and this Saturday’s title clash will unluckily be played at the Camp Nou, where the hosts have built a nearly-impregnable fortress in domestic action. Still, the visitors will be confident and should give Barcelona a test here, especially with Suarez expected to sit out. Unfortunately for Athletic Bilbao and their loyal support, they still must face Messi and a well-rested Catalan defence.

Probable lineups:

Barcelona: ter Stegen - Dani Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Jordi Alba - Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta - Lionel Messi, Suarez, Neymar.

Athletic Bilbao: Herrerin - de Marcos, Etxeita, Laporte, Balenziaga - San Jose, Benat - Williams, M. Rico, Aketxe - Aduriz.

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

Read More

Dnipro vs Sevilla 2-3 Highlights Europa League Final 27-05-2015

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk vs Sevilla
Competition: UEFA Europa League Final.
Match date: 27 /05/ 2015
Venue: Stadion Narodowy, Warszawa, Poland

Goals:

Dnipro – Nikola Kalinic 7, Ruslan Rotan 44;  

Sevilla – Grzegorz Krychowiak 28, Carlos Bacca 31, Carlos Bacca 73;

Sevilla could defend their Europa League title when they won the game against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Warsaw, Poland. Dnipro’s Matheus had to be stretchered off after suffering a broken nose in a collision. The game ended with 2-3 scoreline.

Read More

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich Champions League Semi-Final - 06-05-2015

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich - Competition: UEFA Champions League Semi-Final

Barcelona are putting it all together and have now gone unbeaten in 27 of their last 28 competitive outings. They have impressively managed to claim victory on 26 of those occasions while not only finding themselves in the Champions League Semi-Finals but also in 1st place in La Liga and in the finals of the Copa del Ray. The treble is still within their grasp, and with their South American attack trio of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar all hitting top form at the right time, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them do so.

Therefore, the Catalans have an excellent shot at claiming a 1st-leg lead here, especially considering the Bavarians may not be without all of Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery, David Alaba, and Robert Lewandowski. Furthermore, the hosts have won 18 of their last 19 competitive fixtures at the Camp Nou, outscoring their opponents with a whopping 69 goals to just 11 conceded. They have held a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 outings at home and have won 9 of their 10 UCL fixtures this season. There is a bit of concern here from the fact that the hosts were demolished by the Bavarians in 2012/2013, falling on aggregate 0:7 over the 2-legged tie. However, we feel that that will only serve to inspire and motivate the Catalans here, and taking into account the astonishing 108 goals that all of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez have combined for this season, it would be a bit of a surprise if they don’t take some sort of lead into the 2nd-leg match.

Bayern Munich hit the road this midweek with an ailing squad bereft of Arjen Robben after the Dutchman picked up a calf injury in their DFB-Pokal Semi-Final clash with Borussia Dortmund. His absence alone leaves plenty of reason for concern for their UCL chances, but now the Bavarians may also be forced to play without Robert Lewandowski and Frank Ribery here while David Alaba will continue to sit the sidelines. Manager Pep Guardiola now has a real selection headache on his hands and he may opt to go with a false 9 approach with Thomas Muller covering for Lewandowski. The Spanish boss will be making his first competitive trip to the Camp Nou since leaving the Catalonia club in 2012.

However, Bayern Munich have shown some worrying signs of late and have now fallen to defeat in their last 2 competitive fixtures. They have lost 4 of their last 10 matches in all competitions, which is more defeats than they had picked up in their previous 40 competitive outings (friendlies not included). Injuries have certainly been a long-running concern for the visitors this season and they’ll be used to the fact that they won’t be playing with their full-strength squad once again. However, a trip to the Camp Nou couldn’t come at a worse time for the ailing German outfit, who have lost 2 and drawn 1 of their last 3 Champions League road trips. While it wouldn’t be a shock to see the visitors take something here, it is not expected as Barcelona are running rampant at the moment and should take advantage of the travelers’ important absences.

Barcelona last 5 matches:

15/04/15 PSG 1 – 3 Barcelona
18/04/15 Barcelona 2 – 0 Valencia
21/04/15 Barcelona 2 – 0 PSG
25/04/15 Espanyol 0 – 2 Barcelona
28/04/15 Barcelona 6 – 0 Getafe

Bayern Munchen last 5 matches:

15/04/15 Porto 3 – 1 Bayern München
18/04/15 Hoffenheim 0 – 2 Bayern München
21/04/15 Bayern München 6 – 1 Porto
25/04/15 Bayern München 1 – 0 Hertha BSC
28/04/15 Bayern München 1 – 1 P Borussia

Match date: 06 -05- 2015
Kick Off Time: 19:45 BST
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
 
You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

Read More

Hull City vs Arsenal English Premier League - 04-05-2015

Hull City vs Arsenal 

Competition: English Premier League
Match date: 4 May 2015
Kick Off Time: 20:00 BST
Venue: Kingston Communications Stadium, Hull 

After two wins in a row, Hull are now 4 points above the relegation zone. Last weekend they won against Crystal Palace 2:0 and on Tuesday they played a postponed game against Liverpool. M. Dawson scored in minute 37′ and it was the only goal in this game, they won 1:0. This 6 points made them jump from 18th position to 15th. They are also on the 15th place in home table, from 16 games played they gained 19 points with five wins, four draws and seven defeats. Hull won 3 of their last 5 home games played, that’s a really good statistic for a low table team. They lost to Chelsea FC, but we can say that this score (3:2) was unlucky for them. It was Hull who had much more situations and The Blues scored 3 goals with just 3 shots on target. On the beginning of the season, they drew 2:2 at Emirates against Arsenal. They were leading 2:1, but in +90 Danny Welbeck equalized. Steve Bruce said that Nikica Jelavić is back in full trainings and should be available for the Mondays game. He missed last 5 league games and he’s the best scorer of the team with 8 goals scored.

Arsenal team are really great in recent weeks. Unfortunately for them, last weekend they drew goalless against Chelsea. This score ended their great streak of 8 wins in a row in English Premier League. They also definitely lost chances to win the Premier League with this score. Currently they are on the 3rd place in league, they have 67 points – same as the 3rd Man City, but Arsenal have a worse goal difference. Of course we must say that The Gunners played one game less than the Citizens. Arsenal won last 7 away games in all competitions. In away table they are on the 2nd place with 30 points gained from 17 games, their record is nine wins, three draws and five losses. This is something unusual, but there are no injuries problems at Arsenal currently. Arsene Wenger told us during the pre-match press conference that only M. Debuchy has some minor injury and all other players are in full training. Arsenal won 8 from their last 9 games played in all competitions against Hull, but we must remember that in recent games they had lots of problems against them. Year ago in FA Cup final, Hull City were leading 2:0 and Arsenal won 2:3 in overtime. Also in last league match between them we had a draw (2:2). Both Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud are top scorers in the team with 14 goals in EPL this season.

Probable lineups:

Arsenal: Ospina – Bellerin, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal – Coquelin – Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez – Giroud.

Hull City: Harper – Chester, McShane, Dawson – Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Quinn, Brady – Aluko, N’Doye.

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]

Read More

Cordoba vs Barcelona 0-8 Highlights 02-05-2015 Spanish Primera Division

 

Cordoba vs Barcelona
Competition: Spanish Primera Division
Match date: 2 May 2015

Venue: Estadio Nuevo Arcángel, Córdoba 

Goals:  

FC Barcelona : 42' 0-1 Rakitic // 45' 0-2 Suarez // 46' 0-3 Messi // 53' 0-4 Suarez // 65' 0-5 Pique // 80' 0-6 Messi // 85' 0-7 Neymar// 88' 0-8 Suarez L.

Player Suarez, scores a hat trick, with Lionel Messi and Neymar also coming to the party as FC Barcelona score eight against Cordoba after scoring nothing for the first forty odd minutes. Cordoba vs Barça match ended with 0-8 scoreline in La Liga 2015.

Read More