Pro Eleven Headline News

Villarreal hopes to get back on track at Valencia

Villarreal lost one of its first 14 La Liga matches, but has struggled in the last month against the other top teams.

Villarreal has lost consecutive matches to Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid - three of the top four teams in La Liga - and sits seventh in the standings.

The Yellow Submarines continue their run through La Liga's gauntlet Saturday at second-place Valencia, needing a win to stay in the title chase.

Villarreal has slipped 15 points behind first-place Barca and would drop seven points behind Valencia with a loss. After grabbing second last season, the team is suddenly in danger of missing the top four and a Champions League berth.

The Yellow Submarines have just one goal in their last four matches - and have just one win in their last 10 overall.

Villarreal does appear to be getting healthy finally, welcoming forward Nihat Kahveci back to the starting lineup last week. Kahveci last started a match on Sept. 24, and made four appearances as a substitute from Nov. 30 to Dec. 21.

Joseba Llorente, who leads the team with nine goals, returned to the field for the first time since Dec. 14 in last week's 1-0 loss to Real as well.

With Kahveci and Llorente regaining full fitness, they will pair with American- born Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, who has eight goals, to spark Villarreal's offense.

Villarreal still has American teen Jozy Altidore available after it rejected an offer from Everton of the English Premier League for the striker. Altidore has played in six games, including two starts, and could become a more crucial part of Villarreal's offense the rest of the season.

The Yellow Submarines have had success against Valencia, winning the last three meetings - including two at Valencia's Mestalla.

Valencia is 7-2-0 at home this season, losing to Sporting Gijon and Racing. The club beat Atletico Madrid, which is in fifth place, 3-1 last weekend at home in its first game back from the short winter break.

Valencia goalie Renan believes it's important the club turn the Mestalla into a huge home field advantage in the second half of the season.

"We want Mestalla to be a fortress," Renan told the club's website.

Valencia's David Villa is the second-leading goal scorer in La Liga with 13. He trails Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona by two goals.

Villa scored in the win over Atletico, ending a dry spell where he scored just one goal in five games. If he regains his early-season form (11 goals in 11 La Liga matches), Valencia could continue to be Barcelona's main challenger.

Also Saturday, third-place Sevilla visits sixth-place Deportivo in a rematch of a mid-week King's Cup match. Sevilla beat Deportivo 2-1 at home in the Cup.

On Sunday, Barcelona has won 14 of its last 15 league matches entering its trip to last-place Osasuna, fourth-place Real Madrid hopes to build on consecutive victories over Valencia and Villarreal when it visits Mallorca and Atletico Madrid hosts Bilbao in the other game involving a top-five team.

In Sunday's other games, Real Betis hosts Malaga, Numancia hosts Getafe, Racing hosts Recreativo, Sporting Gijon hosts Valladolid and Espanyol hosts Almeria. Sports Network



Wenger looks on the bright side

The statistics make grim reading for Arsenal: three points adrift of the English Premier League's top four, eight goals in their last six league games and just one win in their last four outings are not the kind of numbers which smack of a Champions League contender.

But Arsene Wenger has always been a member of the school of positive thinking and the Frenchman has been instructing his squad to look on the bright side ahead of their encounter with Bolton on Saturday.

Wenger insists Arsenal can play an active part in the title race, despite all the evidence pointing to the contrary, and hopes the confidence gained from a six-game unbeaten run - a sequence, admittedly, that includes three draws - will fuel his side's new year charge.

Arsenal do not appear a side flooded with self-belief at the moment, and their nervy performances in recent home games against Wigan and Portsmouth - both won by single goals - suggests it will take time for the wounds caused by early-season defeats and in-fighting to properly heal.

Even Plymouth, an also ran-in in the Championship, breached the Gunners' rearguard in their recent FA Cup third round tie at the Emirates.

In the circumstances, the visit of Bolton is hardly timely.

The Lancashire club are a perenniel problem for Wenger, who has always been unsettled by their unflinchingly muscular approach.

Gary Megson's class of 2009 might rely slightly less on brawn than the sides assembled by Wenger's bete noir, Sam Allardyce, but any team containing the likes of Kevin Davies and Fabrice Muamba - a former Arsenal player - will never be less than robust.

Still, Wenger's message appears to be seeping through to at least some of his players and a fixture which would once have caused ripples of consternation to sweep across the squad is now being greeted with quiet confidence by goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

"We have had bad moments against these sorts of teams this season - ones who put in a lot of long balls and crosses," he admitted. "But I think the attitude of the team has changed in the last few games.

"We have found our way now and rediscovered our desire to win and show the strength of the team. We know Bolton very well and we know what to do - we showed that by beating them in the first game at their stadium earlier this season.

"Every player realises that we not only have to play with the ball but without it as well. We are practising it in training more now. Mentally, we are better prepared than two months ago I think."

On Bolton's part, there is no thought of diluting the style which has served them so well since they established themselves in the top flight under Allardyce.

Their abrasiveness looks set to keep them out of trouble this season, as well, although there are less welcome consequences, not least a raft of suspensions collected for excess yellow cards.

Defender Greta Steinsson and influential midfielder Kevin Nolan will both miss the trip to north London, while Muamba is also teetering on the brink of a one-match ban.

"I'm not going to change my style for anyone," Steinsson said. "I'm not getting booked for shouting at the referee, it is just for playing football and working hard. Sometimes I get booked for it.

"We've got players like Kevin Davies, Fabrice Muamba and Andy O'Brien, those who really fight for the team, and if our style of play gets a booking then so be it." AFP


Mourinho Drops Adriano And Balotelli For Cagliari Clash

Inter and Cagliari go head to head this weekend as the Serie A resumes in 2009. Both sides have handed in their squad lists ahead of the contest, and unsurprisingly, Inter coach, Jose Mourinho, has omitted both Adriano and Mario Balotelli.

Both players have been rumoured to be unsettled at the club in recent times, and both have been strongly linked with moves elsewhere, but unfortunately, the pair seem destined to remain at Inter for the remainder of the season.

Jose Mourinho explained his decision to omit the duo in a pre-game interview with Sportsmediaset.

“Adriano is working towards the match on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia against Genoa, so there is no need for him to play this weekend,” Mourinho confirmed.

“As for Balotelli, he has played 13 matches over 712 minutes, and has played more football than any other attacker, except [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic.

“He’s had plenty of opportunities this season, however his quality is another story,” Mourinho added.

The Nerazzurri will be confident of starting the New Year on a high, with victory against Cagliari at the San Siro Saturday evening. Goal


Fans hail Ronaldo

Ahead of Monday's Fifa World Player of the Year Award, to be announced at a gala ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, the 2008 Barclays Global Fans Report has revealed that if the decision was down to the opinions of fans, Manchester United and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo would scoop the coveted prize.

Ronaldo, who recently collected the Ballon d'Or, was backed as the best player in the world by 35% of fans in the survey, which canvassed the views of over 32,000 fans from 185 countries across the globe.

The Portugal winger's closest rival was Barcelona star and last year's World Player award runner-up Lionel Messi who polled 17% of supporters' votes.

Both Ronaldo and Messi are included on the shortlist for the award, which is decided by coaches of national teams worldwide. Reigning Fifa World Player of the Year Kaka received just 7% of the vote in the Barclays Global Fans Report, trailing Liverpool duo Steven Gerrard (10%) and Fernando Torres (9%).

Should Cristiano Ronaldo be named Fifa World Player of the Year, he will become the first Manchester United player ever to claim the crown, with David Beckham's two runner-up spots in 1999 and 2001 the closest that the Old Trafford club has come to the accolade. Ronaldo would become only the second Portuguese player to win the prize, emulating Luis Figo's achievement in 2001.

Top 5 Best Players in World Football (according to survey respondents)

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (35%)

2. Lionel Messi (17%)

3. Steven Gerrard (10%)

4. Fernando Torres (9%)

5. Kaka (7%)

SkySports