Hello, wherever you are and welcome to another edition of ‘Something For The Weekend’, after we were let down by a couple of bad fry ups last week, we return for more of a continental breakfast this week. Croissants, cappuccinos and apple strudels, as we search for value like the European Football hipster on a Europa League pilgrimage to Kharkiv.
We start off in north-eastern France, although most of the British press will be focused on the Barton/Beckham battle on Sunday. We turn our attention to some less fancied Nancy’s, as the ‘bottom boys’ (current league position) take on the ever improving Saint-Etienne. Football aficionados of a certain vintage will remember the days when ‘les verts’ were playing in European finals. Now, after some hard times including having their name pinched by a 1990′s synth pop band (who even cheekily sang ‘Join Our Club’). they are now challenging for a place in Europe again (although it probably won’t be at the top table). Recent impressive performances have included a 4-1 win against champions Montpelier. Their team is a mix of wily veterans (Brandao, Clement), up and coming youngsters (probably heading to Newcastle in the next transfer window) and Max Gradel. As for Nancy, well there’s not much to say about them apart from the fact that they are pretty ‘merde’. I expect Saint-Etienne to savour this like a Tesco meat merchant at a cheap charcuterie.
Sky Bet offer 23/20 on an away victory
. Sacre bleu!
Next we head off to the Bundesliga, the current choice of league for football hipsters such as myself. Bayern, Borussia and Schalke all look in the box seat to reach the quarter finals in the Champions League and the standard of the league gets better and better. We like to feature Bayer Leverkusen here at ‘SFTW’, it’s not because we’re after free pharmaceuticals though. Their form has been patchy of late and they will be hoping that their Europa League exploits will not take too much out of them – even if it does, they should find the opposition friendly. SpVgg Greuther Fürth are winless at home this season, a shocking stat. The Trolli Arena has provided good value for opposition teams, some of them have even managed to get their Euro back when they’ve left Aldi. The sacking of Mike Buskens this week was inevitable and if the ‘Cloverleaves’ get anything out of this one, I’ll chop off my bratwurst.
Sky Bet offer 4/5 on a Bayer win
and I advise you to keep an eye on Gonzalo Castro (no relation to Fidel) – along with Kiessling, he could well be plying his trade at a bigger club this season.
Next we head off to Serie A for a double header, our tasty antipasto comes in the form of Atalanta v Roma at the atmospheric Stadio Atleti Azzurri. These two teams have been fairly hard to pinpoint this season, however Roma’s win last weekend versus Juventus was a season highlight – the evergreen Francesco Totti providing a ballistic finish in a 1-0 victory. You can’t beat ‘loyal Totti’ and the one club man is now just one goal off becoming Serie A’s second top scorer, he is still some way behind Berlusconi.
Bet365 offer a tasty 11/8 on a win for Zdeněk Zeman’s eclectic Roman army
to take the spoils here and for the only loyal man in Rome to go home with a smile on his face.
We’ve saved the best for last, a Sunday night extravaganza between the San Siro sharers, a main course so good that Gabriel Marcotti has not asked for dessert (a first). ‘Meelan’ will be feeling on top of the world after their 2-0 win against Barca on Wednesday (I don’t want to say I told you so but I saw that one coming). For this one, they can bring penalty taker supreme and all round nice guy Mario Balotelli back into the mix. His partnership with ‘the little pharoah’ Stephan El-Shaarawy has looked mouth-watering – ‘watch out’ girls in Brera and Serie A defences as the odd couple are on the prowl. Internazionale currently sit in fifth place, however their form is erratic and they look a club on the way down rather than up, having to sell young starlet Coutinho to a mid table Premier League outfit for a relatively small fee was an example of that. Massimo Moratti has pulled back investment of late and defended coach Stramaccioni after last week’s woeful pummelling by Fiorentina, instead blaming the players. This is technically a home fixture for Inter but I think AC will be enjoying the home comforts here.
Bet 365 offer 13/10 on an ‘away win’
and That’s Amore.
Well, we hope you’ve enjoyed our delve into Europe’s elite leagues this week, I’m off to Hoxton to buy myself the 1976 Saint-Etienne kit. Remember, never insult an Italian baker, he’ll beat the Focaccia! I’ll leave you with this thought, Arsenal last won a trophy back in 2005 and the ‘crazy frog ‘ was number one , eight years on and he’s still there. Au revoir.
By Jamie Ellis
