Both Man U, Arsenal plagued by injuries
PREMIER LEAGUE: Third-place Manchester City plays fifth-place Swansea in another big game Saturday
There are two big games in the Premier League on Saturday, as third-place Manchester City hosts fifth-place Swansea, while just a bit further down the table, Manchester United visits Arsenal.
The Gunners have a poor record against United, but this will be an odd match because both teams have so many injuries. This past week’s international break didn’t really help either, with even more players picking up knocks.
United’s injury list is the longer of the two; Arsenal has players who are close to being fit. Former United striker Danny Welbeck may be one of them, but he’s not 100 per cent.
Manchester City’s array of stars might also be feeling fatigued after international duty, and it doesn’t help that City has a big Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich looming next week.
Manuel Pellegrini may be inclined to rest some players, and take his chances against Swansea. City hasn’t been in the best of form lately, and if it wasn’t for the 12 goals of league scoring leader Sergio Aguero, I’m not even sure the team would have a winning record.
Derby days
The Milan derby is Sunday at the San Siro, and all the talk is about Inter’s new coach, who is not all that new, as Roberto Mancini has made a surprise return to his former club.
Mancini enjoyed great success in his previous time at Inter, winning three straight Serie A titles. However, his failure to make headway in the Champions League is cited as the main reason for his dismissal in 2008.
Mancini inherits a capable but workmanlike side from predecessor Walter Mazzarri. Fans are hoping he can inject greater creativity into their play while also getting better results.
His main attacking threat is young Argentine striker Mauro Icardi. The 21-year-old started the season with a flurry of goals, but is finding them harder to come by now.
Neither Inter nor AC Milan is having the best of seasons, with Milan in seventh place and Inter in ninth. The defence has let both teams down.
Milan has been scoring fairly regularly, thanks in large part to good play from Japan’s Keisuke Honda. However, high-profile strikers Fernando Torres and Stephan El Shaarawy have been struggling, with only a goal apiece.
Table toppers
UEFA Champions League action returns next week, and a feature game is on Tuesday, as Group E leader Bayern Munich visits Manchester City.
While Bayern sports a perfect record and has run away with the group, everyone else is playing for second. Winless City has got to make a move before it’s too late.
Another big game on Tuesday is in Group G, where leader Chelsea visits Schalke. The German side is coached by former Blues manager Roberto Di Matteo, who guided Chelsea to the 2012 European title.
Wednesday’s fixture list, meanwhile, is full of top-of-the-table clashes, as the leaders in each of the four groups go head-to-head. That gives hope to teams like Juventus, Liverpool, Zenit, Benfica, and Anderlecht, who are all playing catch-up. Oh Canada
Congratulations to the Canadian men’s under-20 side on a very successful European tour.
Canada drew England 2-2 in England, before travelling to Spain, where the youngsters defeated Russia 2-1 and the U.S. 1-0. The games were all friendlies, but that’s still an impressive set of performances.
Getting results away from home against much higher ranked opposition is not easily done, never mind doing it three games in a row.
I think back to when Canada hosted the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and we lost every game without scoring a goal. It was a case of boys against men. That tournament demonstrated the gulf in talent that existed between Canada and many other countries at the U-20 level. But I think we’ve made some good progress lately, and we’re now seeing the results.
Here in Vancouver, the Whitecaps are proud of our efforts in developing young players. There were five Whitecaps players on Canada’s 18-man roster for this tour, and there are several more in Canada’s player pool.
I wish all of Canada’s players the best when they head to CONCACAF qualifying in January in Jamaica.
Bob Lenarduzzi is president of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Tickets: visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets