Nimes news:

They failed to double their victories in an informal rematch of the premiere of the league against Angers  and lost  2-1. They were found early back to the score. They found the strength to equalize within minutes with Nouri (10 ‘), but they could not complete the overthrow.

In a balanced game, they created good chances for a second goal but they did not made it.

It seemed that they were not entirely concentrated in the competition as it was obvious from the statements of the coach Pasqualetti, “We’re going for the win, but we must definitely avoid the extra-time in order to be ready for Dijon on Friday.”

Dijon news:

The movements of the coach Dall’Oglio gave the qualification against Tours.

They were down 2-0 until the coach changed the attacking duo and passed Diony and Babit in the match. Within 5 minutes they had brought the match in balance.

At 65′ the first one closed the gap while the second equalized at 71’. The match went into force thereafter (both teams received a red card).

Qualification came out on penalties with the goalkeeper Reynet saving the match for his team for one more time (2-4 the final score from the white dot).

Nancy news:

Although they lined up with eight changes compared to the championship match, they easily overcame the obstacle of Le Havre for the first round of the League Cup.

The 21 years old Coulibali was the scorer (12’) and his partner in midfield Grange scored the second goal (45) in this year’s debut. Le Havre only managed to reduce to 2-1.

They have a very low average of age at the team which is a sample that the academies work well. Of course Nancy’s biggest talent, Louis, signed permanently to Standard Liege, but the 17 years old attacking midfielder Lusamba was already rewarded with a contract renewal.

Transcriptional they were strengthened on Thursday by the addition of the 25 years old striker Mana Dembele from Guingamp (he played for Clermont for the last three years).

Arles news:

They worked on their attacking mode in Arles and did very well, scoring their first goals this year.

N’Gakoutou scored a hat-trick (19 ‘, 54’, 86 ‘) in the 3-2 match against Niort in the first round of the League Cup. The scorer was happy while the coach said with moderation: “It is important to qualify but we conceded two goals and we have to work on it.”

They had been drawn twice but finally they managed to get the qualification which will also give them more good psychology to the continuity in the league.

Wolves news:

They took the risk last year not to get rid of the heavy contracts and they were vindicated, as they achieved a new points record in League 1 (103) and returned triumphantly and directly in the Championship.

Essentially the same team is expected to be seen this year, with very few exceptions. Coach Kenny Jackett did not allow key players to leave, while on the other, there were very few transfers.

Obviously the aim is to ensure a quick stay in the league, though there are many who speak about presence in the first half of the table. As for Jackett, he spoke about a second consecutive anode!

They played really good at their friendly matches, while after the draw to Celta 1-1 , the coach said that he was completely satisfied with the progress of preparation and was optimistic that the team will be fully ready to premiere.

Norwich news:

They were the only one of the three relegated teams which did not made many changes to the roster.

They lost some key players (which is logical), such as Snodgrass and Van Wolfswinkel , but they managed to keep the body of last year’s team and therefore they have one of the strongest rosters of category. At the same time, they acquired one of the hottest strikers in last year’s Championship, Grabban from Bournemouth. The aim is to help the team to score more easily as last year Norwich had the worst attacking line in the Premier League, with just 28 goals.

As for their friendly games, it seemed that the problem was overcome. Neil Adams remained on the bench, who took over last year just before the last games (when the program was very difficult) in order to save the “canaries” from relegation, but he did not succeeded.

Correctly, Norwich is one of the favorites for the anode.

Arsenal news:

They missed their duration last year and they could not stay alive into claiming of the title till the end.

Clearly improved compared to previous years, the desire of all around the club is – what else? – The title.

Among the most important friendly matches they played , they lost to New York (1-0) and Monaco (1-0), won Benfica (5-1) easily.

At transfer market they made great moves by spending more than 60 million pounds (totally) to obtain Sanchez (Barcelona), Debuchy (Newcastle), Chambers (Southampton), Ospina (Nice) and they look more completed than ever. From the key players, only the left-back defender Sagna left while they sold their backup defender Vermaelen to Barcelona for over 15 million pounds, who had not basic position last year.

Concerning about the first eleven, on the right side, Debuchy and Sanchez will probably be the first selected. Sanogo will be in the attacking line, since Giroud is still not ready.

Manchester City news:

The first year of Pellegrini in England was a dream as it was combined with the Premier League’s title. Big target for this year, in addition to maintaining of acquired on the Island is to go as far as possible in the Champions League.

At Scotland’s and USA’s friendly matches, they won AC Milan 5-1 and draw 2-2 to Liverpool and Olympiakos, talking about the most important of them.

They obtained midfielder Fernando from Porto for 12 million pounds and goalkeeper Caballero (Malaga) for 6 million pounds, while Sagna came for free from Arsenal. They also grabbed Lampard on loan from New York, formerly captain of Chelsea. They kept all key players, but they may possibly do 1 or 2 transfers until the end of the transfer market.

It is a risk to attempt to write down the possible lineup.. However, Stevan Jovetic did an excellent preparation and he will probably be on the top of the attacking line.

Heracles news:

Based on the extremely poor harvest they had in their erstwhile strong home stadium (4-5-8) they should feel satisfied that did not got involved into adventures.

Coach De Jonge remained at the bench of the team, while experienced players who left the roster were replaced deservedly.

Their last loss was the left back defender Davidson (30/2, West Brom). From the players who were acquired, midfielder Fledderus (Roda), the stopper Zomer (SC Heerenveen) and defensive midfielder Sibum (Beveren) stand out.

At their strongest tests they lost 2-0 to Den Bosch (23/7) and won De Graafschap 3-2 (26/7).

“We have more possibilities than last year because our roster is more crowded. Alkmaar is a very good team. They have excellent players in all positions, ” De Jonge said.

AZ Alkmaar news:

By the end of March they were participating in all competitions, but ultimately they failed to achieve anything substantial, losing even in the playoff’s final for Europe to Groningen.

Having Marco Van Basten now at the bench they will try to achieve what they failed last year, to ensure a ticket to Europe.

The roster shows generally as competitive as last year, as well as losses of wingers Beerens (33/5) and Gudmundsson (35/3), were covered by the acquisition of Tankovic (Fulham) and Hupperts (Roda), but they will need strengthening at defense too after the withdrawal of their stopper Viergever (37/3).

At their most important friendly games they drew 0-0 to Nijmegen (19/7) and were defeated 3-0 to Hoffenheim (31/7).

Nac Breda news:

They are playing with fire in recent years, ensuring to remain stressfully enough every season and deterministically if they continue the same way, some time … they will be burned. So this season, the expectations remain low, while the team is plagued by financial problems and they know that a potential relegation will bring them a breath away of bankruptcy.

There has been a disagreement regarding the readiness of the group between goalkeeper-captain Ten Rouwelaar and the coach Gudelj.

“The roster is small in numbers and lacks experience. We are ready for the start of the season. The management should move more quickly, “said Ten Rouwelaar. Two days later Gudelj commented :” With one more striker, we will have a complete roster. We are ready for the premiere. “

Excelsior news:

They sent their fans in the seventh heaven returning in the premier league bravely (excluding Den Bosch and RKC Waalwijk), after two years of absence.

The “rookie” Dijkhuizen, who took Excelsior in January and credited the anode to a large extent continues in the bench, however, based on their movements in the exchange market and having lost their big star, striker Veldwijk (32 goals last year) it will be considered an achievement if they manage to remain in the league.

Among the most important friendly matches, they were defeated 1-0 to Go Ahead (19/7) and won 4-1 to Ronda (26/7).

“My team is looking forward to getting started. The away match against NAC Breda is a nice game to start. We need to be focused from the beginning and play organized, “said Dijkhuizen.

America-RN vs America Mineiro

America-RN news:

Goalkeeper Fernando Henrique was a hero, he kept his team upright at “Sao Janouario”.

America-RN were found to lose at 21′ to Vasco, they threatened a second goal, but instead of that they equalized the match with an own goal in the 53′.

For one more game Oliveira Caninde’s team showed that they are highly competitive. They are in front of two consecutive matches at Natal, in which they are looking for an equal number of victories in order to approach the top four.

America Mineiro news:

America Mineiro were decisive from the beginning, they left no margins to Oeste, which won from the first half, scoring all three goals for the final 3-0.

They took advantage of the loss of Joinville, achieved their second consecutive home win and thus Moacir Junior’s team was found in the second place of the standings.

Universidad de Chile vs Cobresal

Universidad de Chile news:

Universidad de Chile want to be the main Colo Colo’s rival for the title. Last year was a disaster so the owners took the decision to deal more actively with the club.

Martin Lasarte is the new coach of the team. For the last two years, the Uruguayan worked in Catolica by which he did not managed to win the league, but he did remarkable work. He is aware of the particular circumstances of the league.

There have been done cosmogenic changes to their roster, the intention is stability and homogeneity. In their last friendly, they drew 2-2 against Everton who struggles now in the Second Division.

The great stopper Rojas left the team as he had a great financial proposal by a group from the Arab Emirates. His gap will hardly be covered from the inside players , because except his value as a player, he was a captain inside and outside of the locker room.

Cobresal news:

Last year they were among the surprises, without big words but with good football, they managed to claim a position for the Sudamericana. Eventually, they did it. They ruled out Palestino in double matches and will participate in this year’s competition, which starts next month.

Cobresal are expected to be badly affected until they’ll find a rhythm in both competitions.

The eve of the skilled technician Jose Cantillana satisfied the management and the fans. The roster was filled, as the parallel obligations in the league and Sudamericana require several solutions. Any gaps were covered, however, it seems difficult to have as good progress this year, as in last Clausura.

On their plus side is that they’ll have no pressure, as the club is located in the Atacama desert and the city of El Salvador.

In the last friendly matches they showed a modest appearance but they are expected to be improved in the upcoming official games.

Botafogo vs Coritiba

Botafogo news:

The Paraguayan midfielder Zeballos was the fateful player who had two good chances in the first half, while the careless young goalkeeper Andrey suffered the first goal almost from the center of the field in 44′.

They had no clear mind and finally defeated to Sport Recife, starting negatively after the break.

They made many mistakes in transfers generally, showing the same foibles they had before the break and unfortunately they reached the last four teams at the bottom of the table.

Coritiba news:

Coritiba suffered a painful home defeat to Figueirense, remaining at pre break standards.

They suffered the 0-1 in the 5′, they were fastidious, made many mistakes and one of them caused the second goal in the 69′.

The emblematic midfielder Alex was the fateful player, who lost at least three classic chances.

Celso Roth’s team were unable to change the flow of match, who sank even more in the standings and the pressure on coach is growing.

Atletico Mineiro vs Bahia

Atletico Mineiro news:

They accomplished an important win against Lanus in Buenos Aires on Wednesday and made a huge step towards winning the Recopa Sudamericana.

Atletico Mineiro were well organised defensively and they “struck” when they found the opportunity in the second half, scoring with Diego Tardelli in 66 ‘.

Levir Culpi dared to change Ronaldinho in 45′ and was vindicated. The rematch is scheduled in Belo Orizonte on Wednesday.

Concerning the league,they lost their last match 1-0 to Sao Paulo, just before the World Cup break.

Bahia news:

Although Bahia have tried hard, they find no solution to their offensive problem.

Things became even more difficult when they found themselves back at the score by two goals after the first 20 minutes, this happened in their home game against Sao Paulo. They had no answers and the result was sustained.

This was the fourth straight defeat for Marquinhos Santos’s team, which by this time has hardly scored once.