Anzi Makhachkala v Newcastle United - Official Match Day / Build Up Thread

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Anzi Makhachkala V Newcastle United

Thursday 7th March 2013

Kick off 5pm ​

Squad
Vuckic, Raylor are long term absentees. News on Colo is still awaited.
As is the norm I would expect Pards to rest one or two of his key men although I'd still expect a strong team to be fielded as we look to hopefully get an away goal.

Streams
http://www.firstrow1.eu/
http://www.viplivesports.eu/sports/football.html

ACS's View
I think we will get a 1-1 draw here. They will come at us from the off so I'd consider playing Anita AND Tiote and try to hit them on the couter.

Travel Advice
Taken from nufc.com
Travel advice published by Newcastle United, Tuesday:

Newcastle United are advising supporters intending to travel to next week's UEFA Europa League fixture with FC Anzhi Makhachkala in Moscow to apply for their relevant travel visa urgently, after advice from the Russian National Tourist Office.

Fans are advised to use the online application via the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website here with additional assistance available by contacting the Russian National Tourist Office in London on 0207 985 1234, emailing [email protected] or online here

Applicants are encouraged to use the Express Service, which offers a processing time of two working days and enables successful applicants to enter Russia on a single-entry basis. The Express Service is priced at £210.

Applicants will need an original passport with at least six months validity and two clear pages remaining, a passport photograph taken within the last six months and the applicable fee.

Completed applications can be mailed or couriered to the addresses supplied at the end of the application process or can be taken in person to the following locations (open 9am-6pm, Monday-Friday):

202 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4DP

16 Forth Street, Edinburgh EH1 3LH

Applicants who are self-employed, company directors working from home and those not in employment may be required to show bank statements for the last three months which have a current balance of £100 per day for the duration of their visit. They must show the applicant's name, transactions and current balance.

Ticket information for the fixture will be issued in due course, in accordance with information received from Anzhi Makhachkala.

After trying to negotiate our way through it, the visa process seems geared towards various commercial organisations making a profit rather than individuals completing it themselves, with the combination of the quick turnaround time and Russian bureaucracy making this a trip too far for many seasoned travellers.

Current estimates of travelling fans are between 60 and 100, in temperatures that are currently predicted to be between -2 and -11 on matchday.

 

where the **** is HBA? he is the missing piece to the puzzle!

 

I think his injury is recovered.. it's more about his general fitness according to Pards (which means he's probably carrying a bit of timber).
I expect him to be involved for the Stoke game though.

 

Too many Tesco value burgers I think. Really hope he's back, we'll probably need him against Samuel Eto et al.

 

They have a 6ft 8 inch striker! Traore. And also a very quick one who's a good finisher. Eto'o.

But their defense is average.

If we come away with a goal or two we can really do this.

 

5pm kick-off means I can't even see it on TV due to work.

 

Jonas Gutierrez: Safety comes before glory

JONÀS Gutiérrez says that Premier League safety remains the priority for Newcastle United – even as they head to Russia for a crack at Europa League glory.

United fell to an undeserved defeat at Swansea City on Saturday and remain six points clear of the drop zone, but with signs of life in some of the strugglers below them.

It should be enough of an advantage to keep them in the division Рbut Guti̩rrez says that efforts are still focused on picking up points in the Premier League, even with a last-16 tie against Anzhi to come.

Newcastle – who will include Hatem Ben Arfa in the travelling party to be named on Wednesday morning – are also expecting Fabricio Coloccini back for next weekend’s clash with Stoke, soothing fears of a longer-term lay-off for the skipper. Boss Alan Pardew confirmed imminent returns for both after the game.

His compatriot Gutiérrez feels that Newcastle need all the help they can get to maintain their upward momentum.

“The Premier League is still the priority. Ask the fans of Newcastle and the people of Newcastle if they want to win the Europa League and get relegated, I think they will say no,” he said.

“The most important thing for Newcastle is the Premier League. Of course we will do our best in the Europa League, but we need to get the points to be in a comfortable position in the league too.”


Pardew looks set to send his strongest team to Russia to take on Guus Hiddink’s side, who are one of the strongest sides left in a difficult competition. A realistic

Gutiérrez knows that it will be difficult to win the Europa League, but says the players will pour every bit of effort into getting as far as they can.

“For us all of the games are really important,” he said. “From the beginning of the season the most important thing has been the Premier League.

“The Europa League is a nice competition for us but the first ambition is the Premier League. That is our priority.

“I’ve been in Spain and England and I have seen big teams playing in the Champions League, but who are in the bottom three.

“We must think game by game but we need to start taking the points to make ourselves feel comfortable in the league for the rest of the season.

“Of the last five games, we’ve won three. We lost at Tottenham, who are having a good season, and on Saturday we didn’t deserve to lose. These things happen, we have to keep going.”

Although United began lethargically on Saturday, they were the better team in the second half and deserved to beat the Capital One Cup winners on their own patch.

So while defeat was disappointing, Gutiérrez does not feel that it will be particularly psychologically damaging in the long-term.

“We should take a lot from the performance,” he said. “This is the way we should try to play.

“We played a good game, we attacked well and were solid. The team was compact, we didn’t allow them to create chances while we created chances – that is what we are trying to do. It happens in football.

“We have to keep going like this, to try our best and to keep playing this football because we have four games in the next two weeks that are going to be really, really tough.”

 

Looks as though Colo is back too.

 

Sounds like he'll be rested for the Stoke match.

Although seems like HBA is in the midweek squad!

 

getting some much needed practice in before the game with some winter warmers on or could it be for plastic grass burns,
good to see BenArfa again
lets hope it's from Russia with Goals


http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20130304/pic-special-artificial-intelligence_2281670_3097402

 

Pardew out! his style of football is primitive

 

Where did that comment come from?

 

Style of play, team selections,tactical substitutions. All been questionable lately. More and more dissent in the ranks.

 

Thursday sees United play the first leg of their Europa League Round of Sixteen tie against Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.

Kickoff in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium is at 9pm local time, 5pm GMT and as of Monday, around 70 Newcastle fans had purchased match tickets for the tie.

UEFA have banned Anzhi from playing Europa League ties on their own ground due to unrest in the Dagestan region of Russia and alternative venues in Moscow have hosted their "home "games so far this season - although the Russian capital is around 1,000 miles from Makhachkala. After using the Lokomotiv Stadium earlier this season, Anzhi's last 32 tie against Hanover was played at the Luzhniki Stadium - the 78,000 capacity home of Spartak Moscow and CSKA. However a crowd of just 12,000 were present to see the Bundesliga side beaten 1-3.

It has an artificial pitch - something which we were never able to record a victory in our previous competitive domestic games against QPR, Luton Town and Oldham Athletic, although technology has improved playing surfaces somewhat in the intervening decades.

NUFC: Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini remain sidelined through injury, but Hatem Ben Arfa could finally play his first game since early December - featuring in Moscow would coincide with the occasion of his 26th birthday.

Both Yoan Gouffran and Mathieu Debuchy are ineligible to appear in this competition after previous European outings for their former clubs this season. Haris Vuckic and Ryan Taylor remain in the treatment room.

In an attempt to prepare for playing on the artificial surface in Moscow, United arranged a training session at the similarly-equipped Druid Park training facility of the Newcastle Falcons, which was formerly the Wheatsheaf Ground home of Newcastle Blue Star.

Anzhi: Following the departure of Christophe Samba to QPR in January, Anzhi moved to strengthen their backline with the loan signing of Seville's Emir Spahic and he is expected to make his debut against us on Thursday.

Now 32, Bosnian international Spahic was previously with Montpellier and played alongside current Magpie Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa for the French side in the 2010/11 Europa League qualifying stages.

Ouropponents are currently second in the Russian Premier League, which restarts after a three month break between the two ties against us.

As was the case with Kharkiv, Anzhi are compensating for a lack of domestic fixtures with training camps overseas, the latest one seeing them travel to Dubai after recently assembling in Marbella.

They're managed by Guus Hiddink, who was in charge of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven during the 2003/04 season when United drew 1-1 away before beating them 2-1 at SJP in the UEFA Cup Quarter Final.

Hiddink's last visit to SJP came as Chelsea boss near the end of the 2008/09 campaign, when they spoiled Alan Shearer's managerial debut by beating us 2-0.

Among the current Anzhi squad is centre forward Samuel Eto'o, who featured for Real Mallorca against Newcastle during that same 2003/04 UEFA Cup campaign.

Since then the Cameroon international has enjoyed an illustrious career with Barcelona and Inter Milan, winning Champions League titles and domestic championships at both clubs. Eto'o turns 32 three days after our visit.

Anzhi's wealth comes from owner Suleyman Kerimov, the 46 year-old billionaire, who is profiled online here

Anzhi's progress to the last 16:

Entering two rounds before us, Anzhi have been playing Europa League games since mid July.

2QR: Honved (won 1-0 home, won 4-0 away)
3QR: Vitesse Arnhem (won 2-0 home, won 2-0 away)
PO: AZ Alkmaar (won 1-0 home, won 5-0 away)
GS: Udinese (won 2-0 home, drew 1-1 away)
GS: Young Boys (won 2-0 home, lost 1-3 away
GS: Liverpool (won 1-0 home, lost 0-1 away)
L32: Hannover (won 3-1 home, drew 1-1 away)

So that's a 100% win record wherever "home" is and six clean sheets out of seven there. They've scored 26 goals to date, Eto'o notching 9 and Lacina Traore 5.

 

Selected PP Match odds:
Newcastle to win @ 4/1
Newcastle to win 1-0 @ 12/1
Shola Ameobi to score in a 1-0 win @ 66/1

(NB: quoted odds were accurate at the time of writing, but subject to fluctuation - click on the link above to display current live odds).

Referee: tbc

UK TV: Live on ITV4.

Overseas TV:

Al Jazeera Sports +2 Sky Sport 1 (Germany)
Arena Sport 2 (Croatia) Sky Sport Extra (Germany)
Arena Sport 3 (Serbia) Smart Spor 2 (Turkey)
beIN Sport Max 3 Sport TV4 (Portugal)
Digi Sport 2 (Romania) Sporting 2 (Belgium)
ESPN (Brazil) SportKlub (Slovenia)
Fox Soccer Plus (USA) Sportsnet World (Canada)
Fox Sports Premium SuperSport 2 HD (Za)
Fox Sports 2 Cono Sur SuperSport 5 Africa
Nova Sports 7 (Cyprus) SuperSport Maximo
NTV+ Sport (Russia) Teleclub Sport Live (Swiss)
Setanta (Australia) True Sport 6 (Thailand)
Stats:

United will break new ground on Thursday when they play the 131st competitive European fixture in their history and their first in Russia. That will be the 25th different country they've visited in 66 away games as follows:

7 visits: France, Netherlands
6 visits: Spain
5 visits: Italy, Portugal
4 visits: Belgium
3 visits: Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ukraine
2 visits: Bulgaria, Norway, Scotland, Serbia, Switzerland
1 visit: Bosnia, Croatia, England, Estonia, Ireland, Israel,
Latvia, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden.

NB: We're only counting away trips here, not the number of countries we've opposed teams from. That distinction means that Georgia and Turkey don't appear, as we only faced teams from those countries at SJP in the previous UEFA Cup Group Stage format - there was no away tie.

(As a guide, teams from 53 different nations entered this season's Europa League so we're not yet halfway).

Europa League - last 16 draw:

Anzhi Makhachkala (Russia) v Newcastle (England)
Basel (Switzerland) v Zenit St.Petersburg (Russia)
Benfica (Portugal) v Bordeaux (France)
Levante (Spain) v Rubin Kazan (Russia)
Plzen (Czech Republic) v Fenerbahce (Turkey)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) v Chelsea (England)
Stuttgart (Germany) v Lazio (Italy)
Spurs (England) v Inter Milan (Italy)

PS: UEFA have decreed that two second leg ties from the above list will be staged behind closed doors due to fan misbehaviour earlier in this season's competition..

Fenerbahce have incurred a one match ban as a result of their fans launching fireworks on to the pitch, while Lazio must play their next two home ties in front of empty stands at the Olympic Stadium after repeated racist incidents involving their supporters.

 

All very skillfully cut n' pasted from NUFC.COM.

Thankyouverymuch!

 

Fancy a touch of this?

Shola Ameobi to score in a 1-0 win @ 66/1

 

Can't nudge you toward the 40k mark. You have given out too much Reputation in the last 24 hours, try again later.

 

Actually, for a Europa game (where Shola could well start), that is tempting.....

Could you lend me a tenner?

 

I'll put one on for you at the game.