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European Football
Preview - 06 Oct 2007
Stuttgart vs Hannover. Saturday
14:30.
Stuttgart may have let us down midweek, but it was not through a
lack of effort. Nor was it through a lack of quality, as the
Swabians had Barcelona on the ropes for a 20 minute period before
half-time, forcing Victor Valdes into a string of high-class saves.
It was inevitable that Rijkaard's side, having weathered the early
storm, would eventually go on to make their greater experience
count, but Armin Veh can take a lot of heart from the experience of
going toe-to-toe with the best footballing side in the world.
How his young side will react is open to debate, but the vibes
coming out of the Stuttgart camp this week have been positive.
"This loss can give us a confidence booster. Given our
situation, I am pleased with the performance," Veh said.
Hannover are a decent enough side, but to see the layers going up
to 1.8 about the hosts is somewhat surprising. After all, we're
talking about the defending champions, unbeaten at home in the
league for over a year, with 10 points out of 12 amassed already
this season. The only blip coming in week one against unbeaten
Schalke, in a game they really deserved to win. Michael Hecking's
side will be tough to break down as usual, employing a favoured
4-5-1 formation with Mike Hanke the lone-striker. However, Stuttgart
are well-practiced in overcoming such hurdles now, and can make
their greater quality count.
Recommendation: 4 pts Stuttgart
@ 1.8. Betfair.
Ilunga
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