Werder Bremen

One step forward, one step back. Sometimes betting feels like you are doing the Hokey-Cokey.

As predicted, despite having poor form heading into the Swiss Cup final against Young Boys, underdogs Sion dug deep to go from 2-down to 3-2 up to win their 11th straight cup final in which they have been present. The £30 profit though quickly dissipated into an overall £2 loss for the week’s forecasts as both Shakhtar and Werder refused to end their match in Istanbul inside 90 minutes.

Without a clean-sweep in several weeks now, and with matches running out in the season from which to make money, this weekend is pivotal in our efforts to reach a £200 overall profit by the end of the season. As always, if you still haven’t registered for your FREE £25 bet with 888.com we encourage you to do it before it’s too late. Simply click on this link, make a minimum deposit and give yourself a fighting chance to trouser some extra coinage.

It is the penultimate weekend of the French season and although the top honours are yet to be set in stone, it is looking increasingly likely that Bordeaux, Marseille and Lyon—currently first, second and third respectively—will end the year in that order of merit.

This weekend Bordeaux (10 straight wins) and Lyon play hosts to Monaco and Caen (just two away wins all season), while OM, who have been outstanding on the road with nine wins from their last 10 away days, head to midtable Nancy whose season appears to be meandering to its stale conclusion.

Backing Bordeaux (1/4), Marseille (8/13) and Lyon (1/3) all to win, we hope that our £15 stake will convert into almost a £25 profit.

Also playing their second to last matches are the Spanish Primera Liga, with champions Barcelona looking to put on a show for their home fans against Osasuna, while Los Blancos face Mallorca at the Bernabeu on Sunday night. The last round of fixtures saw both Barca and Real lose, and both teams will be looking to end their season’s on a high with victories against lessor opposition.

Barcelona, who will likely field a variety of second-string players ahead of the Champions League final, are priced at 10/11 to beat Osasuna, while Madrid are 8/15 to claim the three points over the islanders. As such, wins for both the Spanish powerhouses will turn a tenner into a £29.27 return.

Saturday sees the final day of the Bundesliga, when Wolfsburg should be crowned as German champions for the first time in their history after beating Werder Bremen. According to the fairytale ending, Edin Dzeko, the fabulous Bosnian striker who will move to a big club this summer, will score on the final day of the season to complete a stunning year.

Tipping Wolfsburg to beat Werder (4/9) and for Edin Dzeko (3/1) to open the scoring, we aim to turn £6 into £34.67 return.

And last but not least, Sunday witnesses the final day of the Premier League season, with the relegation-battle the juiciest story still left to be decided.

Cast-iron favourites for the drop are Midddlesbrough, who head to West Ham knowing the even a win cannot guarantee Gareth Southgate’s sides survival. But, with so many potential twists and turns, this is no time for Boro to feel sorry for themselves, and the Teessiders know that they pull out every stop to give themselves a fighting chance of survival.

Boro need to win, but also win by as many goals as possible with goal-difference potentially crucial. Accordingly, we are staking £3 on the Boro win (2/1) and that they will do so by 2 goals (8/1), hoping for a whopping £78 profit.

Shakhtar Donetsk v Werder Bremen, UEFA Cup final, May 20, 2009

Following a marathon European campaign, in which both these sides saw off local rivals in the semifinals, the stage is set for the last ever UEFA Cup final in Istanbul.

Shakhtar would be the first Ukrainian side to win a European trophy should they emerge triumphant (13/8 to win) and their record in the competition this season suggests they can see off the German side.

Veteran Mircea Lucescu has watched his team defeat Tottenham, CSKA Moscow, Marseille and Dynamo Moscow in a run that has coincided with a real upturn in form. After a poor start to the Ukrainian Premier League and then elimination from the Champions League, Shakhtar turned their form around and claimed one of their most important ever victories with the semi-final win over bitter rivals Dynamo Kiev.

Much like Zenit St. Petersburg in last year’s final, Shakhtar Donetsk come into this game with a line-up full of talent that is not that well known by the rest of Europe. The Brazilians Ilsinho, Jadson (8/1 to be the first scorer), Fernandinho, Luiz Adriano and Willian (16/1 to score first) bring a bit of Samba flair to the side.

And there are also two fine Ukrainian talents in defender Dmytro Chyhrysnkyi, whose name seems destined to be butchered for the rest of his career and Oleksandr Hladkyi, a 21-year-old striker who will likely start this match as a sub but represents a bright future for Shakhtar.

One player who may be worth a flutter for first goal, or to score at any time, is Darijo Srna, the Croatian international has scored five goals this season, four of which have come from free-kicks. (Srna is 20/1 to score first, 6/1 to score at any time.)

Whilst Werder Bremen have the experience in Europe, having been a regular club in the Champions League in recent years, they are without a number of players, including Brazilian schemer Diego who is suspended for the final and due to a thigh injury may well have played his last game for the club.

Bremen are also without striker Hugo Almeida and defender Per Mertesacker and there will be much expectation resting on the shoulders of Mesut Ozil, a Turkish-born schemer who made his international debut for Germany in February. (Ozil is 12/1 to be the man of the match.)

There are also injury worries over captain Frank Baumann and strikers Claudio Pizarro and Markus Rosenberg. If Pizarro does play he could well get on the scoresheet, as he has done five times in the UEFA Cup already this season, including the double that saw off AC Milan in February.

Without Diego and with Shakhtar brimming with confidence (ten wins in their last 11 games) as well as chasing a reported personal win bonus of more than 185,000 euros paid by chairman Rinat Akhmetov, the Ukrainian side should be heavy favourites to win on Wednesday night.

101gg predicts: Shakhtar Donetsk 3 – Werder Bremen 1 (28/1)

Full match odds here.

Werder Bremen have set up a clash with Shakthar Donetsk in the UEFA Cup final after edging ahead of fierce rivals Hamburg in an entertaining semi final.

The odds were stacked against them after losing the first leg at home 1-0, and Bremen looked to be on their way out of the competition when Ivica Olic gave Hamburg a 2-0 aggregate lead early on. However, Werder refused to lie down and grabbed a deserved equaliser after a well worked goal from their majestic Brazilian, Diego, leaving the tie interestingly poised at 2-1, and 1-1 on the night.

A goal would change the tie, if Werder were to score again they would be heading through on away goals and when Claudio Pizarro fired in from 25 yards to set up this scenario, it ensured that the supporters would see an exciting finale to what had been a thrilling two-legged encounter.

With time running out disaster struck for Hamburg, as a routine back pass became complicated when the ball hit a scrunched up piece of paper that had been thrown on to the pitch by a home fan. As the defender swung his leg to pass the ball back to his keeper, the ball bobbled up, causing the player to slice the ball out for an unnecessary corner.

The fan in question must be devastated because what followed was the visiting team's third goal of the night - Frank Baumann showed incredible bravery to meet the corner and head home from close range to put the tie out of reach for Hamburg.

However, there was to be another twist as the hard working Olic pulled a goal back with minutes remaining on the clock to make the aggregate score 3-3, but Hamburg still needed to find another goal to prevent elimination on the away goals rule.

It wasn't to be, as Werder Bremen held on to claim their reward of a place in the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul. The only sour point for Werder is that star man Diego received a booking, which sees him suspended for the match against Shakthar. He will be a huge miss.

As for Hamburg, Chelsea fans will agree—Away goals is a cruel way to go....

Udinese vs. Werder Bremen, UEFA Cup quarterfinal second-leg, April 16, 2009

There is little doubt who was the star of the first leg, Diego had a terrific game, scoring two fine goals and placing himself firmly in the shop window for the summer transfer window, with Juventus the most likely team to secure the signature of the diminutive Brazilian.

Udinese, Italy’s remaining representatives in European competition face a tough task against a free-scoring Werder Bremen side but they have been given a real chance thanks to the late strike by Fabio Quagliarella that ensured if they win 2-0 (11/1) they progress to the semifinals and a clash with either Hamburg or Manchester City.

The Bianconeri claimed exactly the scoreline they need on Thursday as they beat Reggina 2-0 and a number of players such as Quagliarella were rested for much of the game. Striker Antonio Floro Flores scored two late goals and he may have played himself into contention for a starting berth against the Germans.

Udinese have performed impressively this season in Europe, recording wins over the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham, and in the last round, the UEFA Cup holders, Zenit St Petersburg. As the Italian side have already beaten a German team, Bremen is unlikely to be fazed by a trip to Italy having seen off AC Milan over two legs in February.

The Germans have a side packed with experience, including the likes of Tim Wiese, Torsten Frings, and Claudio Pizarro. They also rarely fail to score having claimed eight in their last three games which included a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Crucial to the outcome of this tie will be the fitness of Diego (8/1 to score the first goal), he missed the game at Leverkusen due to a thigh injury and with Bremen playing for little in the league they will surely play him even if he is half fit.

Of course, Udinese have their own match winners in Gokhan Inler (11/2 to score), Simone Pepe, and Fabio Quagliarella and since they are also struggling in Serie A and with their domestic season all but over they will go hell for leather to claim a victory.

101gg predicts: Udinese 2 - Werder Bremen 2 (12/1)

Full match odds here.

Surprising Results:

Hanover 2:0 Hertha Berlin

In all honesty, most people may be shocked but I am not. Hanover are almost unbeatable at home, and have salvaged all their points at home, with only one point from away games. Mike Hanke scored the first goal and Arnold Bruggink, the man on form, scored the second.

Hertha are now slipping up and may be left battling for a UEFA Europa League spot. Hertha’s frustration really showed when Voronin kicked an opponent towards the end to earn a straight red and most probably a three-week ban.

Hoffenheim 0:3 Vfl Bochum

Yes, your eyes are not fooling you. The Hoff, who were maybe thinking about the title at the winter break, lost 3-0 at home to a relegation-threatened side. Carlos Eduardo received a red card in the 59^th minute and keeper Daniel Haas was shown another in the 61^st minute. Bochum made the two-men advantage count. Stanislav Sestak scored a hattrick to give his side some hope of staying up.

Bayer Leverkusen 1:1 Werder Bremen

I had expected Bremen to win, but Bayer proved me wrong. However, this result does no good to either side as both sides are stuck in mid-table mediocrity. A first half header from Tranquillo Barnetta was cancelled out by the ever-reliable Claudio Pizarro, giving both sides only a point.

Morale-boosting Result:

Bayern 4:0 Eintracht

Wolfsburg made a fool of Bayern and Barcelona made them look like amateurs. Bayern needed to vent their frustration on an opponent and they chose Eintracht.

Individual brilliance resulted in the first goal from Ribery. It was quite similar to Marcos Senna’s goal in the Champions League against Arsenal. Van Bommel picked the relatively unmarked Ribery out who gave it a go, easily sending it to the back of the net. He celebrated by showing a “5” drawn on his hand to the crowd. Bayern’s No: 5, Daniel Van Buyten’s father is sick and the gesture was one of support from Ribery to his close friend.

The second goal came via Toni. An excellent free-kick delivery from Ribery found Toni who volleyed it beautifully into the back of the net. The third belonged to Lucio. Schweinsteiger’s excellent delivery found Lucio unmarked on the edge of the box. Lucio made no mistake and headed it in.

The fourth was due to Sosa’s vision. Sosa picked out Toni, who after battling against two defenders shot directly at the keeper. The keeper could only push it out for Schweini who made no mistake, passing the ball into an empty net.

Energie 2:1 Bielefeld

Cottbus are relegation-battlers and found some breathing space after this win. Dimitar Rangelov opened the scoring for Energie while Vlad Munteanu equalized. Stanislav Angelov then scored the winner for Energie.

Schalke 2:0 Karlsruher

Kevin Kuranyi scored the first goal continuing his recent good form in front of goal. Apparently Bremen and Blackburn are chasing him. Farfan added a second to send Schalke within a point of Hoffenheim. Nobody should count Schalke out from getting a place in Europe, at least not yet.

Table topping Results:

 

Borussia Dortmund 3:1 Köln

Dortmund are closing down on a European spot after their third successive win. Nemanja Vucicevic opened the scoring for Köln only for another player who is on form, Nelson Valdez to equalize. Tamas Hajnal then put Dortmund in the lead and Pedro Geromel’s own goal added a third for the home side.

 

Borussia Moenchengladbach 1:2 Wolfsburg

A prospect of a trip to Borussia Park is quite daunting at times. Hamburg and Werder both know that. So do Bayern. Diego Benaglio saved from Alex Baumjohann and Karim Matmour early in the game before seeing his side take the lead from an Edin Dzeko header. The assist of the goal belonged to none other than Zvejdan Misimovic.

Gladbach then equalized after a freekick from Marko Marin was headed in by Dante.

With only five minutes of regulation time left, Sasha Riether scored the winner after Gladbach failed to close down Wolfsburg in their penalty area.

THE MATCH:

Stuttgart 1:0 Hamburg

The match may have had only one goal in it, but it had plenty of action. Both sides failed to find the back of the net, with both Ivica Olic and Dennis Aogo hitting the bar. Julian Shcieber also hit the bar for Stuttgart. Late into the match, Thomas Hitzlsperger fired a cross he received goal ward only for Frank Rost to push it out. Gomez took full advantage and fired into the back of the net, giving Stuttgart the match.

The top five of this week are:

Wolfsburg- 54

Bayern – 51 (GD: +22)

Hamburg- 51 (GD: +2)

Hertha Berlin- 49

Stuttgart- 48

News:

Bayern will be able to play Lucio, Lahm and maybe even Van Buyten against Barcelona. The first leg ended 4-0 to the Catalan giants.

Hamburg will be paying a trip to Eastlands on Thursday to take on Man City while Werder will be traveling to Italy to play Udinese. Hamburg and Werder both won the first leg at home, 3-1. Diego is a doubt for Werder’s second leg.

Edin Dzeko is apparently also being checked out by AC Milan apart from the English clubs. His teammate Cristian Zaccardo is attracting interest from Lazio and Sampdoria after spending most of his time on the Wolves’ bench.

Jens Lehmann has surprisingly praised Manuel Almunia, saying that the keeper is having a wonderful season at Arsenal.

Rahim Ayew will be signing for Hoffenheim after passing a medical.

Joel Epalle suffered an injury while playing for Bochum against the Hoff.

That’s all for this week. Bayern are up to second and that means their supporters can get some rest, till next week.

Werder Bremen 1- 0 Nurnberg. Markus Rosenberg had just scored a goal against the meanest defence of the Bundesliga in the 2006-07 season. Miroslav Klose and Tim Borowski were both part of that Werder side.

Werder Bremen finished third that campaign. The following season, they disappointed as usual in the Champions League. I am going to introduce the club to you with some highs and lows that are going to amaze you.

Introducing Coach Thomas Schaaf

Thomas Schaaf is one guy who never fails to amaze me. He spent his whole career at Werder Bremen. He made 281 appearances for Werder as a defender and has been the coach of the club since 1999. Such loyalty can hardly be found anywhere.

Interesting facts: In Thomas Schaaf’s playing days, Werder won the Bundesliga, lost it twice on goal difference and even got relegated once. After Thomas Schaaf took over, Werder’s consistency improved. They have never finished below ninth position in the Bundesliga and have given FC Bayern Munich a few problems over the last few years.

In the 2006-07 campaign, Werder was the reason behind Bayern’s slip into the UEFA Cup. In the 2005-06 season, Bayern claimed the Bundesliga title. Werder however had the two best strikers in Miro Klose and Ivan Klasnic and thus the best offence in the Bundesliga. The two strikers had combined to score 40 goals that campaign in just 26 matches with Klose scoring 25 and Klasnic scoring 15.

Werder is not a “typical” German side. A "typical" German side is usually clinical. A very good example would be the Germany vs. Turkey match in the semi-final of the Euros. Turkey had 11 shots on target, yet lost, whereas Germany had three shots on target and won, 3-2.

Werder love to play attacking football and enjoy crushing teams like Eintracht and even Bayern. Werder beat Eintracht 5-0 this season. They also shocked Bayern in the Allianz Arena 5-2. In the game against Hoffenheim, Per Mertesacker received a red card a few minutes after the hour mark. Hoffenheim took advantage but still lost 5-4.

Bremen however last qualified for the last 16 in the Champions League in the 2005-06 season.

Through a Werder Fan’s Eyes

Werder have one problem: they are extremely inconsistent. Their squad is a mixture of youth and experience. Werder have beaten Real Madrid, they have beaten Inter, they have beaten Chelsea, and they have thrashed Bayern.

However, this campaign, Werder managed to lose to Panathinaikos! They didn’t lose to Inter and got four out of a possible six points in two matches against Inter.

Consistency is the key to success.

Werder have disappointed in Europe almost every season. Memories of the 10-2 thrashing by Lyon in the 2004-05 season are still alive in most Werder fans’ memories.

Yet what hurts more is when you are kicked out of the Champions League due to the away goals rule, that’s exactly what happened in the 2005-06 season. Werder despite beating Juve at the Weser 3-2 in the first leg, were unable to qualify. The tie finished 4-4 with Juve advancing on the away goals rule.

Luck is one thing you need to win and that’s exactly what cost Bremen a possible UEFA Cup. On the back of an impressive group stage in the 2006-07 season Bremen went into the UEFA Cup. They were knocked out, despite beating Chelsea as they lost to Barcelona. One point was the difference between Barca and Bremen in group A of the Champions League.

They beat Ajax and Celta Vigo to advance into the UEFA Cup quarter-final where they meet AZ. They finished off AZ in front of the AZ fans 4-1. Miroslav Klose ended his 907 minutes goal drought with two goals while Borowski and Diego opened and closed the scoring respectively.

In the semi-final Werder lost the first leg 3-0. However they weren’t down. They began the second leg at the Weser strongly and were 1-0 up within the first five minutes.

However the ref decided to send possibly the gentlest man on the pitch off. Werder were one man down in the twentieth minute. Miroslav Klose was sent off with a second yellow card for a DIVE! This was the guy who told the ref that Werder shouldn’t be awarded a penalty as he hadn’t been fouled in a Bundesliga match!

Werder’s dream was shattered there as Espanyol finished the match as winners, the scoreline being 2-1 in their favour.

Werder’s inconsistency has also led to some poor results in the German Cup. They are yet to be knocked out however, they won it in 2004 but exited the competition in the semi-final the following season. Their form in the competition declined since then. They got knocked out in the quarter-final, the third round and the first round in the following seasons respectively.

Finally,comes Diego. Juve are not going to let go of this guy! According to the media, they are still chasing him. Werder is far from a one man show, they boast the likes of Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker, Tim Wiese, and Torsten Frings. They have up and coming young talent such as Aaron Hunt in their side as well.

They will manage without Diego but they really do need another Miroslav Klose or Tim Borowski. When I say Miroslav Klose, I mean the one who scored 25 goals in the 2005-06 season and beat Dimitar Berbatov, then of Leverkusen to the Bundesliga Cannon, neither Almeida nor Sanogo are capable of scoring that many goals. Aaron Hunt and Markus Rosenberg are not consistent while Pizarro is only on loan from Chelsea.

What I have to Say:

I am a Bayern supporter but I really enjoy watching Werder play. Their football is nothing short of impressive. Dortmund are no longer the 1997 Champions League winners' side. Leverkusen are impressive but are still short of the 2002 “Neverkusen” side. It’s probably time for Werder to take their chance in Europe.

I am sure Werder fans are quite satisfied with the draw they received in the UEFA Cup…AC Milan. Werder will be underdogs to win this one and as most Werder fans know, Werder love being the underdogs.

Stuttgart 2 - 2 Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008) (Longer highlights here.)

In first-half injury time Sami Khedira scored with a diving header to put Stuttgart one-up at home to Bayern Munich. Three minutes after the break Tim Borowski equalised from close range.

On 66 minutes Luca Toni tapped home to put Klinsmann’s side ahead. After Oddo had been sent off, Khedira scored his second of the match to tie the game late on with a brilliant volley that went past a number of bodies in a crowded Bayern area from a late corner that had seen Jens Lehmann join the attack.

Werder Bremen 2 - 1 Wolfsburg (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008) (Longer highlights here.)

Christian Gentner’s left-foot strike gave Wolfsburg a third minute lead, but Per Mertesacker equalised in the 29th minute when he was given too much space to head home a free-kick. The match was settled by a Josue own goal just after the hour mark.

Hamburg 1 - 0 Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008)

Martin Jol’s side moved up to fourth after serial midfield goal-scorer Mladen Petric scored a diving header after a trademark untracked run into the box.

Hertha Berlin 4 - 0 Karlsruhe (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008) (Longer highlights here.)

Maximilian Nicu opened the scoring after just eight minutes before all three of Hertha’s substitutes—Valeri Domovchiyski, Fabian Lustenberger, and Raffael—all found the net in the second half to seal the win.

Bochum 1 - 2 Cologne (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008)

Cologne ended a four-match losing streak as they saw off fellow strugglers Bochum. Christophe Dabrowski equalised for Bochum after Kevin McKenna had put Cologne in front just before half-time, but Mannaseh Ishiaku fired home a winner with three minutes to go.

Hannover 1 - 1 Arminia Bielefeld (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008)

The hosts went ahead in the 32nd minute when Jiri Stajner found the back of the net with a close-range header before Artur Wichniarek’s 10th goal of the season salvaged a point for Arminia.

Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 1 Energie Cottbus (Bundesliga, Dec. 13, 2008)

Leverkusen finally grabbed the lead with 13 minutes left, Helmes deflected Djakpa’s long-range shot to Simon Rolfes who was quick enough to poke past the Cottbus keeper. Chinese midfielder Jiayi Chao came off the bench late on, and claimed an injury-time equaliser heading home Skela’s corner.

Trouble and turmoil for the German nation team. Captain Michael Ballack has fallen out with Joachim Löw. By the looks of things, Kevin Kuranyi is gone for good, and rumours of Torsten Frings packing his things are also growing. Who will be next?

Experts and fortune-tellers alike are trying to predict, which player will be next on the hit list. One pundit came up with an extra-ordinary explanation, dubbed the “Nutella Fluch,” or the “Nutella Curse.” Tagesspiegel, a renowned German paper, even called the chocolate-hazelnut cream spread “The Dark Power Of German Football.”

So what makes the creamy Nutella spread so dangerously to warrant such an apocalyptic nick-name? Apparently, starring in a Nutella TV advertisement is not the best way to guarantee an extended stay in the national team.

Nutella started running TV adds with German internationals in 2004. All the internationals selected were young players, the up and coming stars of German football, dubbed the “Nutella-Jungs” or the “Nutella Boys.”

Kevin Kuranyi, Benjamin Lauth, Andreas Hinkel, and Arne Friedrich were selected to be the faces of the advertisement campaign. The general idea was that these players would be in the national side for many years to come, ensuring a lot of exposure in the media.

This all turned out quite differently then Nutella and the players involved had hoped. Lauth was one of the first victims of the curse. He moved from the national team to long bus trips in the second division with 1860 München. As a one-time candidate for the national ski team, maybe he's wishing he made a different choice?

Hinkel was the next to go, as his career has been ravaged by injuries and loss of form. Even though Klinsmann called him up again in 2008, this proved to be a one-time affair. Hinkel has not been re-called to the squad since.

Kuranyi recently retired from international football, after falling out with Bundes-Coach Low. Out of the original four Nutella Boys, only Arne Friedrich remains active for “Die Mannschaft.”

In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, Nutella decided to revive its campaign with a few new faces. Tim Borowski and Marcell Janssen were added to the line-up to make up for Hinkel and Lauth being dropped from the team. Unfortunately for Nutella and the two new faces, the curse struck again.

Borowksi, one-time great hope of the national team and successor to captain Michael Ballack, transferred from Werder Bremen to Bayern, lost his spot in the team and was subsequently dropped from the national side.

Jansen did not fare much better. Without much of a chance of taking the field at Bayern, Marcell left for Hamburg and earned a spot on the national team but injured his thigh in a training session before the team's game against Russia and is likely out for at least another four weeks.

Out of the six players selected by Nutella, only Arne Friedrich is still in the national side. Granted, Marcell Jansen would be in the squad had it not been for his injuries, but his place in the national side is now under threat from Serdar Tasci.

For its part, Nutella told German media it would continue broadcasting its current set of ads with Kuranyi and other under/non-performing national team players. Kuranyi's caricature still features prominently on Nutella’s website.

At least if Germany's once-legends-to-be end up on riding the bench (or worse) for the long haul, they'll be able to find consolation in a delicious chocolate spread.

Newcastle 2 -1 West Brom (Premier League, October 28, 2008)

Ryan Donk felled Shola Ameobi in the box and Joey Barton marked his return to St. James’ Park by netting the resulting spot kick. It got better for the Toon just before the break, Habib Beye crossed from the right for Obafemi Martins to head home number two.

The Baggies brought on Ishmael Miller at the break, and the striker pulled a goal back in the 65th minute after collecting a fine through-ball from Rob Koren. Thereafter it was far from a vintage performance from the Magpies, but they held on to move up to 15th in the table.

Birmingham 3 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday (Championship, October 28, 2008)

O’Connor headed the home side in front after 11 minutes, only to see Etienne Esajas equalise three minutes later from a quick free-kick. Birmingham regained the lead a minute later through O’Connor before Kevin Phillips added the third.

Werder Bremen 0 - 2 Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga, October 28, 2008)

Bayer Leverkusen took the lead away at Bremen in the 70th minute, Arturo Vidal stroking the ball in after Werder failed to clear their lines. Friedrich made sure of the points ten minutes from time, scoring following a Bayer corner.

Roda Kerkrade 0 - 2 AZ Alkmaar (Eredivisie, October 28, 2008)

AZ Alkmaar, who are riding high in Holland, took the lead away at Roda when Mounir El Hamdaoui converted after an earlier header rebounded off the bar. El Hamdaoui wrapped up the win with his second of the game a minute from time.

Ado Den Haag 0 - 2 PSV (Eredivisie, October 28, 2008)

Eric Addo gave PSV the lead with an excellent late run into the box from which he scored. With time running out, PSV scored a breakaway goal, Otman Bakkal burst through the middle and slotted home the killer second.

Cracovia Krakow 3 - 0 LKS Lodz (Puchar Polski, October 28, 2008)