Welcome to WES Live, where we take an in depth look at teams, managers, and players to deliver the hottest news and performances to our fans. Today we will be providing a "Weekend Preview" courtesy of the D1 teams in Northern Europe.
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Poznan v. Leipzig
Poznan is helmed by veteran manager Hydravliska and has had a steady presence in Division 1 since S20. A typically middle of the road team, Poznan has started the season off securing 6 points in 6 games. Leipzig sits just below them in the standings, in position 13 with 5 points in 6 games. Leipzig manager Greidy hasn't been seen in almost a week and it appears the team is running on auto-pilot. Mids Lezcano and Hlousek will need to do heavy lifting if they hope to beat an active Poznan. Hydravliska cannot afford to drop this game and no doubt will rely on Taurean Andre Flemming to lead the team.
Joensuu v. Rotterdam
Joensuu, managed by veteran maniac, also sits in relegation zone with 5 points on 6 matches. It's safe to say things have not started right for maniac as Joensuu finished 4th last season and had WES Cup aspirations. Not having star striker Das in the lineup is going to hurt their chances of generating points against Rotterdam.
Jer Looijen will also be looking to crawl up the standings since Rotterdam have struggled to start the season. 7 points in 6 matches nets you 10th place which won't cut it for Rotterdam fans. They have had a bit of bad luck, losing several close games -- but it's widely accepted that starting unproven youth GK's is a poor choice for D1 football.
Lyngby-Taarbæk v. Berlin
League leaders and all around title favorites, Lyngby will be looking to squash experimental Berlin and controversial manager Nicolas. Berlin recently suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leverkusen, albeit they did not field a single forward. There are rumblings that the German squad will be returning a forward to the lineup, but no official word from management. Youth striker Pham will look to continue his dominance for Berlin. He is currently shooting an astounding .48% on goal this season and .46% on goal for his career.
A lack of a prolific strike force may be what ultimate sinks Lyngby's chances of winning the division, so an all around team effort will be required. Can they crack the code of the mysterious Berlin?
Derby v. Liverpool
nikelback (not the band, the WES manager) has D2 locked up, winning titles each time they relegated. Now they need to solve D1. Only problem is, they face regional giant Liverpool and well decorated manager Oz Spare. Despite inexplicably moving all their solid players and adopting a youth movement, Liverpool has still scored a convincing 9 goals in 6 games to start the season. They've also conceded 9 in 6 games. Low is looking to be every bit the revelation Liverpool had hoped when they traded for him, but can GK Kjartan keep up with the speed of D1?
Derby will need to play their best football this weekend to secure points and stay competitive. This may mean not running LEFT tactic in every match.
Birmingham v. Dublin
While New York flails, manager Scacci242 has seen success in Dublin. 9 points in 6 matches, while scoring only 5 goals means things have been going right for the Irish squad. Birmingham will be no easy task as Jrook's squad finished in 2nd place last season. Superstar FWD De Coninck will be out for Birmingham so building from the back may be their strategy this weekend. Ramos is having a monster start to the season shooting over .50% on goal -- which in actuality may not mean much since Dublin GK Moreira is playing as one of the best keepers in the world right now.
This will be a good match between two veteran managers chasing Lyngby-Taarbæk in the standings.
Leverkusen v. Munich
AN favorite butlerizer has moved to Europe full time and is all in for this season. Leverkusen's 11 goals scored leads the division as does their 34 shots on goal. This team is streaking early and will be tough to beat going into the weekend. Boasting, arguably, the best strike force in the world Leverkusen will look to overpower Munich up front and force unproven keeper Heinonen to play the game of his life. This match will have German fans from all over glued to their television screens.
Brugge v. Espoo
Brugge sit in 3rd while Espoo languish in last place. What can moralless do to right the ship? 2 points in 6 games is not going to cut it in D1 and the Finnish squad is starting to feel the heat from the fans. A 4-1 victory in cup play has Espoo feeling this might be their weekend to turn league performance around. Brugge was eliminated from the EN Cup so moral is dismal in the locking room tonight. Their forwards will need to manage something on goal this weekend if they hope to stay afloat in the D1 title chase.
Estimated Weekend Point Totals ---------------------------------
Rumors say Heinonen will not be starting for Munich v. Leverkusen, as their Russian GK lion - Levov, has promised the fans and his boss to finally live up to the expectations.
Well you weren't wrong about Poznan v. Leipzig. Perhaps I should have logged in sooner and maybe then I would have lost by a smaller margin! I used to play this game years and years ago (left around 10 years ago when I had kids) and I came back for some nostalgia, but although I still love it, I just don't find the time. All the best... I think I will retire again as I am not doing the team justice.
stick at it Greidy! it can take a bit of time to get your squad in order,,, but once your set, the daily inputs aren't too time draining... don't worry bout doing the team justice, until it is a squad built by you
best of luck mate :]
Great addition WES (Thumbs up)