City star to prove key for Paranaense

City star to prove

key for Paranaense

SIX TAB SOCCER POOLS GET CASH-ADDED BOOSTS

By Mark Gleeson

The arrival of Fernandinho from Manchester City at Athletico Paranaense is a strong signal of intent from the Brazilian team outfit and could have an immediate impact on the race for this year’s Serie A championship.

It might be motivated as much by the heart as it is by money, but the midfield dynamo’s choice to go back to his first club, rather than join one of the giants based in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo, suggests he is a believer in Athletico’s chances of upsetting the existing pecking order in Brazilian football.

That could start as soon as Sunday when Athletico, who are based in Curitiba in the state of Parana, take on leaders Palmeiras.

Both clubs won their games in the Copa Libertadores in midweek and will fancy their chances in this key clash. Palmeiras have a three-point lead at the top of the standings over Corinthians with Athletico a further two points back and five off top spot.

The Brazilian season is long and often interrupted by cup commitments, but because of the World Cup in Qatar it has to move along quickly now and must finish by early November.

Currently it’s only one third of the way through, which means a relentless schedule of fixtures ahead that will test squads and favour those with the requisite depth. At the age of 37, Fernandinho is not going to play in all of those games, but his experience with Manchester City and the Brazilian national team will prove useful for the key games.

The clash forms part of Saturday’s R250,000-added Soccer 10 pool, which is set to total about R2 million. And today’s R250,000-added Soccer 10 should yield an even bigger total pool.

There are also important league clashes in Norway and Sweden this weekend as the league tables in the two Scandinavian countries begin to settle down.

Hacken and AIK Stockholm share top place in Sweden and have home games at the weekend when they are expected to keep up their winning ways. The two clubs behind them in third and fourth - Djurgarden and Hammarby – clash on Sunday, a game included in the day’s R100,000-added Soccer 6 pool.

In Norway, Bodo/Glimt’s hopes of winning the league for a third successive season were given an early jolt that has left them eight points off the pace.

It means Saturday’s trip to Skien to take on Odd is an important assignment if they are to get themselves back among the front-runners. Given their last two results, they could be a good banker for an away victory in cash-added Soccer 4 and 6 pools on Saturday.