NEWCASTLE, Australia - Japan forward Keisuke Honda is uncomfortable with his teams status as favourites at the Asian Cup.Honda and his Japan side play their first match Monday against a fledging Palestinian team considered a huge underdog against the defending champions.It should provide a comfortable start to the Blue Samurais title defence, but Honda rejects the pre-tournament hype and the short odds on offer for Japan winning back-to-back Asian Cups.The Milan forward says we are expecting some very difficult games at the Asian Cup ... all teams, are strong and said complacency is the great enemy.Javier Aguirre, hired in August to replace Alberto Zaccheroni as Japan coach, has since become embroiled in a match-fixing investigation from his time in the Spanish league.Aguirre denies any wrongdoing, and Japan defender Maya Yoshida says the team hasnt been distracted by the allegations against its coach.When we started the training camp the manager and the training director explained about this issue to the players but I came here a little bit late because of my English competition, said Yoshida, who plays for Premier League side Southampton. I understand the situation and I feel very comfortable with him so its nothing at all. We should just focus on football.Japan (52nd) is just behind Iran (51st) in the FIFA rankings but has a wealth of Asian Cup experience — and silverware — winning the trophy four times in 1992, 2000, 2004 and in 2011.Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawasima was more optimistic than some of the players in front of him on the pitch.Our minimum aim is to win the Asian Cup, we have to get victory, Kawasima said Thursday. To be the best team at this tournament we have a long, hard road ahead. We have to forget about the 2011 victory if we want to overcome the challenge of winning here.Japan plays its second match in Group D against Iraq on Jan. 16 in Brisbane and its third against Jordan at Melbourne on Jan. 20, the final day of group stage competition.The final is scheduled for Jan. 31 at the former Olympic stadium in Sydney. Nick Boyle Jersey . 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Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium.Ahead of El Clasico, we compare two of Barcelona and Real Madrids key attacking threats to see who has the edge... The eyes of the footballing world will be focused on the Nou Camp on Saturday Night, when Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in the 232nd El Clasico, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.The eyes of the footballing world will be on this game but under particular scrutiny will be the £159m of talent the two sides recruited in the summer of 2013, namely Neymar and Gareth Bale. Barca aim to level Clasico record A Barcelona win would move them 13 points clear of Real Madrid with just eight games remaining. It would also put them level with Real on 92 wins in this fixture in all competitions. If Luis Enriques side are to achieve a fourth La Liga double in eight seasons then the Brazilian is likely to play a key part in their success. Neymar has contributed directly to 31 goals this season, scoring 21 and assisting a further 10.The 24-year-old may have been eclipsed by team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez as well as Reals Cristiano Ronaldo in the goal scoring stakes, but he has proven to be La Ligas most creative player, setting up 82 chances - 18 more than any other La Liga player and 27 more than any of his Barcelona team-mates. Neymars understanding with Uruguayan Suarez has been particularly productive with both players providing a joint La Liga high five assists directly for the other.Much of his creativity stems from his dribbling skills and that is another area where he is untouchable in La Liga. Neymar has completed 115 dribbles, 17 more than next best Lionel Messi, and he has completed 40 more than any opposition player. La Liga - most completed dribbles Player Team Dribbles completed Neymar Barcelona 115 Lionel Messi Barcelona 98 Alen Halilovic Sporting Gijon 75 With four goals in his last three games, Neymar has certainly got an end product to his game, something he has been accused of lacking in the past. He has scored 14 goals in 14 home league appearances this season, a total only Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo can beat and eight of his 10 assists this season have come at the Nou Camp. Goal contributions - La Liga home games 2015/16 Player Team Goals Assists Total contributions Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 17 8 25 Luis Suarez Barcelona 17 8 25 Neymar Barcelona 14 8 22 Lionel Messi Barcelona 13 7 20 Gareth Bale Real Madrid 13 6 19 Real Madrids key player in this particular Clasico could prove to be Bale.The Welshmans goal in his last appearance against Sevilla meant that he has eclipsed Gary Lineker as the all-time top British and Irish goal scorer in Spains top division with his 43 goals coming in just 76 La Liga appearances. Gareth Bale is the all-time top British scorer in La Liga Despite having an unwanted 100 per cent record in La Liga games against Barcelona (played four, lost four), Bale has scored 11 goals in his last eight La Liga outings and has yet to taste defeat in the seven games in which he has featured during 2016. Heres a look at some of Neymars best moments in a Barcelona shirt this season His 13 La Liga goals since December 20 is one more than the entire Valencia (12) and Getafe (10) sides have managed in that time, despite those sides having played three more games. One more goal on Saturday will mean 16 league goals for the season, a personal best since moving to Madrid. Gareth Bales record at Real Madrid - La Liga 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Mins played 1,108 2,579 1,334 Goals 15 13 15 Shooting accuracy 43% 46% 50% Assists 12 9 9 Chances created 40 49 42 Pass completion 76% 78% 80% In addition to seven goals in six La Liga appearances in 2016, Bale has also contributed four assists.dddddddddddd No Real Madrid player has been credited with more than his total of nine assists this season.Indeed, his nine assists already matches his total for the whole of last season. He has created 42 chances for team-mates this season and Karim Benzema in particular has benefitted from this - the former Tottenham player has directly assisted four of Benzemas 20 goals. Real Madrid assists this season - La Liga Player Assists Gareth Bale 9 Cristiano Ronaldo 9 Toni Kroos 8 Isco 7 James Rodriguez 6 Bale is undoubtedly a key component of Zinedine Zidanes side, who failed to win three of the seven league games the Welshman missed with a calf injury.Interestingly, the left-footed Bale has been most effective when starting on the right of Real Madrids front three and cutting in, a similar role to which Messi plays for Barcelona. Bale has proved to be a key player for Real boss Zinedine Zidane Gareth Bale La Liga record by starting position Position Appearances Goals Assists Forward right 7 8 5 Attacking midfield centre 5 2 3 Forward left 2 0 0 Centre forward 1 1 1 Attacking midfielder right 1 3 0 It has been said that Saturdays Clasico threatens to be one of the most one-sided clashes in years, with Real Madrid having won just three of their last seven away league games and having already lost 4-0 in the reverse fixture in November.However, if Bale can overshadow Neymar and Zidanes BBC triumvirate can better MSN then the Madridstas could well be celebrating just a second league win at Barcelona in the last eight years. Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter review Barcelonas 4-0 win over Real Madrid Watch Barcelona v Real Madrid, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm on Saturday Also See: Messi v Ronaldo WATCH: Classic El Clasicos Clasico: The key issues How Barca thrashed Real Cheap Nike NFL JerseysCheap Adidas Hockey JerseysWholesale Nike Baseball JerseysWholesale Jerseys From ChinaWholesale Jerseys ChinaWholesale NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free ShippingCheap Nike NBA Jerseys AuthenticCheap NHL Jerseys CanadaCheap Nike MLB JerseysCheap Soccer Jerseys ChinaNCAA Jerseys CheapNike NHL Jerseys ChinaWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys StoreCheap Football Jerseys StoreWholesale Soccer JerseysJerseys NCAA ChinaJerseys NFL CheapCheap Nike NBA Jerseys ' ' '