Weekend Soccer on Television - 28/29 January 2012

Lots of matches on being broadcast in the United States this weekend, though I have to admit that there aren’t a lot of great matches.  There is only one featuring a pair of clubs in the current WCR Top 25 and that is coming out of Italy on Saturday when current Serie A leader Juventus hosts Udinese on Saturday.

For those of you with a partiality towards the FA Cup, there are several matches coming out of the English tournament, with the marquee matchup of the fourth round taking place on Saturday when Liverpool hosts Manchester United.  For purposes of the rankings, though, domestic cup action is considered little more than exhibitions.  As for another exhibition, and a better one as far as I’m concerned, Boca Juniors and River Plate will go at it in Mendoza (which I highly recommend visiting if you’ve never been there) on Sunday night.

Of course, there is plenty of other action this weekend, as well, out of Spain, France, Netherlands, Mexico, Germany and Portugal.  All over the place, really.  For the complete schedule, see below.  Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1.  Udinese at Juventus  (Saturday, 2:45 pm (EST), FSC, ESPN3)

2.  Manchester United at Liverpool  (Saturday, 7:30 am, FSC, FoxD)

3.  Boca Juniors vs River Plate  (Sunday, 8:00 pm, FoxD)

4.  Barcelona at Villarreal  (Saturday, 4:00 pm, ESPND, ESPN3)

5.  Ajax at Feyenoord  (Sunday, 6:30 am, ESPND, ESPN3)

Friday, January 27, 2012

2:30 pm – Nürnberg at Hannover 96  (ESPND, ESPN3)

2:45 pm – (12) Tottenham Hotspur at Watford  (FSP, ESPN3)

3:00 pm – Fulham at Everton  (FSC)

9:00 pm – Monterrey at Morelia  (FoxD, Azteca)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

7:00 am – (17) Chelsea at Queens Park Rangers  (FSP)

7:30 am – (4) Manchester United at Liverpool  (FSC, FoxD)

9:30 am – Wolfsburg at (3) Bayern Munich  (ESPND, ESPN3)

10:00 am – Stoke City at Derby County  (FSC, FoxD)

10:00 am – Swindon at Leicester City  (FSP)

12 noon – Athletic Bilbao at Rayo Vallecano  (GolTV)

12 noon – Newcastle United at Brighton & Hove Albion  (FSC, FoxD)

12 noon – Parma at Catania  (FSP)

12 noon – Mallorca at Espanyol  (ESPND, ESPN3)

2:00 pm – Real Zaragoza at (1) Real Madrid  (GolTV)

2:00 pm – São Caetano at São Paulo  (ESPND)

2:45 pm – (14) Udinese at (7) Juventus  (FSC, ESPN3)

4:00 pm – (5) Barcelona at Villarreal  (ESPND, ESPN3)

6:00 pm – Puebla at Jaguares  (ESPND, Azteca)

8:00 pm – UAG Tecos at Tigres  (Galavision)

8:00 pm – Querétaro at Pachuca  (TeleFutura)

10:00 pm – Club América at San Luis  (TeleFutura)

10:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Atlante  (Galavision)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

12 midnight – Toluca at Atlas  (Delayed)

1:00 am – Perth Glory at Adelaide United  (FSC)

6:30 am – Siena at Fiorentina  (FSP, ESPN3)

6:30 am – Ajax at Feyenoord  (ESPND, ESPN3)

8:30 am – Middlesbrough at Sunderland  (FSP)

9:00 am – (22) Inter Milan at Lecce  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

9:00 am – Lazio at Chievo  (ESPN3)

9:00 am – Bologna at Roma  (ESPN3)

11:00 am – Aston Villa at Arsenal  (FSC, FoxD)

11:30 am – (23) Borussia Monchengladbach at VfB Stuttgart  (GolTV)

12 noon – (15) Valencia at Racing Santander

2:00 pm – Linense at Corinthians  (GolTV)

2:15 pm – (16) Porto at Gil Vicente  (ESPN3)

2:45 pm – Cagliari at (6) AC Milan  (FSC)

3:00 pm – Marseille at Stade Rennes  (FSP)

3:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at UNAM Pumas  (Univision)

4:00 pm – Sevilla at Málaga  (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Tijuana  (Azteca)

8:00 pm – Boca Juniors vs River Plate  (FoxD)

Monday, January 30, 2012

3:00 pm – Atlético Madrid at Osasuna  (GolTV)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Copa Libertadores Start Edition

Fútbol en South America is finally getting ready to make news again.  Some South American domestic leagues will get underway this week, with others soon to follow, and the qualifying rounds of the 2012 Copa Libertadores also begin this week.  The biggest news here in Buenos Aires, however, is the only meeting of the season between Boca Juniors and River Plate, which takes place in the Torneo de Verano on Wednesday night.  While this tournament is little more than an exhibition, and thus not normally mentioned in the rankings, River Plate’s relegation to Nacional B for this season makes this match the only time this season that River can try to secure some bragging rights.  ¡Vamos Boca!

Of course, the biggest match of the past week, as well as the biggest of the upcoming week, both involve Real Madrid and Barcelona.  Unfortunately for Barcelona, domestic cup matches aren’t factored into the Weekly Rankings.  That’s why Real Madrid can stay number one despite the fact it is seemingly unable to beat Barça.

Also, this past week, a couple teams from Manchester beat a couple of teams from London to secure the top two spots in the English Premier League and two of the top four spots in this week’s rankings.  Nothing, however, compares to the German Bundesliga, which at the moment has four clubs within one point of each other at the top of the table.  All of those clubs are in this week’s rankings.

Below, we get into more details for each of the top clubs.  Enjoy!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – January 23, 2012

1.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (1) – Real Madrid was embarrassed at home, losing 1-2 to Barcelona in the first leg of the clubs’ Copa del Rey matchup, but maintains its five point lead in the Primera Divsión with a 4-1 home victory over Athletic Blibao.  Coming Up:  Real Madrid goes to the Camp Nou for a Wednesday rematch with Barcelona.  In La Liga, Los Blancos host Real Zaragoza on Sunday.

2.  Manchester City  (Eng) (3) – City maintains the top spot in the English Premier League after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 3-2.  Coming Up:  Mansee’s only match this week will be its return match at Anfield in the League Cup semifinals, where Liverpool holds a 1-0 lead going into this week’s match.

3.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (2) – Bayern remains on top of the German Bundesliga table by virtue of goal differential despite losing 1-3 at Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.  Coming Up:  Bayern will be at home against Wolfsburg on Saturday.

4.  Manchester United  (Eng) (5) – United kept pace with City in the Premier League race by defeating Arsenal 2-1 at Emirates Stadium.  Coming Up:  Like it’s crosstown rival, United will travel to Anfield to take on archrival Liverpool in a Saturday FA Cup match.

5.  Barcelona  (Esp) (4) – Barça couldn’t have played much better this week, taking a 2-1 lead in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals over Real Madrid and defeating Málaga 4-1 to pick up three away points in the Primera División.  Coming Up:  Barça will try to complete the elimination of Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey in a Wednesday Superclasico before taking on the Yellow Submarine at Villarreal on Saturday.

6.  AC Milan  (Ita) (6) – Two matches with Novara ended in two victories this week, first 2-1 in extra time in a midweek Coppa Italia match and then Milan beat Novara again, 3-0, in the Serie A.  Coming Up:  Milan will host Lazio in another Coppa Italia match on Thursday.  In league play, Cagliari comes to the San Siro on Sunday to take on the red and black.

7.  Juventus  (Ita) (7) – With a 2-0 victory over Atalanta, Juventus remains on top of the Italian Serie A table.  Coming Up:  On Tuesday, Juve will host Roma in a Coppa Itlalia match.  In the weekend’s only matchup featuring two WCR Top 25 Clubs, Juve will host Udinese on Saturday.

8.  Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus) (9) – No current matches.

9.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (10) – The defending Bundesliga champions are now tied with Bayern Munich at the top of this season’s table following a 5-1 defeat of Hamburger SV.  Coming Up:  Next up for Dortmund will be a home match against Hoffenheim on Saturday.

10.  Benfica  (Por) (11) – The Liga Sagres leader returns to the Top Ten after defeating Santa Clara 2-0 in a League Cup Match and knocking Gil Vicente down by a 3-1 score in league action.  Coming Up:  Benfica will be away at Feirense on Saturday.

11.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (8) – PSG advanced in the Coupe de France by defeating amateur club Sablé 4-0.  Coming Up:  PSG returns to Ligue Un action on Saturday at Brest.

12.  Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng) (12) – Spurs dropped three more points off of the Manchester clubs by falling 2-3 away at Manchester City.  Coming Up:  On Friday, Spurs return to action in the FA Cup at Watford.

13.  Montpellier  (Fra) (13) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  Today, Montpellier gets a shot at its own minnow, Tours, in the Coupe de France  (Update:  I just saw that Montpellier won the match 1-0).  In Ligue Un, Montpellier will be away at Nice on Saturday.

14.  Udinese  (Ita) (19) – Udinese kept pace with the Serie A leaders this weekend, defeating Catania 2-1.  Coming Up:  Saturday’s match at Juventus is very important if Udinese wishes to be a true contender for the Serie A title.

15.  Valencia  (Esp) (16) – In a much less watched Copa del Rey matchup, Valencia defeated Levante 4-1 at home in the first leg.  In the Primera División, Valencia drew 1-1 with Osasuna to move even farther behind Spain’s Big Two in the league table.  Coming Up:  Valencia’s return match at Levante will be on Thursday.  In La Liga, Valencia will be away at Racing Santander on Sunday.

16.  Porto  (Por) (15) – Porto defeated Catoril 1-0 in a midweek League Cup match and followed that up with a 3-1 victory over Vitória Guimarães in the Liga Sagres.  Coming Up:  On Sunday, Porto will be away at lowly Gil Vicente.

17.  Chelsea  (Eng) (14) – The Blues’ slide continued this weekend when it had to settle for a goalless draw at Norwich City.  Coming Up:  Chelsea will look to bounce back in a Saturday FA Cup match at Queens Park Rangers.

18.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (18) – No current matches.

19.  Basel  (Sui) (21) – No current matches.

20.  Schalke 04  (Ger) (17) – Schalke completes the triumvirate of clubs atop the German Bundesliga after defeating VfB Stuttgart 3-1 at home this weekend.  Coming Up:  Schalke will try to continues its current good run at Cologne on Saturday.

21.  Boca Juniors  (Arg) (23) – As mentioned above, even though the Apertura doesn’t begin for a few weeks here in Argentina, Wednesday’s night match in the Torneo de Verano is huge because it marks the only match this season between Boca Juniors and River Plate.

22.  Inter Milan  (Ita) (NF) – After a long absence, Inter Milan returns to the rankings in a week that saw it defeat Genoa 2-1 in the Coppa Italia and then take down Lazio 2-1 to move into fourth place in the Italian Serie A.  Coming Up:  On Wednesday, Inter faces a big Coppa Italia test when it travels to take on Napoli.  On Sunday, Internazionale will be at Lecce in its next league match.

23.  Borussia Monchengladbach  (Ger) (24) – Monchengladbach is still in fourth place in the German Bundesliga, but it is only one point behind the leaders after defeating Bayern Munich 3-1 on Friday.  Coming Up:  On Sunday, BM will take on VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

24.  Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr) (25) – No current matches.

25.  Lille  (Fra) (20) – Lille defeated Compiegne 1-0 in extra time to advance in the Coupe de France.  Coming Up:  Lille will host St.-Étienne on Saturday in Ligue Un action.

Bubbling Under:  Arsenal  (Eng), Corinthians  (Bra), Levante  (Esp), Omonia Nicosia  (Cyp), Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr).

Next Five:  Dinamo Moscow  (Rus), Lazio  (Ita), Olympiakos  (Gre), Panathinaikos  (Gre), Sporting Braga  (Por).

Weekend Soccer on Television - 21/22 January 2012

With the return of the Bundesliga, we have pretty much a full slate of European football this week.  For those of you with a South America fetish, we even have some Brazilian futebol since the State Leagues are returning to action.

The highlight of the weekend, though, has to be Sunday’s Premier League doubleheader, when City/Spurs is followed by Gunners/United.  Tottenham will have a chance to prove that it deserves to be in the running for an English title, while Arsenal will have a chance to prove that it can compete for a spot in England’s top four.

There is also great action from Spain, Italy, Mexico, as well as cup action from France and an international friendly between the U.S. and Venezuela.

All of this week’s U.S. broadcasts are listed below.  Have a great weekend!!!

WCR Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1.  Tottenham Hotspur at Manchester City  (Sunday, 8:30 am (EST), FSC, FoxD)

2.  Bayern Munich at Borussia Monchengladbach  (Friday, 2:30 pm, GolTV)

3.  Manchester United at Arsenal  (Sunday, 11:00 am, FSC, FoxD)

4.  Atlhletic Bilbao at Real Madrid  (ESPND, ESPN3)

5.  Lazio at Inter Milan  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

Friday, January 20, 2012

2:30 pm – (2) Byaern Munich at (24) Borussia Monchengladbach  (GolTV)

2:30 pm – (8) Paris St.-Germain at Sabié  (ESPN3)

9:00 pm – Club América at UAG Tecos  (Galavision)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

7:45 am – (14) Chelsea at Norwich City  (ESPN2, ESPND, ESPN3)

9:30 am – VfB Stuttgart at (17) Schalke 04  (ESPND, ESPN3)

10:00 am – Blackburn Rovers at Everton  (FSC, FoxD)

10:00 am – Newcastle United at Fulham  (FSP)

12 noon – Getafe at Racing Santander  (GolTV)

12 noon – Cesena at Roma  (FSP)

12 noon – Granada at Espanyol  (ESPN3)

12:30 pm – Liverpool at Bolton Wanderers  (FSC, FoxD)

2:00 pm – Atlético Madrid at Real Sociedad  (GolTV)

2:00 pm – West Bromwich Albion at Stoke City  (Delayed) (FSP)

2:00 pm – Mirassol at Corinthians  (ESPND, ESPN3)

2:45 pm – (7) Juventus at Atalanta  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

4:00 pm – Sevilla at Real Betis  (ESPND, ESPN3)

4:00 pm – Swansea City at Sunderland  (Delayed) (FSP)

5:00 pm – Aston Villa at Wolverhampton  (Delayed) (FSC)

6:00 pm – Pachuca at Cruz Azul  (ESPND)

6:00 pm – Atlas at Queétaro  (Galavision)

6:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Monterrey  (TeleFutura)

7:00 pm – Venezuela at United States  (Galavision, ESPN3)

8:00 pm – Tijuana at Chivas de Guadalajara  (Telemundo)

8:00 pm – Jaguares at Santos Laguna  (TeleFutura)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

1:00 am – Gold Coast United at Sydney FC  (FSC)

6:30 am – Parma at Bologna  (FSP, ESPN3)

8:30 am – (12) Tottenham Hotspur at (3) Manchester City  (FSC, FoxD)

8:30 am – Ajax at AZ Alkmaar  (ESPND, ESPN3)

9:00 am – (6) AC Milan at Novara  (FSP, ESPN3)

9:00 am – Genoa at Palermo  (ESPN3)

9:30 am – (10) Borussia Dortmund at Hamburger SV  (ESPN3)

10:00 am – Lyon at Luçon  (ESPN3)

11:00 am – (5) Manchester United at Arsenal  (FSC, FoxD)

12 noon – (4) Barcelona at Málaga  (GolTV)

1:00 pm – Atlante at Puebla  (FoxD)

1:00 pm – Tigres at Toluca  (Univision)

1:15 pm – Vitória Guimarães at (15) Porto  (EPSN3)

2:00 pm – Botafogo at Sao Paulo  (GolTV)

2:45 pm – Lazio at Inter Milan  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

3:30 pm – Athletic Bilbao  (ESPND, ESPN3)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Omonia Rising Edition

For some reason this week, when working up the numbers, I was struck by all of the troubles that teams in the rankings had.  This is especially the case in Italy, where none of the ranked clubs managed to pull out a victory.  Juventus drew with Cagliari and that was enough to return the club from Torino to the top of the table.  Meanwhile Udinese and AC Milan combined for three losses.  Things were tough in England, as well, where Spurs drew, while City and Arsenal both lost.

Arsenal’s loss was enough to knock it out of the Top 25 all together.  Taking its place, for the first time ever in the rankings, is Omonia Nicosia, who makes the rankings out of a combination of two things.  First, APOEL’s trip to the knockout round of the Champions League has inflated the Cypriot league’s ranking overall.  Second, Omonia moved to the top of the table in Cyprus by virtue of two 3-0 victories this week.  I’m not sure if it’ll be able to reach anything higher but Omonia comes in this week at number twenty-two with a bullet.

All of the other action is discussed below.  The German Bundesliga returns to action this coming weekend, so we are getting closer and closer to full strength.  Enjoy the rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – January 16, 2012

1.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (1) – Beating Málaga 1-0 moved Real Madrid into the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.  In Primera División action, Real Madrid came from behind to beat Mallorca 2-1 to stay five points clear of Barcelona.  Coming Up:  Speaking of that other Spanish club, the two Iberian giants will clash on Wednesday at the Beranbeu in the first of two Copa del Rey quarterfinal matches.  In league action, Real Madrid will host a hot Athletic Bilbao club on Sunday.

2.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (3) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  The Bundesliga returns to action on Friday when Bayern Munich takes on Borussia Monchengladbach in a battle of ranked German clubs.

3.  Manchester City  (Eng) (4) – In the first of a two-leg Carling Cup semifinal matchup, City lost 0-1 at home to Liverpool.  Coming Up:  This afternoon, City will take on Wigan Athletic in a Premier League match.  On Sunday, in a much-anticipated match, City will host Spurs.

4.  Barcelona  (Esp) (5) – Barça defeated Osasuna 2-1 to complete its eighth-final victory in the Copa del Rey.  In La Liga, Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-2 to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the table.  Coming Up:  It’s Superclasico time again in Spain as Barcelona travels to the Bernabeu to take on Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey quarterfinal match on Wednesday.  On Sunday, Barça will take on Málaga in league play.

5.  Manchester United  (Eng) (6) – The Red Devils’ only match of the week resulted in a 3-0 victory for United over Bolton Wanderers.  Coming Up:  United is the highest ranked club that isn’t playing another ranked club in the coming week, but it’s not missing it by much.  If the rankings went down a little further, United’s opponent on Sunday, Arsenal, would be ranked number twenty-seven.

6.  AC Milan  (Ita) (2) – Milan was knocked off the perch in the Italian Serie A by falling to archrival Inter Milan 0-1 at the San Siro.  Coming Up:  Milan will be getting familiar with Novara as the two clubs face off on Wednesday in a Coppa Italia match and on Sunday in the Serie A.

7.  Juventus  (Ita) (8) – Juventus moved to the top of the Serie A by virtue of a 1-1 draw with Cagliari and a loss by Milan.  Coming Up:  Juventus will be away at Atalanta on Saturday in its next league match.

8.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (12) – PSG remains on top of the Ligue Un table with a 3-1 victory over Toulouse.  Coming Up:  Next up for PSG is a Coupe de France match at Sabié on Friday.

9.  Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus) (9) – No current matches.

10.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (7) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  Dortmund’s Bundesliga season re-starts on Sunday away at Hamburger SV.

11.  Benfica  (Por) (10) – Benfica remains on top in Portugal’s Liga Sagres, defeating Vitória Setúbal 4-1 this weekend.  Coming Up:  On Wedensday, Benfica will host Santa Clara in a League Cup match.  It will return to Liga Sagres action at home on Sunday against Gil Vicente.

12.  Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng) (11) – Spurs started off the week with a 2-0 victory over Everton to move into second place of the Premier League.  It then gave that spot up when it had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton over the weekend.  Coming Up:  On Sunday, Tottenham will be in Manchester to take on City in what should be the best match of the coming weekend.

13.  Montpellier  (Fra) (15) – Montepellier stays in second in France’s Ligue Un after pulling off an impressive 1-0 victory over Lyon.  Coming Up:  Next Monday, Montpellier will take on Tours in the Coupe de France.

14.  Chelsea  (Eng) (16) – Chelsea took care of business this weekend with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland.  Coming Up:  The Blues will be favored to do that again when they take on Norwich City on Saturday.

15.  Porto  (Por) (17) – Porto continues its tight horse race with Benfica, staying a length off the lead with a 2-0 victory over Rio Ave.  Coming Up:  On Wednesday, Porto will host Estoril in the Portuguese League Cup.  In the Liga Sagres, Porto will host Vitória Guimarães on Sunday.

16.  Valencia  (Esp) (13) – Not a great week for the Orange.  Valencia lost 1-2 to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, though it still advanced to the quarterfinals by virtue of away goals.  In the Primera División, Valencia lost 0-1 to Real Sociedad to fall even further away from Spain’s Big Two.  Coming Up:  On Thursday, Valencia will host Levante in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.  In La Liga, Valencia will be away at Osasuna on Sunday.

17.  Schalke 04  (Ger)  (20) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  On Saturday, Schalke will host VfB Stuttgart in its first Bundesliga match of 2012.

18.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (18) – No current matches.

19.  Udinese  (Ita) (14) – As in Spain, Italy’s third-place club had a horrible week, getting eliminated from the Coppa Italia with a 0-1 loss to Chievo Verona, just to follow it up with a 2-3 loss to Genoa on the weekend.  Coming Up:  Udinese will be home against Catania in its next Serie A match.

20.  Lille  (Fra) (22) – Bad things come in threes, right?  Here’s a pair of threes.  Lille is the third third-place team to lose twice this week, losing 1-2 to Lyon in the Coupe de la Ligue and falling to Marseille in Ligue Un by a 0-2 score.  Coming Up:  Saturday will see Lille take on Compiegne in the Coupe de France.

21.  Basel  (Sui) (19) – No current matches.

22.  Omonia Nicosia  (Cyp) (NR) – I guess good things come in twos.  Omonia defeated Aris 3-0 early in the week and then took down AEL 3-0 this weekend to move to the top of the Cypriot table and make its debut in the WCR Top 25.  Coming Up:  On Saturday, Omonia will host Anorthosis in its next league match.

23.  Boca Juniors  (Arg) (21) – No current matches.

24.  Borussia Monchengladbach  (Ger) (23) – No matches this week.  Coming Up:  On Friday, Monchengladbach will host Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga match of the week.

25.  Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr) (24) – No current matches.

Bubbling Under:  Arsenal  (Eng), Corinthians  (Bra), Lazio  (Ita), Olympiakos  (Gre), Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr).

Next Five:  APOEL  (Cyp), Athletic Bilbao  (Esp), Inter Milan  (Ita), Levante  (Esp), Lyon  (Fra).

Matches Between WCR Top 25 Clubs This Week:

18 January – (4) Barcelona at (1) Real Madrid

20 January – (2) Bayern Munich at (24) Borussia Monchengladbach

22 January – (12) Tottenham Hotspur at (3) Manchester City

Weekend Soccer on Television - 14/15 January 2012

We’re getting back into the swing of things in weekend football, though we are still a few weeks away from being at full speed.  Nevertheless, we have some interesting matches for your viewing enjoyment this weekend.

Even though there are no battles between WCR Top 25 Clubs coming up, there a couple of very interesting matches.  None this weekend will be bigger that Sunday’s match at the San Siro between official hosts AC Milan and its stadium-mate Internazionale.  In France, defending champion Lille will take on Marseille as OM tries to fight its way back up the Ligue Un table.

There are also some interesting matches coming out of Spain and some less interesting ones coming out of England.  Now that I think about it, they’re all big this time of year, but they’ll be much, much bigger in coming weeks.  I promise.  In the meantime, have a great weekend!

WCR Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1.  Inter Milan at AC Milan  (Sunday, 2:45 pm (EST), FSC, FoxD)

2.  Lille at Marseille  (Sunday, 3:00 pm, FSP)

3.  Real Madrid at Mallorca  (Saturday, 2:00 pm, ESPND, ESPN3)

4.  Villarreal at Atlético Madrid  (Sunday, 6:00 am, ESPND, ESPN3)

5.  Stoke City at Liverpool  (Saturday, 10:00 am, FSP)

Friday, January 13, 2012

9:10 pm – San Luis at UAG Tecos  (Galavision)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

10:00 am – Sunderland at (16) Chelsea  (FSC, FoxD)

10:00 am – Stoke City at Liverpool  (FSP)

10:00 am – Bolton Wanderers at Manchester United  (ESPN3)

12 noon – Espanyol at Sevilla  (GolTV)

12 noon – Everton at Aston Villa  (Delayed) (FSC)

12 noon – Wolverhampton at Tottenham Hotspur  (Delayed) (FoxD)

2:00 pm – (1) Real Madrid at Mallorca  (ESPND, ESPN3)

2:45 pm – Roma at Catania  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

3:30 pm – Rio Ave at (17) Porto  (ESPN3)

4:00 pm – Real Sociedad at (13) Valencia  (ESPN3)

4:30 pm – Fulham at Blackburn Rovers  (Delayed) (FSP)

6:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Jaguares  (FoxD)

8:00 pm – Puebla at Pachuca  (Galavision)

8:00 pm – Querétaro at Tigres UANL  (TeleFutura)

9:00 pm – Monterrey at Tijuana  (ESPND)

9:45 pm – Cruz Azul at Atlas  (Galavision)

10:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Atlante  (TeleFutura)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

12 midnight – Perth Glory at Melbourne Heart  (FSC)

6:00 am – Villarreal at Atlético Madrid  (ESPND, ESPN3)

6:30 am – Atalanta at Lazio  (FSP)

8:30 am – Queens Park Rangers at Newcastle United  (FSP)

9:00 am – Cagliari at (8) Juventus  (FSC, FoxD, ESPN3)

10:30 am – Norwich City at West Btromwich Albion  (Delayed) (FSP)

11:00 am – (25) Arsenal at Swansea City  (FSC, FoxD)

12 noon – Levante at Athletic Bilbao  (GolTV)

1:00 pm – Monarcas at UNAM Pumas  (Univision)

2:45 pm – Inter Milan at (2) AC Milan  (FSC, FoxD)

3:00 pm – (22) Lille at Marseille  (FSP)

3:30 pm – Real Betis at (5) Barcelona  (GolTV)

5:00 pm – Toluca at Club América  (Univision)

Monday, January 16, 2012

2:45 pm – Bologna at Napoli  (FSP, FoxD)

3:00 pm – (4) Manchester City at Wigan Athletic  (ESPND, ESPN3)

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Southern Hemisphere Summer Edition

We’re still not up to full speed in world football but we are getting closer.  League action is back in England, Italy, Spain and Portugal and will be coming back in France this coming weekend.  We still have to wait for some of the northern European leagues and South America, but we’re getting there.  Be patient.

One of the biggest moves of the weekend sees Champions League-bound Benfica return to the Top Ten after moving to the top of the Liga Sagres, thanks to Porto’s goalless draw with Sporting CP.  Arsenal dropped a lot after losing to Fulham, marking the biggest drop of the week for a club still alive in the European championship tournament.

For those clubs are currently in action, we have details of the past week and schedules below, as always.  Enjoy.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – January 9, 2012

1.  Real Madrid  (Esp) (1) – Real Madrid showed this week why it is the current top ranked club in the world, beating Málaga 3-2 in a Copa del Rey match and downing Granada 5-1 in the Primera División.  Coming Up:  On Tuesday, Real Madrid goes to Málaga for the Copa del Rey return match.  In league action, it will take on Mallorca on Saturday.

2.  AC Milan  (Ita) (2) – Milan returned to action in the Serie A with a 2-0 defeat of Atalanta.  Coming Up:  The Milan derby takes place on Sunday as AC Milan officially “hosts” Internazionale.

3.  Bayern Munich  (Ger) (4)

4.  Manchester City  (Eng) (3) – City extended it’s lead in the Premier League by defeating Liverpool 3-0 but stumbled in its FA Cup defense, losing 2-3 to Manchester United on Sunday.  Coming Up:  On Wednesday, Mansee faces Liverpool once again, this time in a Carling Cup semifinal matchup.  Next Monday, City will return to action in league play, taking on Wigan Athletic.

5.  Barcelona  (Esp) (5) – Barça defeated Osasuna 4-0 to take a huge advantage over its current opponent in the Copa del Rey, but it dropped two more points to Real Madrid in the Primera División by drawing 1-1 with intercity rival Espanyol.  Coming Up:  On Thursday, Barcelona will play its return match against Osasuna in the national cup competition.  In La Liga, Barcelona will host Real Betis on Sunday.

6.  Manchester United  (Eng) (6) – It was a shocker at midweek when United lost 0-3 to my Magpies.  Go Newcastle!!!  Later in the week, though, Manyoo was able to have some revenge on its cross-town rival, defeating Manchester City 3-2 and knocking the defending champions outs of the FA Cup.  Coming Up:  United will be at home against Bolton when it returns to action on Saturday.

7.  Borussia Dortmund  (Ger) (8) – No current matches.

8.  Juventus  (Ita) (7) – In its return to league action, Juventus defeated Lecce 1-0 this weekend.  Coming Up:  Next up for Juventus is Cagliari at home on Sunday.

9.  Zenit St. Petersburg  (Rus) (9) – No current matches.

10.  Benfica  (Por) (16) – Nice week for the club from Lisbon, defeating Vitória Guimarães 4-1 away in a Portuguese League Cup match and following it up with a 4-0 away victory against União de Leiria to take over the top stop in the Liga Sagres for the first time in quite a while.  Coming Up:  Benfica will look to keep the good times rolling this weekend at home against Vitória Setúbal.

11.  Tottenham Hotspur  (Eng) (10) – Tottenham defeated West Brom 1-0 to move closer to Manchester United in the Premier League and then defeated Cheltenham Town 3-0 to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.  Coming Up:  Spurs have two league matches this week, finally making up its missed match against Everton at White Hart Lane on Wednesday and then home again on Saturday when Wolverhampton comes to visit.

12.  Paris St.-Germain  (Fra) (12) – PSG advanced in the Coupe de France this weekend by defeating St.-Colomban Locminé 2-1.  Coming Up:  Ligue Un returns to action this coming weekend and PSG will start off the 2012 portion of the season by taking on Toulouse on Saturday.

13.  Valencia  (Esp) (13) – Like the other top clubs in Spain, Valencia won its first-leg Copa del Rey match last week, defeating Sevilla 1-0.  It didn’t fare as well in La Liga, drawing 2-2 with Villarreal to fall two points further down to leaders Real Madrid.  Coming Up:  Valencia’s return Copa del Rey match against Sevilla will be played on Wednesday.  Valencia will host Real Sociedad on Saturday in its next league match.

14.  Udinese  (Ita) (15) – Udinese kept pace with the leaders in Serie A with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Cesena.  Coming Up:  Udinese will host Chievo Verona on Wednesday in a match in the Coppa Italia.  In league play, Udinese is away at Genoa on Sunday.

15.  Montpellier  (Fra) (20) – Like PSG, Montpellier also advanced to the next round of the Coupe de France with a 4-0 victory over minnow Prix-les-Mezieres.  Coming Up:  Next up for Montpellier will be a big test at home against Olympique Lyonnais.

16.  Chelsea  (Eng) (19) – The Blues won its early-week Premier League match 2-1 over Wolverhampton and then took Portsmouth out of the FA Cup with a 4-0 victory.  Coming Up:  Chelsea will host Sunderland in a Premier League match on Saturday.

17.  Porto  (Por) (11) – In a Liga Sagres rarity over the past two seasons, Porto has been dropped from the top spot of the league table after drawing 0-0 with Sporting CP.  Coming Up:  Porto will have to fight its way back to the apex of the Liga Sagres beginning on Saturday, at home against Rio Ave.

18.  CSKA Moscow  (Rus) (18) – No current matches.

19.  Basel  (Sui) (23) – No current matches.

20.  Schalke 04  (Ger) (14) – No current matches.

21.  Boca Juniors  (Arg) (21) – No current matches.

22.  Lille  (Fra) (BU) – Lille had no problems advancing in the Coupe de France, crushing Chantilly 6-0.  Coming Up:  Two tough away matches for Lille this week, Wednesday at Lyon in a Coupe de la Ligue quarterfinal match and then at Marseille Sunday in Ligue Un.

23.  Borussia Monchengladbach  (Ger) (25) – No current matches.

24.  Dynamo Kyiv  (Ukr) (BU) – No current matches.

25.  Arsenal  (Eng) (17) – The Gunners fell back to early season form, losing 1-2 to Fulham this past week.  Coming Up:  As I write this, Arsenal is at halftime with Leeds United in its third-round FA Cup match.  On Sunday, Arsenal will return to action in the Premier League at Swansea City.

Bubbling Under:  AEL  (Cyp), Corinthians  (Bra), Lazio  (Ita), Levante  (Esp), Shakhtar Donetsk  (Ukr).

Next Five:  Dinamo Moscow  (Rus), Inter Milan  (Ita), Napoli  (Ita), Olympiakos  (Gre), Sporting CP  (Por).

Matches This Week Between WCR Top 25 Clubs:

None