There wasn't a whole lot of action in the past week, so there isn't a whole lot of movement in this week's Top 25. The best action probably came out of Spain's Primera Division, where the top teams all made short work of inferior competition, highlighted by Espanyol's 3-0 rout of Villarreal, which has been fading into mediocrity following it's red-hot start.
A correction in the standings has been made with respect to the Dutch teams, reflecting PSV's return to the top of the table. Speaking of the Eredivisie, it provides the only matchup this week of Top 25 teams as PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord face off for the league's top spot.
While some leagues will still be on hiatus, such as the Bundesliga, many of the top leagues are again in session as Serie A returns to action this coming weekend. There is also action in the Copa del Rey and the first leg of the Carling Cup semifinals.
World Club Rankings Top 25 - 7 January 2008
1. Internazionale (Ita) (1) - Defeated Ajax this weekend in the Dubai Cup, for whatever that's worth. Face 2006 Club World Cup Champion Internacional in the finals tomorrow.
2. Arsenal (Eng) (2) - Rolled to fairly easy victories in both the Premiership and the FA Cup this week. Carling Cup match with Tottenham at midweek could be interesting as Tottenham has been playing much better of late.
3. Real Madrid (Esp) (3) - Defeated Zaragoza to maintain its lead over Barcelona in the Primera Division. Face Mallorca in Copa del Rey action at midweek.
4. Porto (Por) (5) - Returns to its spot in fourth place, where it has been most of the year, after extending its lead in the BWIN League.
5. Manchester United (Eng) (4) - Drops a notch despite playing well in Premiership and FA Cup action this week.
6. Roma (Ita) (6) - Returns to action this weekend against Atalanta.
7. Barcelona (Esp) (8) - Leapfrogs past Juventus again by virtue of its performance against Mallorca. Matchup with Sevilla in the Copa del Rey is the best of the upcoming round, with Sevilla beginning to look like it's returning to its old form.
8. Juventus (Ita) (7) - Traditionally, I make a reference here to Juventus being cheating bastards. There. Now I'm done.
9. Lyon (Fra) (9) - Defends its home turf this weekend against Toulouse, who are coming off an embarassing loss in French Cup competition against third-division Paris FC.
10. Sao Paulo (Bra) (10) - The Copa Libertadores will begin someday. I promise.
11. Benfica (Por) (11)
12. Chelsea (Eng) (12)
13. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (13)
14. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) (16)
15. Liverpool (Eng) (14)
16. Espanyol (Esp) (19)
17. Nancy Lorraine (Fra) (18)
18. Atletico de Madrid (Esp) (NR)
19. Lanus (Arg) (20)
20. Sporting CP (Por) (17)
21. Werder Bremen (Ger) (21)
22. Feyenoord (Ned) (15)
23. Rangers (Sco) (23)
24. Fiorentina (Ita) (22)
25. Celtic (Sco) (24)
Dropping Out: Santos Laguna (Mex) (25)
Bubbling Under (Alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Atletico Nacional (Col), Fluminense (Bra), Santos Laguna (Mex), Udinese (Ita).
Also bubbling, but not quite as much: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Everton (Eng), Manchester City (Eng), Santos (Bra), Tigre (Arg).
Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:
12 Jan. - (14) PSV Eindhoven at (22) Feyenoord
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