Weekend Soccer Television Schedule -31/1 Jan/Feb 2009

The best place to watch football this weekend is England, where six of the top seven clubs face off against each other. The best place to watch it on television in the States is FSC, which has two of those matches as well as the Boca Juniors/River Plate match.

There is one match this weekend between WCR Top 25 Clubs, and it should be a doozy. Chelsea will travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday in a battle for second place in the Premiership, which is also a battle to ward off Aston Villa for third place. Meanwhile, Everton travels to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. The Serie A and La Liga matches this weekend don’t provide any great matchups, but are always fun to watch nonetheless.

The big news for television, other than the FSC matches, belong to GolTV where (a) the Bundesliga is back and (b) Brazilian football is back, as the network begins its coverage of the Paulista League. Even though it’s not the best Brazilian league (though it is this time of year), it’s just good to have the opportunity to see the Brazilian clubs in action in anything other Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

That’s it for commentary this week. Until the rankings come out on Monday, have a great weekend!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Chelsea at Liverpool (Sunday, 11:00 am (GMT -5:00), FSC)
2. Everton at Manchester United (Saturday, 12:30 pm, FSC)
3. River Plate at Boca Juniors (Sunday, 7:00 pm, FSC)
4. Bayern Munich at Hamburger (Friday, 2:30 pm, GolTV)
5. Lille at Bordeaux (Monday, 5:30 am, SetantaUSA (Delayed))

Friday, January 30, 2009

2:30 pm – (11) Bayern Munich at Hamburger (GolTV)
9:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Tecos (TeleFutura)

Saturday, January 31, 2009

7:40 am – Manchester City at Stoke City (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – Wigan Athletic at (15) Aston Villa (FSC)
10:00 am – West Ham United at (20) Arsenal (Setanta USA)
11:30 am – Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Dortmund (GolTV)
12:30 pm – Everton at (1) Manchester United (FSC)
2:30 pm – Cagliari at (6) Juventus (FSC)
2:45 pm – Heerenveen at (16) Ajax (ESPN 360)
4:30 pm – Udinese at Napoli (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Tottenham Hotspur at Bolton Wanderers (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:00 pm – San Luis at Jaguares (FSE)
6:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Monterrey (Telemundo)
6:45 pm – West Bromwich Albion at Hull City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:00 pm – Portsmouth at Fulham (Delayed) (FSC)
8:00 pm – Gimnasia LP at Independiente (FSE)
10:00 pm – (10) Real Madrid at Numancia (GolTV)
10:00 pm – Indios at Necaxa (Galavision)
10:00 pm – Tigres at Atlas (Telemundo)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

1:45 am - Caen at Paris St.-Germain  (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

3:30 am - Toulouse at Rennes  (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

8:30 am – Sunderland at Newcastle United (Setanta USA)
8:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at De Graafschap (ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Torino at (3) Inter Milan (FSC, ESPN 360)
11:00 am (2) Bacelona at Racing de Santander (GolTV)
11:00 am – (8) Chelsea at (4) Liverpool (FSC)
1:00 pm – Almeria at Valencia (GolTV)
1:00 pm – (7) Porto at Os Belenenses (ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Atlante at Pachuca (Univision)
2:30 pm – (12) AC Milan at Lazio (FSC, ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – (18) Sevilla at Sporting de Gijon (GolTV)
3:00 pm – St. Etienne at (23) Lyon (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Toluca (Telemundo)
5:00 pm – Palmeiras at Ponte Preta (Delayed) (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Puebla at Santos Laguna (TeleFutura)
7:00 pm – River Plate at Boca Juniors (FSC, FSE)

Monday, February 2, 2009

5:30 am – Lille at (2) Bordeaux (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
11:00 am – Kilmarnock at St. Mirren (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 9:30 am – Energie Cottbus at (5) TSG Hoffenheim
Sat., 10:00 am – Dundee United at (25) Rangers
Sat., 1:00 pm – (21) Sporting CP at Trofense
Sat., 2:45 pm – Rio Ave at (14) Benfica
Sun., 8:30 am – (9) AZ Alkmaar at Sparta
Sun., 9:00 am – Palermo at (19) Genoa
Sun., 12 noon – (17) Olympiakos at AEK Athens
Sun., 2:00 pm – Santo Andre at (13) Sao Paulo
Sun., 2:00 pm – (24) Gremio at Novo Hamburgo

English Premiership, Italian Serie A - Review/Preview - Part II

ENGLAND

This past matchday provided mixed results for clubs at the top of the Premiership. Manchester United demonstrated what a first-place club should do against a last-place club, dismantling West Bromwich Albion by a 5-0 score. Chelsea and Aston Villa also picked up three points with victories over Middlesbrough (2-0) and Portsmouth (1-0), respectively. Meanwhile, the other clubs in the top seven of the table all drew – with each other – at midweek, with the Everton/Arsenal and Liverpool/Wigan Athletic matches both ending 1-1. The bottom four clubs in the table remain the same, but we still have eight clubs within three points of the bottom of the table, so the relegation race is as wide-open as ever.

This weekend, there will be some huge matches in the Premiership. None will be huger than the Sunday match at Anfield, where fourth-ranked Liverpool will host eighth-ranked Chelsea in a battle of the two clubs that are tied for second place in the Premier League. Regardless of the result, Aston Villa will have a chance to move up on one or both of those clubs if it can maintain its current form against seventh-placed Wigan Athletic. As if that weren’t enough Everton will be visiting Old Trafford to take on leaders Manchester United. All of this makes this one of the better weekends in the Premier League. In addition, at the other end of the table, a northeast matchup between Newcastle United and Sunderland is on tap for Sunday and the Middlesbrough/Blackburn Rovers match will leave at least one of those clubs in the relegation zone by the time it’s over.

Table:

1. Man United (15-5-2) 50 +29
2. Chelsea (14-6-3) 48 +31
3. Liverpool (13-9-1) 48 +22
4. Aston Villa (14-5-4) 47 +14
5. Arsenal (12-6-5) 42 +13
6. Everton (10-7-6) 37 +4
7. Wigan (9-5-9) 32 +2
8. West Ham (9-5-9) 32 E
9. Man City (8-4-10) 28 +10
10. Hull City (7-6-10) 27 -15
11. Fulham (6-8-7) 26 +1
12. Sunderland (7-5-11) 26 -8
13. Tottenham (6-6-11) 24 -4
14. Bolton (7-3-13) 24 -8
15. Portsmouth (6-6-10) 24 -13
16. Newcastle (5-8-10) 23 -10
17. Blackburn (5-7-10) 22 -11
18. Midd’brough (5-6-12) 21 -17
19. Stoke City (5-6-12) 21 -18
20. West Brom (6-3-14) 21 -22


Recent Matches:

Sunderand 1-0- Fulham
(Jones 55)

West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Manchester United
(Berbatov 22, Tevez 44, Vidic 60, Ronaldo 65, 73)

Portsmouth 0-1 Aston Villa
(Heskey 21)

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Stoke City
(Lennon 8, Defoe 21, Dawson 25)

Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough
(Kalou 58, 81)

Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United
(Wright-Philips 17, Bellamy 77; Carroll 81)

Wigan Athletic 1-1 Liverpool
(Hossam 83 (p); Benayoun 41)

Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
(Warnock 66, MacCarthy 87; Taylor 15, Davies 35)

Everton 1-1 Arsenal
(Cahill 61; van Persie 90)

West Ham United 2-0 Hull City
(Di Michele 33, Cole 51)


Upcoming Matches:

Stoke City x-x Manchester City
Arsenal x-x West Ham United
Aston Villa x-x Wigan Athletic
Bolton Wanderers x-x Tottenham Hotspur
Fulham x-x Portsmouth
Hull City x-x West Bromwich Albion
Middlesbrough x-x Blackburn
Manchester United x-x Everton
Newcastle United x-x Sunderland
Liverpool x-x Chelsea



ITALY

Inter Milan was able to extend its lead in Serie A on Wednesday thanks to a series of results that fell in its favor. First, Inter took care of its own business with a 2-0 victory over Catania. Meanwhile, second-place Juventus was being upset 1-2 by Udinese, who started off really well but have struggled recently. The third-place and fourth-place clubs, AC Milan and Genoa were drawing 1-1 with each other and the fifth-place club (at the time), Napoli fell on the road to Fiorentina by a 1-2 score. While this was going on, Roma defeated Palermo 2-1 to move into fifth-place as its recent push towards the top continued. The bottom four clubs in the table all played each other and all ended up with draws, so there was no movement at that end of the table.

The matchups this weekend are so bad, that I’m having problems deciding on a match of the week. I’ll do it anyway, but it’s tough. Okay, the match of the weekend is Palermo coming to visit nineteenth-ranked Genoa on Saunday, with Saturday’s Napoli/Udinese a close second. You could also go with the Lazio/AC Milan match, but really that’s about it. Inter Milan and Roma both play clubs that currently are in the relegation zone. Juventus, meanwhile, will host Cagliari in Saturday’s late match. There’s really nothing great to choose from, at least on paper, but I’m sure there will be plenty of excitement, nonetheless.


Table:

1. Inter Milan (15-4-2) 49 +21
2. Juventus (13-4-4) 43 +18
3. AC Milan (12-5-4) 41 +14
4. Genoa (10-7-4) 37 +12
5. Roma (11-3-7) 36 +5
6. Fiorentina (11-2-8) 35 +9
7. Napoli (10-3-8) 33 +5
8. Palermo (10-2-9) 32 +3
9. Cagliari (9-4-8) 31 +4
10. Lazio (9-4-8) 31 E
11. Atalanta (8-3-10) 27 +1
12. Udinese (7-5-9) 26 -3
13. Catania (7-5-9) 26 -6
14. Siena (7-4-10) 25 -5
15. Sampdoria (6-5-10) 23 -6
16. Bologna (5-7-9) 22 -9
17. Lecce (3-10-8) 19 -11
18. Torino (4-5-12) 17 -15
19. Chievo Ver. (4-5-12) 17 -16
20. Reggina (3-5-13) 14 -21


Recent Matches:

Roma 2-1 Palermo
(Totti 23, Brighi 45; Cavani 31)

Torino 0-0 Reggina

Cagliari 1-0 Siena
(Acquafresca 37)

Chievo Verona 1-1 Lecce
(Mantovani 88; Vives 56)

Atalanta 0-1 Bologna
(Volpi 80)

Catania 0-2 Inter Milan
(Stankovic 5, Ibrahimovic 71)

Udinese 2-1 Juventus
(Quagliarella 20, Di Natale 74; Iaquinta 77 (p))

Sampdoria 3-1 Lazio
(Delvecchio 13, Cassano 51, Stankevicius 55; Rocchi 30)

Fiorentina 2-1 Napoli
(Santana 47, Montolivo 79; Vitale 49)

AC Milan 1-1 Genoa
(Beckham 33; Milito 87)


Current Matches:

Napoli x-x Udinese
Juventus x-x Cagliari
Atalanta x-x Catania
Bologna x-x Fiorentina
Siena x-x Lecce
Genoa x-x Palermo
Reggina x-x Roma
Chievo Verona x-x Sampdoria
Inter Milan x-x Torino
Lazio x-x AC Milan

Ligue Un, Eredivisie, Liga Sagres Review/Preview

FRANCE

After a weekend of Cup action, Ligue Un returns to action this weekend with Lyon holding a slim one-point lead over Bordeaux and with only seven points separating the top seven clubs. The two biggest matches of the weekend will see second-place (twenty-third ranked) Bordeaux host Lille and fourth-place Stade Rennes host fifth-place Toulouse. Meanwhile, Lyon and Marseille anticipate easier matches as they take on seventeenth-place St. Etienne and eighteenth-place Sochaux, respectively.


Table:

1. Lyon (12-6-3) 42 +13
2. Bordeaux (12-5-4) 41 +17
3. Marseille (10-8-3) 38 +13
4. Rennes (9-10-2) 37 +11
5. Toulouse (10-7-4) 37 +8
6. Paris S.G. (11-3-7) 36 +4
7. Lille (9-8-3) 35 +10
8. Nice (9-6-5) 33 +6
9. Lorient (7-7-7) 28 +2
10. Nancy Lor. (6-7-7) 25 -2
11. Le Man (7-4-9) 25 -3
12. Grenoble (6-7-8) 25 -7
13. Caen (5-9-6) 24 +2
14. Monaco (6-6-9) 24 -2
15. Nantes (6-5-10) 23 -10
16. Auxerre (5-5-11) 20 -9
17. St. Etienne (6-2-13) 20 -14
18. Sochaux (2-11-8) 17 -7
19. Valenciennes (3-7-10) 16 -9
20. Le Havre (3-3-15) 12 -23


Recent Matches:

No Ligue Un matches this past week.


Upcoming Matches:

Valenciennes x-x Nice
Paris St.-Germain x-x Caen
Monaco x-x Grenoble
Le Man x-x Nantes
Le Havre x-x Nancy Lorraine
Auxerre x-x Lorient
Rennes x-x Toulouse
Sochaux x-x Marseille
Bordeaux x-x Lille
Lyon x-x St. Etienne




NETHERLANDS

Surprising AZ Alkmaar continues to shut down the rest of the Eredivisie. AZ defeated De Graafschap 2-0 and now has given up only eleven goals in nineteen league matches. AZ also was able to extend its Eredivisie lead as Ajax fell 0-1 to Groningen, putting AZ six points clear of Ajax and seven points clear of Twente, who defeated Heracles Almelo 2-1. Meanwhile, PSV’s draw with NAC leaves PSV fifteen points behind the leaders, in fifth place.

Next up for ninth-ranked AZ will be Sparta, the club that has given up the most goals in the league, with 45. Meanwhile, Twente will host FC Utrecht. The Dutch match of the week sees second place (sixteenth-ranked) Ajax host fourth-place Heerenveen. Since the PSV matches normally are televised in the States on ESPN Deportes, it’s also worth mentioning that the club from Eindhoven will be taking on De Graafschap in match they should and must win.


Table:

1. AZ Alkmaar (15-2-2) 47 +30
2. Ajax (13-2-4) 41 +25
3. Twente (12-4-3) 40 +19
4. Heerenveen (10-5-4) 35 +3
5. PSV Eindhoven (9-5-5) 32 +13
6. NAC Breda (9-4-6) 31 +1
7. Groningen (9-3-7) 30 +13.
8. NEC Nijmegen (7-6-6) 27 +5
9. Utrecht (7-6-6) 27 +2
10. Willem II (7-4-8) 25 -3
11. Heracles (5-6-8) 21 -10
12. Feyenoord (5-5-9) 20 +2
13. Sparta Rott. (5-5-9) 20 -11
14. ADO Den Haag (5-4-10) 19 -6
15. Vitesse (3-7-9) 16 -16
16. De Graafschap (4-4-11) 16 -23
17. Roda JC (3-6-10) 15 -15
18. Volendam (3-2-14) 11 -29


Recent Matches:

Heerenveen 2-0 Roda JC
(Beerens 40, Pranjic 54 (p))

PSV Eindhoven 2-2 NAC Breda
(Salcido 14, Afellay 78; Loran 45, Kolkka 74)

AZ Alkmaar 2-0 De Graafschap
(da Silva 11, Pocognoli 45)

Feyenoord 1-1 Willem II
(Slory 90; Janse 51)

Vitesse 0-0 NEC Nijmegen

Heracles 1-2 Twente
(van den Bergh 83; Perez 45, Arnautovic 75)

Utrecht 3-3 Sparta
(Silberbauer 12, van der Gun 20, Loval 39; Strootman 6, Godee 37, Poepon 68)

Volendam 0-1 ADO Den Haag
(Buijs 76)

Groningen 1-0 Ajax
(Holla 39)


Upcoming Matches:

Roda JC x-x Heracles
ADO Den Haag x-x Groningen
Willem II x-x Vitesse
NAC Breda x-x Volendam
Ajax x-x Heerenveen
Twente x-x Utrecht
Sparta x-x AZ Alkmaar
De Graafschap x-x PSV Eindhoven
NEC Nijmegen x-x Feyenoord



PORTUGAL

There were major developments as the Liga Sagres reached its halfway point this past weekend. The two clubs that were at the top of the table had to settle for draw this weekend; Benfica 0-0 against Os Belenenses and Sporting CP 1-1 against Nacional. This water treading allowed Porto to leapfrog both with a 2-0 victory over Sporting Braga and move into first place. There wasn’t a lot of other excitement as the sixteen clubs combined for only fourteen goals in Matchday 15.

Things get exciting in a few weeks, but that’s in a few weeks. For now the big three all face clubs at or near the bottom of the table with seventh-ranked Porto taking on Os Belenenses, fourteenth-ranked Benfica hosting last-place Rio Ave, and twenty-first ranked Sporting CP taking on recently-improved Trofense. That leaves the battle for fourth place as the match of the weekend as Nacional hosts Leixoes.


Table:


1. Porto (9-4-2) 31 +15
2. Benfica (8-6-1) 30 +13
3. Sporting CP (9-3-3) 30 +11
4. Leixoes (7-6-2) 27 +5
5. Nacional (7-4-4) 25 +4
6. Sp. Braga (6-5-4) 23 +6
7. Maritimo (6-5-4) 23 +3
8. Naval (5-4-6) 19 -1
9. Amadora (5-4-6) 19 -6
10. Guimaraes (4-6-5) 18 -2
11. Academica (4-5-6) 17 -4
12. Pacos Fer. (4-3-8) 15 -6
13. Belenenses (3-5-7) 14 -10
14. Trofense (3-3-9) 12 -8
15. V. Setubal (3-3-9) 12 -11
16. Rio Ave (2-4-9) 10 -9


Recent Matches:

Maritimo 0-0 Leixoes

Os Belenenses 0-0 Benfica

Veitoria Setubal 0-1 Naval
(Marinho 19)

Amadora 2-0 Rio Ave
(Varela 44, 85)

Trofense 1-3 Pacos Ferreira
(Reguila 7; Dede 22, Fereira 69, Cristiano 85)

Nacional 1-1 Sporting CP
(Nene 7; Vukcevic 45)

Braga Sporting 0-2 Porto
(Rodriguez 21, Lopez 31)

Academica Coimbra 2-1 Vitoria Guimaraes
(Lito 45, Gomes 49; Assis 56)


Upcoming Matches:

Veitoria Setubal x-x Vitoria Guimaraes
Trofense x-x Sporting CP
Benfica x-x Rio Ave
Academica Coimbra x-x Amadora
Maritimo x-x Naval
Nacional x-x Leixoes
Os Belenenses x-x Porto
Braga Sporting x-x Pacos Ferreira

Spanish Primera Division, German Bundesliga Review/Preview

SPAIN

The clubs at the top of the table extended their lead over the clubs just behind them, a few of which suffered an upset. Of course, Barcelona won again, what else is new, defeating Numancia 4-1. Real Madrid had a tougher time, but still managed to score a 1-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruna. Villarreal fared worse, however, managing only a 1-1 draw against Osasuna (the best last place club in the world) and Sevilla did even worse, losing 0-2 at home to Racing de Santander. Valencia was also upset, falling 1-3 to Real Maalorca.

There aren’t many good La Liga matches this week, but I’ll select a few as matches of the week, because that’s what I do. The “prize” this week will go to the only to matches that involve two clubs in the top nine of the Primera Division table. Second-ranked (and first place) Barcelona will take to the road to face Racing de Santander and Villarreal will host Deportivo La Coruna. See . . . I told you it wasn’t much. An intriguing matchup does take place at the bottom of the table as Osasuna hosts Real Mallorca in a match between clubs currently in the relegation zone.


Table:

1. Barcelona (17-2-1) 53 +49
2. Real Madrid (13-2-5) 41 +15
3. Sevilla (11-5-4) 38 +10
4. Valencia (10-4-6) 34 +9
5. Villarreal (9-7-4) 34 +7
6. Atletico (9-5-6) 32 +12
7. Malaga (9-5-6) 32 +4
8. Deportivo (9-3-8) 30 -5
9. Racing San. (7-7-6) 28 E
10. Athletic (7-5-8) 26 -3
11. Getafe (6-6-8) 24 -2
12. Valladolid (7-3-10) 24 -3
13. Almeria (6-6-8) 24 -7
14. Sporting G (8-0-12) 24 -17
15. Recreativo (6-5-9) 23 -10
16. Real Betis (6-3-11) 21 -2
17. Numancia (6-2-12) 20 -16
18. Mallorca (4-5-11) 17 -17
19. Espanyol (3-7-10) 16 -15
20. Osasuna (2-8-10) 14 -9


Current Matches:

Villarreal 1-1 Osasuna
(Rossi 29; Gomes-Dady 65)

Barcelona 4-1 Numancia
(Messi 49, 76, Eto 53, Henry 71; Barkero 61)

Real Mallorca 3-1 Valencia
(Marin 8, 42, Marti 41 (p); Rodriguez 72)

Getafe 5-1 Sporting Gijon
(Soldado 15, 57, 73 (p), Esteban 17, Uche 70; Barral 45)

Recreativo de Huelva 1-0 Real Betis
(Gallego 72)

Valladolid 1-1 Espanyol
(Sesma 41; Ortega 79)

Malaga 1-1 Atletico de Madrid
(Apono 22; Heitinga 44)

Almeria 2-1 Athletic de Bilbao
(Ortiz 26, Uche 39; Olmo 65)

Sevilla 0-2 Racing de Santander
(Navas 24, Zigic 46)

Real Madrid 1-0 Deportivo La Coruna
(Gonzalez 40)


Upcoming Matches:

Athletic de Bilbao x-x Malaga
Numancia x-x Real Madrid
Osasuna x-x Real Mallorca
Deportivo La Coruna x-x Villarreal
Racing de Santander x-x Barcelona
Real Betis x-x Getafe
Espanyol x-x Recreativo de Huelva
Atletico de Madrid x-x Valladolid
Valencia x-x Almeria
Sporting Gijon x-x Sevilla



GERMANY

The Bundesliga ends its winter break this week and the second half of the season begins. As it tries to hunt down leaders TSG Hoffenheim, second-place (eleventh-ranked) Bayern Munich will take on fourth-place Hamburger in the Bundesliga match of the week on Friday. For its part, fifth-ranked TSG Hoffenheim will host Energie Cottbus. Elsewhere, in a battle of clubs facing relegation, VFL Bochum will host Karlsruher on Sunday.


Table:

1. Hoffenheim (11-2-4) 35 +19
2. Bay. Munich (10-5-2) 35 +15
3. Her. Berlin (10-3-4) 33 +7
4. Hamburger (10-3-4) 33 +2
5. Leverkusen (10-2-5) 32 +15
6. B. Dortmund (7-8-2) 29 +8
7. Schalke 04 (7-6-4) 27 +8
8. W. Bremen (7-5-5) 26 +11
9. Wolfsburg (7-5-5) 26 +10
10. Stuttgart (7-4-6) 25 +3
11. Cologne (7-1-9) 22 -6
12. E. Frankfurt (5-4-8) 19 -6
13. Hannover 96 (4-5-8) 17 -12
14. A. Bielefeld (2-8-7) 14 -12
15. Karlsruher (4-1-12) 13 -17
16. En. Cottbus (3-4-10) 13 -17
17. VfL Bochum (1-8-8) 11 -11
18. M’Gladbach (3-2-12) 11 -17


Recent Matches:

No Bundesliga matches this past week.


Upcoming Matches:

Hamburger x-x Bayern Munich
VfB Stuttgart x-x Borussia Monchengladbach
Cologne x-x Wolfsburg
Hannover 96 x-x Schalke 04
Hertha Berlin x-x Eintracht Frankfurt
TSG Hoffenheim x-x Energie Cottbus
Borussia Dortmund x-x Bayer Leverkusen
VFL Bochum x-x Karlsruher
Werder Bremen x-x Arminia Bielefeld

English Premier League, Italian Serie A - Midweek Review/Preview

Since the English Premier League and Italian Serie A have two matchdays this week, one at midweek and one over the weekend, they are getting two reviews/previews this week – one a little early and one a little late. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the early one. As a reminder, we are still recruiting members to join the World Club Rankings update page on Facebook, if you are interested.


ENGLAND

The Premier League returns at midweek after a weekend of FA Cup matches. The clubs at the top of the table will not be playing each other. The top matches should be the ones between Everton and twentieth-ranked Arsenal and the matchup between Wigan Athletic and fourth-ranked Liverpool. Among the cluster of clubs at the bottom of the table, the most intriguing matches will be Tottenham/Stoke City and Bolton/Blackburn.


Table:

1. Man United (14-5-2) 47 +24
2. Liverpool (13-8-1) 47 +22
3. Chelsea (13-6-3) 45 +29
4. Aston Villa (13-5-4) 44 +13
5. Arsenal (12-5-5) 41 +13
6. Everton (10-6-6) 36 +4
7. Wigan (9-4-9) 31 +2
8. West Ham (8-5-9) 29 -2
9. Hull City (7-6-9) 27 -13
10. Fulham (6-8-6) 26 +2
11. Man City (7-4-10) 25 +9
12. Portsmouth (6-6-9) 24 -12
13. Bolton (7-2-13) 23 -8
14. Newcastle (5-8-9) 23 -9
15. Sunderland (6-5-11) 23 -9
16. Tottenham (5-6-11) 21 -6
17. Blackburn (5-6-10) 21 -11
18. Midd’brough (5-6-11) 21 -15
19. Stoke City (5-6-11) 21 -16
20. West Brom (6-3-13) 21 -17


Recent Matches:

No league matches this past weekend.


Upcoming Matches:

Sunderand x-x- Fulham
West Bromwich Albion x-x Manchester United
Portsmouth x-x Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur x-x Stoke City
Chelsea x-x Middlesbrough
Manchester City x-x Newcastle United
Wigan Athletic x-x Liverpool
Blackburn Rovers x-x Bolton Wanderers
Everton x-x Arsenal
West Ham United x-x Hull City


ITALY

There was a lot of action, and a lot of goals, this week in Serie A. Those goals weren’t scored in the matches involving the top two clubs, however. Both Inter Milan and Juventus scored 1-0 victories, over Sampdoria and Fiorentina, respectively, to keep the two clubs exactly where they began when the matchday started. There were three routs in Serie A this weekend: AC Milan beat Bologna 4-1, with two goals by Kaka and one by David Beckham, Cagliari surprised Lazio by the same score, and Roma extended it’s fantastic turnaround with a 3-0 away victory over fifth-place Napoli. In a battle of last-place clubs, Chievo Verona won 1-0 at Reggina to dig Reggina’s relegation grave just a little deeper.

On Wednesday, neither of the two premier matchups involve the top two clubs in the table. Third-place and twelfth-ranked AC Milan hosts fourth-place and nineteeth-ranked Genoa. In another key matchup, Fiorentina will host Napoli. As far as the top two clubs are concerned, third-ranked Inter Milan will take on Catania and sixth-ranked Juventus will take on Udinese. Among the clubs at the bottom of the table will all face off once again. Last place Reggina will take on eighteenth-place Torino. Meanwhile, nineteenth-place Chievo Verona will host seventeeth-place Lecce. It should be an interesting table all up and down the Serie A table.


Table:

1. Inter Milan (14-4-2) 46 +19
2. Juventus (13-4-3) 43 +19
3. AC Milan (12-4-4) 40 +14
4. Genoa (10-6-4) 36 +12
5. Napoli (10-3-7) 33 +6
6. Roma (10-3-7) 33 +4
7. Fiorentina (10-2-8) 32 +8
8. Palermo (10-2-8) 32 +4
9. Lazio (9-4-7) 31 +2
10. Cagliari (8-4-8) 28 +3
11. Atalanta (8-3-9) 27 +2
12. Catania (7-5-8) 26 -4
13. Siena (7-4-9) 25 -4
14. Udinese (6-5-9) 23 -4
15. Sampdoria (5-5-10) 20 -8
16. Bologna (4-7-9) 19 -10
17. Lecce (3-9-8) 18 -11
18. Torino (4-4-12) 16 -15
19. Chievo Ver. (4-4-12) 16 -16
20. Reggina (3-4-13) 13 -20


Recent Matches:

Reggina 0-1 Chievo Verona
(Italiano 90)

Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina
(Marchisio 21)

Siena 1-0 Atalanta
(Frick 44)

Lazio 1-4 Cagliari
(Rocchi 3; Neves 5, 9, Acquafresca 21 (p), Matri 41)

Genoa 1-1 Catania
(Milito 74; Martinez 68)

Bologna 1-4 AC Milan
(Di Vaio 9 (p); Seedorf 13, Kaka 17 (p), 44, Beckham 60)

Lecce 3-3 Torino
(Munari 12, 45, Castillo 73; Samuel 47, Dellafiore 56, Natali 77)

Palermo 3-2 Udinese
(Simplicio 17, 54, Cavani 57; Pepe 2, Di Natale 63)

Napoli 0-3 Roma
(Mexes 18, Juan 32, Vucinic 50)

Inter Milan 1-0 Sampdoria
(Adriano 45)


Current Matches:

Roma x-x Palermo
Torino x-x Reggina
Cagliari x-x Siena
Chievo Verona x-x Lecce
Atalanta x-x Bologna
Catania x-x Inter Milan
Udinese x-x Juventus
Sampdoria x-x Lazio
Fiorentina x-x Napoli
AC Milan x-x Genoa

WCR Top 25 Clubs - 200th Post Edition

Actually, it’s not the 200th post for this blog, it’s the 201st; but my 200th post already had a title and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to mention a landmark post, even if it already happened.

The WCR Top 25 is pretty static after the past weekend. There are a few reasons for this. The Premiership and Ligue Un were off this weekend to make clubs available for Cup play, which doesn’t play a part in the rankings. The Bundesliga is in its final weekend of winter break. AZ Alkmaar, Barcelona, Celtic, Olympiakos and Inter Milan all won to stay on top of their individual domestic leagues. The only major European league that saw movement near the top of the table is Portugal’s Liga Sagres, where Porto won its match and took advantage of draws by Benfica and Sporting CP to move into first place. There were no marquee matches over the past week. All of the week’s action is discussed below.

For the first time is quite a while, the upcoming weekend will see all 25 clubs in the WCR rankings in action. Most of the clubs have multiple matches this week. Among these matches are two ties between ranked clubs. On Wednesday, in a special midweek Gameday in Serie A, AC Milan will host Genoa. The match of the week takes place on Sunday when Liverpool hosts Chelsea in a battle for second place in the Premiership, as both clubs try to hold off surprising Aston Villa.

By the way, World Club Rankings is now on Facebook. If you would like another way to follow the rankings and other blog features throughout the season, join the WCR blog network on Facebook.

The rankings and the action are below. Enjoy.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 – January 26, 2008

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Top-ranked Manchester United did nothing to disappoint this week. United defeated Derby County 4-2 to advance to the Carling Cup finals. Over the weekend, Man United defeated the other Carling Cup finalist, Tottenham Hotspur, 2-1 to advance in the FA Cup. This Week: There are two English Premiership matchdays this week. For United, that means West Bromwich Albion at midweek and Everton on Monday at Old Trafford.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – A slight hiccup for Barcelona this week in the Copa del Rey. It could only manage a scoreless draw in its away match against Espanyol. Things were back to normal in La Liga, however, as Barcelona score another easy victory, this time over the only club to beat them in league play all season, Numancia 4-1. This Week: Barcelona hosts Espanyol in the return Copa del Rey match. On Sunday, Barcelona will take on Racing Santander in a Primera Division match.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale defeated Roma 2-1 to advance in the Coppa Italia. In league play, Inter defeated Sampdoria 1-0 to maintain its Serie A lead. This Week: Like England, the Italian Serie A will have to matchdays. Inter Milan will take on Catania on Wednesday and host Torino on Sunday.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – Liverpool played Everton at home on Sunday for the second time in seven days and the result was the same both times, a 1-1 draw in Merseyside. The most recent effort was an FA Cup match and must be replayed. This Week: Liverpool takes on Wigan Athletic on Wednesday. On Sunday, Liverpool will host Chelsea in what promises to be Europe’s match of the week.

5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – No matches this past week. This week: Bundesliga leaders TSG Hoffenheim begin the second part of the season at home on Saturday against Energie Cottbus.

6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juventus kept pace with Inter Milan with a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina this weekend. This Week: Juve’s two Serie A matches this week will be on the road against Udinese and at home against Cagliari.

7. Porto (Por) (20) – A big jump this week for Porto following a 2-0 victory over Sporting Braga that helped Porto jump from third to first-place in the Liga Sagres. This Week: On Wednesday, Porto will host Leixoes in a Taca de Portugal match. Over the weekend, Porto will take on Os Belenenses as it tries to maintain the Liga Sagres lead.

8. Chelsea (Eng) (7) – Chelsea defeated Ipswich Town 3-1 to advance in the FA Cup. This Week: Chelsea hosts Middlesbrough at midweek in a Premier League match. On Sunday, Chelsea heads to Anfield to take on Liverpool in a battle for second place in the Premiership.

9. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (10) – AZ continues to roll against its Dutch competition and it seems like it never gives up a goal. AZ defeated Achilles 29 3-0 in a cup match this week and De Graafschaap 3-0 in an Eredivisie match. This Week: The next probable victim for AZ will be Sparta on Saturday.

10. Real Madrid (Esp) (9) – It wasn’t pretty, but Real Madrid scored another Primera Division victory this week, 1-0 over Deportivo La Coruna. This Week: Real Madrid will travel to take on Numancia in La Liga play this weekend.

11. Bayern Munchen (Ger) (11) – No matches this past week. This Week: Bayern returns to action this week, first against VfB Stuttgart in a DfB Pokal matchup. On Friday, Bayern Munich takes on Hamburger to begin the second half of the Bundesliga.

12. AC Milan (Ita) (12) – David Beckham was able to participate in something in Italy that he rarely has had an opportunity to experience with the Los Angeles Galaxy – a victory. Beckham scored and Kaka scored twice as AC Milan defeated Bologna 4-1. This Week: AC Milan has a full week this week. On Wednesday, it will host eighteenth-ranked Genoa in the match of the midweek. Over the weekend, AC Milan heads to Rome to take on Lazio.

13. Sao Paulo (Bra) (14) – Sao Paulo returned to action this week in the Paulista League. Sao Paulo drew 1-1 with Ituano at midweek and defeated Portuguesa 2-0 on Sunday. This Week: Sao Paulo plays two more Paulista League opponents this coming week, Guarani and Santo Andre.

14. Benfica (Por) (8) – Benfica once again dropped out of the Liga Sagres top spot by virtue of a goalless draw with Os Belenenses. This Week: As SL Benfica attempts to track down Porto once again, it will host Rio Ave on Sunday.

15. Aston Villa (Eng) (13) – Aston Villa could do no more than force a replay with a scoreless draw against Doncaster Rovers in its FA Cup match. This Week: Aston Villa’s pair of Premiership matches this week are both away from home, first against Portsmouth and then against Wigan Athletic.

16. Ajax (Ned) (16) – Ajax was upset this weekend by FC Groningen 0-1 to move further away from AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. This Week: Ajax will try to bounce back at home on Saturday against Heerenveen.

17. Olympiakos (Gre) (18) – Olympiakos faced OFI twice this past week and had similar results in both, beating OFI 2-0 in a cup match and 2-1 in a league match. This Week: On Sunday, one of the classic Greek Super League matches takes place as Olympiakos heads the short distance to Athens to take on AEK.

18. Sevilla (Esp) (17) –Sevilla fell a few times this week. First, Valencia defeated Sevilla 2-3 in a Copa del Rey match. On Sunday, Sevilla fell 0-2 to a shorthanded Racing de Santander club. This Week: Sevilla takes on Valencia in the home leg of its Copa del Rey matchup. On Sunday, Sevilla will take on Sporting Gijon in a Primera Division match.

19. Genoa (Ita) (19) – Genoa managed only a 1-1 draw with Catania, but that was enough to leave it in fourth place in Serie A. This Week: A pair of big matches for Genoa this week as it attempts to stay near the top of Serie A. At midweek, Genoa will take on AC Milan. On Sunday, Genoa hosts Palermo.

20. Arsenal (Eng) (21) – In a rematch of the 1927 FA Cup final, Arsenal headed to Wales to take on Cardiff City in an FA Cup match that ended in a scoreless draw, meaning there will be another rematch soon at Emirates Stadium. This Week: Arsenal travels to Merseyside to take on Everton at midweek before host West Ham United on Saturday.

21. Sporting CP (Por) (15) – A 1-1 draw against a hot Nacional club saw Sporting drop to third place in the Liga Sagres. This Week: As Sporting chases down Porto and Benfica, its next opponent will be Trofense.

22. Bordeaux (Fra) (22) – No matches this past week. This Week: Bordeaux will host Lille in its next Ligue Un match as it tries to hunt down Lyon.

23. Lyon (Fra) (23) – Speaking of Lyon, it defeated US Concarneau 6-0 to advance in the Coupe de France. This Week: Lyon will host St. Etienne in Ligue Un play on Sunday.

24. Gremio (Bra) (24) – Gremio played two matches in the Gaucho League this week, drawing 1-1 with Inter de Santa Maria and defeating Esportivo 5-0. This Week: Gremio is off until next Sunday when it takes on Novo Hamburgo on Sunday. I have to admit that just the sound of Novo Hamburgo makes me hungry.

25. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – Rangers returns to the rankings to take up the spot abandoned by Valencia this week. Rangers participated in a scoreless draw with Aberdeen this past weekend. This Week: Two matches for Rangers this week – first a league cup match against Falkirk and then a Saturday match at home against Dundee United.

Bubbling Under: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Celtic (Sco), Hertha Berlin (Ger), San Lorenzo (Arg), Valencia (Esp).

Bubbling Further Under: Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Everton (Eng), Napoli (Ita), Twente (Ned), Villarreal (Esp).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs:
28 January – (19) Genoa at (12) AC Milan
1 February – (8) Chelsea at (4) Liverpool

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 24/25 January 2009

Once again, there is a dearth of marquee matchups this weekend in world club football. The matter isn’t helped by the fact that early-round cup action is on tap in England and France, nearly removing Setanta USA completely, though not quite, from the weekend television picture. There are not matches between WCR Top 25 Clubs this week.

As with last week, however, this leaves us with some flexibility with the Top Five Matches of the Weekend. The five that were selected for this week are being broadcast on five separate networks and in a couple different languages. The top match is between two unranked clubs, but without any marquee matchup, it is impossible to pick against a River Plate – Boca Juniors Superclassico for the top spot. This match will be broadcast on two networks, in two languages, over two days. The live broadcast will be in Spanish on FSE on Saturday evening. FSC will broadcast the match in English on Sunday evening. Most of the other matches should be much less confusing. A complete list of matches is below. Have a great weekend!!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend

1. River Plate at Boca Juniors (Saturday, 7:00 pm (-5:00 GST), FSE)
2. Fiorentina at Juventus (Saturday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
3. Everton at Liverpool (Sunday, 11:00 am, Setanta USA)
4. Roma at Napoli (Sunday, 9:00 am, ESPN 360)
5. Santos Laguna at UNAM Pumas (Sunday, 1:00 pm, Telemundo)

Friday, January 22, 2009

2:15 pm – Nottingham Forest at Derby County (Setanta USA)
8:00 pm – San Lorenzo at Independiente (FSC)

Saturday, January 23, 2009

7:45 am – West Ham United at Hartlepool (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – (13) Aston Villa at Doncaster Rovers (FSC)
12:00 noon – Tottenham Hotspur at (1) Manchester United (FSC)
1:45 pm – NAC Breda at PSV Eindhoven (ESPN 360)
2:30 pm – Fiorentina at (6) Juventus (FSC)
3:45 pm – (20) Porto at Sporting Braga (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Numancia at (2) Barcelona (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Fulham at Kettering Town (Delayed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – Pachuca at San Luis (Telefutura)
7:00 pm – River Plate at Boca Juniors (FSE – Sunday at 8pm on FSC)
8:00 pm – UAG Tecos at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:30 pm – Sweden at United States (FSC, Galavision)

Sunday, January 24, 2009

1:00 am – Newcastle Jets at Sydney FC (FSC)
3:00 am – Adelaide United at Central Coast Mariners (ESPN 360)
8:30 am – (21) Arsenal at Cardiff City (Setanta USA)
8:30 am – (16) Ajax at Groningen (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – (12) AC Milan at Bologna (FSC, ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Roma at Napoli (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Coventry City at Torquay United (FSC)
11:00 am – Everton at (4) Liverpool (Setanta USA)
1:00 pm – Racing de Santander at (17) Sevilla (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Necaxa at Puebla (FSE)
1:00 pm – Santos Laguna at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
2:30 pm – Sampdoria at (3) Inter Milan (FSC)
3:00 pm – Deportivo La Coruna at (9) Real Madrid (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Toluca at Club America (Univision)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 3:45 pm – (8) Benfica at Os Belenenses
Sat., 9:00 am – (23) Lyon at Concarneau
Sat., 10:00 am – Ipswich Town at (7) Chelsea
Sat., 12 noon – OFI Heraklion at (18) Olympiakos
Sat., 1:30 pm – (15) Sporting CP at Nacional
Sat., 1:45 pm – De Graafschap at (10) AZ Alkmaar
Sun., 9:00 am – Catania at (19) Genoa
Sun., 12 noon – (24) Valencia at Real Mallorca
Sun., 1:00 pm – Esportivo at (25) Gremio
Sun., 2:00 pm – (14) Sao Paulo at Portuguesa

Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga Sagres Review/Preview

NETHERLANDS

The more things change, the more they stay the same, or so they say. We enter the second half of the Eredivisie season, but nothing much has changed. AZ Alkmaar, Ajax and Twente have continued to roll, with victories over Volendam, NEC Nijmegen and Vitesse, respectively. Heerenveen defeated Feyenoord 3-1 to jump PSV and NAC, both of which drew their matches, into fourth place in the table.

There are no marquee matchups in the Eredivisie this weekend as the good clubs mostly play the bad ones. Of course, there are always exceptions. If I had to pick a few games to watch this weekend, I would probably go with the match between PSV Eindhoven and NAC Breda, a battle for fifth place, and the Groningen/Ajax match to see if Groningen can somehow regain its early-season form.


Table:

1. AZ Alkmaar (14-2-2) 44 +28
2. Ajax (13-2-3) 41 +26
3. Twente (11-4-3) 37 +18
4. Heerenveen (9-5-4) 32 +1
5. PSV Eindhoven (9-4-5) 31 +13
6. NAC Breda (9-3-6) 30 +1
7. Groningen (8-3-7) 27 +12.
8. NEC Nijmegen (7-5-6) 26 +5
9. Utrecht (7-5-6) 26 +2
10. Willem II (7-3-8) 24 -3
11. Heracles (5-6-7) 21 -9
12. Feyenoord (5-4-9) 19 +2
13. Sparta Rott. (5-4-9) 19 -11
14. ADO Den Haag (4-4-10) 16 -7
15. De Graafschap (4-4-10) 16 -21
16. Roda JC (3-6-9) 15 -13
17. Vitesse (3-6-9) 15 -16
18. Volendam (3-2-13) 11 -28


Recent Matches:

Heerenveen 3-1 Feyenoord
(Nielsen 5, Pranjic 43, Smarason 71; Makaay 38)

De Graafschap 1-0 Willem II
(Sahar 17)

Twente 2-1 Vitesse
(N’kufo 19, Perez 67; Sansoni 53)

ADO Den Haag 2-2 Heracles
(Soltani 26, Kerijck 51; van den Bergh 31, Boakye 79)

NAC Breda 1-1 Utrecht
(Zwaanswijk 32; Caluwe 90)

Roda JC 1-1 PSV Eindhoven
(Janssen 60; Simons 60 (p))

Volendam 0-2 AZ Alkmaar
(A. da Silva 11, D. da Silva 79)

NEC Nijmegen 2-4 Ajax
(Zomer 50, El-Akchaoui 67; Sulejmani 48, 54, Fernandez 78 (og), Gabri 90)

Sparta 1-1 Groningen
(Godee 60; van de Laak 48)


Upcoming Matches:

Heerenveen x-x Roda JC
PSV Eindhoven x-x NAC Breda
AZ Alkmaar x-x De Graafschap
Feyenoord x-x Willem II
Vitesse x-x NEC Nijmegen
Groningen x-x Ajax
Heracles x-x Twente
Volendam x-x ADO Den Haag
Utrecht x-x Sparta


PORTUGAL

This weekend could be a defining one in the Liga Sagres as six of the top seven clubs take each other on: Sixth place Sporting Braga hosts third place Porto, seventh place Maritimo hosts fourth place Leixoes and fifth place Nacional hosts second place Sporting CP. Meanwhile, leaders Benfica will be on the road to take on Os Belenenses.


Table:


1. Benfica (8-5-1) 29 +13
2. Sporting CP (9-2-3) 29 +11
3. Porto (8-4-2) 28 +13
4. Leixoes (7-5-2) 26 +5
5. Nacional (7-3-4) 24 +4
6. Sp. Braga (6-5-3) 23 +8
7. Maritimo (6-4-4) 22 +3
8. Guimaraes (4-6-4) 18 -1
9. Naval (4-4-6) 16 -2
10. Amadora (4-4-6) 16 -8
11. Academica (3-5-6) 14 -5
12. Belenenses (3-4-7) 13 -10
13. V. Setubal (3-3-8) 12 -6
14. Pacos Fer. (3-3-8) 12 -8
15. Trofense (3-3-8) 12 -10
16. Rio Ave (2-4-8) 10 -7


Recent Matches:

No Liga Sagres matches this past weekend.


Upcoming Matches:

Maritimo x-x Leixoes
Braga Sporting x-x Porto
Amadora x-x Rio Ave
Nacional x-x Sporting CP
Os Belenenses x-x Benfica
Veitoria Setubal x-x Naval
Academica Coimbra x-x Vitoria Guimaraes
Trofense x-x Pacos Ferreira

Spanish Primera Division, French Ligue Un Review/Preview

SPAIN

The teams at the top Primera Division generally fared well this weekend, but there were some surprises. The biggest surprise and best match took place in Basque country, where Athletic de Bilbao came from behind twice to defeat Valencia 3-2. Of course, Barcelona won and won big, defeating Deportivo 5-0, with Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto scoring two goals each. Real Madrid kept pace by beating the best last place team in the world, Osasuna, by a 3-1 score.

This part of the schedule in La Liga is rather boring, but there may be a few good matches. One could be the match between Real Madrid and Deportivo, if Deportivo can recover from last week’s drubbing. The Atletico/Malaga match could also be interesting as both clubs fight for a spot in Europe next season. The best last place club in the world gets to take on Villarreal this weekend; not much of a break after facing Barcelona and Real Madrid in successive weekends.


Table:

1. Barcelona (16-2-1) 50 +46
2. Real Madrid (12-2-5) 38 +14
3. Sevilla (11-5-3) 38 +12
4. Valencia (10-4-5) 34 +11
5. Villarreal (9-6-4) 33 +7
6. Atletico (9-4-6) 31 +12
7. Malaga (9-4-6) 31 +4
8. Deportivo (9-3-7) 30 -4
9. Athletic (7-5-7) 26 -2
10. Racing San. (6-7-6) 25 -2
11. Sporting G (8-0-11) 24 -13
12. Valladolid (7-2-10) 23 -3
13. Real Betis (6-3-10) 21 -1
14. Getafe (5-6-8) 21 -6
15. Almeria (5-6-8) 21 -8
16. Recreativo (5-5-9) 20 -11
17. Numancia (6-2-11) 20 -13
18. Espanyol (3-6-10) 15 -15
19. Mallorca (3-5-11) 14 -19
20. Osasuna (2-7-10) 13 -9


Current Matches:

Barcelona 5-0 Deportivo La Coruna
(Messi 21, Henry 27, 83, Eto 41, 85 (p))

Sevilla 1-0 Numancia
(Renato 82)

Villarreal 2-0 Real Mallorca
(Capdevila 29, Rossi 33 (p))

Real Madrid 3-1 Osasuna
(Ramos 50, Higuain 64, Robben 90; Nekounam 20)

Getafe 0-1 Racing de Santander
(Zigic 25)

Recreativo de Huelva 2-0 Sporting Gijon
(Torre 6 (og), Perez 55)

Valladolid 1-3 Real Betis
(Prieto 23; Xisco 16, de La Fuente 63, 90)

Malaga 4-0 Espanyol
(Lopez 35, Apono 57 (p), Baha 84 (p), Martos 90)

Athletic de Bilbao 3-2 Valencia
(Gabilondo 18, Aginaba 43, Llorente 90 (p); Villa 3, Morientes 30)

Almeria 1-1 Atletico de Madrid
(Uche 6; Pongolle 22)


Upcoming Matches:

Villarreal x-x Osasuna
Barcelona x-x Numancia
Almeria x-x Athletic de Bilbao
Malaga x-x Atletico de Madrid
Valladolid x-x Espanyol
Recreativo de Huelva x-x Real Betis
Getafe x-x Sporting Gijon
Real Mallorca x-x Valencia
Sevilla x-x Racing de Santander
Real Madrid x-x Deportivo La Coruna



FRANCE

Most of the top French clubs did well this weekend, scoring victories. Lyon defeated Grenoble, Bordeaux defeated Nantes and Marseille defeated Le Havre. The one exception was Stade Rennes, who lost for only the second time this season, falling 0-1 to Lille on an own goal. Not surprisingly, the clubs at the bottom of the table mostly lost, though Valenciennes did manage a 1-1 draw against Lorient.

There are no matches in Ligue Un this weekend as the league breaks for Cup action.


Tables:

1. Lyon (12-6-3) 42 +13
2. Bordeaux (12-5-4) 41 +17
5. Marseille (10-8-3) 38 +13
3. Rennes (9-10-2) 37 +11
7. Toulouse (10-7-4) 37 +8
4. Paris S.G. (11-3-7) 36 +4
6. Lille (9-8-3) 35 +10
8. Nice (9-6-5) 33 +6
9. Lorient (7-7-7) 28 +2
10. Nancy Lor. (6-7-7) 25 -2
12. Le Man (7-4-9) 25 -3
11. Grenoble (6-7-8) 25 -7
13. Caen (5-9-6) 24 +2
14. Monaco (6-6-9) 24 -2
16. Nantes (6-5-10) 23 -10
15. Auxerre (5-5-11) 20 -9
17. St. Etienne (6-2-13) 20 -14
19. Sochaux (2-11-8) 17 -7
18. Valenciennes (3-7-10) 16 -9
20. Le Havre (3-3-15) 12 -23


Recent Matches:

Grenoble 0-2 Lyon
(Ederson 15, Delgado 77)

Toulouse 3-0 Nancy Lorraine
(Luiz 45 (og), Gignac 81, Cesar 88)

St. Etienne 1-1 Le Man
(Gomis 55; Helstad 87)

Nice 2-0 Auxerre
(Remy 50; Bamogo 90)

Marseille 2-0 Le Havre
(Valbuena 25, Zubar 60)

Lorient 1-1 Valenciennes
(Ciani 43; Darcheville 27)

Nantes 1-2 Bordeaux
(Djordjevic 89; Gourcuff 11, Chamakh 70)

Caen 2-2 Monaco
(Savidan 72, Nivet 90; Pino 6, Alonso 24)

Paris St.-Germain 2-1 Sochaux
(Hoarau 45, Luyindula 63; Sverkos 51)

Lille 1-0 Rennes
(Hansson 75 (og))


Upcoming Matches:

No matches this weekend in Ligue Un.

English Premier League, Italian Serie A Review/Preview

ENGLAND

The top five clubs combined in the past week for five wins and a draw, so there wasn’t a lot of movement at the top, except that two of those five wins belonged to Manchester United, first against Wigan and then against Bolton, allowing Manchester United to take over the Premiership lead. The best matchup was the Merseyside derby, which saw Liverpool and Everton battle to a 1-1 draw. The most fun match was Chelsea’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Stoke City. The week also saw Blackburn and Tottenham move out of relegation spots, though not by much as five clubs are tied at the bottom with 21 points, while three others are just two points ahead at 23.

This weekend is FA Cup weekend in England, so there will be no Premiership matches. The Premier League will return at midweek, the following week, however. The clubs at the top will not be playing each other. The top match should be the ones between Everton and Arsenal and the Wigan Athletic/Liverpool matchup. Among the cluster of clubs at the bottom of the table, the most intriguing matches will be Tottenham/Stoke City and Bolton/Blackburn.


Table:

1. Man United (14-5-2) 47 +24
2. Liverpool (13-8-1) 47 +22
3. Chelsea (13-6-3) 45 +29
4. Aston Villa (13-5-4) 44 +13
5. Arsenal (12-5-5) 41 +13
6. Everton (10-6-6) 36 +4
7. Wigan (9-4-9) 31 +2
8. West Ham (8-5-9) 29 -2
9. Hull City (7-6-9) 27 -13
10. Fulham (6-8-6) 26 +2
11. Man City (7-4-10) 25 +9
12. Portsmouth (6-6-9) 24 -12
13. Bolton (7-2-13) 23 -8
14. Newcastle (5-8-9) 23 -9
15. Sunderland (6-5-11) 23 -9
16. Tottenham (5-6-11) 21 -6
17. Blackburn (5-6-10) 21 -11
18. Midd’brough (5-6-11) 21 -15
19. Stoke City (5-6-11) 21 -16
20. West Brom (6-3-13) 21 -17


Recent Matches:

Manchester United 1-0 Wigan Athletic
(Rooney 1)

Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Newcastle United
(McCarthy 60 (p), Roberts 66, 86)

Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Manchester United
(Berbatov 90)

Chelsea 2-1 Stoke City
(Belletti 88, Lampard 90; Delap 60)

Manchester City 1-0 Wigan Athletic
(Zabaleta 52)

Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa
(Collins 11; Milner 60, Barry 80 (p))

West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Middlesbrough
(Brunt 4, Koren 54, 67)

Hull City 1-3 Arsenal
(Cousin 65; Adebayor 30, Nasri 82, Bendtner 86)

West Ham United 3-1 Fulham
(Di Michele 7, Noble 60 (p), Cole 76; Konchesky 22)

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Portsmouth
(Defoe 70, Nugent 59)

Liverpool 1-1 Everton
(Gerrard 68; Cahill 87)


Upcoming Matches (January 27 & 28):

Sunderand x-x- Fulham
West Bromwich Albion x-x Manchester United
Portsmouth x-x Aston Villa
Tottenham Hotspur x-x Stoke City
Chelsea x-x Middlesbrough
Manchester City x-x Newcastle United
Wigan Athletic x-x Liverpool
Blackburn Rovers x-x Bolton Wanderers
Everton x-x Arsenal
West Ham United x-x Hull City


ITALY

This weekend was a weekend of upsets in Serie A, or at least two big ones. The biggest was Atalanta’s 3-1 drubbing of Inter Milan in a match that wasn’t really even that close. The other saw Chievo Verona defeat Napoli for only its third victory of the season. The match of the weekend saw Juventus and Lazio play to a 1-1 draw. With a 2-0 victory over Lecce, Genoa moved into fourth place in Serie A. Roma, by virtue of playing two points and picking up six points, is finally back in the top half of the Serie A table.

None of the clubs in the top quarter of the table take on each other this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be good Serie A matches. The two that I’m most looking forward to are the Juventus/Fiorentina matchup and the Napoli/Roma matchup. At the other end of the table, however, there is plenty of action. The bottom two clubs in the table take on each other when Reggina hosts Chievo Verona. The two teams immediately above those two also face each other when Lecce hosts Torino.


Table:

1. Inter Milan (13-4-2) 43 +18
2. Juventus (12-4-3) 40 +18
3. AC Milan (11-4-4) 37 +11
4. Genoa (10-5-4) 35 +12
5. Napoli (10-3-6) 33 +9
6. Fiorentina (10-2-7) 32 +9
7. Lazio (9-4-6) 31 +5
8. Roma (9-3-7) 30 +1
9. Palermo (9-2-8) 29 +3
10. Atalanta (8-3-8) 27 +3
11. Cagliari (7-4-8) 25 E
12. Catania (7-4-8) 25 -4
13. Udinese (6-5-8) 23 -3
14. Siena (6-4-9) 22 -5
15. Sampdoria (5-5-9) 20 -7
16. Bologna (4-7-8) 19 -7
17. Lecce (3-8-8) 17 -11
18. Torino (4-3-12) 15 -15
19. Chievo Ver. (3-4-12) 13 -17
20. Reggina (3-4-12) 13 -20


Recent Matches:

Roma 2-0 Sampdoria
(Baptista 21, 53)

Siena 1-0 Reggina
(Frick 75)

AC Milan 1-0 Fiorentina
(Pato 7)

Atalanta 3-1 Inter Milan
(Floccari 18, Doni 28, 33; Ibrahimovic 90)

Cagliari 2-0 Udinese
(Conti 4, Biondini 20)

Chievo Verona 2-1 Napoli
(Marcolini 32 (p), 74 (p); Lavezzi 53)

Lecce 0-2 Genoa
(Jankovic 69, Sculli 90)

Sampdoria 0-2 Palermo
(Bresciano 45, 58)

Torino 0-1 Roma
(Baptista 90)

Catania 1-2 Bologna
(Paolucci 86; Di Vaio 49, Adailton 54)

Lazio 1-1 Juventus
(Ledesma 25; Melberg 30)


Current Matches:

Reggina x-x Chievo Verona
Juventus x-x Fiorentina
Siena x-x Atalanta
Lazio x-x Cagliari
Genoa x-x Catania
Bologna x-x AC Milan
Lecce x-x Torino
Palermo x-x Udinese
Napoli x-x Roma
Inter Milan x-x Sampdoria

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Inauguration Edition

First of all, let me apologize for being late with this week’s WCR Top 25. I could tell you that it’s because last week’s number one club, Liverpool, did not play until Monday and that I thought it was important not to run the numbers until after Liverpool had played its game. That sounds legitimate, doesn’t it? I think it does, but it would still be a lie. The real reason is that World Club Rankings is based in Washington, D.C., which was the center of the universe this weekend. On Sunday, I went to the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial, featuring U2, Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Shakira, etc. Today, I went down to the National Mall with a few million of my closest friends and watched Barack Obama be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. All of this activity put me a little behind on the football and I am just now catching up.

Enough about me. Despite the delay, not much went on during the weekend, except for a shuffling of the top four in the rankings. The shuffle was due to two events. The first was a reversal at the top spot in the Premiership, which saw Manchester United take advantage of a pair of victories and a Liverpool draw to move on top of the league and, consequently, atop the rankings. The other change was due to Inter Milan’s upset at the hands of Atalanta, which allowed Barcelona to jump the Serie A leaders and move into second place, which is about as high as it can move until it shows that it can beat the English clubs in the Champions League – a chance it will have soon enough.

Next weekend, like the past weekend, will see no matches between Top 25 clubs, though it will see a return to action for the Brazilian clubs in their State leagues. In another week, the Bundesliga will return to action and all of the WCR Top 25 clubs will be in action again, but I’m getting ahead of myself. There will be one matchup between WCR Top 25 clubs at midweek in a Copa del Rey match between Sevilla and Valencia. The rest of last week and this week’s action is below in the rankings.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – January 19, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (4) – Manchester United went to the top of the Premiership this week by virtue of a pair of 1-0 league victories, first against Wigan Athletic and then against Bolton Wanderers. This Week: It’s cup week for Manchester United as it faces Derby County in its home leg of the Carling Cup (ed: United won and will advance to the finals) and on Saturday, United will host Tottenham in an FA Cup match.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Barca has already proven its dominance over its Spanish competition and it did nothing to change that this week. First, Barcelona eliminated Atletico de Madrid from the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 victory. Over the weekend, Barcelona crushed Deportivo La Coruna by a 5-0 score. This Week: Barca will face Espanyol in the first leg of a Copa del Rey matchup at midweek before hosting Numancia in a Primera Division match this weekend.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – After defeating Genoa 3-1 to advance in the Coppa Italia, Inter was shocked by Atalanta in a 1-3 Serie A loss. This Week: Next up for Inter in the Coppa Italia is a rematch of the past few finals, with Inter taking on Roma. In Serie A play, Inter now finds itself having to battle Juventus in a close race. This weekend, Inter will host Sampdoria.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (1) – Liverpool had already dropped from first place before it faced Everton on Monday. Pool’s 1-1 draw with Everton did nothing to improve its status. This Week: Liverpool will give Everton another go this weekend when the Merseyside rivals play in the best FA Cup mathcup of the weekend.

5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – No current matches.

6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juve moved a point closer to Inter Milan in the Serie A race with a 1-1 draw with Lazio. Prior to this, Juventus defeated Catania 3-0 to advance in the Coppa Italia. This Week: Coming up, Juventus will host Fiorentina in Serie A play.

7. Chelsea (Eng) (7) – In the most exciting match of the weekend, Chelsea scored two late goals to defeat Stoke City 2-1 and stay in third place in the Premier League. Earlier, Chelsea defeated Southend 4-1 to advance in the FA Cup. This Week: This weekend, Chelsea will host Ipswich Town in the next round of the FA Cup.

8. Benfica (Por) (8) – Benfica played a pair of League Cup matches this week, winning both, first 4-1 against Olhanense and later 1-0 against Os Belenenses. This Week: This weekend, Benfica returns to Liga Sagres play in a rematch against Os Belenenses on Friday.

9. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – Hot Real Madrid kept on form this weekend, defeating Osasuna 3-1. This Week: With no Copa del Rey match, Real Madrid is off until the weekend, when it will host Deportivo La Coruna.

10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (11) – The Eredivisie returned to action this week and AZ stayed on form with a 2-0 victory over Volendam. This Week: At midweek, AZ will host Achilles 29 in a KNVB Beker Cup match. Over the weekend, AZ will host De Graafschap in an Eredivisie match.

11. Bayern Munich (Ger) (9) – No current matches.

12. AC Milan (Ita) (12) – Milan defeated Fiorentina 1-0 to stay in the hunt for the Serie A title. This Week: AC Milan is off until Sunday when it takes on Bologna.

13. Aston Villa (Eng) (14) – Villa kept pace with Chelsea and Arsenal this week with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland. This Week: For Aston Villa this weekend, there will be an FA Cup matchup at Doncaster.

14. Sao Paulo (Bra) (13) – This Week: Sao Paulo returns to action this week with a pair of matches in the Paulista League as it gears up for the upcoming Copa Libertadores. Sao Paulo’s matches this week will be against Ituano and Portuguesa.

15. Sporting CP (Por) (16) – Sporting played, and won, two League Cup matches this week, defeating Rio Ave 1-0 and Pacos de Ferreira 5-1. This Week: In a return to the Liga Sagres, Sporting will take on Nacional on Saturday.

16. Ajax (Ned) (15) – Ajax defeated NEC Nijmegen 4-2 this week to stay with AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. This Week: Over the weekend, it’s another Eredivisie match for Ajax when they take on FC Groningen.

17. Sevilla (Esp) (18) – Sevilla defeated Deportivo La Coruna 3-0 to advance in the Copa del Rey. Additionally, Sevilla defeated Numancia 1-0 in Primera Division action. This Week: In the only matchup of WCR Top 25 clubs, Sevilla takes on Valencia in a Copa del Rey match at midweek. Later, Sevilla will host Racing de Santander in a La Liga match.

18. Olympiakos (Gre) (19) – Olympiakos stayed in first place in the Greek Super League with a 1-0 defeat of Panserraikos. This Week: Olympiakos will face OFI twice this week, first in a Cup match in Iraklion and then in a league match in Piraeus.

19. Genoa (Ita) (BU) – After being eliminated from the Coppa Italia via a 1-3 lostt to Inter Milan, Genoa defeated Lecce 2-0 to move past Napoli into fourth place in Serie A. This Week: Genoa will host Catania on Sunday.

20. Porto (Por) (17) – Porto had mixed results in the League Cup this week, following a 1-2 loss to Nacional with a 1-0 victory over Academica de Coimbra. This Week: Porto returns to Liga Sagres action this week against Sporting Braga.

21. Arsenal (Eng) (22) – The Gunners kept pace with Chelsea and Aston Villa this week with a 3-1 victory over Hull City. This Week: This weekend is FA Cup weekend in England and Arsenal, like the other top Premier League clubs is still alive. On Sunday, Arsenal will take on Welsh club Cardiff City.

22. Bordeaux (Fra) (23) – Bordeaux remains just behind Lyon in LIgue Un with a 2-1 victory over Nantes. This Week: No matches this week.

23. Lyon (Fra) (BU) – Lyon remains atop the Ligue Un standings after a 2-0 victory over Grenoble. This Week: There is no Ligue Un action this week. Lyon will take on US Concameau in a Coupe de France match.

24. Valencia (Esp) (21) – At midweek, Valencia defeated Racing de Santander 3-1 to advance in the Copa del Rey. In Primera Division play, Valencia was upset 2-3 by Athletic de Bilbao. This Week: In the match of the week, Valencia will host Sevilla in the first leg of a Copa del Rey matchup. This weekend, Valencia will take on Mallorca in a Primera Division match.

25. Gremio (Bra) (24) – No matches this past week. This Week: Gremio returns to action this week in the Gaucho League, with matches against Inter de Santa Maria and Esportivo.

Bubbling Under: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Celtic (Sco), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Rangers (Sco), San Lorenzo (Arg).

Bubbling a Little Further Under: Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Fiorentina (Ita), Napoli (Ita), Panathinaikos (Gre), Twente (Ned).

Mathces Between Top 25 Clubs This Weekend:
21 January – (17) Sevilla at (24) Valencia

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 17/18 January 2009

As we progress through the year, the amount of football available on television is increasing. This week, we welcome back the Eredivisie and the Mexican Primera Division back from winter breaks. This weekend, I’ve found 29 matches on the air. Here’s a breakdown of where they are from, just ‘cause: England (9), Italy (5), Spain (4), Mexico (3), Netherlands (2), Argentina (2), Australia (2), France (2).

Although I’m excited that the number of matches is increasing, I have to admit that this weekend does not provide a long list of marquee matchups. It was tough picking a top five since there are no matches between WCR Top 25 Clubs, or even any of the “bubbling under” clubs. That did, however, allow me to did a little deeper to find some interesting matchups and include a few from the Western Hemisphere on the list. If you get a chance, you should check them out. Either way, have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Fiorentina at AC Milan (Saturday, 2:30 pm (-5:00 GMT), FSC)
2. Everton at Liverpool (Monday, 3:00 pm, Setanta USA)
3. San Lorenzo at Boca Juniors (Saturday, 11:00 pm (Delayed), FSC)
4. Juventus at Lazio (Sunday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
5. Cruz Azul at Chivas de Guadalajara (Saturday, 8:00 pm, Telemundo)

Friday, January 16, 2009

4:00 am – Central Coast Mariners at Melbourne Victory (ESPN 360)
9:00 pm – Indos at Tecos (FSE)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

10:00 am – Stoke City at (7) Chelsea (FSC)
10:00 am – (4) Manchester United at Bolton Wanderers (Setanta USA)
12:30 pm – (22) Arsenal at Hull City (FSC)
2:00 pm – Deportivo La Coruna at (3) Barcelona (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Fiorentina at (12) AC Milan (FSC)
3:00 pm – (23) Bordeaux at Nantes (Setanta USA)
4:30 pm – Reggina at Siena (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Newcastle United at Blackburn Rovers (Delayed) (Setanta USA) (Live at 10am on SBB)
6:45 pm – (14) Aston Villa at Sunderland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
8:00 pm – Wigan Athletic at Manchester City (Delayed) (FSC)
8:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:00 pm – San Luis at Monarcas (FSE)
11:00 pm – San Lorenzo at Boca Juniors (Delayed) (FSC)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

1:00 am – Perth Glory at Newcastle Jets (FSC)
6:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at Roda JC (ESPN 360)
8:30 am – Fulham at West Ham United (Setanta USA)
8:30 am – (15) Ajax at NEC Nijmegen (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – (2) Inter Milan at Atalanta (FSC)
9:00 am – (20) Napoli at Chievo Verona (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Osasuna at (10) Real Madrid (GolTV)
11:00 am – Portsmouth at Tottenham Hotspur (FSC)
1:00 pm – (21) Valencia at Athletic de Bilbao (GolTV)
2:30 pm – (6) Juventus at Lazio (FSC, ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – Rennes at Lille (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at Almeria (GolTV)
7:00 pm – River Plate at Racing (FSE) (3am Mon. on FSC)

Monday, January 19, 2009

3:00 pm – Everton at (1) Liverpool (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 7:45 am – (19) Olympiakos at Panserraikos
Sat., 10:00 am – Falkirk at (25) Rangers
Sat., 11:00 am – Os Belenenses at (8) Benfica
Sat., 3:45 pm – Academica de Coimbra at (17) Porto
Sat., 4:00 pm – Numancia at (18) Sevilla
Sun., 8:30 am – (11) AZ Alkmaar at Volendam
Sun., 2:15 pm – Pacos Ferreira at (16) Sporting CP

Eredivisie, Liga Sagres Review/Preview

NETHERLANDS

The Eredivisie returns to action this weekend after a brief hiatus. Following up with a theme that seems to be pretty common this weekend, none of the clubs in the top third of the Eredivisie table face each other this weekend. An interesting matchup will see last place Volendam host first place AZ Alkmaar. Among other matches that may be of interest to some are Friday’s match between Heerenveen and underperforming Feyenoord and Roda JC’s match with PSV Eindhoven, if only because it’ll likely be televised here in the U.S.


Tables:

1. AZ Alkmaar (13-2-2) 41 +26
2. Ajax (12-2-3) 38 +24
3. Twente (10-4-3) 34 +17
4. PSV Eindhoven (9-3-5) 30 +13
5. NAC Breda (9-2-6) 29 +1
6. Heerenveen (8-5-4) 29 -1
7. Groningen (8-2-7) 26 +12.
8. NEC Nijmegen (7-5-5) 26 +7
9. Utrecht (7-4-6) 25 +2
10. Willem II (7-3-7) 24 -2
11. Heracles (5-5-7) 20 -9
12. Feyenoord (5-4-8) 19 +4
13. Sparta Rott. (5-3-9) 18 -11
14. ADO Den Haag (4-3-10) 15 -7
15. Vitesse (3-6-8) 15 -15
16. Roda JC (3-5-9) 14 -13
17. De Graafschap (3-4-10) 13 -22
18. Volendam (3-2-12) 11 -26


Recent Matches:

No matches this past weekend.


Upcoming Matches:

Heerenveen x-x Feyenoord
De Graafschap x-x Willem II
Twente x-x Vitesse
ADO Den Haag x-x Heracles
NAC Breda x-x Utrecht
Roda JC x-x PSV Eindhoven
Volendam x-x AZ Alkmaar
NEC Nijmegen x-x Ajax
Sparta x-x Groningen


PORTUGAL

For the consecutive week, Trofense was able to knock a club off of the apex of the Liga Sagres. Last week, it was Benfica; this week Trofense scored a goalless draw with Porto, knocking Porto into third place following victories by Benfica (1-0 over Braga Sporting) and Sporting CP (2-0 over Maritimo). There were three scoreless goals this week as the sixteen clubs combined for twelve goals. Five of those were in Nacional’s 3-2 victory over Pacos Ferreira. Os Belenenses scored a huge 1-0 victory over Rio Ave in a battle of last place clubs, moving Os Belenenses all the way from sixteenth place to twelfth.

This weekend could be a defining one in the Liga Sagres as six of the top seven clubs take each other on: Sixth place Sporting Braga hosts third place Porto, seventh place Maritimo hosts fourth place Leixoes and fifth place Nacional hosts second place Sporting CP. Meanwhile, leaders Benfica will be on the road to take on Os Belenenses.


Table:


1. Benfica (8-5-1) 29 +13
2. Sporting CP (9-2-3) 29 +11
3. Porto (8-4-2) 28 +13
4. Leixoes (7-5-2) 26 +5
5. Nacional (7-3-4) 24 +4
6. Sp. Braga (6-5-3) 23 +8
7. Maritimo (6-4-4) 22 +3
8. Guimaraes (4-6-4) 18 -1
9. Naval (4-4-6) 16 -2
10. Amadora (4-4-6) 16 -8
11. Academica (3-5-6) 14 -5
12. Belenenses (3-4-7) 13 -10
13. V. Setubal (3-3-8) 12 -6
14. Pacos Fer. (3-3-8) 12 -8
15. Trofense (3-3-8) 12 -10
16. Rio Ave (2-4-8) 10 -7


Recent Matches:

Vitoria Guimaraes 0-0 Amadora

Sporting CP 2-0 Maritimo
(Vukcevic 11, Liedson 81)

Leixoes 0-0 Veitoria Setubal

Naval 2-1 Academica Coimbra
(Marcelinho 63, Bolivia 77; Pedro 90)

Pacos Ferreira 2-3 Nacional
(Pinto 62, Carneiro 80; Ruben 12, Nene 15, 37)

Rio Ave 0-1 Os Belenenses
(Diakite 51)

Benfica 1-0 Sporting Braga
(Luiz 45)

Porto 0-0 Trofense


Upcoming Matches:

Academica Coimbra x-x Vitoria Guimaraes
Amadora x-x Rio Ave
Nacional x-x Sporting CP
Braga Sporting x-x Porto
Os Belenenses x-x Benfica
Trofense x-x Pacos Ferreira
Maritimo x-x Leixoes
Veitoria Setubal x-x Naval

Spanish La Liga, French Ligue Un Review/Preview

SPAIN

I like goals. If you’re like me and you like goals too, this was a great weekend to watch La Liga. Every single match saw at least two goals and there were only two clean sheets among the twenty clubs. The main highlight was Valencia’s 3-3 draw with Villarreal, where Valencia kept taking the lead but couldn’t put away the Yellow Submarine. Even more exciting was Barcelona’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the best last place club in the world, Osasuna. Elsewhere, Real Madrid moved into second place with a 3-0 victory over Real Mallorca and Fernando Llorente’s brace was enough to give Athletic de Bilbao a 3-2 upset victory over Atletico de Madrid.

Thanks to the strange schedule of the Primera Division, none of the top clubs play each other this weekend. The closest we have is Saturday, when leaders Barcelona host seventh-place Deportivo La Coruna. Elsewhere, Real Madrid will host Osasuna and Athletic de Bilbao will host Valencia as the battle for second place rages on.


Table:

1. Barcelona (15-2-1) 47 +45
2. Real Madrid (11-2-5) 35 +12
3. Sevilla (10-5-3) 35 +11
4. Valencia (10-4-4) 34 +12
5. Atletico (9-3-6) 30 +12
6. Villarreal (8-6-4) 30 +5
7. Deportivo (9-3-6) 30 +1
8. Malaga (8-4-6) 28 E
9. Sporting G (8-0-10) 24 -11
10. Valladolid (7-2-9) 23 -1
11. Athletic (6-5-7) 23 -3
12. Racing San. (5-7-6) 22 -3
13. Getafe (5-6-7) 21 -5
14. Almeria (5-5-8) 20 -8
15. Numancia (6-2-10) 20 -12
16. Real Betis (5-3-10) 18 -3
17. Recreativo (4-5-9) 17 -13
18. Espanyol (3-6-9) 15 -11
19. Mallorca (3-5-10) 14 -17
20. Osasuna (2-7-9) 13 -7


Current Matches:

Deportivo 1-3 Sevilla
(Diaz 34; Fabiano 51, Renato 78, Capel 90)

Valencia 3-3 Villarreal
(Baraja 2, Villa 10, Gaspar 79; Fuentes 45, Llorente 76, Rossi 84 (p))

Atletico de Madrid 2-3 Athletic de Bilbao
(Lopez 15, Forlan 90; Del Campo 45, Llorente 50, 66)

Real Betis 1-2 Malaga
(Emana 38; Apono 19 (p), dos Santos 90)

Sporting Gijon 2-1 Valladolid
(Carmelo 19, Barral 36; Calvo 88)

Racing de Santander 1-1 Recreativo de Huelva
(Rodriguez 33; Gallego 43)

Numancia 2-0 Getafe
(Barkero 8 (p), Aranda 80)

Real Mallorca 0-3 Real Madrid
(Robben 3, Gonzalez 17, Ramos 66)

Espanyol 2-2 Almeria
(Martinez 62, Garcia 90; Uche 4, 54)

Osasuna 2-3 Barcelona
(Bezunarte 63, 73; Eto 45, Xavi 80, Messi 85)


Upcoming Matches:

Barcelona x-x Deportivo La Coruna
Sevilla x-x Numancia
Villarreal x-x Real Mallorca
Real Madrid x-x Osasuna
Getafe x-x Racing de Santander
Recreativo de Huelva x-x Sporting Gijon
Valladolid x-x Real Betis
Malaga x-x Espanyol
Athletic de Bilbao x-x Valencia
Almeria x-x Atletico de Madrid



FRANCE

As in England, France’s Ligue Un saw several games postponed this past weekend. Among those that were played, the most important onew was Lyon’s 1-1 draw with Lorient. As a result of that match, there are now three clubs within two points of the top spot and seven clubs within seven points. This is also thanks to wins by Bordeaux (4-0 over PSG), Rennes (1-0 over Grenoble), Marseille (2-0 over Auxerre) and Toulouse (1-0 over Le Havre). In other news, Sochaux secured its second victory of the season with a 1-0 defeat of St. Etienne.

There are no marquee matchups this coming weekend in Ligue Un. The closest we will have will be Sunday’s match between Lille and third-place Rennes. Other matches involving the top clubs will be Lyon’s away match against Grenoble and Bordeaux’s away match against Nantes. It will be interesting to see if Lyon can hold on to the top spot. All season, they’ve let Bordeaux and Marseille get close, just to pull away again.


Tables:

1. Lyon (11-6-3) 39 +11
2. Bordeaux (11-5-4) 38 +16
3. Rennes (9-10-1) 37 +12
4. Marseille (9-8-3) 35 +11
5. Toulouse (9-7-4) 34 +5
6. Paris S.G. (10-3-7) 33 +3
7. Lille (8-8-3) 32 +9
8. Nice (8-6-5) 30 +4
9. Lorient (7-6-7) 27 +2
10. Nancy Lor. (6-7-6) 25 +1
11. Grenoble (6-7-7) 25 -5
12. Le Man (7-3-9) 24 -3
13. Caen (5-8-6) 23 +2
14. Monaco (6-5-9) 23 -2
15. Nantes (6-5-9) 23 -9
16. Auxerre (5-5-10) 20 -7
17. St. Etienne (6-1-13) 19 -14
18. Sochaux (2-11-7) 17 -6
19. Valenciennes (3-6-10) 15 -9
20. Le Havre (3-3-14) 12 -21


Recent Matches:

Valenciennes PPD Caen

Sochaux 1-0 St. Etienne
(Perquis 66)

Rennes 1-0 Grenoble
(Sow 46)

Nancy Lorraine PPD Nice

Monaco 1-2 Nantes
(Licata 86; Bagayoko 5, Capoue 41)

Lyon 1-1 Lorient
(Ederson 9; Abriel 41)

Le Man PPD Lille

Le Havre 0-1 Toulouse
(Didot 80)

Auxerre 0-2 Marseille
(Samassa 43, Valbuena 77)

Bordeaux 4-0 Paris St-Germain
(Diawara 10, Cavenaghi 35, Gourcuff 70, Menegazzo 87)


Upcoming Matches:

Grenoble x-x Lyon
Toulouse x-x Nancy Lorraine
St. Etienne x-x Le man
Nice x-x Auxerre
Marseille x-x Le Havre
Lorient x-x Valenciennes
Nantes x-x Bordeaux
Caen x-x Monaco
Paris St.-Germain x-x Sochaux
Lille x-x Rennes