WCR Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 28 February/1 March

This weekend’s matches should make for a lot of great television this weekend. Although there are no matches involving two WCR Top 25 Clubs, there are four matches involving a Top 25 club and an unranked UEFA Champions League club. Those matches heavily populate the Matches of the Weekend chart. The two most prominent of those matches are the Sunday matches between Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid and Inter Milan’s clash with AS Roma.

Also included in this weekend’s matches are a pair of championship matches. Manchester United will take on Tottenham Hotspur for England’s Carling Cup. Down under, Adelaide United is rematched with Melbourne Victory in the A-League’s Grand Final.

We can’t forget the Western Hemisphere, either, as a pair of huge televised matches involving ranked clubs are played when Sao Paulo takes on Santos (GolTV) and Pachuca takes on Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo).

One other difference this week is that the matches are more evenly balanced between Saturday and Sunday, with most of the biggest matches taking place on Sunday. It should be a great way to finish off the weekend. Speaking of which, have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend

1. Barcelona at Atletico de Madrid (Sunday, 1:00 pm (-5:00 GMT), GolTV)
2. Roma at Inter Milan (Sunday, 2:30 pm, FSC)
3. Sporting CP at Porto (Saturday, 3:30 pm, ESPN 360)
4. Tottenham Hotspur at Manchester United (Sunday, 10:00 am, Setanta USA)
5. Panathinaikos at Olympiakos (Sunday, 12 noon, Not Televised)

Friday, February 27, 2009

2:45 pm – Heerenveen at PSV Eindhoven (ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 pm – Morelia at Tecos (TeleFutura)

Saturday, February 28, 2009

2:30 am – Adelaide United vs. Melbourne Victory (FSC, ESPN 360)
7:40 am – West Bromwich Albion at Everton (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – Fulham at (20) Arsenal (FSC)
10:00 am – (4) Liverpool at Middlesbrough (Setanta USA)
11:30 am – (10) TSG Hoffenheim at Borussia Dortmund (Delayed) (GolTV)
12 noon – Bologna at Lazio (FSC, ESPN 360)
2:00 pm – (18) Sevilla at Athletic de Bilbao (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Napoli at (6) Juventus (FSC)
3:00 pm – Toulouse at Auxerre (Setanta USA)
3:30 pm – Sporting CP at (5) Porto (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – (7) Real Madrid at Espanyol (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Wigan Athletic at Chelsea (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:00 pm – Toluca at Monterrey (Telemundo)
6:00 pm – Atlante at Cruz Azul (FSE)
6:15 pm – Cucuta Deportivo at Millonarios (GolTV)
8:00 pm – (25) Pachuca at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:15 pm – Santa Fe at Independiente Medellin (GolTV)
10:15 pm – Guarani at Palmeiras (Delayed) (GolTV)

Sunday, March 1, 2009

5:30 am – Lille at Valenciennes (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:30 am – Ajax at Utrecht (ESPN 360)
7:30 am – Manchester City at West Ham United (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – Stoke City at (13) Aston Villa (FSC)
10:00 am – Tottenham Hotspur vs (1) Manchester United (Setanta USA, ESPN 360)
11:00 am – (24) Bayern Munich at Werder Bremen (GolTV)
12 noon – (11) AC Milan at Sampdoria (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 9am on ESPN 360)
1:00 pm – Tigres at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
1:00 pm – (3) Barcelona at Atletico de Madrid (GolTV)
2:00 pm – Atlas at Puebla (ESPND)
2:00 pm – River Plate at San Lorenzo (FSE)
2:30 pm – Roma at (2) Inter Milan (FSC)
3:00 pm – Rennes at (15) Lyon (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – (12) Sao Paulo at Santos (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Santos Laguna at Necaxa (TeleFutura)
4:30 pm – Newcastle United at Bolton Wanderers (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – San Luis at Club America (Galavision)
5:00 pm – Blackburn Rovers at Hull City (Delayed) (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 4:00 pm – Leixoes at (14) Benfica
Sat., 7:30 am – (16) Rangers at Hamilton Academicals
Sat., 2:45 pm – Groningen at (9) AZ Alkmaar
Sun., 8:30 am – ADO Den Haag at (22) Twente
Sun., 9:00 am – (17) Fiorentina at Reggina
Sun., 11:00 am – Wolfsburg at (21) Hamburger
Sun., 12 noon – Panathinaikos at (19) Olympiakos

UEFA Champions League Predictions - Round of Sixteen Edition

This is always an exciting time of year, but this year seems just a little more exciting than most. I don’t recall the last time there were so many great matchups in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League.

There is still some time to vote, if you haven’t already, but the time has come for WCR to make its predictions for the upcoming round. Generally, in the past, I’ve agreed with the voters on this site, or rather the voters on this site’s opinions reasonably have followed the rankings, but I find myself disagreeing on three of the eight outcomes. Perhaps one reason for that is the closeness of the clubs in ability. No less than five of the eight matchups involved two clubs that are within three spots of each other in the WCR Top 25 (and beyond). These are all virtual tossups.

Of course, it will be decided on the pitch, but below are the WCR predictions, in descending order of how they were picked in the vote (as of the time I drafted this entry).

Barcelona (96%) v. Lyon

Everybody seems to like Barcelona. I do too. I don’t know if I’d give them a 96% chance, but I like them. They have struggled (for Barcelona) recently, while Lyon probably is playing its best football of the season. Still, it’s hard to pick against the Dream Team. Prediction: (1) Barcelona over (15) Lyon.

Bayern (86%) v. Sporting CP

Bayern has been having serious problems since defeating TSG Hoffenheim late in the first half of the Bundesliga season. Meanwhile, Sporting is coming off of a 3-2 victory over Benfica which has it in a virtual tie for second place in the Liga Sagres. The WCR rankings have them separated only by Pachuca. This is one I would term a toss-up, but I’m going with the rankings. Prediction: (24) Bayern Munich over (26) Sporting CP.

Villarreal (74%) v. Panathinaikos

This is another one that I have in the toss-up category. I believe that the reason the Yellow Submarine are the overwhelming favorite is because it is a Spanish club playing a seemingly inferior Greek club. After Olympiakos was b***h-slapped by St. Etienne last week, that may very well be so. For now, however, I still think that the Greek clubs are worthy and I don’t believe Villarreal is nearly as good as it was last season. This is my first upset pick of the round. Prediction: (30) Panathinaikos over (33) Villarreal.

Arsenal (72%) v. Roma

Roma started off the season very poorly, but has been playing much better as of late, though perhaps not as well as it has in recent seasons. Arsenal, frankly, has been lackluster all season and is coming off three consecutive 0-0 draws in Premiership action. I believe that the excess of talent on the Arsenal side will be enough to overcome its Italian opponent, in the end. Prediction: (20) Arsenal over (42) Roma.

Manchester United (61%) v. Inter Milan

Where do we begin? These are the two highest ranking clubs in world, with two of the most well-respected coaches in the world facing off in the round of sixteen. It just doesn’t seem fair, but it feels like it will narrow the field for eventual opponent Barcelona. The last time the top two ranked clubs in the world faced off, Number One Manchester United defeated Number Two Chelsea in last season’s Champions League final. I am expecting a similar result in this matchup. Prediction: (1) Manchester United over (2) Inter Milan.

Atletico de Madrid (61%) v. Porto

Just like the Bayern/Sporting matchup, I believe that the lopsided voting in this contest is based upon a view that the Liga Sagres just isn’t good enough to compete with the top leagues in Europe. Whether or not that is true will be demonstrated in time, I suppose, but for now, I am going with the Liga Sagres leaders over the upper-mid-level club from La Liga. Prediction: (5) Porto over (46) Atletico de Madrid.

Liverpool (54%) v. Real Madrid

With respect to the last two, it appears that the collective you agree with my assessment that they are both tossups. Liverpool started the season off like gangbusters, but has slowed some recently, though it has had some impressive victories recently over clubs like Chelsea. On the other hand, Real Madrid has come back from a very slow start to secure its claim as the second best club in Spain. The momentum gods are telling me Real Madrid, but I’m going with the rankings. Prediction: (4) Liverpool over (7) Real Madrid.

Chelsea (52%) v. Juventus

The masses have this battle even closer, and so do I. Both clubs have been good all season, but one major difference is that Chelsea has had trouble all season against great clubs, e.g., Liverpool, Manchester United. I don’t know if Juventus constitutes a great club, but it is at least a very good club, with a two-point advantage in the rankings. Based on those rankings, I’m calling Juventus in a squeaker. Prediction: (6) Juventus over (8) Chelsea.

There you go. We’ll come back in a few weeks and see how we’ve done. Enjoy the matches!!!

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - First Knockout Round Edition

Another week is over and very little of too much consequence took place, but that is about to change really quick. The knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League begins on Tuesday and its going to begin with a bang. The round of sixteen begins with four matchups between WCR Top 25 Clubs, including matchups between Barcelona/Lyon, Chelsea/Juventus and Liverpool/Real Madrid. None are bigger, however, than the matchup between the Number One and Number Two clubs in our rankings. Yes, Sir Alex and Manchester United face off against The Special One and Inter Milan, beginning Tuesday. The results will not affect the WCR rankings until after the stage is complete, but know that you are watching movement in the rankings as you are watching the matches.

There wasn’t a lot of big news this past weekend, but there was some excitement, nonetheless. In England, Chelsea went to Villa Park and took third place in the Premiership back from Aston Villa with a 1-0 victory. The result in the rankings was to allow the two clubs to virtually trade places. In Scotland, Rangers finally not only tracked down Celtic, but classed the other club from Glasgow. Despite being knocked out of European competitions, Rangers is playing very well against its Scottish foes and have skyrocketed into the rankings this week. Finally, Sporting CP defeated Benfica 3-2. The victory wasn’t enough for Sporting to move into second place, but it was a nice victory, nonetheless.

Next weekend, there are no battles between WCR Top 25 Clubs, but there are still some exciting matches on the way. In Portugal, Sporting comes fresh off of its victory over Benfica to take on first-place Porto in Liga Sagres action. Pachuca, the only ranked club from Mexico, will travel to Guadalajara to take on Chivas. The biggest match of the weekend, however, could take place in Milan, where Internazionale will host AS Roma in a Serie A match.

On Monday night, I will post my UEFA Champions League predictions, to go along with my UEFA Cup predictions. There’s still a few days to vote over on the left side of the page, so do so if you haven’t already. In a few weeks, bonus points will start to be awarded. I’ll place a post explaining those at some point before then. Meanwhile, enjoy the Champions League matches!!!

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – February 23, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – Nothing that happened this week would lead one to believe that Manchester United isn’t still the number one club in the world. A 3-0 victory over Fulham was followed by a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers as United extended its lead in the Premiership. This Week: The most exciting matches of the season thus far begin on Tuesday when Manchester United heads to Italy to take on Inter Milan in the first leg of their Champions League matchup. On Sunday, Manchester United will take on Tottenham Hotspur in the finals of the Carling Cup.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Internazionale defeated Bologna 2-1 to maintain its Serie A lead, heading into its classic matchup with United. This Week: Two big matches this week at the San Siro as Inter hosts the number one club in the world, Manchester United, on Tuesday in a Champions League fixture and host Roma on Sunday in Serie A play.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Well, it was bound to happen sometime, and it happened against the other club from Barcelona as Barca fell to Espanyol by a 1-2 score. This Week: Barcelona crosses the border for a Tuesday Champions League match against Ligue Un leader Lyon. When Primera Division play returns this weekend, Barca will face another Champions League participant when it plays Atletico de Madrid.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – A 1-1 draw at home against Manchester City is not the type of result Liverpool should expect if they plan to mount a challenge to Manchester United for the Premiership title. This Week: In another great matchup, Liverpool heads to Spain to take on Real Madrid in a Champions League knockout round match. On Saturday, Liverpool takes on Middlesbrough in a Premier League match.

5. Porto (Por) (5) – Porto used a 2-0 victory over Pacos de Ferreira to extend its Liga Sagres lead over Benfica and Sporting CP. This Week: Like Liverppol, Porto is also head to Madrid for Champions League action. Porto will be taking on Atletico de Madrid on Tuesday. On Sunday, Porto hosts third-place Sporting CP in a huge Liga Sagres match.

6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juventus defeated Palermo 2-0 to keep serve in its battle with Inter Milan for the Serie A title. This Week: Yet another classic matchup demonstrates why this is one of the best Champions League rounds of sixteen ever. Juventus is heading to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the first leg of their matchup. On Saturday, Juventus returns to Serie A action when it hosts slumping Napoli.

7. Real Madrid (Esp) (7) – Real Madrid managed to gain more ground on Barcelona with a 6-1 victory over Real Betis, but it’s still a long row to hoe for the club from Madrid. This Week: As mentioned earlier, Real will host Liverpool on Sunday in Champions League play. Real Madrid will then travel to Barcelona to take on an Espanyol club that may still be celebrating its upset over Barcelona.

8. Chelsea (Eng) (12) – With a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, Chelsea moved back into third place in the Premiership and back into the Top Ten of the WCR rankings. This Week: The battle between Juventus and Chelsea should be a classic, but there are a lot of those this year. On Saturday, Chelsea will host Wigan Athletic in a battle that probably won’t be a classic.

9. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – AZ got back on track this week with another shutout, defeating Heracles 2-0. This Week: The best club in the world right now that isn’t involved in European competition, AZ is off until Saturday, when it will host FC Groningen.

10. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (10) – In yet another high-scoring match, TSG Hoffenheim battled VfB Stuttgart to a 3-3 draw to maintain the runner-up position in the German Bundesliga. This Week: TSG has been slipping recently, but has a chance to make a stand this weekend when it takes on Borussia Dortmund in a key away match for the recently promoted club.

11. AC Milan (Ita) (11) – As the battle for David Beckham heats up on two continents, AC Milan just keeps rolling in Serie A, scoring a 1-0 victory over Cagliari. In UEFA Cup action, AC scored a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen in Germany. This Week: The UEFA Cup, and Werder Bremen, come to the San Siro on Thursday for the second leg of that matchup. In Serie A play, AC Milan will take on Sampdoria on Sunday.

12. Sao Paulo (Bra) (15) – Sao Paulo fought Independente Medellin to a 1-1 draw in its Copa Libertadores debut. In Paulista League play, Sao Paulo defeated Gremio Barueri 3-1. This Week: Two more Paulista League matches for Sao Paulo this week as Sao Paulo takes on Oeste on Wednesday and will take on Santos in perhaps the most anticipated match of the Paulista League season on Sunday.

13. Aston Villa (Eng) (8) – I’m sure that Villa fans were hoping for the best, yet a 0-1 loss to Chelsea, even at Villa Park, can’t be considered a huge shocker. More of a shock was Aston Villa having to settle for a 1-1 draw at Villa Park against CSKA Moscow in its UEFA Cup match. This Week: Aston Villa heads east – very far east – to take on CSKA in its UEFA Cup return match. In domestic play, Aston Villa will host Stoke City on Sunday.

14. Benfica (Por) (14) – Benfica fell 2-3 in an away match against Sporting CP, but managed to hold on to second place in the Liga Sagres by virtue of goal differential over its vanquisher. This Week: While the other two great Portuguese clubs take each other on, Benfica will be hosting Leixoes in a relatively easy match.

15. Lyon (Fra) (18) – Lyon is playing its best football of the season recently. This week, it defeated Nancy Lorraine 2-0 to maintain its lead atop the Ligue Un standings. This Week: Lyon is peaking at the right time since it will have to host Barcelona in the first knockout stage in the Champions League. Leg one of that matchup takes place on Tuesday. On Sunday, Lyon will host Stade Rennais in Ligue Un play.

16. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – Following a 4-0 Scottish FA Cup victory over Forfar Athletic, Rangers used a 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock to overtake Celtic atop the Scottish Premier League table and into the WCR Top 25 rankings. This Week: Despite being very hot recently, Rangers started off poorly and was knocked out of European action early. Thusly, Rangers have the week off until a Saturday visit with the Hamilton Academicals.

17. Fiorentina (Ita) (19) – In a surprising match, FIorentina lost 0-1 at home against Ajax and now have a heavy uphill battle if it wants to advance in the UEFA Cup. Domestically, however, La Viola was successful, defeating Chievo Verona 2-1. This Week: After a return match against Ajax on Thursday, Fiorentina will take on Reggina in Serie A play.

18. Sevilla (Esp) (17) – Only one match this week for Sevilla, but it made the most of it, defeating Atletico de Madrid 1-0. This Week: From Atletico to Athlteic, Sevilla heads to Basque country to take on Athletic de Bilbao on Sunday.

19. Olympiakos (Gre) (16) – Not a great day for the boys from Pireaus. After a shocking 1-3 loss at home against St. Etienne in the UEFA Cup, Olympiakos lost only its second league match of the season, falling 0-1 to Ergotelis. This Week: It doesn’t get any easier for Olympiakos this week. In addition to having to head to France for the away leg of its UEFA Cup matchup, Olympiakos will face second-place Panathinaikos in Greek Super League action.

20. Arsenal (Esp) – Finally getting around to its FA Cup replay, Arsenal defeated Cardiff City 4-0 on Monday. This weekend, the Gunless scored a third consecutive 0-0 draw in Premier League action, this time against Sudnerland. This Week: A goal would be nice on Tuesday, when Arsenal hosts Roma in the Champions League. It may be too much to ask for in a Premiership match, which Arse will play on Saturday at Emirates Stadium against Fulham.

21. Hamburger (Ger) (NR) – Hamburg SV had a great week. It began with a 3-0 victory in Netherlands against NEC Nijmegen. It ended with a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen that delivered Hamburger to the top spot in the Bundesliga. This Week: The rematch against NEC at home should be relatively light work. Wolfsburg, who has been playing well of late, will be Hamburgers opponent on Sunday.

22 Twente (Ned) (22) – We predicted Twente to defeat Marseille in the first UEFA Cup knockout round and, even though it still may not come to pass, even we didn’t expect Twente to defeat Marseille 1-0 in France’s second largest city. We did, however, expect Twente to defeat Sparta, which it did by a 2-1 score. This Week: Twente welcomes Marseille to Holland on Thursday for its UEFA Cup home match and then hosts ADO Den Haag on Sunday.

23. Gremio (Bra) (23) – Gremio finished atop its Gaucho Division table following a 3-0 victory over Brasil and 2-0 victory over Juventude. This week, Gremio plays a Copa Libertadores group stage match against Universidad de Chile.

24. Bayern Munich (Ger) (21) – Following a 1-2 loss to Cologne, Bayern finds itself in a disappointing fourth place in the Bundesliga table. This Week: Twenty-fourth Bayern Munich heads to Portugal to take on twenty-sixth Sporting CP in a Champions League match on Wednesday. On Sunday, the disappointing Bayern Munich club will take on an even more disappointing Werder Bremen.

25. Pachuca (Mex) (24) – Pachuca maintained its brilliant start to the Mexican Clausura season, picking up four points in two matches this week with a 2-2 draw with Puebla and a 3-0 victory against Indios. This Week: Sunday will see one of the most anticipated matches of the Clausura season as Pachuca heads to Guadalajara to take on Chivas.

Bubbling Under: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Genoa (Ita), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), Sporting CP (Por).

Next Five: Ajax (Ned), Everton (Eng), PSV Eindhoven (Ned), Valencia (Esp), Villarreal (Esp).

Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs This Week:
24 February – (1) Manchesster United at (2) Inter Milan
24 February – (3) Barcelona at (15) Lyon
25 February – (4) Liverpool at (7) Real Madrid
25 February – (6) Juventus at (8) Chelsea

WCR Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 21/22 February 2009

Potentially interesting weekend this time around, though most of that interest is concentrated in a few matches. Beyond the top three matches, all of which take place on Saturday, much of the remaining matches are filler – but there is a LOT of filler. Particularly on Saturday, when there seems to be at least three matches going at any given time. My DVR can only record two at a time. I see trouble in my future.

There are two matches involving a pair of WCR Top 25 Clubs. Premiership third-place Aston Villa will host fourth-place Chelsea on Saturday morning to see who is in line to chase down Liverpool for second place. In the afternoon, Champions League participant Sporting CP will host Benfica for second place in Portugal’s Liga Sagres. Also of note is Saturday afternoon’s match between Atletico de Madrid and Sevilla.

I’m sure that many of the other matches will be fine as well, but you can watch them for yourselves and make your own determination. Have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Chelsea at Aston Villa (Saturday, 10:00 am (-5:00 GMT), Setanta USA)
2. Benfica at Sporting CP (Saturday, 3:00 pm, ESPN 360)
3. Atletico de Madrid at Sevilla (Saturday, 4:00 pm, GolTV)
4. Manchester City at Liverpool (Sunday, 10:00 am, FSC)
5. Boca Juniors at Lanus (Sunday, 2:00 pm, FSE)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

3:00 am – Queensland Roar at Adelaide United (FSC, ESPN 360)
7:40 am – (12) Chelsea at (8) Aston Villa (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – West Ham United at Bolton Wanderers (FSC)
10:00 am – Sunderland at (20) Arsenal (Setanta USA)
11:30 am – Cologne at (21) Bayern Munich (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:30 pm – Blackburn Rovers at (1) Manchester United (FSC)
12:45 pm – PSV Eindhoven at Groningen (ESPND, ESPN 360)
2:00 pm – Espanyol at (3) Barcelona (GolTV)
2:30 pm – (6) Juventus at Palermo (FSC)
3:00 pm – Rennes at Nice (Setanta USA)
3:00 pm – (14) Benfica at (25) Sporting CP (ESPN 360)
4:00 pm – Atletico de Madrid at (17) Sevilla (GolTV)
4:30 pm – (2) Inter Milan at Bologna (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 10am on ESPN 360)
5:00 pm – Wigan at Middlesbrough (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:00 pm – Real Betis at (7) Real Madrid (Delayed) (GolTV)
6:00 pm – Puebla at Jaguares (FSE)
6:00 pm – Atlante at San Luis (Galavision)
6:30 pm – Portsmouth at Stoke City (Delayed) (FSC)
8:00 pm – Corinthians at Guarantingueta (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Indios at (24) Pachuca (TeleFutura)
8:00 pm – Club America at Tigres (Telemundo)
8:30 pm – Pan Pacific Championship – Third-Place Match (FSC)
10:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Atlas (Telemundo)
11:00 pm – Pan Pacific Championship – Final (FSC)

Sunday, February 22, 2009

8:30 am – West Bromwich Albion at Fulham (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – Manchester City at (4) Liverpool (FSC)
10:30 am – Volendam at Ajax (ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Hamburger at Bayer Leverkusen (GolTV)
12:00 noon – Cagliari at (11) AC Milan (FSC)
1:00 pm – UAG at Toluca (Telemundo)
2:00 pm – Boca Juniors at Lanus (FSE)
3:00 pm – Valencia at Deportivo La Coruna (GolTV)
3:00 pm – Everton at Newcastle United (Delayed) (FSC)
3:00 pm – Monaco at Lille (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – Botafogo at Santos (Delayed) (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Necaxa (Univision)
5:00 pm – Genoa at Napoli (Delayed) (FSC) (Live at 9am on ESPN 360)
7:00 pm – Monterrey at Santos Laguna (Galavision)

Monday, February 23, 2009

3:00 pm – Tottenham Hotspur at Hull City (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving WCR Top 25 Clubs

Fri., 4:00 pm – (5) Porto at Pacos Ferreira
Sat., 9:30 am – (10) TSG Hoffenheim at VfB Stuttgart
Sat., 9:30 am – (13) Hertha Berlin at Wolfsburg
Sat., 1:00 pm – (15) Sao Paulo at Gremio Barueri
Sat., 1:00 pm – (18) Lyon at Nancy Lorraine
Sat., 1:45 pm – (9) AZ Alkmaar at Heracles Almelo
Sun., 8:30 am – (22) Twente at Sparta Rotterdam
Sun., 9:00 am – Chievo Verona at (19) Fiorentina
Sun., 12 noon – (16) Olympiakos at Ergotelis

UEFA Cup Predictions - First Knockout Round

I could attempt to come out and try to sound like an expert as I make predictions for the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup, but there’s no reason to do that. Even if I was an expert, there is no way for me to judge how seriously some clubs take the competition or how fit clubs that are out of season, e.g., Russian clubs, are going to be for this mid-winter round. So, all of my predictions are based solely on the most recent WCR Top 25 Club rankings.

Just to demonstrate my lack of expertise, last season, I believe I was 0-5 when it came to predicting Zenit St. Petersburg fixtures (though, as I recall, I did pretty well otherwise). That’s right, I picked Zenit to lose every single time and it ended up winning the Cup. If you don’t like my predictions, then make your own in the comment section. It’s all in fun.

To begin with, let me go ahead and demonstrate my league snobbery. My first demonstration of league snobbery has to do with Eastern European leagues in Poland and Ukraine. They may prove me wrong, but I just can’t force myself to pick them in this round. That leads to the following predictions:

Tottenham Hotspur over Shakhtar Donetsk
Valencia over Dinamo Kiev
Sampdoria over Metalist
Udinese over Lech Poznan

My league snobbery isn’t limited only towards the eastern side of the continent. Denmark and Belgium also receive my undeserved lack of respect. That leads me to the following predictions:

Deportivo La Coruna over Aalborg
Braga Sporting over Standard Liege
Manchester City over Kobenhavn

My final group of prejudices are towards Russia. I was surprised to see Zenit St. Petersburg take the title last season. I would be downright shocked to see it happen again.

Stuttgart over Zenit St. Petersburg
Aston Villa over CSKA Moscow

Those are nine of the sixteen matchups in the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup. That leaves us with seven matchups involving clubs from leagues that I’m not disrespecting. We’ll look at those a little closer. Of those seven matchups, only one involves clubs that are so far apart in the WCR Top 25 rankings, that I expect it to be completely one-sided. Olympiakos is in the Top 20. St. Etienne is barely in the top 300.

Olympiakos over St. Etienne

There are two other matchups which have clubs whose difference in rankings is what I would call intermediate. One of those involves AC Milan, which I think is undeniably one of the top clubs in the world, against Werder Bremen, which has had a tough time all season. Likewise, I have trouble believing NEC Nijmegen is up to the task against Hamburger, who is in the hunt for a Bundesliga title this season.

AC Milan over Werder Bremen
Hamburger over NEC Nijmegen

The final four matchups are all close enough that anybody could win. Of course, this being a ranking website and all, I am making my picks strictly by the rankings. I will come back afterwards and examine the results. To show how close the following matchups are, I am including each club’s current ranking along with the prediction.

(50) Bordeaux over (79) Galatasaray
(38) Wolfsburg over (40) Paris St. Germain
(22) FC Twente over (42) Marseille
(19) Fiorentina over (31) Ajax

Of course, these are just my views. Feel free to post your predictions in the comments sections. We’ll be back with our Champions League predictions next week. Enjoy the matches!!!

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Different Continent, Same Results Edition

Although much of the world hasn’t missed it, the MLS has been on hiatus for the past several months. During that time period, the biggest news in American soccer has been the loans of David Beckham and Landon Donovan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to AC Milan and Bayern Munich, respectively. Arguably the two most well-know players in the MLS, both played for the same club (like I said, the Galaxy). Despite having these two stars, the Galaxy managed to have the worst record in the MLS last season. That’s right, if the U.S. had employed the relegation system used in most nations, Beckham and Donovan would be heading down to the USL this season (though, to be fair, considering how MLS clubs and USL clubs have done in the CONCACAF Champions League, moving to the USL could be considered a promotion). How are they doing in Europe? I’ll let others tell that story, but I would like to point out that they have at least maintained their consistency, both losing this weekend in traditional Galaxy style. (Again, to be fair, they both lost to very good clubs.) I don’t know whether or not either will return, but it is good to know that they can continue to be losers no matter where they play. (One last time, while I'm on a roll, I'm going to be fair and say that I'm a D.C. United fan, so my picking on the Galaxy is just my own personal bias.)

What about other players? Better players? Well, the match of the weekend took place at the San Siro where Beckham’s AC Milan fell 1-2 to Serie A leaders Inter Milan, who was able to extend its lead in the table. Perhaps the most interesting league this weekend was the Bundesliga, where the two most recent leaders, TSG Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich, both fell, leaving Hertha Berlin to take over the top spot in the top German league. La Liga Primera Division leader Barcelona spotted Real Betis a pair of goals before coming back to draw 2-2, while Eredivisie leader AZ Alkmaar gave up a two-goal lead of its own to draw with perennial Dutch powerhouse PSV Eindhoven. In Scotland, Celtic and Rangers, in the only match that matters in Scotland, played to a goalless draw to maintain the status quo.

In the coming week, there are some international matches and then a pretty good weekend’s worth of action. In addition to Copa Libertadores group stage matches, the UEFA Cup will begin knockout round action this week, with several clubs in the current rankings participating including Aston Villa, AC Milan, Olympiakos and Fiorentina. (The WCR UEFA Cup predictions will be published on Tuesday afternoon, my time – Wednesday morning in Europe). Over the weekend, there will be two matches that pair ranked clubs as Chelsea will take on Aston Villa and Sporting CP will host Benfica.

The rest of the action, past and present, can be found below. Since it’s worked a little over the past few weeks, I’m going to take the opportunity of the Top 25 to invite people to join the World Club Rankings Facebook page. We now have enough people to have direct feeds onto the page, but the more the merrier. I’d like to thanks those of you who have already joined.

World Clubs Rankings – 25 Best Clubs in the World – February 16, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – The current number one team in the world scored a dominating 4-1 victory over Derby County to advance to the next round in the FA Cup. This Week: United has to play an extra match this week as it hosts Fulham in a match postponed during the Club World Cup. In its regularly scheduled match on Saturday, Manchester United will host Blackburn Rovers.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (2) – Jose Mourihno got to score a little revenge this week by defeating AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro, meanwhile extending its Serie A lead over both AC and Juventus. This Week: Inter Milan’s next match will be next weekend when it takes on Bologna.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (3) – Recently, it has seemed like Barcelona has been allowing its opponents a goal advantage early in the match just to make things interesting. This week, it gave Real Betis an early two-goal advantage and things got REALLY interesting. Barca still managed to come back, but it could only manage to pick up a single point with a 2-2 draw. This Week: In a Barcelona derby, Barca will host Espanyol on Sunday.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – No current matches. This Week: Liverpool returns to action next weekend by hosting UEFA Cup participant Manchester City at Anfield.

5. Porto (Por) (7) – Porto defeated Rio Ave 3-1 to maintain its lead in the Liga Sagres. This Week: As it prepares for the Champions League quarterfinals, Porto will take on Pacos de Ferreira on Sunday.

6. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Juventus fell a few more points behind Inter Milan in the Serie A title race by settling for a 1-1 draw with Sampdoria. This Week: On Saturday, Juventus will host Palermo in what could prove to be an important Serie A match.

7. Real Madrid (Esp) (8) – Real Madrid continued its recent great form by crushing Sporting Gijon 4-0 in a Primera Division away match. This Week: As usual, Real Madrid pulls the club that just faced Barcelona, this week being Real Betis.

8. Aston Villa (Eng) (9) – Despite being eliminated from the FA Cup by a 1-3 loss to Everton, Aston Villa moves up a spot in the rankings. What can I say? Domestic cup competitions just don’t count for much. This Week: Villa’s upcoming matches will count for something however. On Wednesday, Aston Willa will host CSKA Moscow in the first leg of their UEFA Cup matchup. Perhaps even more importantly, Aston Villa welcomes Chelsea to Villa Park on Saturday in a battle for third place in the Premiership.

9. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (10) – AZ looked like it was going to roll in Eindhoven, putting up two early scores against PSV. AZ may have the best defense in the Eredivisie, but they allowed PSV to come back and the clubs finished with a 2-2 draw. This Week: AZ still has a big lead in the Eredivisie table and it will try to extend it next week in Almelo against Heracles.

10. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – TSG came crashing back to earth on Friday, being humiliated at home by Bayer Leverkusen by a 1-4 score. This Week: If TSG Hoffenheim is going to make a serious run for the Bundesliga title, it will have to go back to beating some of the better clubs in the league. It can begin this week when it faces VfB Stuttgart.

11. AC Milan (Ita) (12) – Milan didn’t play poorly but it never looked like the better team in its 1-2 derby loss to Internazionale. This Week: AC returns to UEFA Cup play on Wednesday in Germany against Werder Bremen. AC’s Serie A match over the weekend will be against Cagliari.
12. Chelsea (Eng) (13) – Watford scored first, but Chelsea scored often, defeating its FA Cup opponent by a 3-1 score. This Week: In the marquee match of the weekend, Chelsea will head to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa this weekend.

13. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (BU) – Hertha played surprisingly well at hojme in its 2-1 defeat of Bayern Munich. The victory moved Hertha BSC to the top of the Bundesliga table for the first time this season. This Week: In its first defense of the Bundesliga lead, Hertha, who has been eliminated from the UEFA Cup, will take on Wolfsburg, who is still playing in the tournament.

14. Benfica (Por) (15) – With a a 3-2 victory over Pacos de Ferreira, Benfica kept pace with Porto in the Liga Sagres. This Week: It will be a battle for second place in the Liga Sagres in Benfica on Sunday when Benfica takes on Sporting CP.

15. Sao Paulo (Bra) (14) – In the Paulista League, Sao Paulo picked up four points this week, defeating Ponte Preta 2-1 and drawing 1-1 with Corinthians. This Week: Sao Paulo begins its quest for the Copa Libertadores title on Thursday when it hosts Colombia’s Independiente Medellin. In Paulista League play, Sao Paulo will take on Gremio Barueri, which isn’t the great Gremio (that’s in the Gaucho League), on Saturday.

16. Olympiakos (Gre) (16) – Olympiakos continues to roll in the Greek Super League, defeating Aris Saloniki 2-1 in this past weekend’s matchup. This Week: Olympiakos looks to advance deeper in the UEFA Cup, hosting France’s St. Etienne on Wednesday. In domestic action, Olympiakos will take on Ergotelis on Sunday.

17. Sevilla (Esp) (19) – Sevilla moves up a couple of notches this week after defeating Espanyol 2-0 in Barcelona. This Week: Coming up on Sunday should be the best match of the weekend in La Liga when Sevilla hosts Atletico de Madrid.

18. Lyon (Fra) (23) – For the past few years, every time Lyon looks vulnerable, it goes on a streak and establishes its dominance in Ligue Un. It is currently on such a streak, defeating Le Havre 3-1 to extend its Ligue Un lead. This Week: On Saturday, Lyon will take on Nancy Lorraine.

19. Fiorentina (Ita) (17) – In one of the most exciting matches of the weekend, Fiorentina spotted Genoa three goals and then came back to pick up an away point with a 3-3 draw. This Week: La Viola will host Ajax on Thursday in the best matchup of the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup. In a match that should be a little less exciting, Fiorentina will host Chievo de Verona on Sunday.

20. Arsenal (Eng) (18) – No current matches. This Week: The Gunners will finally get around to hosting its FA Cup replay match against Cardiff City later today. In Premiership action, Sunderland will visit Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

21. Bayern Munich (Ger) (11) – It appeared that Bayern was on the verge of taking back the Bundesliga lead until it fell to Hertha Berlin 1-2 and let the lead go to Berlin with Hertha. This Week: On Saturday, Bayern will host FC Koln in a Bundesliga match.

22. Twente (Ned) (21) – With a 2-1 victory over Volendam, Twente moved a few points closer to AZ Alkmaar at the top of the Eredivisie table. This Week: Twente heads to France on Thursday to take on Marseille in one of the premier matchups of the UEFA Cup first knockout round. Twente will had to Rotterdam to take on Sparta in Eredivisie action on Sunday.

23. Gremio (Bra) (22) – Gremio pulled off two Gaucho League victories this week, 2-0 over Juventude and 2-1 over Avenida. This Week: Only one match this week for Gremio, taking on Brasil (no, not the national team) on Wednesday.

24. Pachuca (Mex) (NR) – The two-time defending CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, despite recently being eliminated from the 2009 Copa Libertadores, has started the Mexican Clausura en fuego, picking up thirteen points in its first five matches. This week, Pachuca scored a 3-2 victory over Pumas UNAM. This Week: There are two matchdays in the Mexican Clausura this week and Pachuca will take on Puebla on Thursday and Indios on Sunday.

25. Sporting CP (Por) (25) – Nothing changed in the Liga Sagres this week. Like Benfica and Portugal, Sporting CP won its match, defeating Os Belenenses 2-1. This Week: One of the marquee matchups of the Liga Sagres season takes place on Sunday when Sporting CP hosts fourtheenth-ranked Benfica.

Bubbling Under: Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Genoa (ita), Rangers (Sco), San Lorenzo (Arg), Valencia (Esp)

Next Five: Ajax (Ned), Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Celtic (Sco), Panathinaikos (Gre), PSV Eindhoven (Ned)

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
21 February – (12) Chelsea at (8) Aston Villa
22 February – (14) Benfica at (25) Sporting CP

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 14/15 February 2009

This weekend is a deceptively good weekend for club football around the world. Although there is only one match involving two clubs from the WCR Top 25 Clubs list, there are five matches involving two clubs in the top 35. Those five matches make up the Matches of the Weekend list below.

The highlight, of course, is the battle for Milan as second-ranked Inter Milan tries to avenge its earlier loss to AC Milan at the San Siro. The most interesting fact, I find, is that thirteen of the fourteen highest ranking clubs in the world are being broadcast in the United States this weekend. The only exception is Liverpool, who will not be playing anybody this weekend, having been eliminated in the FA Cup already.

All of this weekend’s action is below. If you see anything that is incorrect or think anything should be added, please drop me a line or leave a comment. Sorry again for the lack of posts this week, but I will be back with the Top 25 on Monday morning and will have UEFA Cup predictions ready on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. AC Milan at Inter Milan (Sunday, 2:30 pm (-5:00 GMT), FSC)
2. AZ Alkmaar at PSV Eindhoven (Saturday, 1:45 pm, ESPND, ESPN 360)
3. Rangers at Celtic (Sunday, 7:30 am, Not Televised)
4. Bayer Leverkusen at TSG Hoffenheim (Friday, 2:30 pm, GolTV)
5. Fiorentina at Genoa (Sunday, 9:00 am, FSC)

Friday, February 13, 2009

4:30 am – Central Coast mariners at Queensland Roar (ESPN 360)
2:30 pm – Bayer Leverkusen at (5) TSG Hoffenheim (GolTV)

Saturday, February 14, 2009

12:30 am – Adelaide United at Melbourne Victory (FSC, ESPN 360)
7:15 am – Fulham at Swansea City (Setanta USA)
9:00 am – Hull City at Sheffield United (FSC)
9:45 am – Middlesbrough at West Ham United (Setanta USA)
11:00 am – Torino at Lazio (FSC, ESPN 360)
11:30 am – (11) Bayern Munich at Hertha Berlin (GolTV)
12:15 pm – (13) Chelsea at Watford (Setanta USA)
1:45 pm – (10) AZ Alkmaar at PSV Eindhoven (ESPND, ESPN 360)
2:00 pm – Newell’s Old Boys at Boca Juniors (FSE)
2:00 pm – (3) Barcelona at Real Betis (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Bologna at Napoli (FSC)
3:00 pm – St. Etienne at Paris St.-Germain (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Malaga at Valencia (GolTV)
4:30 pm – Coventry City at Blackburn Rovers (Delyaed) (FSC)
6:00 pm – Cruz Azul at Monterrey (Telemundo)
6:00 pm – Paulista at Palmeiras (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – UNAM Pumas at Pachuca (TeleFutura)
8:00 pm – Puebla at Monarcas (FSE)
9:00 pm – San Luis at Tigres (Telemundo)
10:00 pm – Tecos at Necaxa (Galavision)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

6:30 am – Feyenoord at Ajax (ESPN 360)
9:00 am – Sampdoria at (6) Juventus (FSC)
9:00 am – (17) Fiorentina at Genoa (ESPN 360)
9:20 am – (9) Aston Villat at Everton (Setanta USA)
11:00 am – (8) Real Madrid at Sporting Gijon (GolTV)
11:30 am – (1) Manchester United at Derby County (FSC)
1:00 pm – Indios at Toluca (Telemundo)
2:00 pm – Rio Ave at (7) Porto
2:00 pm – Corinthians at (14) Sao Paulo (GolTV)
4:00 pm – Danubio at Nacional (GolTV)
5:00 pm – Chivas de Guadalajara at Santos Laguna (Univision)

Monday, February 16, 2009

6:15 am – Marseille at Monaco (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
2:45 pm – Cardiff at (18) Arsenal (Setanta USA)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs

Sat., 12:00 noon – Aris Thessaloniki at (16) Olympiakos
Sat., 1:45 pm – Volendam at (21) Twente
Sat., 3:30 pm – (25) Sporting CP at Os Belenenses
Sun., 7:30 am – (24) Rangers at Celtic
Sun., 11:00 am – Le Havre at (23) Lyon
Sun., 1:00 pm – (19) Sevilla at Espanyol
Sun., 1:00 pm – (22) Gremio at Avenida
Sun., 3:45 pm – Pacos de Ferreira at (15) Benfica
Sun., 4:30 pm – Godoy Cruz at (20) San Lorenzo

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - Aston Villa Hits the Big Time Edition

This past week in world club football was not the most exciting, but it was a good set-up for next weekend, which should be one of the better weekends of the season, at least everywhere outside of England. Among the leaders of the top leagues in the world, there were no changes. Manchester United maintained its lead in the Premiership, defeating West Ham United. Inter Milan’s victory extended its lead in Serie A following an AC Milan draw. The same was true of Lyon’s lead-extending victory in Ligue Un and AZ Alkmaar’s victories in the Eredivisie. Barcelona won, of course, and maintained its likely insurmountable lead in La Liga’s Primera Division. Meanwhile, TSG Hoffenheim and Porto kept their place atop their respective leads despite only scoring draws. In South America, the big news was the opening of the Argentine Clausura, where San Lorenzo and Boca Juniors picked up where they left off the Apertura, with victories.

As I alluded to in the prior paragraph, the upcoming weekend appears to be very promising. None of the upcoming matches is more promising than the derby between Inter Milan and AC Milan on Sunday. Sunday’s match between Fiorentina and Genoa may be nearly as good. In Scotland, I’ve made several comments about the fact that the only matches that ever matter are those between Rangers and Celtic. Well, we have one of those on Sunday. Four of the top Bundesliga clubs face off this weekend as TSG Hoffenheim hosts Bayer Leverkusen on Friday and Hertha Berlin hosts Bayern Munich on Saturday. Finally, in the Eredevisie, leaders-by-a-mile AZ Alkmaar head to Eindhoven to take on PSV, who has been playing very well recently. You throw in some FA Cup matches (like Aston Villa/Everton) and matches from elsewhere around Europe and South America and the weekend looks promising, indeed.

As a reminder, we are still recruiting people to join World Club Rankings on Facebook. We still need a few more before the entries are automatically updated on the site, so if you enjoy the site, please join. The more, the merrier.

The rest of the action is highlighted below. We are also getting close to prediction season, so look for those posts for the UEFA Cup and Champions League in the upcoming weeks.

World Club Rankings – 25 Best Clubs in the World – February 9, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – With yet another victory, this time 1-0 over West Ham United, Manchester United remains atop the Premiership and the World Club Rankings. Next Week: In a rematch of the Carling Cup semifinals, the Red Devils will take on Derby County on Sunday in an FA Cup matchup.

2. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale moved back up to second place in the rankings this week after an impressive 3-0 victory over Lecce, which extended its lead in Serie A. Next Week: The match to which everybody should be looking forward to takes place on Sunday as Inter Milan attempts to avenge its early-season loss to AC Milan.

3. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Barca dropped back down to third this week, but it was not due to any fault of its own. In two matches against much weaker Spanish competition, Barcelona was successful twice. First, against Mallorca, winning 2-0 in a Copa del Rey match. On Sunday, Barcelona defeated Sporting Gijon 3-1 to maintain its huge Primera Division lead. Next Week: On Sunday, Barcelona heads to Seville to take on Real Betis.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – It took some late game heroics for Liverpool to knock off Portsmouth 3-2 to stay in second place in the Premiership. Next Week: Having been knocked out of the FA Cup, Liverpool will take the week off from competitive action.

5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – Hoffenheim had to come from behind to avoid defeat and score a 1-1 draw with the last place club in the Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach. The draw was enough, however, to keep TSG in first place in the Bundesliga. Next Week: TSG will have a test on Friday to see if it is a true contender for the title when it hosts Bayer Leverkusen.

6. Juventus (Ita) (11) – Juventus defeated Catania 2-1 to move back into second place in Serie A. Next Week: Juventus will host Sampdoria on Sunday in one of the less important Italian matches of the day.

7. Porto (Por) (7) – With a second-half penalty kick, Porto managed a 1-1 draw with Benfica to maintain its slim lead in the Liga Sagres. This followed an embarrassing 1-4 League Cup loss to Sporting CP at midweek. Next Week: The road gets a little easier for Porto this week when it hosts Rio Ave in a Liga Sagres match.

8. Real Madrid (Esp) (9) – There are multiple levels of talent in La Liga. First, by itself, is Barcelona. Below that, by itself, is Real Madrid, who defeated Racing Santander 1-0 this weekend. Below Real Madrid is a group of others and there are other groups before that, but just as Barcelona is the best of the league, Real Madrid is undeniably the second best. Next Week: I expect Real Madrid will provide further proof of this hypothesis when it takes on Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

9. Aston Villa (Eng) – Aston Villa finally moved into the Top Ten of the World Club Rankings by moving into third place in the Premiership with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Earlier in the week, Aston Villa defeated Doncaster Rovers 3-1 to advance in the FA Cup. Next Week: Aston Villa heads to Merseyside to take on Everton in the next round of the FA Cup in what promises, at least on paper, to be the best match of the next round.

10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (10) – AZ played two Eredivisie matches this week, winning both of them, but at least it finally gave up a goal. At midweek, AZ defeated Roda JC 1-0. It followed that victory with a 3-1 defeat of Willem II over the weekend. Next Week: AZ certainly appears to be the club to beat in the Eredivisie. One of its biggest tests takes place this coming Saturday when AZ Alkmaar heads to Eindhoven to take on a hot PSV club.

11. Bayern Munich (Ger) (24) – Bayern succeeded this weekend in what the other top Bundesliga clubs failed to do – it won a match, defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-1 after spotting Dortmund and early goal. Next Week: The current second place club takes on the club that was in second place this time last week as Bayern heads to Berlin to take on Hertha BSC.

12. AC Milan (Ita) (6) – After being on a mini-roll, AC Milan stumbled this week, drawing 1-1 with Reggina to drop to third place in Serie A. Next Week: AC Milan doesn’t have to leave the San Siro for its “away” match this weekend as it will play a derby against Inter Milan in what should be the match of the weekend.

13. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – Playing at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea still managed to only pick up a single point in a scoreless draw with Hull City. Next Week: The now-fourth-place club in the Premiership will take on Watford in an FA Cup match on Saturday.

14. Sao Paulo (Bra) (12) – Sao Paulo won both of its Paulista League matches this week, defeating Bragantino 2-1 and Botafogo by the same score. This Week: As it continues to prepare for the Copa Libertadores, Sao Paulo hosts two Paulista League matches this week, Ponte Preta on Wednesday and Corinthians on Sunday.

15. Benfica (Por) (13) – After defeating Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1 in a League Cup match, Benfica fought hard to score a 1-1 draw with Liga Sagres leaders Porto. Next Week: Next up for Benfica as it continues to chase down Porto is Pacos de Ferreira on Sunday.

16. Olympiakos (Gre) (16) – The week started off poorly for Olympiakos as it was eliminated from the Greek Cup, falling 0-1 to PAOK. The weekend was better, however, as Olympiakos defeated Panthraikos 2-0 to maintain its lead in the Greek Super League. Next Week: Coming up over the weekend for Olympiakos will be a home match against Aris Saloniki.

17. Fiorentina (Ita) (NR) – With a 1-0 victory over Lazio, Fiorentina has moved into fourth place in Serie A and has returned to our rankings. Next Week: In what should be a great match, Fiorentina will take on Genoa on Sunday in Serie A action.

18. Arsenal (Eng) (20) – Arsenal moves up a few notches despite managing only a scoreless draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Next Week: The Gunners will finally play its rematch against Cardiff City at Emirates Stadium on Monday, the sixteenth.

19. Sevilla (Esp) (19) – The week started well enough for Sevilla, defeating 2-1 in a Copa del Rey match. The weekend turned sour, however, as Sevilla fell to its hometown rival, Real Betis, by a 1-2 score. Next Week: Sevilla will head to Barcelona next weekend to take on Espanyol.

20. San Lorenzo (Arg) (BU) – The Argentine Clausura began this weekend and San Lorenzo began with a 3-1 victory over Tigre, who it competed with in the Apertura playoffs. Next Week: Next up for San Lorenzo will be a match with Godoy Cruz on Sunday.

21. Twente (Ned) (NR) – A good week, four points in two matches, allows Twente to move up to second place in the Eredivisie and into the rankings. Twente defeated NAC Breda 4-1 at midweek and then drew 2-2 with De Graafschap over the weekend. Next Week: It’s probably too late to catch AZ, but Twente must fight to stay ahead of Ajax this weekend when it hosts Volendam.

22. Gremio (Bra) (23) – Gremio lost a pair of Gaucho League matches, 1-3 to Veranopolis and 1-2 to Internacional. Neither matter much as Gremio prepares for the Copa Libertadores. Next Week: Two more Gaucho League matches for Gremio this week against Juventude and Avenida.

23. Lyon (Fra) (25) – Lyon looked better than it has in several weeks in defeating Nice 3-1 to extend its lead in Ligue Un. Next Week: The next match for Lyon will take place on Sunday against Le Havre.

24. Rangers (Sco) (BU) – No current matches. Next Week: Rangers returns to the rankings just in time for its derby with Celtic, which will take place at Celtic Park on Sunday.

25. Sporting CP (Por) (21) – After an impressive 4-1 victory over Liga Sagres leaders Porto in a League Cup match, Sporting CP was upset in Lisbon by Sporting Braga by a 2-3 score. Next Week: Sporting CP will take on Os Belenenses on Sunday as it tries to keep from falling even further behind Porto and Benfica in the Liga Sagres table.

Bubbling Under (alphabelically): Bordeaux (Fra), Genoa (Ita), Hertha Berlin (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), Valencia (Esp).

Next Five (alphabetically): Ajax (Ned), Atletico de Madrid (Esp), Bayer Leverkusen (Ger), Celtic (Sco), PSV Eindhoven (Ned).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs in Coming Week:

15 February – (12) AC Milan at (2) Inter Milan

Weekend Soccer Television Schedule - 7/8 February 2009

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I’ve also neglected responding to a commenter regarding Olympiakos, which I hope to do this weekend sometime. I’ve been busy, but so it goes. I’m back and we can all start rejoicing for that.

This week produces an odd set of matchups. Odd in the sense that the top two aren’t even on American television. The top one at least is on ESPN 360. It will be the only matchup between a pair of WCR Top 25 Clubs as Liga Sagres leaders Porto host second-place Benfica.

Another oddity of the week is that none of the top five matches are on either FSC or GolTV, which usually have the lions share of the top ranked matches. I guess FSC decided to pass on Genoa/Roma and the best English match, Hull City/Chelsea, is on Setanta USA, along with the match between Bordeaux and Marseille. Due to poor scheduling, La Liga has no particularly great matchups, but of course GolTV will show what it has.

That’s it for this week. I hope next week will be better, but it looks pretty busy as well. Of course, the rankings will be back on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend!!!

Top Five Matches of the Weekend:

1. Benfica at Porto (Sun., 2:45 pm (-5:00 GMT), ESPN 360)
2. Genoa at Roma (Sun., 9:00 am, Not Televised)
3. Bordeaux at Marseille (Sun., 3:00 pm, Setanta USA)
4. Hull City at Chelsea (Sat., 10:00 am, Setanta USA)
5. Pachuca at Club America (Sun., 5:00 pm, Univision)

Friday, February 6, 2009

9:00 pm – Monterrey at Tecos (Galavision)

Saturday, February 7, 2009

3:00 am – Melbourne Victory at Adelaide United (FSC, ESPN 360)
7:45 am – Middlesbrough at Manchester City (Setanta USA)
10:00 am – (14) Aston Villa at Blackburn Rovers (FSC)
10:00 am – Hull City at (8) Chelsea (FSC)
11:30 am – Werder Bremen at Schalke 04 (Delayed) (GolTV)
12:30 pm – (4) Liverpool at Portsmouth (FSC)
12:30 pm – Newcastle United at West Bromwich Albion (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
2:00 pm – Racing Santander at (9) Real Madrid (GolTV)
2:30 pm – Reggina at (6) AC Milan (FSC)
3:00 pm – Sochaux at Lille (Setanta USA)
4:00 pm – Real Betis at (19) Sevilla (GolTV)
4:00 pm – Atlas at San Luis (TeleFutura)
4:30 pm – (3) Inter Milan at Lecce (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Stoke City at Sunderland (Delayed) (Setanta USA)
6:00 pm – Portuguesa at Corinthians (Delayed) (GolTV)
8:00 pm – Necaxa at Chivas de Guadalajara (Telemundo)
8:00 pm – Bolton Wanderers at Everton (Delayed) (FSC)
10:00 pm – Jaguares at Atlante (Telemundo)

Sunday, February 8, 2009

6:30 am – (17) Ajax at Vitesse (ESPN 360)
8:30 am – (20) Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur (Setanta USA)
8:30 am – PSV Eindhoven at Volendam (ESPND, ESPN 360)
9:00 am – (11) Juventus at Catania (FSC, ESPN 360)
11:00 am – Borussia Dortmund at (24) Bayern Munich (GolTV)
11:00 am – (1) Manchester United at West Ham United (FSC)
1:00 pm – Toluca at Puebla (FSE)
1:00 pm – Sporting Gijon at (2) Barcelona (GolTV)
1:00 pm – Monarcas at UNAM Pumas (Telemundo)
2:30 pm – Napoli at Palermo (FSC, ESPN 360)
2:45 pm – (13) Benfica at (7) Porto (ESPN 360)
3:00 pm – (22) Bordeaux at Marseille (Setanta USA)
5:00 pm – Colon at River Plate (Delayed) (FSC)
5:00 pm – Pachuca at Club America (Univision)

Non-Televised Matches Involving Top 25 Clubs:

Fri., 2:30 pm – (15) Hertha Berlin at Arminia Bielefeld
Sat., 9:30 am – (5)TSG Hoffenheim at Borussia Monchengladbach
Sat., 9:45 am – (16) Olympiakos at Panthraikos
Sat., 1:45 pm – Willem II at (10) AZ Alkmaar
Sun., 9:00 am – (18) Genoa at Roma
Sun., 11:00 am – (25) Lyon at Nice
Sun., 2:00 pm – (12) Sao Paulo at Botafogo
Sun., 2:00 pm – Braga Sporting at (21) Sporting CP
Sun., 4:30 pm – Internacional at (23) Gremio

WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World - No Particular Edition

While most of America is watching the Super Bowl, I’m drafting the WCR Top 25 entry and watching the match between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Why? Because that’s the type of nerd I am. There are lots of types of nerds and that’s where I fall in the nerd continuum. But enough about me. What about the top clubs in the world? (Boca just scored again to go up 2-0 in the 77th minute, in case you’re wondering. Of course, by the time this gets posted, the match will be long over.)

The top of the rankings have little change, but there is some shuffling in the middle of the rankings. The reason for this is that clubs at the top of many of the domestic tables did well, while those clubs just below the leaders struggled. You want examples? Barcelona and Real Madrid were both victorious in La Liga, while Sevilla and Villarreal were both upset. Inter Milan picked up four points in two matches this week, while (then) second place Juventus lost both of its matches. Manchester United picked up six points on six goals in two matches while Liverpool dropped two points at midweek before dropping Chelsea on Sunday. TSG Hoffenheim defeated Energie Cottbus to remain in first place in the Bundesliga, while Bayern Munich lost to Hamburger to drop from second to fourth place in the Bundesliga. There are other examples, but I’m going to stop there.

What’s coming up, you ask? I’m glad you did. There are only two matches in the upcoming week in which ranked clubs face off and Porto is playing in both of them. At midweek, Porto will take on Sporting CP in a league cup match. Then, on Sunday, Liga Sagres leader Porto will host second place Benfica in what promises to be a fun match, as it always is. Of course, everybody else plays too and that information is detailed below. Lots of stuff is detailed below, so I’m going to finish this part now and just go to the below part.

World Club Rankings – Top 25 Clubs in the World – February 2, 2009

1. Manchester United (Eng) (1) – The Red Devils remain atop the World Club Rankings with two victories in two Premiership matches this week, defeating West Bromwich Albion 5-0 and Everton 1-0. This Week: Manchester United is off until Sunday, when it will take on West Ham United.

2. Barcelona (Esp) (2) – Once again, the sun rose in the east, set in the west, and Barcelona won. After defeating Espanyol 3-2 to advance in the Copa del Rey, Barca pulled what is becoming a common trick for it recently. Because Barcelona is winning so often, it has begun letting the other clubs score first so it can add some drama by coming from behind. This past weekend, Barcelona used this routine to defeat Racing Santander 2-1. This Week: Once again, Barcelona faces two Primera Division opponents. At midweek, Barcelona will host Mallorca in a Copa del Rey match. On Sunday, Barcelona will host Sporting Gijon.

3. Inter Milan (Ita) (3) – Internazionale started the week off well, defeating Catania 2-0, but it had a hiccup over the weekend with a 1-1 draw against Torino. This Week: Inter’s Serie A opponent this coming weekend will be Lecce.

4. Liverpool (Eng) (4) – Liverpool had a tough time at midweek, scoring only a 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic. They played much better this weekend, however, defeating Chelsea 2-0 in the match of the weekend. This Week: Liverpool has a little extra work to perform this week as it has to play its FA Cup replay against Everton. In Premiership action, Liverpool will take on Portsmouth.

5. TSG Hoffenheim (Ger) (5) – The second half of the season has begun in the Bundesliga and TSG has picked up where it left off with a a 2-0 victory over Energie Cottbus. This Week: TSG will hit the road this week to take on struggling Borussia Monchengladbach.

6. AC Milan (Ita) (12) – After a 1-1 draw against a good Genoa club at midweek, Milan defeated Lazio 3-0 over the weekend to move into second place in the Serie A table. It’s too bad David Beckham didn’t have this effect on the Los Angeles Galaxy. This Week: As AC chases down its cross-town rival for the Serie A lead, AC Milan will host Reggina this weekend.

7. Porto (Por) (7) – Two matches, two victories for Porto this week as it defeated Leixoes 1-0 in a Taca de Portugal match at midweek and defeated Os Belenenses 3-1 to solidify its spot atop the Liga Sagres table. This Week: What a week it is for Porto. On Wednesday, Porto will take on Sporting CP in a League Cup match. On Sunday, Porto will host second place Benfica in what could prove to be the biggest Liga Sagres match of the season.

8. Chelsea (Eng) (8) – Once again, Chelsea played well against a relative minnow but proved it has trouble defeating good clubs. This week provided a great example of Chelsea’s form for the season as it defeated Middlesbrough 2-0, but looked overmatched in a 0-2 loss at Liverpool. This Week: Chelsea welcomes Hull City to London for a Saturday Premiership match.

9. Real Madrid (Esp) (10) – Real maintained its current form this weekend with a 2-0 away victory against Numancia. This Week: Real Madrid will host Racing Santander on Sunday, but probably won’t give Racing the one-goal crutch that Barcelona felt obligated to give away.

10. AZ Alkmaar (Ned) (9) – The big question in the Eredivisie is whether AZ will ever give up another goal. It didn’t happen this pas weekend with AZ scoring a 2-0 victory over Sparta in Rotterdam. This Week: It’s double-duty week for the Eredivisie this week. AZ will host Roda JC on Wednesday and then take on Willem II on Saturday.

11. Juventus (Ita) (6) – Rough week in Turin. Juve followed a 1-2 loss to Udinese with a 2-3 home loss to Cagliari, which was enough to drop Juventus to third place in Serie A and out of the top ten for the first time in a long time. This Week: Juventus has two matches this week, as well. On Wednesday, Juventus hosts Napoli in a Coppa Italia match. On Sunday, Juventus will take on Catania in a Serie A match.

12. Sao Paulo (Bra) (13) – Sao Paulo had mixed results in its Paulista League matches this week, defeating Guarani 2-0 and losing 0-2 to Santa Andre. This Week: Sao Paulo has two more Paulista League matches as it gears up for the Copa Libertadores, taking on Bragantino on Wednesday and Botafogo on Sunday.

13. Benfica (Por) (14) – Benfica kept pace with Porto this weekend with a 1-0 victory over Rio Ave. This Week: On Wednesday, Benfica will host Vitoria Guimaraes in a League Cup match. The excitement, however, will be on Sunday when Benfica hosts Liga Sagres leaders Porto in a match in which a victory will put Benfica in first place.

14. Aston Villa (Eng) (15) – After a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth, Aston Villa had an opportunity to move into third place, but stumbled with a scoreless draw against Wigan Athletic. This Week: Aston Villa gets another FA Cup chance against Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday and will take on the Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

15. Hertha Berlin (Ger) (BU) – I haven’t checked, but I believe that this is Hertha BSC Berlin’s first trip to the WCR Top 25. It comes on the heels of a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, which moved Hertha into second place in the Bundesliga behind surprising TSG Hoffenheim. Next Week: Hertha’s next Bundesliga match will be on Friday against Arminia Bielefeld.

16. Olympiakos (Gre) (17) – Olympiakos solidified its Super League lead with a 1-0 victory over AEK Athens. Next Week: In a Greek Cup match, Super League leaders Olympiakos will take on second place PAOK Saloniki. In league action, Olympiakos will take on Panthrakikos on Saturday.

17. Ajax (Ned) (16) – Ajax fell even further behind AZ in the Eredivisie this week after suffering a 0-1 loss to SC Heerenveen. This Week: Ajax has a pair of Eredivisie matches this week, first against Heracles Almelo on Tuesday and then against Vitesse on Sunday.

18. Genoa (Ita) (19) – Genoa gave up a late goal against AC Milan but still escaped with a 1-1 draw. This past weekend, Genoa defeated Palermo 1-0 to stay in fourth place in Serie A, though Roma is catching up quickly. Next Week: Speaking of Roma, it will be Genoa’s opponent on Sunday in the Serie A match of the week.

19. Sevilla (Esp) (18) – Sevilla defeated Valencia 2-1 in a Copa del Rey match, but didn’t fare as well against Sporting Gijon, losing 0-1. Next Week: Having advanced in the Copa del Rey, Sevilla’s next opponent will be Athletic de Bilbao, with the first leg taking place on Wednesday. In Primera Division action, Sevilla will host Real Betis on Sunday.

20. Arsenal (Eng) (20) – Two matches, two draws for a lackluster Arsenal. The Gunners drew 1-1 with Everton and 0-0 with West Ham United. This Week: On Tuesday, Arsenal will host Cardiff City in an FA Cup replay. On Sunday, Arsenal will take on fellow-Londoners Tottenham Hotspur.

21. Sporting CP (Por) (21) – With a scoreless draw against Trofense, Sporting CP fell two points further behind Porto and Benfica in the Liga Sagres. Next Week: In an interesting match Sporting CP will host Porto in a League Cup match on Wednesday. On Sunday, there will be a truly sporting matchup between Sporting CP and Sporting Braga.

22. Bordeaux (Fra) (22) – Bordeaux failed to capitalize on Lyon’s trouble this weekend and managed only a 2-2 draw at home against Lille. Next Week: In a Coupe de Ligue match on Wednesday, Bordeaux will take on Paris St.-Germain. In one of the most interesting matches of the weekend, Bordeaux will take on Marseille on Sunday.

23. Gremio (Bra) (24) – There were a gaggle of goals for Gremio this week in two Gaucho League matches. Gremio defeated Esportivo 5-0 and Novo Hamburgo 5-1. This Week: Once again, there are two Gaucho League matches for Gremio in the upcoming week when they will face Veranopolis and Internacional.

24. Bayern Munich (Ger) (11) – As I just said, Gremio defeated Novo Hamburgo on Sunday. Bayern had far less success against the old Hamburg, falling 0-1 in its return to the Bundesliga, following a 5-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart in a DFB Pokal match. Bayern’s loss to Hamburger dropped the club to fourth place in the Bundesliga. This Week: Bayern is off until Sunday when it will host Borussia Dortmund.

25. Lyon (Fra) (23) – Lyon is lucky to still be atop the Ligue Un table following a 1-1 draw with St. Etienne. Lyon benefitted from the stumbles of other top Ligue Un clubs. Earlier in the week, Lyon defeated Marseille 1-0 in a Coupe de France match. This Week: Lyon will take on Nice in a Ligue Un match on Sunday.

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

Bubbling Under (a little further under): Fiorentina (Ita), Hamburger (Ger), Panathinaikos (Gre), Roma (Ita), Twente (Ned).

Matches Between Top 25 Clubs This Week:
4 February – (7) Porto at (21) Sporting CP
8 February – (13) Benfica at (7) Porto