Weekend Soccer Preview

As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern. Here is a link to a time zone converter if you for some reason cannot pull off the simple subtraction. Click on the league name to see the league table!

Game of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
8:45 ET Saturday (English Premier League on ESPN2)
(7) Arsenal v (11) Tottenham
A big London Derby is a fantastic way to kick off a weekend of football. This game will be shown in the US on ESPN2 nice and early so everyone should be up and ready to watch it. Arsenal’s Russian striker Andrei Arshavin was nearly a Tottenham player last summer, but they could not agree to terms with Arshavin’s old club Zenit St. Petersburg. Manager Arsene Wenger foresees a big game for Arshavin: “Arshavin can change any game, anywhere at any moment so I believe he will have a great game tomorrow. He is a player I love, not only because he is talented, but because he is efficient. I am confident he will have a big impact on the game tomorrow.” Arsenal is 4-0-0 at home this year while outscoring opponents an incredible 17-4. Arsenal’s only two losses have come to Manchester United and Manchester City, both in Manchester. They are coming off a weak 2-2 draw at West Ham last weekend and will look to take out their frustration on a Tottenham squad who is still reeling from a 1-0 loss at home to Stoke City. If Tottenham wants to stay in the top 4 to the end of the year this is the exact type of game they must take points from. Tottenham will have to come out and attack with energy early and hope they can bog down Arsenal’s attack in the middle. Both teams have broken the 5 goal barrier twice this season and can be explosive on goal. Expect a barnburner in north London.
My pick: Arsenal 4, Tottenham 2

Other Games Between Two Ranked Teams
13:30 ET Saturday (German Bundesliga)
(19) Schalke 04 v (10) Bayer Leverkusen
Schalke are in 4th in the Bundesliga, only two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. This is Schalke’s second top-four clash in as many weeks, as they played to a thrilling 3-3 draw against Hamburg last weekend.

Top of the Table Clashes
14:00 ET Saturday (French Ligue 1)
(8) Bordeaux v AS Monaco
Monaco is off to a surprise start this season, as they finished 11th in Ligue 1 in 08-09. Bordeaux lead by 1 point and will look to make that 4, with manager Laurent Blanc saying, “It is not by chance they are in second…We must be at our best for this game. It’s a big week with three matches and we must take maximum points when we play at home.” AS Monaco’s Brazilian striker Nene leads the league in goals and Bordeaux will have to keep him in check to preserve their 38 match undefeated streak at home in Ligue 1.
17:15 ET Saturday (Portugal’s La Liga)
Braga v (T21) Benfica

Game between Two Teams whose names are just impossible to pronounce
7:00 ET Sunday (Turkish Premier League)
Gaziantepspor v Diyarbakirspor

English Premier League
8:45 ET Saturday
(7) Arsenal v (11) Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN2)
11:00 ET Saturday
Bolton Wanderers v (T1) Chelsea
Burnley v Hull City
Everton v Aston Villa
Fulham v Liverpool
Liverpool is in perfect position to sneak back into the top four this weekend with the Arsenal-Tottenham match earlier in the day. They sit just a point back of each and a win guarantees that they’ll be in the top 4 somehow. However, Liverpool will have to make the trip to London without Steven Gerrard, Alberto Aquilani, and Glen Johnson. The Gerrard injury is a main concern for Liverpool, as his fitness is the key to the rest of Liverpool’s season. Rafa Benitez has reason to be worried, as anything but a win at Fulham along with a loss in Lyon next Wednesday would put him suddenly back on the hot seat even after the 2-0 win against Manchester United last weekend.
Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic
Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Sunderland v West Ham
13:30 ET Saturday
(3) Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers
11:00 ET Sunday
Birmingham City v (T12) Manchester City


Scottish Premier League
11:00 ET Saturday
(23) Celtic v Kilmarnock
7:45 ET Sunday
Dundee United v (24) Rangers

Spain’s La Liga
13:00 ET Saturday
(4) Real Madrid v Getafe
15:00 ET Saturday
Osasuna v (T1) Barcelona
Xerez v (T5) Sevilla FC
13:00 ET Sunday
Malaga v Valencia
15:00 ET Sunday
Deportivo La Coruna v Sporting Gijon

Italy’s Serie A
13:00 ET Saturday
(9) Juventus v Napoli
15:45 ET Saturday
(T14) AC Milan v Parma
AC Milan is coming off of a disappointing 2-2 draw mid-week against Napoli. They are already in 5th and 9 points behind leaders and bitter rival Inter Milan. Parma is one point ahead of Milan in 4th place. Milan manager Leonardo is confident in his squad: “Of course there is still a bitter taste from the two points we dropped, but there is a belief in what we’re doing and in our play…It is difficult to see which way the title race will go and the league is wide open as seen in the matches this week.”
9:00 ET Sunday
AS Roma v Bologna
(T12) Fiorentina v Catania
Livorno v (T5) Inter Milan
(T16) Sampdoria v Bari
14:45 ET Sunday
Palermo v Genoa

German Bundesliga
10:30 ET Saturday
(T13) Hamburg SV v Borussia Monchengladbach
Nurnburg v (T24)Werder Bremen
VfB Stuttgart v Bayern Munich
VfL Wolfsburg v Mainz
13:30 ET Saturday
(19) Schalke 04 v (10)Bayer Leverkusen

French Ligue 1
14:00 ET Saturday
(8) Bordeaux v AS Monaco
Marseille v Toulouse
16:00 ET Saturday
St. Etienne v (T18) Lyon

Dutch Eredivisie
14:45 ET Saturday
PSV Eindhoven v Vitesse Arnhem
Roda JC Kerkrade v Twente Enschede
15:45 ET Saturday
FC Groningen v AZ Alkmaar
6:30 ET Sunday
Ajax Amsterdam v Feyenoord Rotterdam

Portuguese Liga
17:15 ET Saturday
Braga v (T21) Benfica
15:15 ET Sunday
Sporting CP v Maritimo

Russian Premier League
Results from Friday
(T18) CSKA Moscow 1-0 Terek Grozny
(T25) FK Rubin Kazan 4-1 PFK Samara Kryliya Sovetov

Turkish Super League
9:00 ET Sunday
Galatasaray v Sivasspor
13:00 ET Sunday
Kayserispor v Fenerbahce

Greek Super League
Atromitos v (T16) Olympiakos
12:00 ET Sunday
Panathinaikos v Panionios

Ukranian Premier League
14:00 ET Saturday
Dynamo Kiev v Karpaty Lviv
9:00 ET Sunday
Chornomorets Odessa v Shakhtar Donetsk

MLS Conference Semi-finals (First Leg)
From Thursday: Seattle Sounders FC 0-0 Houston Dynamo
18:00 ET Saturday
Real Salt Lake v Columbus
14:00 ET Sunday
New England v Chicago
17:00 ET Sunday
Chivas USA v Los Angeles

Copa del Rey (Spain)
This is the main cup competition in Spain. The first leg of the Round of 32 was played this past week with one absolutely stunning result. Real Madrid lost at lowly Alcorcon of the Segunda Division B-Group 2 (of 4), which is two leagues down from La Liga. This was the club’s first ever match against a team from the top flight. The team has only once finished above 7th in their current division, which occurred when they finished 3rd in the league last year. Currently they sit at 6th in the league. Alcorcon has a stadium capacity of 3,000 and a budget of 1.1 million euro, which is barely a quarter of the price Real Madrid paid for defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who scored an own goal in the match. All in all, Real Madrid has a budget of 420 million euro, almost 400 times that of Alcrocon. Real Madrid did not play one youth player in this tie, and though their squad was without Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Xabi Alonso, they still had Raul, Raul Albiol, Rafael van der Vaart, Guit, and other first-squad players on the field. Fans in Madrid will be calling for manager Manuel Pellegrini’s head after that debacle. In other action, Barcelona defeated Cultural Leonesa 2-0, and would face Real Madrid in the round of 16 if Madrid were to pull off the miracle comeback in the second leg. Sevilla, Valencia, and Atletico Madrid also won their first leg ties.