Biggest Riser: Manchester City, rising from 19th to 13th after a fantastic 2-1 win at home against leaders Chelsea.
Biggest Faller: Lyon (for the second straight week!!!), who fell from 17th to 23rd after a 4-3 loss at struggling Lille.
Rank Team (Nationality) Points
1. Barcelona (Esp) 50
T2. Chelsea (Eng) 47
T2. Manchester United (Eng) 47
4. Real Madrid (Esp) 43
Tom: Despite the loss in El Clasico to Barcelona last week, Real Madrid seem to have shaken off the hiccup in form they suffered throughout October. Cristiano Ronaldo is back healthy and there are no national team distractions for a long time. This week they had an exciting 4-2 win over Almeria, in which Madrid had a 1-0 lead at the half only to see Almeria take a 2-1 lead with goals in the 58th and 62nd minutes. However, goals from Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo finished it, with an 88th minute Ronaldo red card to top it all off. They are currently second in the league behind Barcelona and are on top of their Champions League group, two points over AC Milan. They have had a fluid lineup this season, as no outfield players have played each of the 13 La Liga matches, and only 2 players (Marcelo and Xabi Alonso) have played more than 10. Still they have enough talent that no matter who they play, it is a better squad than their opponents almost every time. Once Madrid gets through some injuries, gets a more consistent first eleven, and begins to become a cohesive unit, they will be giving Barcelona a run for their money in what will be a thrilling title race.
5. AC Milan (Ita) 42
6. Inter Milan (Ita) 41
7. Juventus (Ita) 36
8. Arsenal (Eng) 35
T9. Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 31
Tom: Bayer Leverkusen are still atop the Bundesliga by three points over Werder Bremen after a 0-0 draw at Hanover 96 over the weekend. Leverkusen has had a record start to the season, going undefeated in their first 15 games with 8 wins and 7 draws. Leverkusen have scored an average of 2 goals per game and only allowed 9 goals all season. They are led by 25 year old forward Stefan Kießling, who has scored 12 goals while starting all 15 games. In defense, they are led by former Liverpool man and Finnish international Sami Hyypia. Still, their lead has been dwindling away recently, as they have drawn 5 of their last 7 matches in the league.
T9. Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) 31
11. Sevilla (Esp) 30
12. Bordeaux (Fra) 28
13. Manchester City (Eng) 24
14. Werder Bremen (Ger) 23
15. Twente Enschede (Ned) 22
16.Valencia (Esp) 21
Tom: In the summer, Valencia faced massive debt and rumors that they would have to sell their top players in order to balance the books. However they were able to keep the core of the team together due to renewed investment, and seem to be on the track to continued success. Valencia is currently third in La Liga, three points behind second-place Real Madrid. They are coming off of an impressive week in which they beat Lille 3-1 in the Europa league and defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-1 on the road in La Liga. They are currently atop a very good Europa League group consisting of Lille, Genoa, and Slavia Prague. They will clinch the group victory in the final match-day as long as they do not lose at Genoa. Valencia is considered the third-most popular team in Spain, and has 50,000 season ticket holders with 20,000 still on the waiting list. The last two seasons have been something of a disappointment, with 10th and 6th place finishes. Thus far they have a win over Sevilla, a draw against Barcelona, and they will be taking on Real Madrid with a chance to move up to second in La Liga next weekend. They are led by star striker David Villa, who has scored 10 goals in his 11 games with 26 shots on goal, more than double the second highest shots on goal total on the team.
17. FK Rubin Kazan (Rus) 19
T18. Ajax Amsterdam (Ned) 15
T18. Fiorentina (Ita) 15
T20. PSV Eindhoven (Ned) 12
T20. Schalke 04 (Ger) 12
22. CSKA Moscow (Rus) 6
T23. Genoa (Ita) 5
T23. Lyon (Fra) 5
25. Dynamo Kiev (Ukr) 4
Also Receiving Votes: Braga (Por) 3, Benfica (Por) 2, Aston Villa (Eng) 1
| Rank | Tom | Blaine |
| 1 | Barcelona | Barcelona |
| 2 | Chelsea
| Manchester United
|
| 3 | Manchester United
| Chelsea
|
| 4 | Real Madrid
| AC Milan
|
| 5 | Inter Milan
| Real Madrid
|
| 6 | AC Milan
| Inter Milan
|
| 7 | Arsenal
| Tottenham Hotspur
|
| 8 | Juventus
| Juventus
|
| 9 | Bordeaux
| Sevilla
|
| 10 | Bayer Leverkusen
| Arsenal
|
| 11 | Werder Bremen
| Bayer Leverkusen
|
| 12 | Valencia
| Manchester City
|
| 13 | Sevilla
| Twente Enschede
|
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur
| FK Rubin Kazan
|
| 15 | Schalke 04
| Bordeaux
|
| 16 | Manchester City
| Ajax Amsterdam
|
| 17 | Twente Enschede
| Fiorentina
|
| 18 | PSV Eindhoven
| Werder Bremen
|
| 19 | FK Rubin Kazan
| Valencia
|
| 20 | Fiorentina
| CSKA Moscow
|
| 21 | Ajax Amsterdam
| Genoa
|
| 22 | Dynamo Kiev
| PSV Eindhoven
|
| 23 | Lyon
| Braga
|
| 24 | Benfica
| Lyon
|
| 25 | Aston Villa
| Schalke 04
|
Next 5 in for Tom, in order of most to least goals per game in their domestic league: FC Porto (Por, 2.08), Hamburg SV (Ger, 1.87), Marseille (Fra, 1.85), Braga (Por, 1.5), AJ Auxerre (Fra, 1.05)
Next 5 in for Blaine, in the order that I like them: Aston Villa (Eng), Marseille (Fra), Parma (Ita), Napoli (Ita), Galatasaray (Tur)
Champions League Matches
Top two teams from each group qualify and third place goes to the Europa League knockout stages. Tables can be found here.
Tuesday, 14:45 ET
Group A
(7) Juventus v Bayern Munich
Huge match, Juventus advances with a win or draw, Bayern with a win.
Maccabi Haifa v (12) Bordeaux
Group B
Besiktas v (22) CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow needs a win and Wolfsburg non-win, or a draw and Wolfsburg loss to move on to the knockout stages. Besiktas can still move on to the Europa League with a 1-0 win or a win by 2 or more along with a Manchester United non-win.
VfL Wolfsburg v (T2) Manchester United
United will guarantee finishing at the top of the group with a point, but with 8 defenders out, they expect to start both Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher in the back line. No joke. Even Ryan Giggs joined the defensive party before last game was over. Wolfsburg will move on with a win or CSKA Moscow loss or a draw with United and CSKA non-win.
Group C
FC Zurich v (5) AC Milan
Milan will qualify with a win, and would win the group with a win and Madrid draw or loss.
Marseille v (4) Real Madrid
Marseille can qualify (in miracle fashion) if they beat Mardid 3-0 or by four or more goals. Also, a Marseille win and Milan draw/loss would see Marseille qualify. The big loss and Milan win would see Real Madrid suffer a shock drop to the Europa League.
Group D
Atletico Madrid v FC Porto
(T2) Chelsea v APOEL Nicosia
Chelsea and Porto are already moving on, and Atletico Madrid needs a win or APOEL non-win to move on to the Europa League.
Wednesday, 14:45 ET
Group E
Liverpool v (T18) Fiorentina
(T23) Lyon v Debrecen
This group is already decided, with Fiorentina and Lyon moving on to the knockout stages and Liverpool relegated to the Europa League.
Group F
(25) Dynamo Kiev v (1) Barcelona
(6) Inter Milan v (17) FK Rubin Kazan
In the Group of Death, nothing is yet certain. Barcelona will qualify if they avoid losing to Dynamo Kiev 2-0 or by more than 3 goals, or if Inter and Rubin Kazan draw. Inter will qualify if they beat Rubin Kazan or if they draw 0-0 or 1-1 and Dynamo Kiev does not win. Rubin Kazan will qualify if they beat Inter Milan or if they draw by 2-2 or more and Dynamo Kiev does not win. Dynamo Kiev must win by 2-0 or by three or more goals to qualify, or simply a victory and draw between Inter Milan and Rubin Kazan.
In short, these are two MASSIVE matches.
Group G
(11) Sevilla v Rangers
VfB Stuttgart v Unirea Urziceni
Unirea Urziceni will qualify with a win or draw, and Stuttgart needs a win to qualify.
Group H
Olympiakos v (8) Arsenal
Olympiakos will move on with a win or draw, or an AZ win or draw.
Standard Liege v AZ Alkmaar
Standard Liege will move on with an Olympiakos loss and win over AZ. AZ will qualify for the Europa League with a win.
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