Weekend Soccer Preview

Another edition of the Weekend Soccer Preview! And it's a day early this time! I put in some new special features this week, such as the "Big Games in Small Leagues" and predictions for every Premier League fixture along with other important matches. Hope you enjoy!
As always, home team listed first, all times Eastern.

Game of the Week (Rankings from Poll)
11:00 ET Sunday
(2) Chelsea v (7) Arsenal
This is an absolutely massive match for both teams on Sunday. Chelsea leads the league with 55 points, 2 ahead of Manchester United and 6 ahead of Arsenal. A loss or draw for Chelsea would likely mean that United would take the lead or pull even in the table as United has a fairly easy test at home against Portsmouth this weekend. Arsenal is coming off of a brutal 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United and needs a win here to seriously remain in title contention. Two defeats in a row, even if they are against the top two teams in the league, will be crippling for the morale of the young squad. Manager Arsene Wenger said that “It is a massive blow and a massive disappointment. We need something special now to stay in the race, of course. I am conscious of that. But we have to recover, that is part of top-level football.” Unfortunately Stamford Bridge is not an ideal location for recovering. Chelsea is undefeated in 12 games at the Bridge with just one draw.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal. Chelsea is too good and will not be happy coming off of a mid-week draw against bottom-dwellers Hull City.

Other Games Between Two Ranked Teams
10:30 ET Sunday
(20) Ajax Amsterdam v (15) Twente Enschede
Twente is currently tied atop the Eredivisie with 55 points from 21 games, 9 points ahead of third place Ajax. Twente and PSV Eindhoven have both compiled astounding 17-4-0 records in the league so far this season. Ajax will be looking to challenge that with their own impressive 9-1-0 home record and incredible +43 goal differential from 21 games. Ajax is coming off of a ho-hum 4-0 win over Roda JC Kerkrade mid-week, the 10th time they have scored 4+ goals this season. No big deal. Luis Suarez leads the formidable Ajax attack with 18 goals on the season. Still, Twente is a solid 9 points ahead of Ajax and a win might all but end Ajax’s hopes of comeback this season. Twente won the only other meeting of the teams this season, 1-0 at home.
Prediction: Ajax 2-1 Twente, ending the unbeaten season for Twente and keeping Ajax alive.
14:45 ET Sunday
(T25) Fiorentina v (14) AS Roma
To be frank, I’m not sure how Fiorentina is still ranked in this poll. I suppose it’s because Blaine put them in 24th in his rankings, giving them the 2 points necessary to crack the top 25. No matter what the reason, Fiorentina sits back in 11th in Serie A and has been in a free-fall for some time now. In their last three matches, they have lost 2-1 at home against Bologna, 3-0 at Palermo, and drawn Cagliari 2-2 on the road. AS Roma, on the other hand, has not lost since October 28. Expect those trends to continue this weekend as AS Roma easily handles Fiorentina.
Prediction: Fiorentina 0-2 AS Roma

Top of the Table Clashes
10:00 ET Sunday (Swiss Super League)
FC Basel v Young Boys
Almost a bit of a stretch for a “Top of the Table Clash” as Young Boys holds a 7 point lead on second place Basel halfway through the season. Thus far Young Boys has won both matches against Basel on the season, 2-1 at Basel and 2-0 at home. The leading scorer in the league comes from Young Boys, Seydou Doumbia with 17 goals in just 14 games played. Basel is led by Marco Streller and Alexander Frei with 11 goals each. Basel is coming off of European disappointment, as they were knocked out of the Europa League after a 3-2 loss to Fulham at home on the final match day. A win in this match would be a huge pick-me-up for Basel and keep them in the title race for the rest of the season.
Prediction: FC Basel 1-1 Young Boys

Big Games in Small Leagues
14:45 ET Friday (English League Championship)
Newcastle United v Cardiff City
Newcastle looks to continue its march back to the Premier League. The Magpies lead the English League Championship by 3 points over West Brom with one less game played a little over halfway through the season. Cardiff City sits back in 4th, 11 points off of Newcastle and hanging onto a playoff spot. The top four teams in the Championship all have better than +22 goal differentials (Newcastle +26, Cardiff City +22), while the only other team above +10 is Leicester City at +12. In any event, Newcastle won the first meeting of the season between the two sides, a 1-0 win in Cardiff. Newcastle recently tumbled out of the FA Cup with a 4-2 loss at fellow Championship side West Brom so they will now be entirely focused on making it back to the Premiership.
Prediction: Newcastle United 1-0 Cardiff City
10:00 ET Saturday (Northern Irish Premiership)
Glentoran v Crusaders
Glentoran and Crusaders are currently tied for second place in the Northern Irish Premiership on 43 points. Crusaders have currently played one more game so a win here would bring them truly even with Glentoran in the league. The squads are both 3 points behind leaders Cliftonville, who has played even one game less than Glentoran. Darn those uneven schedules in Northern Ireland! Crusaders hold the edge thus far in the season with a 1-0 win at Glentoran and a 1-1 draw at home. In related news, teams from the Northern Irish Premiership went 0-1-7 in European competition this season, with the only draw being a 1-1 match at home for Crusaders against Macedonian side Rabotnicki. In those eight matches, the Northern Irish team was outscored by a total of 33-4. Ouch.
Prediction: Glentoran 2-2 Crusaders
10:00 ET Sunday (Swiss Super League)
FC Basel v Young Boys

English Premier League
7:45 ET Saturday
Liverpool v Everton
The always entertaining but good-natured Merseyside derby will have a big impact on both clubs’ European aspirations for next year.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-0 Everton
10:00 ET Saturday
Bolton v Fulham
Prediction: Bolton 1-1 Fulham
Burnley v West Ham
Prediction: Burnley 1-1 West Ham
Hull City v (13) Manchester City
Prediction: Hull City 1-1 Manchester City
(5) Manchester United v Portsmouth
Prediction: Wayne Rooney 2-0 Portsmouth. However, Manchester United will win 3-0.
Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers
Prediction: Stoke City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Sunderland v Wigan
Prediction: Sunderland 2-0 Wigan
12:30 ET Saturday
(T11) Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Aston Villa. Spurs hang on to their Champions League spot for one more week.
8:30 ET Sunday
Birmingham v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Prediction: Birmingham 1-0 Wolverhampton
11:00 ET Sunday
(2) Chelsea v (7) Arsenal

Spain’s La Liga
12:00 ET Saturday
(T11) Valencia v Valladolid
14:00 ET Saturday
(1) Barcelona v Getafe
16:00 ET Saturday
(T3) Real Madrid v Espanyol
11:00 ET Sunday
Athletic Bilbao v Xerez
Malaga v Deportivo La Coruna
Mallorca v Villarreal
13:00 ET Sunday
Real Zaragoza v (T21) Sevilla FC
15:00 ET Sunday
Racing Santander v Athletico Madrid

Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Palermo v Parma
14:45 ET Saturday
Livorno v Juventus
9:00 ET Sunday
Bologna v (6) AC Milan
Genoa v Chievo Verona
(T3) Inter Milan v Cagliari
Lazio v Catania
Siena v Sampdoria
Udinese v (23) Napoli
14:45 ET Sunday
(T25) Fiorentina v (14) AS Roma

German Bundesliga
14:30 ET Friday
Werder Bremen v Hertha Berlin
Prediction: Werder Bremen 3-0 Hertha Berlin
9:30 ET Saturday
FC Cologne v Hamburg SV
SC Freiburg v (16) Schalke 04
TSG Hoffenheim v Hannover 96
VfL Bochum v (9) Bayer Leverkusen
VfL Wolfsburg v (10) Bayern Munich
Prediction: Wolfsburg 0-2 Bayern Munich
12:30 ET Saturday
Nurnberg v VfB Stuttgart
11:30 ET Sunday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt

French Ligue 1
13:00 ET Saturday
Boulogne v (T25) Montpellier
Grenoble v AJ Auxerre
Nice v Lille
Paris Saint-Germain v Lorient
15:00 ET Saturday
Stade Rennes v (8) Bordeaux
11:00 ET Sunday
St. Etienne v AS Monaco
Toulouse v (24) Lyon
Prediction: Toulouse 1-1 Lyon
15:00 ET Sunday
Marseille v Valenciennes

Dutch Eredivisie
12:45 ET Saturday
(17) PSV Eindhoven v ADO Den Haag
13:45 ET Saturday
Heerenveen v FC Utrecht
8:30 ET Sunday
Feyenoord Rotterdam v AZ Alkmaar
10:30 ET Sunday
(20) Ajax Amsterdam v (15) Twente Enschede

Portuguese Liga
14:15 ET Saturday
Sporting Lisbon v Academica de Coimbra
16:15 ET Saturday
Vitoria Setubal v (19) Benfica
15:15 ET Sunday
FC Porto v Naval 1 Maio
15:15 ET Monday
Beleneses v (T21) Braga

Turkish Super League
13:00 ET Friday
Besiktas v Genclerbirligi
12:00 ET Saturday
Kayserispor v Galatasaray
12:00 ET Sunday
Fenerbahce v Diyarbakirspor

Greek Super League
12:00 ET Saturday
AEK Athens v FC Xanthi
9:45 ET Sunday
Olympiakos v Levadiakos
12:00 ET Sunday
Larissa v Panathinaikos

Belgian Jupiler League
14:00 ET Saturday
Anderlecht v St. Truiden
12:00 ET Sunday
Zulte-Waregem v Club Brugge
14:30 ET Sunday
Racing Genk v Standard Liege

Swiss Super League
10:00 ET Sunday
FC Basel v Young Boys

Northern Irish Premiership
10:00 ET Saturday
Glentoran v Crusaders