A bit of domestic action - not for the weak of heart!

Well, the weekend is a time for sport and this weekend is no exception! In Spain, Real Sociedad clobbered Valladolid 4-1 while Getafe edged Athletic 1-0. Further up the table, Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 5-2 as Valencia had a one-sided victory over Real Betis with a 3-0 scoreline. Probably one of the least exciting, more one-sided matches of these four was Getafe's victory over Athletic. While Borja Fernandez began the game on a fine note, striking in the 7th minute, the rest of the match was a blur of yellow as 6 cards were handed out in total. Getafe dominated the opportunities as far as the attempts tally is concerned. Alternatively, Argentine Gonzalo Higuain seems to have been blessed by the newly announced pope as he struck twice in Real's encounter with Mallorca; the first came in the 14th minute while the second arrived in the 57th. Moving on now, Italy saw only a bit of action today though it was high-quality! While Catania defeated Udinese 3-1, Bologna lost 0-2 to Juventus. It was a good day for Catania's Alejandro Dario Gomez who scored in the 49th and 67th minutes while Juve further cemented their position with the three points. Up in England, Everton surprised Manchester City with a 2-0 score while Southampton defeated Liverpool 3-1. Stoke and West Brom tied 0-0 as Aston Villa edged QPR 3-2. Arsenal defeated Swansea 2-0 as Manchester United edged Reading 1-0 in Manchester. Back across the Channel in Germany, Hamburg lost at home at the hands of Augsburg while Bremen tied Furth 2-2. Nurnberg defeated a dejected Schalke side 3-0 as Hoffenheim and Mainz concluded goalless. Then, there was the goal festival of Dortmund v.s. Freiburg which concluded 5-1 as Bayern edged Leverkusen 2-1 despite a relatively late equalizer from the host's captain, Simon Rolfes. Bayern were lucky enough to get through thanks to an own goal though! As far as neighboring France is concerned, Bastia destroyed Lyon 4-1 in a huge surprise as Sochaux equalized with Valenciennes 1-1. Lorient swarmed Brest in a feast of scoring that saw 4 go to the hosts. Additionally, Montpellier tied Troyes 1-1; Reims edged Rennes 1-0; and last but not least, LOSC were edged by Evian 1-2. Back down to Portugal now, Olhanense were just barely beaten by Pacos Ferreira 1-2 as Sporting edged Setubal by the same scoreline. Making our way back up now, the Netherlands saw Heerenveen go to NEC and win 1-3, PSV defeat RKC 2-0, VVV get beaten by Heracles by the same score, and Den Haag get hammered 0-4 by Vitesse. Last but certainly not least, Scotland remains in the grasp of Celtic as they edged Aberdeen 4-3 while Inverness got one over Ross County in a 2-1 thriller. Hope you are ready for tomorrow and I'll blog later!

Champions and Europa League match-ups for the next round!

Well, last round was as exciting and ever but if looks are anything we can expect much of the same in the just-announced next stages. I'll start with the Europa League where Chelsea face Rubin Kazan, Tottenham host FC Basel, Fenerbahce greet Lazio, and Benfica welcome Newcastle. As far as Chelsea v.s. Kazan is concerned, the Russian side actually have a better goal tally in addition to remaining unbeaten thus far in the competition! Alongside this, Rubin have created more opportunities though as far as goals per game is concerned the sides are pretty level. As for Spurs v.s. Basel, the English side have a slight advantage as far as goals scored are concerned but honestly by statistics the two sides are hard to separate. Turning to the game between Fenerbahce and Lazio now, the Italians have proven themselves deadly in front of goal though the Turkish side have managed a better record leading into the game. Last but not least, Benfica have a perfect record compared to Newcastle's mixed one while goal-scoring between the two sides hasn't been a problem though it isn't explosive.
With all of this in mind, Rubin will be hoping that the talented Jose Rondon can keep them in the game against Chelsea because otherwise they will probably be overwhelmed by the English giants. As for the other London clubs' chances, Tottenham will hope for continued performance by Jermain Defoe, Gareth Bale and their other big names. Otherwise, they risk elimination at the hands of Swiss side Basel who have the likes of Marco Streller and Fabian Schar at their disposal and Mohamed Salah providing set-ups. Having said that, the odds are probably with Spurs. As for Fenerbahce, the only chance they will have is if they close down the prolific Libor Kozak and the only slightly less-sharp Sergio Flocarri who have been simply on fire for Lazio. At the same time, the Turks will hope Cristian can start converting more of his chances because thus far Dirk Kuyt, Alex, and Caner Erkin haven't really been pulling their weight. Due to all of these factors, the nod probably goes to Lazio to win unless Fenerbahce pull themselves together both defensively and offensively. And then there is Benfica v.s. Newcastle. Honestly I am looking forward to this pairing the most despite the fact that Benfica only has one real striker that has been performing: Oscar Cardozo. While there is always the chance that Nicolas Gaitan, Luisao, and Ola John will start firing, there haven't been too many encouraging signs. On the other hand, Newcastle have Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi to turn to. In addition to these two, Moussa Sissoko is a good bet to convert as are Gabirel Obertan and Hatem Ben Arfa. In the end, then, I suppose I will give Newcastle a slender advantage though it depends on how Benfica perform at home in Portugal. If they do not concede and manage to get a goal or two they will be on the right path however this isn't an easy ask.
Over to the Champions League now as Malaga have Dortmund to contend with while Real Madrid face Galatasaray. PSG will test their strength against Barcelona at the same time as Bayern have a showdown with Juventus. In the match-up between giant-slayers Malaga and the surprise package Dortmund, a prediction of German victory might be called for except for the fact that the Spaniards have surprised again and again. At the same time, the magic might be considered to have run its course - particularly if Dortmund pull off what Porto and others couldn't: victory in the 1st leg in Spain. While Dortmund have a slightly better record and goal tally, such statistics aren't much when talking about real life. The home support has really carried Malaga in the past and I wouldn't be too surprised if it did so again. Having said that, the number of attempts Dortmund have racked up in the past points to the likelihood of heartbreak for the Spanish side. With Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, and Mario Gotze topping the list of scorers for the Germans, I'll predict Dortmund making it through. Onwards now to Real Madrid v.s. Galatasaray which will see the team with the least goals scored (of the sides remaining) and the joint top goal scorer Burak Yilmaz face-off against the team with the joint top most goals scored and goal scorer Cristiano Ronaldo. While both sides have produced a number of opportunities, the fact that Galatasaray only have Burak Yilmaz performing with any kind of consistency seems problematic for the Turkish side. Nevertheless, Aydin Yilmaz, Umut Bulut, and Hamit Altimtop have stepped it up of late so there may be a change in the winds. Even if their strike force performs though, Galatasaray will have to be strong defensively - against a side which includes the formidable opposition of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Jose Callejon, Marcello, Kaka, Luka Modric, and Mesut Ozil amongst others. I think this may be too much of an ask for Galatasaray but who doesn't like to see an upset? PSG v.s. Barca meanwhile serves as an illustration of some of the bigger money sides in the game these days. With the big names of Lionel Messi and Ezequiel Lavezzi showcasing for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, we are sure to have a wonderful occasion on our hands so long as everyone is on form. One issue that I could see manifesting itself is the fact that as far as secondary strikers with the ability (more importantly previously displayed) to carry the respective teams are concerned, Barca seem to lack options while PSG have Jeremy Menez, Javier Pastore, Alex, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Thiago Silva. This is illustrated by the fact that PSG have actually scored more goals at this point than Barcelona as well as keeping a cleaner record. Seeing as how this is coming out of a relatively equal number of chances, which Barcelona actually have an advantage in, I would posit that PSG will make it through unless Barcelona do two things. First of all, they have to shore up their defenses. Secondly, they must make sure that their strikers and mid-fielders are on form. A great deal of possession is great, but it has to result in the ball in the back of the net. Finally, Bayern v.s. Juventus will be a similarly exciting game as they have each made possibilities though Bayern have a very slight edge both on average and absolutely. Each side has a player with 4 goals to their name - Fabio Quagliarella for Juve and Thomas Muller for Bayern - and both have a number of secondary strikers capable of leading the teams (Toni Kroos, Claudio Pizarro, Arturo Vidal, Sebastian Giovinco, the list goes on and on). In the end though, I must give Juve the edge in this battle as they have Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Matri, Claudio Marchisio, and Mauricio Isla who are all capable play-setters. That isn't to say it will be easy, rather, I think Juventus just have the fortitude to beat out the result. Make sure to catch the games!