English Premier League:
Sunday Preview:
Liverpool (7th - 35 Pts) @ Manchester City (2nd - 52 Pts) - Prediction: Draw 2-2
Both of these teams really need wins at this point in the season. Manchester City are currently 10 points behind league leading Manchester United and a loss or draw will probably kill their chances of repeating as Premier League Champions. Liverpool are coming into this game seven points behind Tottenham who would receive the fourth spot in the Champion's League and also seven points behind Everton who would receive the Europa League spot. A loss here would mean they would probably have to win the Europa League Title this year if they have any hope of playing outside of England next year.
As a Liverpool fan it's hard to see them winning this game, but I do think they will be able to compete the entire game and keep this one even. Without Vincent Kompany in the back four for City I expect Liverpool to be able to score easier than they usually would against this team. The many striking options that City possess including Edin Dzeko, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero will also score some goals as well. This should be an exciting game from a scoring standpoint.
This game could mark the debut of recent signing Philippe Coutinho for Liverpool. He was Liverpool's second biggest signing of the transfer window after they also brought in Daniel Sturridge who is already leaving his mark for this Liverpool squad. Manchester City stayed surprisingly quiet over the last transfer window and only brought in one rather unknown player in Godsway Donyoh so don't expect to see any new faces for their squad.
Tottenham Hotspur (4th - 42 Pts) @ West Bromwich Albion (9th - 34 Pts) - Prediction: Draw 1-1
In the only other game between English teams tomorrow the Spurs are visiting West Brom. If the Spurs were at home I'd say they would get the win, but on the road I expect this 1 to stay even.
Saturday's Results:
Manchester United (1st - 62 Pts) @ Fulham (13th - 28 Pts) - Man United won 1-0
Manchester United win again as Wayne Rooney scores the only goal of the game. With the win Man U now takes a 10 point lead over Man City who will be playing Liverpool tomorrow.
Lukas Podolski scored the game winner off of a deflected free kick in the 78th minute in a game Arsenal really dominated throughout.
Chelsea (3rd - 46 Pts) @ Newcastle United (15th - 27 Pts) - Newcastle won 3-2
Chelsea could have used a win in this game to move closer to 2nd place Manchester City and push them further away from 4th place Tottenham, however they ended the game with a loss. Moussa Sissoko's late brace is what gave the Magpies the win after Chelsea had a 2-1 lead.
Aston Villa (19th - 21 Pts) @ Everton (5th - 42 Pts) - Draw 3-3
Aston Villa had a two-goal lead erased when they were up 3-1 after Marouane Fellaini scored a brace within the last 25 minutes of the game to give Everton a draw and saved them a point in the standings. A draw here is like a loss for Villa who currently sit in the relegation zone.
Swansea City (8th - Pts) @ West Ham United (11 - Pts) - West Ham won 1-0
West Ham wins the game behind a goal from Andy Carroll, who has now scored only his second goal of the season on loan from Liverpool. Reports from ESPN are stating that Carroll will be joining the Hammers for good at the end of the season with them purchasing Carroll from Liverpool.
Sunderland (12th - Pts) @ Reading (17th - Pts) - Reading won 2-1
Reading's Jimmy Kebe led the team to victory by adding a brace to help defeat the Black Cats. The win helps Reading avoid the relegation zone for now.
Norwich City (14th - Pts) @ Queens Park Rangers (20th - Pts) - Draw 0-0
Scoreless game that saw QPR's Adel Taarabt miss a penalty shot that could have won them the game. QPR will likely be relegated at the end of the season.
Southampton (16th - Pts) @ Wigan Athletic (18th - Pts) - Draw 2-2
In a 2-2 draw that saw four different players do the scoring for their teams. Both teams are currently flirting with the possibility of relegation so the one point definitely helps both teams. Both could have used the win but they will take whatever they can get at this point.
Spanish La Liga:
Sunday Preview:
Barcelona (1st - 58 Pts) @ Valencia (7th - 33 Pts) - Prediction: Barca win 3-1
Every time Barcelona suits up most people expect them to win. In La Liga this season they have only drawn once and lost once. With 19 wins so far on the season expect them to make this game number 20.
Real Betis (5th - 35 Pts) @ Atletico Madrid (2nd - 47 Pts) - Prediction: Atletico wins 2-1
Real Betis are currently sitting fifth in La Liga and are certainly overachieving this season. Last year they finished 13th and will more than likely finish several spots ahead of that if they keep up the way that they are playing. Atletico is currently ahead of Real Madrid which is an achievement in itself. If you can manage to finish in the top two ahead of either Barca or Real in any season, any team in La Liga has to consider that to be a good season.
Rayo Vallecano (6th - 34 Pts) @ Sevilla FC (13th - 26 Pts) - Prediction: Sevilla win 2-1
When I first thought of this match between Sevilla and Rayo Vallecano I thought that Sevilla would be the team favored. I haven't followed La Liga as much this season due to Madrid's poor season so I hadn't noticed how well Rayo was playing and how poor Sevilla was playing. While Sevilla isn't having as good a season as they usually do and are currently lower in the table than Rayo Vallecano I expect them to win at home in this one.
Saturday's Result:
Real Madrid (3rd - 43 Pts) @ Granada (14th - 26 Pts) - Granada won 1-0
90 minutes of soccer and the only goal of the game was by Cristiano Ronaldo. No, not that kind of goal. Ronaldo aided Granada in getting the win when he scored an own goal in the 22nd minute. This is the kind of season Real Madrid has had all year. In a game where they should have won or at worst got the draw they lost to a team in the bottom half of the table once again.
Real Madrid is only concerned with finishing in the top three at this point to assure themselves a spot in the Champion's League as well as possibly winning the Copa Del Rey and this year's Champion's League. Barcelona is now 15 points ahead of Real Madrid and has played two games less than them.
What changes Real Madrid will make come this summer will have to be seen. Whether or not Jose Mourinho will be coaching the team when the season ends is the big story as of right now. Bringing in another striker to replace either Higuain or Benzema is likely as is the arrival of Tottenham star Gareth Bale. This could finally be the time they possibly lure Neymar from Brazil as well. All I know is there will be some kind of change once this season is over.
Serie A:
Sunday Preview:
Udinese (9th - ) @ AC Milan (5th - 37 Pts) - Prediction - AC Milan wins 2-1
This game could mark the debut of Milan's newest signing Mario Balotelli. Balotelli has been a headache for every team that he has played for, but when his head is on straight and he's performing at his best he can be one of the best strikers in the world. I'm guessing he will come on as a substitute in the second half and see him possibly scoring the winning goal late in the game.
Juventus (2nd - 49 Pts) @ Chievo Verona (12th - 28 Pts) - Prediction: Juventus wins 2-0
Juventus has now lost their hold on first place in the table and will be coming into this game trying to regain that lead. They sit three points behind Napoli so a win here will give them the tie. Even a draw here and a win in their next game would give them a 1-point lead over Napoli as they have played two games less than the current 1st place leaders. Expect Gianluigi Buffon to not let anything get by him in this one.
Inter Milan (4th - 40 Pts) @ Siena (20th - 14 Pts) - Prediction: Inter wins 3-0
Inter are currently struggling this season and have actually been sellers instead of buyers during the latest winter transfer window. The team has offloaded two of their key midfielders in Philippe Coutinho to Liverpool and Wesley Sneijder to Galatasary. They aren't as strong as they were when they won the Champion's League a couple of years ago, but they are playing the worst team in Serie A so they should win this game pretty easily.
Saturday's Result:
Catania (7th - 35 Pts) @ Napoli (1st - 52 Pts) - Napoli won 2-0
Coming in to the season most would probably guess that either one of the Milan teams or Juventus would be leading the Serie A table at this point in the season, but after today's win Napoli has taken control of the top spot. While they have played two more games than Juventus they currently lead them by only three points so this could change once Juventus has played the same amount.
German Bundesliga:
Sunday Preview:
Borussia Dortmund (4th - 36 Pts) @ Bayer Leverkusen (3rd - 37 Pts) - Prediction: Draw 2-2
These two teams will likely finish second and third in the table as Eintracht Frankfurt is likely to drop down. The winner of this game will move into second place in the table. Both of these teams don't have much of a chance to catch Bayern at this point so this game will likely help decide who gets to be the runner-up at the end of the season.
Saturday's Result:
Bayern Munich have been on a roll as of late and are looking to reclaim their Bundesliga title. After today's win they now hold a 12 point lead over any other team in the table and it might get larger before it gets smaller. As good as they are playing currently they will more than likely get better next year due to the team bringing in coach Pep Guardiola who will be allowed to spend plenty of money.
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French Ligue 1:
Sunday Preview:
Lyon (2nd - 45 Pts) @ AC Ajaccio (16th - 22 Pts) - Prediction: Lyon wins 2-0
Lyon are currently second in the table and with a win could tie Paris Saint-Germain at the top. They are on the road against an Ajaccio team that is in the bottom half of the table that they should beat. Expect OL to come out victorious.
Marseille (3rd - 42 Pts) @ AS Nancy (20th - 15 Pts) - Prediction: Marseille wins 3-0
Marseille are on the road against Nancy and need to win this game if they want to possibly catch PSG and OL. OM are six points behind PSG and three behind OL so a win here will definitely help them. Nancy are currently sitting at the bottom of the table in 20th so I don't think this will be close.
