The Manchester Derby, Los Angeles Football Club, Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund

Here we go again...

And there goes anther one, folks! The weekend is here and it is time to party! Manchester Derby? Bring it! Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund? Das ist super! Napoli vs. Roma! Grazie mille! Let's roll, beginning with the Premier League necessities...

Premier League Preview

Premier League Notebook

10 Things To Look Out For

10 Questions

Premier League Spotlight

Manchester City vs. Manchester United: 50/50 Challenge

Manchester Derby A-Z: Backheels, noisy neighbours & X-rated

Adam Bate: What's happened to Yaya Toure?

Jacob Steinberg: Slack attitudes at Manchester City risk returning club to tragicomedy

Michael Cox: The challenges awaiting City and United in the Manchester derby

Jim White: Fellaini has given United derby edge

Alan Smith: City's defence gives them the edge

Paul Merson's Predictions

Lawro's Predictions

The Weekend In Europe

Americans Abroad. It's been awhile. Let's check in on Yanks plying their trade across the ponds/borders.

A title race in Spain? It's the honest-to-goodness truth. Here's a preview for the weekend action in La Liga. We should take a gander at Italy while we're at is. Besides the Napoli/Roma clash, there is Samp/Fiorentina, Parma/Inter, Milan/Palermo, and Empoli/Juve. Check it.

Let's get caught up on MLS. Here are some headlines: Vancouver lament a bad call, Thierry Henry shows he's still the best around, FC Dallas will need to improve home form, and KC can’t escape their end-of-season woes. Speaking of MLS, did you know Chivas USA no longer exists? Not to fear, those of you who think there should be two franchises in The City of Angels: LAFC is here!

Red Star Belgrade vs. Partizen Belgrade. A dodgy derby to make make Manchester's seem tame. Kirsten Schlewitz took in the action recently and filed this report from Serbia.

And finally...is Bayern really the ideal opponent for Klopp's struggling Dortmund?

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

What's In Your Wallet Cup?, Cosmos Sign Raul, Roy Keane Reveals 'Drinking Was My Hobby'

That's one Hamburg fan who's not a fan of Franck.

Wow! League Cup fun! Whoda thunk? Newcastle looked good yesterday. All of a sudden they've got a spring in their step and look to be turning things around. They dispatched a rather lethargic Manchester City side at the Etihad without too much trouble by the score of two goals to zero. Speaking of trouble, Man City not only lost the match, but they also lost playmaker David Silva. Jamie Jackson was at the match and filed this report. Richard Jolly was there as well and came away with Three Points about the contest. Up next for City? United. Yikes.

Elsewhere, Graziano Pellè simply cannot stop scoring for Southampton. He's been key to the Saints surge up the table in the Premier League, and last night he scored two, including the late winner as his side won at Stoke. Pete Lansley was at the Britannia Stadium and filed this report. In the other match, Spurs beat Brighton 2 - 0. Here's a report.

What else? Ahh, yes. Italia. These weren't cup matches, mind you. Straight up Serie A, son! Our favorite scribe in Italy, Paolo Bandini, gives us all we need to know here. It was Gigi Buffon's 500th game for Juve, but he didn't get the win! No, instead, Juventus lost to Genoa and with Roma's win, the top of the table it tied up. Juventus = Played (9), Goal Difference (12), Points (22). Roma = Played (9), Goal Difference (12), Points (22). Here's a wee bit more on Juventus.

Another old guy is coming to the States. Raul has signed with the NY Cosmos. He's 37. Ok, then.

MLS Playoffs kicked off last night. Dallas beat Vancouver. Brian Strauss has Three Thoughts about it.

And finally...more fun with Roy Keane. 'Drinking was my hobby, I suppose. I’m not giving it the thumbs up, but it was my trait. I don’t know why – because I’m Irish, maybe, because I lived by myself. Boredom kicked in.'

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

What's In Your Wallet Cup?, Clattenburg Dropped After Sheeran Gig, Midweek Serie A Action, Tevez Back With Argentina, MLS

That's better. We took a wee break but we're back on this fine Hump Day. It was quite the weekend, what with Real Madrid and Barcelona squaring off, and Chelsea and Manchester United going at it. Hey! West Ham beat Manchester City and are in the Top Four! How did that happen!?

There were some fine goals, too. Here they are. Let's call them...Goals of the Week (plus Tackle of the Week and Miss of the Week).

He scores when he wants. Which is not terribly often, mind...

The League Cup had some matches yesterday. Matches of note? Well, Chelsea edged Shrewsbury Town to advance. Jamie Jackson was at New Meadow and filed this report. Mario Balotelli scored and Liverpool left it late to edge Swansea City. Andy Hunter was at Anfield and filed this report. Richard Jolly was there as well and came away with Three Thoughts about the contest.

Today you've got Manchester City vs. Newcastle, Tottenham vs. Brighton, and Stoke vs. Southampton.

Major League Soccer. What the hell is going on in that league? This helps us find out. Thank you, Grant Wahl, Brian Straus, Bird (Power Rankings!), etc. You want a MEGA MLS PLAYOFF PREVIEW? We will make it so.

Graham Hunter wants to talk about Diego Simeone and Atlético Madrid. We shall let him do so.

We all hate Mark Clattenburg, right? A ref who wants the spotlight, who jokes with gaffers, who, well, sucks? Yes. Anyhoo, he won't be working this weekend. He broke some rules and went to see Ed Sheeran. Shame.

Sad, but true...

This is some midweek action in Serie A to get you through to Saturday. Here's a preview. You're looking at Fiorentina vs. Udinese, Inter vs. Sampdoria, and Genoa vs. Juventus, among others.

In Spain they'll play some Copa del Rey today. Looks like Real Madrid face some club called Cornholeia. Good luck with that. Meanwhile, in the League, Sevilla are the surprise package thus far. Let's investigate, shall we?

Tim Vickery is reporting from South America. His focus is on Argentina and the return of a certain Carlos Tevez to the national side.

And finally...this English FA official is a Neanderthal.

Onward!!

-SSN

Back Tomorrow

We took an SSN staff trip to New York over the weekend and are currently wandering back into the office. Normal service will return tomorrow. In the interim, please enjoy this photograph of SSN staff members enjoying the Manchester United/Chelsea match in a hotel room. Onward!!  -SSN