Costa Banned, Chelsea vs. Manchester City, Bundesliga is Back, Congolese Derby?, Transfer Nuttiness

Welcome to Friday, friends! We've somehow reached the end of another week. As noted above, Diego Costa has been rightfully banned from participating in The Beautiful Game by making it decidedly not beautiful thanks to his propensity for going postal and stamping Liverpool players. The ban certainly adds a twist to the TOP OF THE TABLE CLASH that will take place tomorrow at Stamford Bridge (12:30 p.m. EST on NBC). Let's get to all the previews and see what the hell else is going on in the wonderful world of The Foot.

Premier League Notebook

50-50 Challenge

10 Things To Look Out For This Weekend

Team News

Michael Cox: Chelsea vs. Man City: Tactical guide to where the game will be won and lost

Chelsea vs. Manchester City: Key Battles

Paul Merson's Predictions

Lawro's Predictions

Yet another Yank Abroad is no longer a Yank Abroad. Juan Agudelo has failed in Europe and he will now be based in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Er...welcome back?

Down in Africa, they're blessing the rains with the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations. 

Saturday – Congo vs. Congo DR 

Saturday – Tunisia vs. Equitorial 

Sunday – Ghana vs. Guinea 

Sunday – Ivory Coast vs. Algeria 

Democratic Republic of Congo vs. Republic of Congo. Hmmm. Interesting.

Over in Asia, they've reached the final. Looks like it'll be South Korea vs. Australia. Apparently, there is a fairytale in the making with a certain Korean striker. Here's your preview for the match itself.

Goodness gracious, they do hibernate for a long time in Germany, do they not? The long sleep is finally over and there will be top-flight football in Germany this weekend. Here's your Preview. More? Sure, why not?

Spain? They'll be rocking, too. Real Madrid in particular. Here's your Preview. 

Italy? You know it. Milan and Parma are in trouble (crisis!!) and face each other on Sunday at the San Siro. Here's your Preview.

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

Richard Williams is a favorite scribe around SSN Headquarters. Today, his headline reads, "Euro 2012 left little mark on Ukraine, still haunted by its history." And then, there's this: "Few major tournaments can have felt so irrelevant to their time and place as the last European Championship and the potential fault lines in Ukraine were apparent to those who cared to look." Dig in.

The Weekend In Europe

That will be all, folks. Get to it.

Onward!!

-SSN

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