Update: U.S. Players in the UEFA Cup

Michael Bradley scores twice to lead Heerenveen over Henrik Larsson's Helsingborg

Weekend Thoughts From the Editor

It’s not every weekend we get Manchester United vs. Chelsea, Roma vs. Juventus, and Barcelona vs. Sevilla. Toss in the women over in China against England and we’ve got ourselves quite a solid weekend of footie. Obviously, the ManU/Chelsea clash oozes with questions, most of them centered around The Special One’s departure. How will the Chelsea lads perform? If it’s true that many of them now want to leave Stamford Bridge, how will that affect their performance on the pitch? And how will the new guy (Avram Grant) lead out his charges? Over on the red side, will Rooney find his form? Will his teammates start scoring? Lawro says it’ll be 0-0 and I fear he could be correct.

Another big club that’s hurting is Juventus. Their visit to the Eternal City presents a real chance for Roma to put some space between the two clubs in the race for the scudetto. Camoranesi has been the Juventus sparkplug this year, and without him they lack ideas and verve. Nedved and Del Piero are well past their prime and Trezeguet relies on service to be effective. From where will he be served? As for Roma, Totti is scintillating at the moment and the Golden Boot winner has picked up right where he left off. I see a Roman Holiday here.

It’ll be a case of reverse fortunes at the Camp Nou when Seville arrive after their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal midweek. They’ll need to regroup quickly because now that Henry has scored for Barca, the bubble could burst. This should be most entertaining match of the three biggies, as both clubs like to attack and open things up. There will be plenty of goals on offer – miss it at your own risk.

To finish, let me just say that if the USA Women’s team loses to England I’ll be pissed. Our women are the best in the world. Period. And even if England’s star striker plays for Arsenal, I still like them only a hair more than the men’s team. And that ain’t much. Come on WomenYanks! Bring home the Cup!!

That’s it for this week. Have a good one. -Sanford

Lawro's Premiership Predictions

Newcastle v West Ham (1330 BST)

There has been criticism that Newcastle's football is a little bit dull, but you have to give new manager Sam Allardyce time.

After Monday's defeat to Derby I wouldn't have wanted to be a Newcastle player. To see Big Sam coming through the door during the week wouldn't have been a great sight - he'd probably be like a bear with a sore head.

After last season's relegation scrap, West Ham are looking in better shape this time round.

New players have come in and bedded down well, while Dean Ashton knits everything together nicely.

Just as encouragingly West Ham have a lot of players to come back from injury, notably Scott Parker.

Despite all that, this one is a home win for Newcastle.

Match preview

All of Lawro's Predictions

Italy: Serie A Weekend Previews

Roma welcome Juventus to the Stadio Olympico for Serie A's mouthwatering weekend clash.

AC Milan, the other members of the big four, need to transfer their Champions League form into Serie A when they host Parma on Saturday at 1830 GMT.

Carlo Ancelotti's side have drawn their last two domestic games 1-1 but opened their European Cup defence with an impressive 2-1 win over Benfica on Tuesday.

Sunday's games kick off at 1300 GMT except for Sampdoria's city derby with promoted Genoa which starts at 1830 GMT.

Spain: La Liga Weekend Previews

Barcelona host Sevilla in the mouthwatering clash of the weekend.

Leaders Real Madrid, who are three points clear at the top after only three games, will be looking to extend their winning streak to five in all competitions, when they visit promoted Valladolid on Sunday.

Bernd Schuster's side have a 100 percent record in the league and beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.

Third-placed Valencia, and under-fire coach Quique Sanchez Flores, visit Real Betis.

L.A.'s Other Galaxy of Soccer Stars

It doesn't matter if David Beckham is playing or not. The Los Angeles Galaxy are still not the most star-studded team in L.A. That honor belongs to a club that plays most of its matches in front of no more than a handful of spectators, calls a worn and rented artificial turf pitch at a west L.A. private school "home" and has an official player payroll of zero.


A few of the lads on the squad:
Steve Jones, musician (The Sex Pistols): "Big striker who terrifies defenders. Nicknamed 'The Shepherds Bush goal machine' after the area of London he hails from."

Anthony LaPaglia, actor ("Murder One" and "Without a Trace"): "Heartbeat of the club who still shows flashes of the ability that made him a professional goalkeeper in Australia in the late-1970s."

Vivian Campbell, musician (Def Leppard): "An Irish midfield general in the mold of his fellow countryman Roy Keane. Keeps things tight and organized."

All the Pundits on Mourinho, Grant, Roman, yadda, yadda...

Simon Barnes: Unquenched thirst for power brings down one-man show
Martin Samuel: Avram Grant appointment makes Chelsea no more than rich man’s plaything
Richard Williams: For Abramovich, success on its own will never be enough
Mark Lawson: A manager never outstrips the owner

Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Previews

Bayern Munich find themselves at the top of the Bundesliga after five games, but have seen the chasing pack close the gap, after two draws on the bounce. This weekend could possibly see a change in leadership if the Bavarians fail to beat Karlsruher.

England: EPL Weekend Preview

Manchester United welcomes Chelsea in the banner fixture of the weekend

EPL This Weekend: Hot Tips
Goal.com’s exclusive guide to this weekend's Premier League matches for those who like to back informed hunches with a flutter for an extra dash of excitement and the possibility that the football results will deliver more than three points...

All The Previews for the Weekend

Women's World Cup: England Presents Challenge for USA

A day after beating Nigeria 1-0 to clinch first place in Group B and earn a spot opposite England in Saturday's quarterfinal in Tianjin (8 a.m. ET, ESPN2), weather delays related to Typhoon Wipha prevented the American team from leaving Shanghai as originally scheduled. But even as they waited out the effects of a very real force of nature, coach Greg Ryan and his staff were contemplating the challenge of taming the soccer phenomenon that is Kelly Smith.





Canales: Brazil Looks to Be The Strongest of the Quarterfinalists

Germany vs. North Korea
United States vs. England
China vs. Norway
Brazil vs. Australia

Quarterfinal Schedule:
Sept. 22
Germany vs. North Korea
Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan, China
5 a.m. ET, ESPN2
U.S. vs. England
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China
8 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Sept. 23
Norway vs. China
Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan, China
5 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Brazil vs Australia
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China
8 a.m. ET, ESPN2

Altidore's game growing by leaps and bounds

Jozy Altidore could be the one.

It's almost sacrilege to think it, let alone say it out loud. But American soccer fans can't help but wonder just how good the gifted, soft-spoken 17-year-old can be.

Ronaldo faces police enquiry after alleged fan stamp

Lloyd, a 34-year-old joiner, said he needed hospital treatment following the incident with Ronaldo. Lloyd had been trying to retrieve the ball when it went out of play near where he was sitting.

"I've been in excruciating pain. I don't know if I'll work again any time soon," he told the Daily Post.

Wins for Bayern and Ajax in UEFA Cup, Spurs hit six

Former European champions Bayern Munich and Ajax Amsterdam started their UEFA Cup campaigns with 1-0 wins in Thursday's first-round matches.

Watched by a crowd of 64,000 at the Allianz Arena, Italy striker Luca Toni scored the only goal for Bayern against Belenenses, smashing the ball home from close range after a lob by Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel in the 34th minute.

Everton 1 - 1 Metalist
Andy Johnson Missed Two Penalties

Pure Class

It's hard to understand how Arsene Wenger could have let this class act slip thru his fingers.
Amii's hell with rat Kop star
Pennant Unrepentant After Red Card

Jose Mourinho Resigns

Jose Mourinho has astonishingly called time on a glittering three-year reign as Chelsea's manager by severing his ties with the deposed Premier League champions. Long-standing differences with the club's owner, Roman Abramovich, have re-emerged so strongly that they have forced him into the drastic step of leaving the club.

Kevin McCarra: Jose Mourinho brought plenty of success to Stamford Bridge, but his teams were not stylish enough for Roman Abramovich.

Chelsea's director of football Avram Grant has been named as the club's new manager alongside current No2 Steve Clarke, following Jose Mourinho's shock departure from Stamford Bridge last night.

Martin Samuel: The Special One Gave Chelsea Fans Everything, But Failed When It Came to Abramovich's Simple Request: Win Every Trophy in Sight

The Special One to Run Portugal?

Champions League Review: Arsenal, Rangers, Barca win while Inter lose

Sporting Lisbon 0 - 1 Manchester United: Ronaldo Scores on Homecoming

Rangers 2 - 1 Stuttgart: Adam Leads Fightback

Arsenal 3 - 0 Seville: The Insider at the Emirates

Fenerbache 1 - 0 Inter Milan: Deivid Stuns Inter

Roma 2 - 0 Dynamo Kiev: Totti in Inspirational Form


Complete Wrap: Henry Bags His First Goal For Barcelona

Uefa Cup: The English Challenge + The German Angle

The first round proper of the hybrid endurance course that is the Uefa Cup gets under way tomorrow night, with four English teams embarking on a journey that will be both complicated and arduous - but also highly rewarding - if they make it all the way to next May's final in Manchester.

Rabotnicki Kometal v Bolton
Kick-off: 1900 BST (20:00 local)
Venue: Gradski, Skopje, FYR Macedonia.
Would not want to miss this match-up!! What a clash of titans!! -Sanford

A review of German squads in the tourny...
Litex v Hamburg is the cracker here.

Liverpool bereft as Agger and Alonso suffer broken metatarsals + more Owen woe?

Rafael Benítez was dealt a major setback to his Premier League aspirations last night when he learned that both Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger have suffered broken metatarsals which will sideline them for six weeks.

Michael Owen seems destined to have yet more surgery after reliable sources last night insisted that the England striker requires a hernia operation which will sideline him for up to six weeks.

Arsenal Focus

Jonathan Wilson's Column:
Arsenal, the New Ajax?

In dismantling Sevilla, Arséne Wenger's men showed they may finally be balanced enough to succeed at Total Football.



Arsenal playing "on a different planet"

A Spot of Humor For Your Wednesday

Cheers to Pedro for this one...