Vive le Foot!

Ligue 1 teams had an amazing week in the Champions League (not so much in the Europa) that somewhat validated my prediction of French teams being real contenders this year. While Bordeaux won with class and Lyon once again upset Liverpool in the same manner they did 2 weeks ago, Marseille destroyed Zurich

and are now in a position to make Real and Milan sweat...

The end of a Vieira era...

The shock match this weekend will be Lyon - Marseille, two teams that will find themselves quite exhausted from their European ties...It's a must win for Les Phoceens who need to stay close to a Champions League position and for Les Gones to keep up with leader Bordeaux...

Meanwhile ahead of the Ireland qualifyers, Interist Patrick Vieira expressed his discontent over his non-selection with Les Bleus for the November 14 and November 18 ties making his participation in the World Cup in South Africa a priority...He might not have to worry about it....

The Frenchman

England: Premier League Previews & Predictions

Fireworks are expected on Sunday when Premier League leaders Chelsea host second-placed Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Elsewhere, Phil Brown is under pressure for his Hull City side to pick up a positive result against Stoke City, in-form Arsenal travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester City welcome North West rivals Burnley to Eastlands while Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland clash at White Hart Lane.




Preview
Preview II

Lawro's Predictions

Germany: Bundesliga Weekend Preview

Bayern face Schalke, Hoffenheim host Wolfsburg and Dortmund head to Werder in Round 12...

Friday
Bayer Leverkusen – Eintracht Frankfurt

Saturday
Bayern Munich – Schalke
Borussia M’gladbach – Stuttgart
Mainz– Nuernberg
Hoffenheim – Wolfsburg
Bochum – Freiburg


Sunday
Hannover – Hamburg
Hertha Berlin – Koeln
Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund

Italy: Serie A Weekend Preview

Roma face a daunting trip north this weekend in Serie A when they travel to the San Siro to face a reinvigorated Inter Milan.

Spain: La Liga Weekend Preview

The Madrid derby takes centre stage this weekend as big-spending Real travel to struggling Atletico.

Spanish Inquisition: Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid - A Tale Of One City

Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal looks ahead to the key clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in La Liga on Saturday night...

Chelsea vs. Manchester United: Six of the Best

The two top sides in the Premier League in recent years, United and Chelsea have unearthed a rivalry that has been fought on all fronts. While geographical location may not play a part in their feelings towards each other, the chance to establish themselves at the top is the main motivation for success. Here, we take a look at six of the best clashes from over the years.

The Joy of Six: Great European Upsets

From Metz feeding Bernd Schuster ham to Aberdeen lighting up the north, here are some of the great European shocks.

Europa League Wrap

Benfica handed Everton another painful lesson at Goodison Park. The two-goal margin of victory could actually have been larger, the Portuguese side missing several chances to increase the embarrassment for Moyes's men. In the event, Benfica settled for two second half goals, one from Saviola and one from Cardozo.

Fulham's hopes of qualifying from Group E receded after their 2-1 defeat to Roma, former Arsenal star Robert Pires scored twice as Villarreal scored a sensational, quickfire 4-1 win over Lazio to leapfrog the Italians and wrest hold of second place in Group G.

WRAP

Friday MLS Forecast: Conference Semifinals, Second Leg

The Forecast discusses Real Salt Lake's upset victory in Columbus on Thursday night before it reviews the decisive second legs ahead in the three remaining conference semifinal series.

MLS Playoffs: Major Upset In Columbus As RSL Advance

Real Salt Lake had scored just nine goals on the road all season, and the Columbus Crew had scored a single goal in the last five games, but throw that all out the window – this is the playoffs.

Premier League Heroes: Patrick Vieira: He came from Senegal...

As French Revolutions go, Arsene Wenger's transformation of Arsenal in 1996 was decidedly less brutal than its 1789 predecessor. But at the beating heart of a side that espoused the values of a liberated style of football was a totemic figure who struck fear into the hearts of opponents thanks to his formidable talent and fiery competitiveness. That man was Patrick Vieira.

Little Girlies Playing Soccer

Women, girls, ladies...they're just a little too soft and weak to play soccer. Take New Mexico Lobos player Elizabeth Lambert, seen in this clip on the Marca website. She really needs to toughen up her game...ouch.

Roma vs. Fulham: Clint Dempsey relishing chance to play on stage of his heroes

Clint Dempsey, who grew up in a trailer park in Texas, has admitted he was in awe of Italian greats during his childhood and will relish the chance to play at Rome's Olympic Stadium. The Fulham winger, who was on the bench when Roma stole a draw at Craven Cottage a fortnight ago, is set to start as Roy Hodgson’s team look for the win that would put them in a strong position in Group E of the Europa League.

UEFA Champions League Team Of The Week: Matchday 4

Goal.com highlights the best performers of Matchday 4.









Bosnia and Herzegovina's and Wolfsburg's Zvjezdan Misimovic...

England: Premier League Report + Table

Three points, two injuries, one hero: this was a mixed night for West Ham United that ended in pure joy. When injuries to Carlton Cole and Hérita Ilunga were followed by a freakish equaliser for Aston Villa, the scene seemed set for yet another promising performance to end in another disappointing result. Instead, Gianfranco Zola’s side dug in when they could have caved in and unearthed a new match-winner in Zavon Hines, the 20-year-old who had gone on for Cole in the first half. He clinched the points in stoppage time

Nº	Team	GP	W	D	L	Pts
1.	Chelsea	11	9	0	2	27
2.	Manchester Utd	11	8	1	2	25
3.	Arsenal	10	7	1	2	22
4.	Manchester City	10	5	4	1	19
5.	Tottenham	11	6	1	4	19
6.	Liverpool	11	6	0	5	18
7.	Aston Villa	11	5	3	3	18
8.	Sunderland	11	5	2	4	17
9.	Stoke City	11	4	4	3	16
10.	Burnley	11	5	0	6	15
11.	Fulham	10	4	2	4	14
12.	Wigan	11	4	1	6	13
13.	Everton	10	3	3	4	12
14.	Birmingham	11	3	2	6	11
15.	Bolton	10	3	2	5	11
16.	West Ham	11	2	4	5	10
17.	Wolverhampton	11	2	4	5	10
18.	Blackburn	10	3	1	6	10
19.	Hull City	11	2	2	7	8
20.	Portsmouth	11	2	1	8	7

Blow for Real Madrid as Cristiano Ronaldo injury shows no improvement

Cristiano Ronaldo may face a further three months out if he is forced to have another operation on his injured ankle. Real Madrid have announced that the Portuguese winger has not showed enough improvement to join the first team squad in training and that he has travelled to Amsterdam to see the Dutch ankle specialist Niek van Dijk.

UEFA will probe into Rangers fans

Rangers supporters were involved in a half-time disturbance at the Ghencea Stadium in Bucharest.

Fans were seen on TV destroying seats and challenging match stewards.

Video

UEFA Champions League: Wednesday Reports

Arsenal virtually booked their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, while Liverpool and Rangers' hopes continue to hang in the balance. Inter Milan staged a dramatic comeback win in Kiev while Rubin Kazan once again frustrated Barcelona.

Lyon 1 - 1 Liverpool
Lopez strikes at the death
Richard Williams Column
Player Ratings

Dynamo Kiev 1 - 2 Inter Milan
Late goals gain priceless victory
Player Ratings


Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 Barcelona
Blaugrana frozen out in Russia

Fiorentina 5 - 2 Decrecen
Viola cruise

Arsenal 4 - 1 AZ Alkmaar
Fàbregas Masterclass
Player Ratings

Link to Full Tables

2009 FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP: Recurring theme of missed chances as U.S. falls to Italy

With the American team eliminated from the FIFA U-17 World Cup after a 2-1 loss to Italy, an evaluation of the team's performance -- in their knockout round match Wednesday with Italy and in the tournament in general -- is really a matter of recognizing that there are two sides to every coin.