Early injuries could tell the tale of Manchester United's season

What happens when a club's first choice right back, two central midfielders, left and right wingers and star striker are injured? What happens when at least three of those players were instrumental in bringing titles to the club last season?

Only time will tell what this slew of preseason injuries will mean to Manchester United, reigning champions of England and Europe.

The list of the Red Devils' talent currently spending more time on the trainer's table than the training pitch is startling: full back Gary Neville; holding midfielders Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick; winger Ji-Sung Park and forward Wayne Rooney, who apparently came down with a virus while on United's tour of Africa (for an interesting take on the perils of preseason touring, read Tony Cascarino's column on the Times website).

To top it off, now that he's staying, forward Cristiano Ronaldo is still recovering from ankle surgery and won't be available until at least next month.

And injuries aren't the end of manager Alex Ferguson's selection woes: midfielder Anderson is currently with the Brazilian national team at the Beijing Olympics.

It will be argued that if any team can cope with a Swiss cheese-like roster, it's United (although the same claim could be made of Chelsea). With the likes of Nani, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs available to fill some of those holes, the Red Devils won't exactly starve.

But a slow start could be meaningful come May. Chelsea will be out for revenge after being pipped to both titles last season and their squad is stable, if not strengthened over last year.

And while Ronaldo has committed himself to the team now, if United need a push to win the title this year, his heart may start looking towards Madrid sometime in March, just when United need him most.

Ferguson needs to look at the few remaining weeks of August carefully, shrewdly and be willing to pounce at a stop-gap measure if one presents itself.

Matches against Newcastle (H), Portsmouth (A) and Fulham (H) come before a vital international break over the first two weeks of September. The squad had better be coming together by this point, as United travel to Liverpool on Sept. 13. Following closely behind that fixture is the start of the Champions League group stages, also important to a successful United season.

Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov will remain on Ferguson's radar, but with a distinct lack of news on such a transfer, it makes me think Juande Ramos feels he is dealing from a position of strength, with enough money to accomplish his goals without having to stoop to United's fee proposal. A poor result, particularly on the road to Portsmouth, could force Ferguson to match Spurs asking price for the striker however.

I've heard it bandied about in the papers and on television that Ferguson's lack of transfer movement has more to do with the availability of funds than it has to do with his evaluation of the first team's strength. Manchester United and their American owners, the Glazer family, are deeply indebted and it has been suggested that the current credit crisis is holding back the club's transfer ambitions.

A slow start has been fatal in the past few seasons, but as Arsenal proved last year, a quick start to the campaign guarantees nothing. It'll be interesting to see how things at Old Trafford transpire.

Champions League third round qualifying draw: highlights

The draw for the third round of the Champions League was made today, and while the two English sides were able to avoid some of the better possible opponents, Schalke 04 v. Athletico Madrid offers the most attractive match to be played later this month.

In another intriguing twist, Arsenal have been paired with FC Twente of the Dutch league, managed by none other than former England boss Steve McClaren. Good luck, Steve.

Other highlights include:

Standard Liege (BEL) v. Liverpool
Barcelona v. Beitar Jerusalem (ISR) or Wisla Krakow (POL)
Juventus v. Tampere United (FIN) or Artmedia Petrzalka (SVK)
SK Brann (NOR) or FK Ventspils (LVA) v. Olympique Marseille
ACF Fiorentina v. SK Slavia Prague (CZE)
Aalborg BK (DEN) or FK Modriča (BIH) v. Rangers or FBK Kaunas (LTU)

What if ... Euro 2008 had 24 teams?

Spain had barely been crowned champions of Europe when the UEFA brain trust decided to crassly announce they had every intention of capitalizing on the success of Austria-Switzerland by bumping up the number of entrants to the final tournament in 2016 to 24 from the current 16.

I'd like to think that most everyone feels this is simply a boneheaded idea spawned from the mind of someone who routinely says boneheaded things, Michel Platini. Yes, it appears this will indeed become reality, thereby ruining the unique format of the Euro tournament: the top 16 teams from the deepest confederation in the world.

But let me play devil's advocate for a moment and paint a picture of what Euro 2008 might have looked like had 24 teams been part of the competition. We know who the top teams are, since they were in the actual field. The remaining teams would consist of the third place finishers in the seven qualifying groups, plus the top fourth place finisher:

Serbia, Scotland, Norway, Republic of Ireland, England, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Finland (24 pts.), who edge out Israel (23 pts.).

Initially, this looks like a fairly forlorn group, right? But Serbia and Finland (tied on 24 points) played well in Group A, only trailing Poland and Portugal by four and three points respectively. Remember the Portuguese were favourites at one point, right? Well, they only managed four points out of four games against these two sides.

Scotland of course caused France and Italy no end of trouble in qualifying, while Northern Ireland beat both Spain and Sweden at home and only lost 1-0 to the European champions in Las Palmas. Bulgaria meanwhile suffered its only loss away to the Dutch, 2-0.

Norway and Finland are both plucky teams in the Scandinavian mold. The Republic of Ireland were the only side to finish third in their group with fewer than 20 points (they had 17) but even they would have been a match for the hapless hosts Austria.

And finally England. While they did seem to miss out in the most spectacular fashion, essentially sealing their own fate with a rare home loss to a very impressive Croatia, England rarely fail to compete at tournaments. They may make things hard on themselves, but aside from Euro 2000, they have made the knockout stage of each tournament since 1996. They would have been at least as good as the Czechs, who I think were the best team not to advance in this year's tournament.

The biggest fault I see with the 24 team format is that the number of games would make the proceedings drag on. Sixteen teams makes for a short, intense spectacle, which is what I think we all enjoy about the Euro.

Transfer News & Rumors

The Guardian reports Zenit St. Petersburg have rejected a £11.8 million bid from Barcelona for Andrei Arshavin. With Chelsea also in the hunt, Arshavin has been given two weeks off by the Russian club, in the midst of their season, to decide his future.

Chelsea are ready to break the world transfer fee record to secure the services of AC Milan's Kaka, according to The Times. This would mean an amount in excess of the £46 million paid by Real Madrid for Zinedine Zidane. Milan would prefer to not sell their Brazilian star, but the club is suffering financially after failing to qualify for the Champions League.

A report in The Mirror has Real Madrid President Ramon Calderon claiming the Spanish champions will back off on a bid for Cristiano Ronaldo until the Manchester United winger proves his fitness, but said his club is still interested:

"If they say sometime that they would like to sell we will be there and will ask."

And so the saga continues...

The Daily Mail is reporting that Liverpool has given striker Peter Crouch permission to speak with Portsmouth. The Merseyside club has accepted an offer for the England player, bringing one of Liverpool's transfer sideshows to an end.

Alan Shearer is getting ready to take over as manager of Championship side Southampton, according to The Daily Star. The former Newcastle striker turned down an offer from Toon boss Kevin Keegan to be the No. 2 at St. James Park earlier this year. Now, can he bring the fragile Saints back to the Premier League?

Finally, Joan Laporta was given somewhat of a reprieve yesterday when only 60.6 per cent of Barcelona club members gave him the thumbs down. The vote was six per cent short of the two-thirds required to oust the top man at the Nou Camp. Some 37,294 members turned up to vote, easily surpassing the 10 per cent of all members (15,184) needed to legitimize the vote. Laporta, according to a story on the ESPN Soccernet website, vowed to continue despite the apparent lack of support:

"It may seem contradictory, but in a few months time we will see that Barca is the real winner," he said. "It's a democratic exercise which could not possibly cause any social division. The Board should read into the results and analyse them profoundly as this is a really good result for us."

Good luck, Joan.

Barcelona's Laporta could pay the price lack of silverware

A number of reports today appear to leave the future of Barcelona President Joan Laporta up in the air. According to the Barcelona website, the club reported the club is in an excellent financial situation, but a Reuters story on ESPN Soccernet suggests Laporta, who faces a club confidence vote on Sunday, could get the axe after the team's disappointing results since winning the League and the European Championship in 2006.

While the club has increased its revenues by $29.9 million Cdn over last year and by $296 million over the past five years. The club also reported net income of $16.1 million in the past year.

With a healthy balance sheet, why would Barcelona consider sacking Laporta? I would suggest with that Barcelona club members demand more that just money in the bank. Yes Laporta has replaced manager Frank Rijkaard with popular former player Pep Guardiola, who has in turn pledged to ship Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o out for next season. Recent purchases like Daniel Alves and sales such as Deco moving to Chelsea are also a sign things are changing in Barcelona.

But La Liga is changing and Barcelona may not be adapting quickly enough. Many top players are choosing to play in England, rival Real Madrid has abandoned its Galactico policy and won two titles running as a result, while teams like Athletico Madrid, Sevilla and Villarreal have become genuine contenders in a league that is much more competitive than when Barca last hoisted a cup.

Even in Europe, where Barcelona have remained competitive, they have fared poorly against the top English opposition. In order for Laporta to be voted out on Sunday, 10 per cent of voting club members must turn out and vote two-thirds in favour of dumping the boss. If Laporta does indeed take the fall, recent changes in Catalonia could just be the beginning of a larger revolution at the club.

Transfer Rumours

Despite leaving England and flourishing in Turkey at Fenerbahce last year, Colin Kazim-Richards, otherwise known as Kazim-Kazim on the Turkish national side, may be headed to Manchester City, reports The Telegraph. The article suggests a bid of 4 million pounds may be required to lure the player back to Britain.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce wants to reunite with Birmingham City midfielder Olivier Kapo, according to The Mirror, in a deal that could cost 3.5 million pounds along with defender Ryan Taylor heading to St. Andrews in a part exchange.

Several sources are reporting that Arsenal are interested in acquiring the services of Obafemi Maritins from Newcastle United. Martins told The Sun:

“Is Arsenal a good club? Yes. Would I love to play there? Probably, if Newcastle are ready to listen to them. But if Newcastle says no then it’ll be no.”

With Adebayor rumoured to be on the way out, Martins could be had for less than half the 30 million pounds Arsenal have set as the value for their prolific striker.

And finally, multiple sources have disgruntled Liverpool striker Peter Crouch moving to Portsmouth for a fee of 10 million pounds. The lanky England international played 37 games for Pompey between July 2001 and March 2002, when he was sold to Aston Villa by Harry Redknapp, who was just starting his first stint at Fratton Park. According to an article in The Guardian, Crouch prefers Portsmouth to Tottenham, who were looking for Crouch to be a makeweight in a potential swap for Robbie Keane.

The final weekend and what's to come

Well, after nine months of action, the fate of several teams in the Premier League rests on the events of Sunday. Manchester United need to win to lock up the league championship, Chelsea need United to slip and a victory against Bolton at Stamford Bridge to pip the Red Devils at the end.

Derby are down, but two of Fulham, Reading and Birmingham City will join them after tomorrow. The Blues need a win and a draw or loss by both of the other teams to stay up. Fulham are safe with a win, while Reading need a win coupled with a Fulham draw or loss in order to escape relegation.

After picking Man United to win it all in August, I think they will win against Wigan to close out another league title. The can't afford to slip up, as Chelsea will surely take all the points against Bolton, but I'll go on the record to state that Man United will take the league and Chelsea will have their revenge in Moscow at the Champions League Final.

As for the relegation battles, I think Reading will go down, along with Birmingham. At Reading, the team seems to have given up and manager Steve Coppell is paying the price for not upgrading his side after surviving the vital first year in the top flight. Even lowly Derby, Reading's final foe of the season, will prove too much for this bunch.

As for Birmingham, Alex McLeish coaxed some fine displays out of this side when he arrived mid-season, but he is finding out the hard way what a manager's job is in the Premier League. I'm sure he'll be back, perhaps not with Birmingham but he'll see better days in the future.

The Blues are in tough against Blackburn, who are still a top-half team, while Fulham are playing with the conviction of a team wanting to survive -- and likely will against Portsmouth, who have been on cruise control since qualifying for the FA Cup final.

Here in Canada, three games will be shown live: Wigan v. Manchester United (The Score), Chelsea v. Bolton (Setanta) and Portsmouth v. Fulham (Sportsnet). A slew of same day, tape-delayed games will follow, making for some fascinating televised action.

In the days ahead on the blog, I'm going to be writing a season review of sorts, cataloging the ups and downs of the football season across Europe, and preparing a Euro 2008 preview. For the close season, I'm going to try to post a weekly collection of rumors and happenings in the transfer market and otherwise. Stay tuned.

Back to square one for Arsenal and Wenger

At the beginning of the season, I predicted Arsenal would finish fourth, behind the other members of the Premier League elite, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

I believed at that time, Arsenal had done little to improve on a squad that failed to impress in the last campaign, really adding only Eduardo and Bacary Sagna. Their team was relatively inexperienced and they would struggle to keep up with the other big sides.

By about December, I had finally come to admit I was wrong, with Arsenal the class of the league, seemingly poised to make their mark, winning Arsenal's first title in four years. Their skill was unsurpassed in England and they were breezing along in Europe and the League cup competitions.

Well, I think I was wrong then too. At this point, Arsenal are about where I pegged them in August, in somewhat of a fight for fourth with Liverpool, sitting only five points ahead of the Merseysiders and still mired in a stretch of wretched form.

I think what I missed in December, and what most commentators missed since August, is Arsenal's distinct lack of depth. Beyond the first 11, Arsenal simply lack the talent to fill in when a starting player must be rested or is injured.

Looking at the number of games started from players of the top four teams, Chelsea have one player Joe Cole (I had to look at that twice to believe it) who has started 25 or more Premier League games. Liverpool have three players in this category and Manchester United, who likely have the deepest well of talent from which to draw, have started six players 25 times or more this season.

Arsenal have started a whopping eight players 25 or more times in the Premier League. Its no wonder Arsenal have suffered through absences of their top players and have began to fade down towards the end of the season.

When it came time to play Liverpool three times in ten days in the Champions League and the Premier League, followed by Manchester United (also in the league), the tank was empty for Arsenal's talented squad.

Arsene Wenger, who had the opportunity to strengthen his side in January but took a pass, will need to look much harder at his team in the summer if he still holds ambitions of winning silverware in this the most demanding of football leagues.

Champions League Quarterfinal Draw

Here's the draw for the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal:

Arsenal v. Liverpool
Roma v. Manchester United
Schalke v. Barcelona
Fenerbahce v. Chelsea

The first legs will be played April 1/2 and the second legs will go April 8/9.

I got my wish, and there will be no Premier League domination of the continent this season. The last thing football needs is giant English teams with even more money at the expense of the rest of Europe.

Champions League quarterfinal draw needs an all-English tie

The draw for the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League takes place in Nyon, Switzerland tomorrow with four Premier League sides having qualified in the previous round.

This presents a possibility, albeit somewhat remote, that four English clubs could qualify for the semi-finals. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United each have a shot at avoiding one another, but this would prove to be a disaster for the competition and UEFA in general.

The best case scenario would see at least one match-up involving the top four teams in England. A rematch of Chelsea-Liverpool or a London derby would make for a fascinating storyline in the next round.

The sentiment among the players is that they would like to meet another English side later in the competition, but can anyone truly imagine an all-English competition? What sort of mockery would be made of the European club championship if it were contested by English sides alone?

Naturally this assumes the four Premier League teams win in the quarterfinal round, but this is not an impossibility by any stretch of the imagination.

The strongest side on paper appears to be Barcelona, but they have been inconsistent in La Liga this season, allowing an equally inconsistent Real Madrid side to waltz along in first place for most of the year.

Roma has been impressive, beating the aforementioned Madrid side in the round of 16. They've managed to keep pace with Inter in Italy, but who can forget the quarterfinal debacle last year that saw them bow out to Man United, conceding seven goals at home?

As for Fenerbahce and Schalke, certainly anything can happen over two legs, but for either of these teams to defeat any of the other six would make for a David and Goliath epic.

The Premier League has come a long way in the past 15 years or so. The 1990s were a relatively barren time for English clubs in Europe. Now they are regular contenders for continental silverware. For the powerhouse sides of England to so utterly dominate the continent, so that the four clubs that qualify are the only ones left in April, will distort the competition in ways that may permanently impact European competitions.

UEFA likes to tinker with their toys, I can only imagine how they'd respond were England to bully everyone else off their playground.

Is 11th place good enough?

With a squad that includes the World Footballer and European Footballer of the year, a defender who is far and away the best of his generation and a striker who has managed 66 goals in international club competition, it's a little underwhelming that AC Milan lies in 11th place in Serie A.

While they do have three games in hand and could be up to sixth if they gain maximum points, the reigning Champions of Europe and newly crowned World Club Champions have done little right in their domestic league this season. They only have three goals and no wins at the San Siro. They've fared better away from home, but short of winning the Champions League again, it appears as though the current Milan squad won't be in a position to qualify for next season's competition.

That's a shame. Milan's squad deserve more, at least from a sentimental perspective.

Paulo Maldini would be in any well thought out all-time starting XI. He's managed to win 5 Champions League trophies, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 1 World Club Cup, 4 European Super Cups, 7 Serie A Championships and holds the Italian record for international caps. At 39, he would still displace players ten years younger in most club sides. He seems quite content with his achievements and will retire at the end of the season. But I'm certain he would retire with a clear conscience were Milan to qualify for Europe again.

The same sentiment must be shared by Kaka. The winner of both the World and European player of the year has detractors, but his ability to show up for big games is beyond question. Whenever Milan need a performance on the big stage, the Brazillian is there to lead the way. I agree with many of the criticisms aimed at Kaka, since I think his failing is that he doesn't seem to deliver consistently in the league, a fact laid bare by Milan's current position in the table. Even though he has publicly committed himself to the club, Kaka has been doggedly pursued by Real Madrid (the Madrid club president never fails to state this ambition publicly when the occasion arises). One would begin to question his dedication were Milan resigned to the UEFA Cup or worse at the end of the season.

With two goals in the World Club final in Japan, Filippo Inzaghi added to his impressive international club goalscoring record. Like many of his teammates, Inzaghi has struggled this season, failing to score in 9 league appearances. At 34, perhaps the weekly grind of Serie A is catching up with the forward, but with only 4 strikers on the books at Milan, one would expect more from a player of his ability to score when it matters most.

With all this in mind, is it any wonder that Jose Mourinho has been linked with the Milan management job. Current manager Carlo Ancelotti has been under increasing scrutiny and criticism, despite his international achievements. With the January transfer window around the corner, the time to make a move in the management department would be now. It appears Mourinho would look favourably upon the position and would certainly be a good fit for the Rossoneri.

Milan may be getting long in the tooth, but with players like Kaka, Gattuso, Pirlo, Gilardino and Clarence Seedorf, it would not take much for a new manager to turn the ship around. Here's to hoping they do; the Champions League wouldn't be the same without them.

Only two more spots up for grabs

With today's Champions League action over, there remains only two spots left in the knockout round.

Real Madrid, Olympiacos, Porto, Liverpool and Schalke joined the ranks of the qualified, each by winning their final matches. They join Chelsea, AC Milan, Celtic, Barcelona, Manchester United, Roma, Inter Milan, Sevilla and Arsenal, who had already qualified.

Tomorrow, Rangers host Lyon, with the home side only needing a draw to advance, courtesy of a better goal difference.

In Group G, Fenerbahce advance if they beat CSKA Moscow at home. The Turkish side can also advance if PSV lose their match at home against Inter. PSV need to hope Fenerbahce slip up and they can beat the odds against the Italians to move on.

Chelsea, after losing Didier Drogba for several months due to injury, look to have their work cut out for them in the League and in Europe. The Blues only managed a 0 - 0 draw at home against Valencia. Drogba is the key to the Chelsea attack, which looks impotent when he's not in the lineup.

Valencia are a side in disarray, not having won since Nov. 10. Even without Drogba, Chelsea should have picked up three points at home. Avram Grant surely must be counting the days until the transfer window opens and he can raid Roman's piggy bank to cover off Drogba and his other African Nations' Cup-bound players. Arsenal v. Chelsea on Sunday could be even more interesting with the two sides sputtering at the moment.

Liverpool are through, pulling off their third consecutive victory in the Champions League, beating Marseilles 4 - 0. With 16 goals in the past three European games, it's much more painful to remember they lost to Reading on the weekend. The match on Sunday against Man United will be a better litmus test of the Reds quality.

And finally, Ryan Babel of the aforementioned Liverpool, is becoming the Garbage time King of the World. The young Dutchman scored a meaningless (but well-taken nonetheless) goal in the game in France today. By my count, he's now scored five goals in the final thirty minutes when his team has been up by two goals or more. He does well to score them, but it would be nice to see the talented youngster score when it matters.

Cristiano Ronaldo The Cheat, Arsenal Exposed and Rafa Loses The Plot Again

Ronaldo behaving badly

Anyone who caught the Man United/Derby County game yesterday knows it was pretty dire. The pitch was a mess, the sleet started in the second half and Derby still look much like a Championship side headed for certain relegation.

On the brighter side, Derby did notch their first away goal in the 4 - 1 loss and Ryan Giggs scored his 100th league goal.

On the darker side, Cristiano Ronaldo showed his true class, or lack of, by diving to draw a penalty in the waning moments of the match. The replay clearly showed Ronaldo was untouched and in light of their comfortable lead so close to the death, it was truly unsporting of the Portuguese international.

Equally unsporting was his insistence at taking the penalty, denying the man of the match Carlos Tevez the opportunity to seal a hat-trick. It seemed it was more important for Ronaldo to notch his 14th goal of the season and score in his sixth straight match.

I have begrudgingly begun to admire Ronaldo's skills, but his cheating antics will need to stop before I'm ready to accept him as the top class player. Shame on him.

Arsenal's Achilles

Middlesbrough's 2 - 1 shocker over Arsenal was an impressive spectacle. The Boro squad suffocated the league leaders, who were made to look absolutely pedestrian. The home side had a standout performance from former Arsenal man Jeremie Aliadiere. He'd looked like a bust for most of the season, but against his old team he was very good indeed. For Middlesbrough's sake, let's hope he keeps it up.

As for the Gunners, after a loss to Sevilla in their last Champions League match a week and a half ago, they looked vulnerable in victory against Aston Villa and shaky in a draw versus Newcastle before finally losing their first league match at the Riverside Stadium.

In Arsenal's defense, they were without Cesc Fabregas and Alexander Hleb who would have undoubtedly made an impact.

But the past three matches show that tireless running and closing down of Arsenal will lead to positive results. Holding back and leaving room for them to pass the ball is absolutely the wrong way forward, especially for teams that don't have the skill to match the Gunners. Watch out in games to come.

Not again...Reading 3, Liverpool 1

I didn't see this whole match, but all I needed to see was the Liverpool team sheet: 4-3-3, no wide men and Momo Sissoko.

When will Rafa Benitez learn that if he wants to win the league, he can't take any team lightly - especially on the road. I understood immediately that he was looking towards the final Champions League game against Marseille in mid-week and Man United next weekend.

This, of course, was confirmed when Benitez took Fernando Torres off once they went down a goal and Gerrard off after Reading's third. Since when is a game over with 30 minutes left? Or even 20? Surely Rafa doesn't think he can get off lightly in a match like this, looking ahead when points are at stake?

But this is the Premier League, and were it not for Middlesbrough, Liverpool would be 10 points back of top spot right now. They needed a draw at least and failed.

A Liverpool failure to beat Marseille and get a victory against Man United at home will make the Reading game all the more important in retrospect for the manager. Too bad he doesn't appear to see it the same way.

Weekend Preview

Here are a smattering of matches to look for over the weekend:

Saturday

Blackburn v. Newcastle

Blackburn went winless for the month of November and will like their chances against a Newcastle team that has also performed poorly as of late. Rovers will be without captain Ryan Nelson after he was sent-off in a mid-week loss to Aston Villa. According to ESPN Soccernet, right back Andre Ooijer will move into the center of defense, with Brett Emerton sliding to full-back and Morten Gamst Pederson being recalled to the starting eleven. Newcastle's Sam Alardyce will hope to turn his side's fortunes around against their struggling hosts with his position under increasing scrutiny.

Aston Villa v. Arsenal, Saturday

Arsenal, coming off a 3 - 1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the Champions League, are up against tough opposition at Villa Park. The home side have won four games in a row, including the aforementioned 4 - 0 drubbing of Blackburn. Now that the weather has turned, miserable conditions on the road may well go against the Gunners. Heavy rain today will make for a soggy pitch tomorrow, putting a damper on Arsenal's sublime passing game. This could be the match of the weekend in the Premier League. Gabriel Agbonlahor's fitness is in doubt for the home side, while Gael Clichy and Alexander Hleb are questionable for Arsenal. Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is suspended.

Werder Bremen v. Hamburg SV

It's a clash of the second and third placed teams in the Bundesliga. Bremen come into this match on the back of a 3 - 2 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. The hosts Bremen are undefeated in nine league matches and have scored a league leading 22 goals at home. Hamburg were also on the winning side in the UEFA Cup, downing French side Rennes 3 - 0 at the HSH Nordbank Arena. The visitors have only allowed a miserly 5 goals in seven away matches so far, so this will be a stern test for Bremen.

Espanyol v. Barcelona

The fourth placed hosts will seek to thwart their local rivals again after they drew with Barcelona 2 - 2 on the second last day of the 06/07 season, helping to ruin Barca's attempt to win three consecutive championships. Barcelona sit in third place, but only managed a draw during the week against Lyon. Ernesto Valverde, the Espanyol manager, said controlling possession is the key to beating Barcelona:

"If we want to beat them, we must make Barca suffer and the best way to do that is by taking away their essence." (ESPN Soccernet)

Barca are easily frustrated and this match could get scrappy if Espanyol are on their game.

Sunday

Fiorentina v. Inter Milan

Milan play Juventus on Saturday, but I feel the game of the week in Serie A has to be Fiorentina facing the league leaders at home. Inter continue to cruise past their opposition, logging a 3 - 0 victory in mid-week away to Turkish side Fenerbahce. The hosts, who harbour Champions League aspirations, have slipped in recent weeks, going winless since their 6 -1 flogging of Elfsborg in the UEFA Cup on Oct. 8. Led by leading scorer Adrian Mutu (6 goals), the Florence side will look to halt Inter's 13 game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

Three For Thought: Champions League Matchday 2

With the second set of matches set to unfold this week in the Champions League, I thought I'd point out which I think will make for intriguing fixtures.

1. Manchester Utd. v. AS Roma (at Old Trafford) Tuesday, Oct. 2

As one of two matches that should determine who wins the group, this is the biggest game on day two.

United are winning now after a slow start, but not really scoring. After another 1-0 victory over Birmingham on the weekend, they have won five matches in all competitions by a goal to nil. Not the sort of play that stirs the imagination. Furthermore, with Edwin Van der Sar picking up an injury on Saturday, the odds of a clean sheet against any team, let alone Roma are much slimmer.

Roma, on the other hand, are playing very attractive football. While they did lose 1-4 to Inter over the weekend, they have averaged two goals a game in Serie A and looked good in their opening CL game versus Dynamo Kyiv. They will also be seeking revenge for the 1-7 humiliation they suffered in last season's competition.

Both teams are far from ironclad at the back and potent going forward. Look for more than two goals in this match, with a 2-2 draw a likely result.

2. Valencia v. Chelsea (at the Mestalla), Wednesday, Oct. 3

This match will prove to be Avram Grant's biggest test since taking over Chelsea from Jose Mourinho.

He essentially got a pass in his first match against Manchester United where his side lost 0-2. They easily won versus Hull in the League Cup, but only managed a goalless draw against Fulham on the weekend.

Valencia will be a much tougher test, particularly with captain John Terry out with a fractured cheek bone. Any result short of a draw in this match will put Chelsea's Champions League hopes in jeopardy.

For their part, Valencia will look to avenge their elimination from last season's competition at the hands of their rivals. They sit third in Spain with five victories already this season and atop CL group B after defeating Schalke 04 on matchday 1. On current for, Valencia look to be a challenge to any squad in Europe.

Look for Valencia to win 1-0 and add to Chelsea's woes.

3. Celtic v. AC Milan (at Celtic Park), Wednesday, Oct. 3

A test of Celtic's impeccable home record in European competition against the reigning European champions.

Celtic have shown flashes of brilliance so far this season, but stumbled to defeat against Hibs on the weekend. They lost their opening match in group D 0-2 to Shaktar in a difficult Eastern European fixture. Celtic play excellent football at home (all their CL points come at home), so they should test the mettle of the Italian giants.

Milan on the other hand are starting to show their age. With only 3 victories in CL, Serie A and the Super Cup this season, Milan have faltered out of the gate. They may feel lucky to escape this match with a draw.

I see Celtic coming through this match with a 1-0 victory, putting Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti's job under further scrutiny.

Other Odd Facts

• The match against Steaua will be Arsenal's first match away from London since visiting Blackburn on Aug. 19.
• The match between Inter and PSV will pit Roberto Mancini against Ronald Koeman. The pair battled in the 1992 European Cup Final as members of Sampdoria and Barcelona respectively.
• Prediction: After scoring in his past two matches, Yossi Benayoun will not feature for Liverpool.