Titles

Screamin' Jay Hawkins -Whistling Past The Graveyard (Original Song by Tom Waits)

I realize I have forgotten to put titles to my entries in the last couple of weeks, so this one imposed itself.
Just a quick preview of what is to come this weekend for all you football fiends (don’t worry, it’s a good sign, at least I tell myself so). No super-planetary confrontations this weekend, just enough to make us shiver a bit (maybe because of possible surprises?) before the return of European football next week. Gotta love the substitutes.

Serie A

With “only” four points over Roma and an ominous Stamford Bridge appointment, Inter will travel to Catania on this matchday 28. Needless to say the three points are an obligation on Friday, as Mourinho’s try to regain some momentum and points. For the followers, no big deal: Roma, Milan, Palermo and Juve will all face teams from the second half of the table: respectively Livorno, Siena, Udinese and Chievo. For Milan, the Manchester earthquake must be overcome quickly if Leonardo wants to stay in the European race (and on the bench), for Roma it’s a question of gaining points thanks to a clement calendar (ie: being eliminated of other competitions = 17 consecutive useful results) before the direct confrontation with Inter in a couple of weeks, Palermo need to align their fifth consecutive win to show they can play with the big boys and Juve’s pride should be restored after good wins at Fiorentina and Fuhlam. The real headline will come from the San Paolo where Napoli will welcome (façon de dire) Fiorentina. Recently eliminated by Bayern (as we all know because we read The Fourth Official all the time, right?), the Viola can now concentrate of the Serie A and Prandelli can save an unworthy season before leaving for better horizons. Napoli will try to climb a steep hill for the remaining European places after loosing its momentum, especially because Sampdoria (again with Cassano hopefully) is likely to loose some points to Adailton and his Bologna. Seventeenth Lazio will aim to move away from the relegation zone but will probably only obtain a decadent draw the utlra-catenaccio-ten-men-in-goal Bari. The Gazzetta might just say “Come Al Solito” (“As Usual”) on the front page this weekend.

Primera Division

            Ok ok, the cataclysm, the Galacticos and all that, but at Valladolid, we will know if Pelligrini’s team is a real swindle, or if Wednesday’s loss was just a mishap (and hence credit Lyon even more?). Thankfully the Merengues will not play at the Bernabeu. The big game will be at the Camp Nou where, before tackling Stuttgart for the UCL quarter finals, the Blaugrana will face Valencia. Time for the eternal third to play referee in the race to title. This will also be the direct confrontation between the two top scorers of the Spanish League: Villa and Messi. Smells like a cracker. The rest of weekend will see four other direct duels take place: Sevilla will try to permanently distance itself from Deportivo la Coruna and step back up a few steps and break a loosing dynamic (see the Real Madrid game) to be in the best conditions to receive CSKA Moscow on Tuesday; Atletico Madrid and Getafe will come to blows about designating the most mediocre team of the Liga (advantage Getafe, who don’t have to play the useless Europa League); Almeira will probably deepen Malaga’s growing sorrow in this mid-table match by excellence; and finally the ‘Real’ duel between Santander and Zaragoza to push away from the ever menacing relegating zone.

English Premier League

            As in the Serie A, the EPL proposes quite unbalanced games: the only two top-ten teams who will play against each other will be Birmingham and Everton (super – fun). Chelsea will have some West Ham as an appetizer (ha, ha, ha, super-fun indeed…) to Tuesday’s copious meal with Mourinho. Manchester will probably make Owen and Berbatov (if not Giggs) score to win against a valiant and annoying Fulham. Arsenal will deal with Delap’s throw-ins and hope for Bendtner to score again. Manchester City and Tottenham should do the job against Balckburn and Sunderland (who should really ask Darren Bent to start scoring again). Liverpool will use their probable victory against Portsmouth to claim that they are back on the right tracks, blablabla that might not convince Torres to stay… Stalemate in sight in the Premier, unless some surprises occur? (please occur, please…)

Bundesliga

            Luckily, there is the German championship to offer some good games (as often) in packed stadiums. First, on Friday, Stuttgart will try to catch some fresh air at Schalke before probably sinking at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, while the hosting team will try to pressure Bayern for the first spot (which Magath obviously misses so much). That is unlikely though, because Bayern, although tired from Tuesday’s game, will play against Fribourg who haven’t won in eleven games. A piece of cake for Van Gaal. Hambourg will finally try to take advantage of Leverkusen’s demise in these recent times to reconnect with the head trio, at which Leverkusen is at the bottom end. Fascinating! Behind, teams like Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Frankfurt will try to stick the flow thanks to the multiple inner confrontations, in order not to be distanced too much. Danke schön Bundesliga.