Avoiding the Drop

Ross County F.C. v. Raith Rovers F.C. (Saturday)

County followed up last weekend’s away loss to Partick Thistle with the postponement of their away match with Queen of the South on Tuesday due to a frozen pitch. This is not good. Few- if any- First Division clubs have squads big enough to deal with the worsening fixture glut caused by this winter’s relentless weather. County will probably have to play some weakened sides in matches against weaker teams and just hope for the best. Raith Rovers may be in seventh place, but they’ve have as many as five matches in hand against some of the teams above them, so the potential to move rapidly up the table is there if they can make the most of it. Fun Fact: Raith Rovers are based in Kirkcaldy which was once, for better or worse, the “Linoleum Capital of Scotland.”

Hamilton Academical F.C. v. Aberdeen F.C. (Saturday)

With apologies to Hearts and Hibs, Aberdeen should be the “third” team in the SPL. Outside of the Old Firm they have the best pedigree and one could probably argue that where European success is concerned, they have a better one. Instead, they are in seventh place, haven’t won a league or cup match in over a month, and the players appear to have given up on manager Mark McGhee, this despite his status as one of the up-and-coming managers in the SPL. The Accies, well, they’re safe from relegation at the moment, but last place Falkirk has been slowly making up points on them so they are not out of the woods yet. Fun Fact: Hamilton’s Canadian international defender Richard Hastings, defender Martin Canning, and midfielder Stuart Taylor all played for Ross County.

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. v. Manchester United F.C. (Saturday)

This is the opportunity for United to put the pressure on Chelsea to match their results. Lately it has been the London side that have been setting the pace and leaving it up to the Mancunians to keep pace and United has more or less done that- can Chelsea? Wolves on the other hand, are only above the relegation zone because they haven’t leaked quite as many goals as Hull City. That being said, they are really only two wins away from being solidly in the middle of the table- what’s that, they’ve only won once in the league since before Christmas? Well, I was only speaking theoretically… Fun Fact: Wolves center back Christophe Didier Berra is Scottish- but his dad is French. Fun Fact 2: How “deep” is United? At least two players on their reserve team have full international caps.

Nottingham Forest F.C. v. Swansea City F.C. (Saturday)

As Championship matches go, this is a fairly big one. Both teams are likely to be in the promotion playoffs when the end of the season comes around, but both teams- especially Forest- still have a shot at one of the league’s two automatic promotion spots. A Forest win and a West Bromwich Albion loss will put the Tricky Tree in second place by a point. A win by the Swans and they can pull within two points of Forest and- potentially- within four points of WBA. Should City be promoted they would be the first non-English club to play in the Premier League- both Swansea and Cardiff City were at one time members of the old First Division. Fun Fact: Dutch international Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes van Hooijdonk scored 41 times in only 77 matches for Forest.

A.S. Roma v. A.C. Milan (Saturday)

Despite their draw with Napoli last week, Roma continue to put pressure on second place Milan. Should they defeat Milan this weekend they will, at worst, tie them on points and should they win big enough, they could even move past them. Unlikely, but something to think about. Nevertheless, this should be a great match- these two clubs are playing the best football in Serie A over the last month or more. Fun Fact: Were Roma the first club to wear the skintight Diadora tops that those of us with “normal” (or worse) physiques look positively horrible in? Fun Fact 2: Milan’s on loan forwards, brothers Pierre-Emerick and William-Fils Aubameyang, their father Pierre, Sr. and their brother Catilina have all represented Gabon at the international level.

N.K. Maribor v. N.K. Koper (Saturday)

It takes a strong team to wear purple and yellow uniforms, but the Violets of Maribor might just be that team- they’re in second place in Slovenia’s 1.SNL and should they beat Koper this weekend they will move within three points of first place with twelve matches still yet to play. A Koper win might seal the league for them as it would create a nine point gap to second place and as much as a 14 point lead over third place Nafta. In addition to being in first place, the Canaries of Koper play in the city of Koper (Citta di Capodistria) on Slovenia’s Adriatic coast- if that doesn’t mean anything to you, do a Google Image Search and book your plane ticket. Fun Fact: Slovenia was never in the Soviet Bloc (technically Yugoslavia was non-aligned) but they still have two mediocre Brazilians.

Real Madrid C.F. v. Sevilla F.C. (Saturday)

Second place Real Madrid and fourth place Sevilla meet this week in La Liga in a match with serious implications for both clubs. A Madrid win could push them into first place should Barcelona falter, while a win for Sevilla could move them from their current Champions League playoff spot to one of the league’s three automatic Champions League berths. Sevilla will be looking towards Brazilian Luis Fabiano for their offense, while Madrid’s much more prolific offense will most likely be channeled through either Gonzalo Higuain or ol’ Chrissypants. Fun Fact: Only a century ago the Nervion neighborhood where Sevilla’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is located was covered with cotton fields. Fun Fact 2: Sevilla’s Marius Stankevicius is the only Lithuanian player in La Liga.

Borussia Dortmund v. Borussia Mönchengladbach (Saturday)

It’s the Borussenderby, but only Dortmund have anything to play for at this point- they have a one point lead over Wereder Bremen for the league’s second Europa League spot. Mönchengladbach aren’t in any danger of being relegated, but that’s all that can be said for them. Part of the problem could be that for a team in a top European league they have surprisingly few international players- only two of their players are likely to be in South Africa- American Michael Bradley and Algerian Karim Matmour, and they’ll probably see each other on the pitch! Fun Fact: This year’s Dortmund away kit is epically bad. It looks like the $8.99 Umbro top I wore when I played indoor soccer for a couple of years for the team from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, a company I didn’t work for where I worked in marketing.

C.A. Independiente v. C.A. River Plate (Sunday)

It may be only six matches into the season, but it’s about time for River to get their act together. Remember, this is a club whose IFFHS ranking has dropped from 9^th to 136^th in the world in the last decade or so and which finished 14^th in the 2009 Apertura season. Meanwhile, Independiente- generally regarded as the third best club in the history of Argentine football- are only one point shy of topping the Primera Division table. Fun Fact: Independiente’s Ricardo “El Bocha” Bochini is one of a select group of footballers who have a technique named after them. In Bochini’s case it is the pase bochinesco, a pass that could best be described as a “through ball” that splits the defensive line and allows the forward a one-on-one scoring opportunity against the opposing goalkeeper.

F.C. Girondins de Bordeaux v. Montpellier H.S.C. (Sunday)

Tied on points- but separated by 13 goals- on top of Ligue 1, first place Bordeaux and second place Montpellier meet Sunday in the biggest domestic match in France this season. Montpellier’s form has been quite a bit better of late, taking twelve points from their last marriage to Bordeaux’s eight. Should Montpellier win and go on to win the league it will be quite a coup for a club that has not won any silverware in the almost 20 years since winning the Coup de France in 1990 and the Coupe de la Ligue in 1992. Bordeaux will hope to win their second straight title which would put them in a group with Saint-Etienne, Marseille, Nantes, Monaco, and Lyon as the only clubs to win at least seven titles in France’s top division. Fun Fact: Bordeaux drew 20 of their 38 matches in the 2004-2005 season.