Avoiding the Drop

The next big thing?

Ross County F.C. v. Queen of the South F.C. (Saturday)

Here’s a shock for you: County’s match last Saturday was postponed due to the weather! Can there be anyone left who thinks Scottish soccer shouldn’t move to a summer schedule? The good news- if there is any- is that the club below them (Cowdenbeath) played and lost, and the club above them (Queen of the South) not only lost, but has now lost four of their last five matches, and they are the Staggies’ opponents this week. County can’t catch QOS with a win, but they can narrow the gap between the two sides to two points and potentially open up a five point gap on Cowdenbeath. Fun Fact: Cowdenbeath are known as “The Blue Brazil.” They used to be known as “The Miners,” but when Margaret Thatcher’s government shut down the mines in the mid-1980s that name became obsolete.

D.C. United v. Columbus Crew (Saturday)

I’m not sure if this will be the best match of Major League Soccer’s opening weekend, but it may very well be the most interesting one because of all of the questions surrounding. First, with Guillermo Barros Schelotto (and a few others) gone, will Columbus still have what it takes to contend for the conference and league championship? Second, will the continued growth of Andy Najar and the acquisition of Charlie Davies on loan be enough to make up for things like, oh, I don’t know, having to pull your goalkeeping coach out of retirement after losing both your first team keepers to injury? Finally, what about Charlie? I’ve been lucky enough to follow his career since his high school days and I’d like nothing more than for his story to have an even happier ending than it already has. We’ll see…

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. v. West Ham United F.C. (Saturday)

As is almost always the case, the last third of the Premier League season has provided many matches this weekend where there is much at stake for both clubs and this London Derby is no exception. For Tottenham there is no chance of winning the league, but they are within three points of trading their Europa League spot for the Champions League playoffs, and if they can do that they’ll be within striking distance of a place in the Champions League proper. For West Ham there is not only a chance to climb out of relegation danger, but with some favorable results above them the Hammers could actually climb into the middle third of the table. Fun Fact: West Ham United’s Demba Ba has scored four goals in four matches since joining the club from Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim.

Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. v. Real Madrid Club de Futbol (Saturday)

El Derbi madrileño doesn’t really need anything extra to make a special match, but, as usual, there’s a bit more going on than a match between these two intra-city rivales. Real are in second place and playing well, but Barcelona are also playing well so Los Blancos need to win just to keep pace with the league leaders. Atlético, meanwhile, will be hoping to take advantage of a Real Madrid side which had a tough midweek Champions League match. Atlético are also looking to get into Europe next year and only a victory will keep them within striking distance of that goal. Fun Fact: Unbelievably, Uruguayan Diego Forlan is still only 26 and his contract is up at the end of this season- any takers? Fun Fact: Luis León Sanchez, brother of Madrid winger Pedro León has won two stages in the Tour de France.

Eintracht Frankfurt e.V.  v.  Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V.  (Saturday)

It’s all good news for St. Pauli heading into Saturday’s match: while they may be in the relegation playoff spot in the Bundesliga a win this weekend- and a little help from other clubs- could see them jump four spots up the table- and one of the teams that they could leapfrog are their opponents this weekend, Frankfurt. While some may point out that St. Pauli have lost four matches in a row, their opponents have lost four of their last five and are the lowest scoring team in the league! The one thing that will be in Frankfurt’s favor? They have Greek international Theofanis Gekas, who is third in the league in goals scored and who has scored almost 60% of his club’s goals this season. Fun Fact: Frankfurt defender Maik Franz is nicknamed “Iron Maik.” Get it?!

Norwich City F.C. v. Hull City F.C. (Saturday)

It is looking likely that the Canaries of Norwich City are going to be back in the Premier League next year and that will likely mean that there will be another American player in the English top flight. Zak Whitbread has never been capped by the USMNT, but if he’s playing on a bigger stage next year ol’ Crabby Bob might just have to take notice of a player whose been a regular for Championship sides since 2005. Hull, surprisingly, aren’t out of the promotion hunt either. With the nPower Championship playoff promotion spots extending down to sixth place, Hull find themselves only four points adrift of a shot at returning the the Premier League next year. Fun Fact: If Hull do make it back much of the credit will have to go to goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Hull are 7-4-3 since he joined them on loan.

New England Revolution v. Los Angeles Galaxy (Sunday)

I think that this is going to be a long season for Revolution fans, myself included. I could provide a list of reasons for thinking this, but I’m just going to go with one: the club has done nothing “certain” to improve the team. Draft picks are always a crap shoot, of the two “experience” players they signed one (Ousmane Dabo) is already hurt, and I get the feeling that the club is just waiting for this season to pass so that they can begin a “youth movement.” With that in mind, you may not see just-turned-16 Diego Fagundez play this year, but he’s coming…and he’s good. As for L.A., this is it. They’ve brought in Juan Pablo Angel to replace Edson Buddle, Landon isn’t getting any younger, and as thousands of journalists will tell you this season, this is the last year of David Beckham’s contract with the Galaxy.

Chelsea F.C. v. Manchester City F.C. (Sunday)

For the loser of this match any hope of winning the league will likely be over and their prospects of playing in Europe next year could also be jeopardized. Both clubs will be disappointed not to win the league as they both had aspirations in that direction, but the possibility of losing out on Europe as well could be devastating- especially to a club that has spent as much money over the last few years as City have. Part of the problem might be that for all of the money both sides have spent on attacking players, they only have one each (Drogba and Tevez) who has scored more goals than oh, say, The Deuce. Fun Fact: In 2006 Manchester City was the first football club in England to be formally recognized as a “gay friendly” employer. I wonder if that has changed since the club was sold in 2008?