Montenegro has been confirmed as the 53rd member of UEFA, and will send its statutory three teams to European competition next year. Gibraltar's application for membership has been rejected for political reasons. Andorra and San Marino will also be eliminated in the first qualifying round of gain access to the European League; it's not immediately clear if the runners-up will join the UEFA Cup.

Cup week in most parts of Europe. In England, the League Cup final will be between Chelsea and Arsenal. The Gunners drew 1:1 with the Spurs at Ashburton Grove, winning 2:0 in extra-time. Scotland's LC final will be contested by Kilmarnock (3:0 winners over Falkirk) and Hibernians (1:1 against St Johnstone, winning 1:0 in extra time).

In the Spanish cup, Getafe, Deportivo, and Zaragoza won their round-of-8 first-leg matches, Seville and Betis drew the fourth. In France, the round-of-16 saw wins for Sochaux, Vannes (III), Sedan, PSG, Nantes, Lens, Montceau (IV), and Marseille. Montceau beat Bordeaux 5:4 on kicks from the penalty mark after a 2:2 draw, Vannes' win was 2:0 AET against last year's quarter-finalists Montpellier (II). Marseille inflicted a 2:1 defeat on Lyon, ensuring it's now four games without a win for the runaway league leaders. The Italian cup is at the round-of-4, Rome beat AC Milan 3:1, Inter and Sampdoria drew 1:1.

The Upset-o-meter recorded the following events:

42 Birmingham - Southend 1:3
41 Barcelona - Zaragoza 0:1
39 Marseille - Lyon 2:1
37 Colchester - Preston 1:0
37 Sheffield United - Fulham 2:0
32 Hull - Leeds 1:2
30 Hannover - Hertha Berlin 5:0

20 St Johnstone - Hibs 1:1
18 Inter Milan - Sampdoria 1:1
15 Bolton - Charlton 1:1

Primera

BAR   1202   83.3  -43
RMD   1158   81.1   21
SEV   1146   84.7  -38
GET   1121   82.2   91
AMD   1101   82.6    6
VAL   1087   79.5  -59
ESP   1062   83.2  - 9
VIL   1061   86.0   56
ZAR   1040   82.5  - 9
OSA   1034   77.8  - 9
SAN   1034   84.7   16
DEP   1023   80.1   46
BET   1019   80.7   50
ABL   1003   84.5  -10
HEU   1003   89.7  -32
CVG    973   80.8  -35
MAL    963   81.8   31
LEV    919   93.5  -20
SOC    892   86.8  -43
TAR    827  100.2   32

ALA (II)   982   119.0  -34
CAD (II)   923   129.2   34
MGA (II)   840   116.6   10

A bad month for Barcelona and Valencia, a great one for Getafe and Villarreal.

linkpage | EuropeanTables |

The CFL-S season ended this morning, with the Off-White Cup. The final standings for the season are:

IND  1253   91.9   CS   Indianapolis Lucky Charms
SDF  1232   96.2   CW   San Diego Bolts
NEM  1217   91.0   CE   New England New Democracy
BAL  1201   94.2   CN   Baltimore Erinas
CHI  1201   97.5   PN   Chicago Pink Rhinosceri
JAC  1092   94.1   CS   Jacksonville Browns Lane
PHI  1083   89.5   PE   Philadelphia Marxists
PIT  1079   92.9   CN   Pittsburgh Terrorists
TEN  1078   97.5   CS   Tennessee Flaming Thumbtacks
NOB  1073   91.2   PS   New Orleans Boy Scouts
NJJ  1053   93.3   CE   New Jersey B
DEN  1052   95.8   CW   Denver Ants
SEA  1043   91.0   PW   Seattle Blue Men Group
KAN  1032   93.3   CW   Kansas City Pie Scales
CIN  1022   94.2   CN   Cincinnati Bungles
BUF  1012   95.6   CE   Buffalo Cover Your Eyes With Feathers
CAR  1001   93.2   PS   Carolina Pussycats
DAL  1001   92.5   PE   Irving Asteroids
BOG   996   94.2   PN   Bay of Green
NJG   994   91.0   PE   New Jersey A
STL   979   94.2   PW   St Louis Mouflons
SFF   963   94.7   PW   St Francisville Fortyfour-Niners
ATL   939   93.3   PS   Atlanta Cattacciano
MIA   931   96.6   CE   Miami December Collapse
HOU   926   96.9   CS   Houston Moocows
ARI   883   97.8   PW   Arizona Cautions
MIN   876   94.0   PN   Minnesota Lapponites
WAS   865   94.9   PE   Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous Persons
BOT   862   96.6   PS   Manchester United
CLE   854   95.6   CN   Aston Villa
DET   786  101.3   PN   Detroit Peugeots
OAK   735  100.6   CW   Oakland Lost

It is not clear if the winners will deign to unify their title in a match against the BC Lions. It is worth noting that just four of the sides from the Provincial division have finished more than a sneeze above 1000 points; only four of the sides in the Canadian division finished below that mark.

linkpage | NCAA |

All football has been suspended in Italy, after a policeman was killed at Friday's match between Messina and Catania. The English FA Cup for last season has been won by Liverpool, after the side beat West Ham home-and-away in this season's replays. Both of the sides in contention for last year's Scottish FA Cup - Hearts and Gretna - have been eliminated from this year's competition; it's expected that they will decide the matter before the end of 2007. Singapore beat Thailand 3:2 on aggregate (2:1 home, 1:1 away) to win the ASEAN Tiger Cup of Nations. Here are the upsets for this week-end:

43 Troyes - Lyon 1:0
42 Real Madrid - Levante 0:1
41 Dunfermlime - Hearts 1:0
39 Nice - Bordeaux 2:1
36 PAOK Salonika - Panathaniakos 2:1
36 Wigan - Portsmouth 1:0
34 Alaves - Malaga 0:1
33 Bielefeld - Borussia Monchengladbach 0:2
33 Fulham - Newcastle 2:1
33 Santander - Getafe 1:0
33 Falkirk - St Johnstone 0:3
32 QPR - Burnley 3:1
32 Wolfsburg - Bayer Leverkusen 3:2
30 Heulva - Villarreal 2:1
30 Lorient - Le Mans 2:1
30 St Ettienne - Sedan 1:2

16 Seville - *Sociedad 0:0
15 *Middlesbrough - Arsenal 1:1

Another week, another defeat for Lyon. The side hasn't won in the league since before the festive break, and is now down to just 1120 ranking points, 15th in Europe. Wigan's win ends an eight-game losing streak.

1. Bundesliga

In the top-of-the-table match this Sunday, Schalke 04 won 2:0 at Werder Bremen.

SNV  1172   89.8   48
WER  1170   87.5  - 2
STT  1087   93.6    5
NUR  1058   95.1   44
BAY  1027   86.1  -62
HER   997   90.3   11
HAN   990   94.3   37
BYL   974   86.7  -19
MAI   974   95.5   50
EIN   940   88.3  -13
WLF   940   94.8   10
BDO   934   93.5  - 6
BIE   927   94.6  -60
COT   925   94.6   18
HAM   884   84.7  - 9
BMO   881   95.7   23
AAA   880   94.4  -55
BOC   869   94.8  - 5

Just three matches in this ranking month, but two defeats and a draw have left defending champions Bayern Munich floundering. Bielefeld and Aachen habe had difficult starts to the second half, Nuremburg and Mainz have taken the advantage of their gentle starts.

Serie A

INT  1257   81.9   47
ROM  1132   79.1  - 5
ACM  1070   81.2    1
FIO  1059   91.9  - 3
PAL  1021   81.9    3
LAZ  1013   87.6   25
SAM   973   81.6   15
EMP   963   88.1    5
CAT   950   88.9  -63
ATL   948   92.5   43
SIE   943   91.5   14
REG   934   88.6   17
CHI   918   85.7   79
UDI   917   87.0   26
CAG   911   91.7   21
LVO   904   86.6  -25
TOR   883   92.4  -65
PAR   863   82.8    6
MES   789   91.2  -30
ASC   781   94.9  - 5

JVE (II)   1139   146.3   0

While Lyon and Bayern have been shedding points like they were snakeskins, Inter has been quietly picking them up. Chievo has also had a great month, while the violence in the local derby at Catania might have been aggravated by the team's poor recent performance - for the record, visitors Palermo won 2:1, a result included in these standings. Torino has also had a torrid time, but the side is still a division above its cross-city rival Juventus.

linkpage | EuropeanTables |

Just one result in the European Nations Cup qualification stage:

D San Marino - Republic of Ireland 1:2

The injury-time winner ensures Ireland move up to third place, though they've played a game more than all other sides; San Marino score their first goal of the competition, and their goal difference is now an almost respectable -26.

Italian football will resume this week-end, but under strict new anti-hooligan measures. Clubs may not sell large blocks of tickets to visiting fans, may deny access to people on suspicion alone, and may well hold many games behind closed doors.

Liverpool has been taken over by the men behind the Canadiennes and Stars NHL sides.

European teams

Listing, this month, only the sides in the four countries that have been active.

Belgium
AND   960   116.8   ANDERLECHT   0
BRU   867   119.9   BRUGGE   12
LIE   797   134.2   LIEGE   0
WRG   766   129.4   WAREGEM   0
BEV   517   153.5   BEVEREN   -19

Greece
OLY  1088   108.4   OLYMPIAKOS   8
AEK   993   106.1   AEK ATHENS   9
PAN   976   107.7   PANATHANAIKOS   -67
PAO   898   111.3   PAOK SALONIKA   64
ASS   772   147.0   ARIS SALONIKA   32
PIO   567   137.1   PANIONIOS   -10
AIG   549   129.9   AIGAELIO   -25

Netherlands
AZA  1183   110.4   AZ ALKMAAR   33
AJX  1132   108.0   AJAX   34
PSV  1119   103.0   PSV EINDHOVEN   -20
FEY   928   108.8   FEYENOORD   -18
UTR   868   137.2   UTRECHT   -24
HEE   792   119.7   HEERENVEEN   -10

Turkey
FEN   1022   109.7   FENERBACHE   41
BES   972   123.3   BESTIKTAS   0
GAL   952   131.6   GALATASARAY   0
GEN   798   136.3   GENCENBIRGILI   -67

A bad month for Panathanaikos, a good one for PAOK.

Europe's First And Second XI

The current Top 22 looks like this:

01 +2 INT   1257   81.9
02 +2 CHE   1216   84.5
03 -1 BAR   1194   82.4
04 +1 MUN   1190   80
05 ne AZA   1183  110.4
06 +7 SNV   1172   89.8
07 -1 WER   1170   87.5
08 +3 LIV   1149   78.1
09 -2 ANL   1146   74.1
10 -2 SEV   1134   84.1
11 +3 ROM   1132   79.1
12 ne AJX   1132  108.0
13 -4 RMD   1129   81.6
14 -13 LYN  1120   86.1
15 -5 PSV   1119  103.0
16 -4 VAL   1105   78.5
17 +4 GET   1098   81.1
18 ne OLY   1088  108.4
19 -1 STT   1087   93.6
20 -3 AMD   1081   82.2
21 +1 CEL   1073   89.1
22 -2 ACM   1070   81.2

I'm going to have to tweak the selection criteria so that the Dutch sides don't keep on popping in and out like this. Schalke's victory over Werder is directly reflected in the standings; the Liverpool Starcans might have lost to Arsenal in the cup, but still outrank the Londoners here. As we've been discussing, Lyon's collapse sees them plummet from the top to the also-rans. Inter's quiet climb up the standings reaches its inevitable conclusion. Espanyol (15), Bayern Munich (16), and Osasuna (19) have fallen out from last month; Bayern, in particular, have been staging a Lyonnaise plummet.

For fun, here's the Monte Carlo Ranking.

01 +2 Inter Milan
02 +2 Chelsea
03 +3 Manchester Buccaneers
04 re AZ Alkmaar
05 -3 Barcelona
06 -1 Werder Bremen
07 +7 Liverpool Starcans
08 +3 Schalke 04
09 re Ajax
10 re Olympiakos
11 -10 Lyon
12 -4 PSV Eindhoven
13 +2 Roma
14 -5 Real Madrid
15 -5 Arsenal
16 -9 Seville
17 -5 Valencia
18 -5 Stuttgart
19 re Celtic
20 +2 Fiorentina
21 -1 Getafe
22 -1 Athletico Madrid

linkpage | European |

After the experiment playing a regular-season CFL game in Birmingham last year, spoiled only by the poor quality of the Bucs' 3:0 win over the Browns, NHL ice hockey will come to London next October. The Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Rois will open the season at the Millennium Doom, probably against the Vancouver Canucks or the Anaheim Quackers.

Anyway, some football games were played this week-end, and here are thirteen upsets that tickled the Upset-o-meter:

41 Sheffield U - Tottenham 2:1
37 Leeds - Crystal Palace 2:1
37 Newcastle - Liverpool S 2:1
35 Toulouse - Lille 1:0
34 Mallorca - Zaragoza 2:1
32 Stuttgart - Werder Bremen 4:1
31 Ipswich - Leicester 0:2
31 Levante - Heulva 2:1
30 Palermo - Empoli 0:1
30 Everton - Blackburn 1:0
30 Hamburg - Borussia Dortmund 3:0
30 Nice - Troyes 3:0
15 Derby - *Hull 2:2

A poor start for the new owners of the Liverpool Stardiennes, especially as the other leading sides - Arsenal, the Buccaneers, and Chelsea SKA all won. Seville's draw and Barcelona's win means there's nothing to choose in Spain. Lyon won, which becomes a team best, and if a side has to have a slump, getting it done before European competition resumes is not a bad move. Werder Bremen are going, though, injuries to three strikers, and the sale of a fourth, and losses to Schalke and Stuttgart. Hamburg's win is their second in the league. Bayern Munich beat Bielefeld, and that's a rare event. Italian football resumed, runaway leaders Inter Milan won.

League Division II

BIR   881   79.4  -33
DER   871   79.1   16
WBA   864   77.4   31
PNE   809   78.4  -78
WLV   802   76.7    7
SUN   801   77.3   23
CCR   794   81.3   41
SOT   787   76.8  - 7
CDF   772   77.8   20
STK   772   76.1  -14
CPL   738   76.7  -15
IPS   727   77.1  -30
PLY   725   77.0  -20
SEN   723   78.6   40
LEI   712   77.9    2
SFW   682   76.8  -30
NOR   679   77.9  - 7
HUL   667   79.4  -20
BNL   654   79.0  -44
LUT   648   75.4  - 5
COV   639   77.1   14
LEE   638   79.4   31
BAN   607   79.7  - 3
QPR   604   77.0  -25

CRW   768  134.8   0
MIL   611  123.5   0
BRI   593  122.2   0

A distinct reversion to the mean, as early leaders Preston and Birmingham lose ground, Derby and West Brom make it up. Colchester has very quietly moved into play-off contention, and Leeds is equally quietly pulling away from the relegation zone.

Scottish League, Division A

CEL  1082   88.9   18
RAN   896   81.3  - 4
ABD   843   82.9   20
HBS   834   78.1    6
HRT   814   79.8  - 6
ICT   762   81.3  - 8
KLM   751   80.6   19
MTW   734   85.1   11
DDU   698   81.4  - 4
FAL   691   80.7  -60
DNF   628   83.7   25
STM   619   88.1  -31

GRE   714  137.5  -42
LVG   531  120.8  - 4

Celtic continue to run away with this division, and there's very little to choose between the others. No matter which side goes down, we reckon Gretna will be a net benefit to the division, even if they'll struggle to make the top half of the table.

Fifteen matches in the UEFA Cup First Round Proper this week - after Feyenoord were booted out, Tottenham have a bye into the Achtelfinalrund.

linkpage | Tables |

Here's the new way to present the UEFA Cup Results, it's The Stack:

Zulte W  1
Newcastl 3
----------
Fenerbac 3
AZ Alkmr 3
==========
CSKA Mos 0
Mc Haifa 0
----------
Livorno  1
Espanyol 2
==========
Hapol TA 2 [41]
Rangers  1
----------
Bordeaux 0
Osasuna  0
==========
Braga    1
Parma    0
----------
Feyenoor
Tottenhm BYE
==========
Steaua B 0
Sevilla  2
----------
Shakhtar 1
Nancy    1
==========
Lens     3
Panathan 1
----------
Bayer Le 3
Blakburn 2
==========
AEK Athn 0
PSG      2 [34]
----------
Benfica  1 [33]
Din Buch 0
==========
Spartk M 1
Celta Vg 1
----------
Werder B 3
Ajax     0

Matches are in draw order, sides between the rows of equal signs will meet in the achtelfinalrund, higher side at home first. Just three upsets in the fifteen matches, and only two sides look certain to progress. Newcastle's comprehensive victory should not come as a surprise, but Werder Bremen's demolition job over Ajax is a bit of a surprise.

Only three matches in the FA Cup Round Of 32 Replay, but they presented good value. Arsenal beat Bolton 2:0 in extra time after a 1:1 draw. Norwich beat Blackpool 1:0 in extra time after a 2:2 draw, 18 on the Upset-o-meter. And Middlesbrough's match against Bristol City was 1:1 in normal time, 1:1 in extra time, 5:4 on penalties. 24 on the Upset-o-meter there.

Football League, Division I

CHE  1223   84.9   22
MUN  1194   81.1   22
ANL  1147   74.7  -13
LIV  1125   78.4  -26
BOL  1047   78.7   19
NWC  1032   75.3   22
REA  1032   78.9   39
TOT  1012   75.5  -29
EVE  1000   80.7   30
BLK   991   75.8  -37
POR   968   78.8  - 9
FUL   941   78.4  -17
MCY   918   79.2  -32
MID   917   80.6  - 9
AVL   914   80.4  -12
WAT   872   81.7    2
WIG   861   82.7    6
SFU   852   81.6   45
WHM   835   78.6  -38
CHA   808   84.2    3

The top two sides begin to pull away from their opposition in a month where there's been very little change. Main moves, in fact, are at the bottom, where Sheffield U are looking safer, West Ham decidedly dodgy.

Match of the coming week-end is Lille -v- Lyon, Friday night.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

Cup action in England saw none of the favourites fall out. Middlesbrough's draw against West Brom is only a 3-point surprise on the upset-o-meter, Reading holding Manchester B to a draw is far more unlikely. Arsenal also drew, Chelsea SKA won. Surprises in Spain, as Barcelona lost, but Seville won to pull clear at the top. French leaders Lyon won their second game in a row, German top side Schalke were held at Wolfsburg, but more defeats for European hopefuls Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at the hands of relegation-threatened sides.

Here's the Upset-o-meter:

43 Werder Bremen - Hamburg 0:2
37 Aachen - Bayern Munich 1:0
37 Empoli - Roma 1:0
37 Plymouth - Derby 2:0
35 Athletic Bilbao - Getafe 2:0
35 Troyes - Bordeaux 1:0
35 Valencia - Barcelona 2:1
33 Osasuna - Celta Vigo 0:1
30 Bielefeld - Bochum 1:3
30 Sochaux - Le Mans 2:0
15 Wolfsburg* - Schalke 2:2

Ligue 1

LYN  1148   85.1  -53
LEN  1038   79.3   43
LIL  1016   80.0  -35
LEM  1010   82.6  - 6
REN  1007   85.2   39
SCX  1004   80.8   16
BDX   999   79.6  -48
MAR   996   81.3  -21
PSG   995   78.0   82
TOU   986   85.0   25
MON   981   81.8   19
LOR   976   87.3    4
AUX   965   81.2    0
NCY   962   79.4  -18
SET   957   84.5  -44
SED   949   88.2   34
TRY   934   89.1   44
NIC   923   90.2  104
NTS   876   87.0  -11
VCN   873   85.8  -55

STR (II)   762   141.7   0

Lyon's run of poor form brings them down from the European lead, but they're still doing decently in domestic competition. Nice has had a few wins of note, as have PSG, but Valenciennes look doomed already.

This mid-week: European League, Achtelfinalrund, hindmatch; UEFA Cup, Einsproperrund, ruckmatch. Plus a few domestic matches in various countries.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

Last season's Irish champions Shelbourne have been relegated to the second division, because of the club's huge debts. Sixteen senior players have left the club since the season ended last October, and the club has debts of €4 million. The FAI has withdrawn Shelbourne's top-flight license, and replaced it with a second-tier license.

It's expected that Derry City will clamber into the European League, third-placed Drogheda will be joined in the UEFA Cup by St Patrick's Athletic - they lost the cup final to Derry - and Cork remain in the Intertoto. The relegation of Waterford to the lower division has been cancelled.

European League, Achtelfinalrund, Hindmatch

Porto    1
Chelsea  1
----------
Celtic   0
AC Milan 0
----------
PSV      1 [36]
Arsenal  0
----------
Lille    0
ManchBuc 1
----------
Roma     0
Lyon     0
----------
Barclna  1
Liverpl  2 [31]
----------
Real Mad 3
Bayern M 2
----------
Inter M  2
Valencia 2

Two surprises there; Real's win would have been a huge surprise when the draw was made in December, but not now that Bayern has slumped. No side has a lead of more than a single goal.

UEFA Cup, Firtproperrund, Ruckmatch

Zulte W  1:0
Newcastl 3:1  Newcastl
----------
Fenerbac 3:2  AZ Alkmr
AZ Alkmr 3:2
======================
CSKA Mos 0:0
Mc Haifa 0:1  Mc Haifa
----------
Livorno  1:0  Espanyol
Espanyol 2:2
======================
Hapol TA 2:0
Rangers  1:4  Rangers
----------
Bordeaux 0:0  Osasuna
Osasuna  0:0
======================
Braga    1:1
Parma    0:0  Braga
----------
Feyenoor      Tottenhm
Tottenhm BYE
======================
Steaua B 0:0
Sevilla  2:1  Sevilla
----------
Shakhtar 1:1  Shakhtar
Nancy    1:0
======================
Lens     3:0
Panathan 1:0  Lens
----------
Bayer Le 3:0  Bayer Le
Blakburn 2:0
======================
AEK Athn 0:0
PSG      2:2  PSG
----------
Benfica  1:2  Benfica
Din Buch 0:1
======================
Spartk M 1:1 [38]
Celta Vg 1:2  Celta Vg
----------
Werder B 3:1  Werder B
Ajax     0:3 [32]

Osasuna won 1:0 in extra time. We're slightly surprised that Spartak have fallen out, but it doesn't make Werder's task any easier. Newcastle were hoping to meet AZ Alkmaar in the semi-finals two weeks ago, but conspired to lose to Sporting Lisbon, and look what happened to them!

Primera Liga

SEV   1163   81.3  -38
BAR   1160   80.9  -43
RMD   1144   80.7   21
VAL   1118   78.1  -59
GET   1092   80.9   91
ESP   1090   80.0  - 9
AMD   1079   81.7    6
SAN   1054   84.1   16
DEP   1052   79.0   46
ZAR   1052   80.9  - 9
BET   1046   79.6   50
OSA   1027   75.6  - 9
HEU   1018   87.1  -32
VIL    999   84.0   56
ABL    997   83.3  -10
CVG    995   78.1  -35
LEV    989   90.4  -20
MAL    958   81.2   31
SOC    881   86.2  -43
TAR    812   96.3   32

ALA (II)   934   117.9  -34
CAD (II)   923   132.7   34
MGA (II)   887   115.8   10

Barcelona's defeat on Wednesday, and Seville's win last night, means that the league leaders climb to the top of the Glicko rankings. With just one RD covering the top seven teams, it really is anyone's guess who is best. No such problems finding the worst two sides, though.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

The English League Cup final ended in farce and a mass brawl. Chelsea had already sealed a 2:1 win over Arsenal. Barcelona moved to the top of the Spanish league, a draw for Lyon, defeat for Schalke, and a 5:2 win for Inter.

The upsets

43 Hull - Birmingham 2:0
40 Schalke 04 - Bayer L 0:1
39 Wigan - Newcastle 1:0
36 Messina - Siena 1:0
36 Middlesbrough - Reading 2:1
32 Nice - Lille 2:1
31 Mainz - Nürnburg 2:1
30 Rennes - Sedan 0:2

19 Taragon - Valencia 1:1
16 Borussia M - Werder B 2:2

1. Bundesliga

SNV  1138   88.7  -34
STT  1119   90.6   32
WER  1101   82.9  -69
NUR  1057   91.8  - 1
MAI  1045   91.1   71
HAN  1028   90.2   38
BAY  1017   82.7  -10
BYL  1003   81.0   29
HER   973   88.1  -24
HAM   957   83.9   73
WLF   937   91.3  - 3
COT   913   90.8  -12
AAA   911   90.6   31
BDO   911   89.6  -23
EIN   910   86.2  -30
BOC   885   91.0   16
BMO   873   92.2  - 8
BIE   860   90.5  -67

The decline of Werder Bremen continues, and the fact that Bayern haven't rebounded from their poor start to the new year is indicative of a deeper malaise. Mainz is almost perfect this year, and Hamburg has put on a spurt to lift themselves just out of relegation. Always knew they had it in 'em.

Cup midweek in most countries, while our fixture computer sees Arsenal playing both Blackburn and Manchester City on Wednesday night. That'll be a good sight!

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