Thunderball

Let's review England Championship League fixtures this weekend.

1. Fixtures
4/10 (10 Apr)
Barnsley vs Derby
Bristol C vs Swansea
Cardiff vs Reading
Crystal P vs QPR
Doncaster vs West Brom
Middlesboro vs Sheff Wed
Newcastle vs Blackpool
Notts Forest vs Ipswich
Peterboro vs Leicester
Preston vs Scunthorpe
Sheff Utd vs Coventry
Watford vs Plymouth   --> Relegation derby

2. Standings -- Pls refer to post #10

3. Comment
3.1 Newcastle march to the crown of Championship League
  will take a stepe closer by beating Blackpool.
  On the other hand, Blackpool must win to keep their
  play-off hope.
3.2 West Brom must beat Doncaster to consolidate
  the Runner-up position.
3.3 Leicester have an easy job when they visit Peterboro.
  The win can help Leicester to consolidate Play-Off
  position.
3.4 Cardiff and Notts F should also beat Reading and
  Ipswich respectively.
3.5 The relegation derby (Watford hosting Plymouth).
  Watford can ease their relegation fear if they win.
  Plymouth must win to get closer to safety, otherwise
  they will be in a difficult postion.
3.6 The other Relegation (or near-relegation) derby.
  Preston host Scunthorpe -- The winner will get to safety
  lifeline.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Let's review England League One Fixtures this weekend (4/10).
  Note -- there is a full program midweek (4/13) next week.

1. Fixtures this weekend
4/10 (10 Apr) --> Round 41
Brentford vs Huddeersfield
Brighton vs Carlisle
Colchester vs Swindon
Exeter vs Lleyton
Leeds vs Southend
Millwall vs Gillingham
Norwich vs MK Dons
Oldham vs Bristol R
Southampton vs Charlton
Stockport vs Yeovil
Walsall vs Tranmere
Wycombe vs Hartlepool

2. Standings -- Pls refer to Post #11

3. Comment
3.1 Norwich should beat MK Dons to edge closer to the title.
3.2 Colchester must beat Swindon to keep their Play-off
  hope alive. On the other hand, Swindon want to win too.
  A draw will benefit Millwall, Leeds, and Charlton.
3.3 Could Leeds find their form back? They should beat
  Southend if they are on form.
3.4 Millwall should have an easy job to despatch Gillingham.
3.5 Exeter must beat Leyton to edge cloer to safety.
  On the other hand Hartlepool are in the silimilar postion,
  they must beat Wycombe.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Let's preview the Portugal fixtures this weekend (4/9-4/13)
1. Weekend Fixtures
4/9 (9 Apr)      Naval vs Nacional
4/10 (10 Apr)
Rio Ave vs Porto
V.Setubal vs Academica
U.Leiria vs Sp Braga

4/11 (11 Apr)
Maritimo vs Belenenses
Leixoes vs P.Ferreira
Guimaraes vs Olhanenses

4/13 (13 Apr)    Benfica vs Sporting

2. Standings -- Pls refer to earlier post.

3. Comment
3.1 Game of the week should be Benfica hosting Sporting.
  Sporting must beat Benfica to give something to cheer in their
  disappointing season.  Could they do this?
  On the other hand, if Benfica win, they will take closer to the
   championship title.
3.2 Sp Braga have a close contest when they travel to U.Leiria.
  This match has much bearing on the chances of Champ Lg
  and Europa Lg qualification.
3.3 Guimaraes have an easy job on hosting Olhanenses.
  Guimaraes should beat Olhanenses.
    --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

It's time to look at Italian Serie A fixtures this weekend.
1. Standings -- Pls refer to Post #4.

2. Fixtures this weekend
4/10 (10 Apr)
Fiorentina vs Inter Milan
Napoli vs Parma

4/11 (11 Apr)
AC Milan vs Catania
Bologna vs Lazio
Juventus vs Cagliari
Livorno vs Udinese
Palermo vs Chievo
Roma vs Atalanta
Sampdoria vs Genoa
Siena vs Bari

3. Comment
3.1 Inter Milan are chasing 3 fronts right now (Champ Lg,
  Serie A league and Italian Cup). Are they tired?
  Inter are facing a tough rival this weekend.
  I think they can beat Fiorentina.
3.2 Roma, in comparison, have an easy task of dispatching
  Atalanta.
3.3 AC Milan -- Can they make more effort to overtake Inter?
  They must beat Catania to make up lost ground.

3.4 Relegation battle
3.4.1 Relegation derby between Bologna and Lazio.
  Both sides must win. A draw will benefit the
  bottom 3 teams.
3.4.2 There is another relegation derby when
  Livorno host Udinese. A win for Livorno will
  close the gap with Atalanta. A win for Udinese
  will ease their relegation fear.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

It's time to preview German D1 fixtures this weekend.
1. Standings -- Pls refer to Post #9.

2. Fixtures this weekend
4/10 (10 Apr)
Leverkusen vs B.Munich
Hannover vs Schalke
Hertha vs Stuttgart
Mainz vs Dortmund
Hoffenheim vs Hamburg
Bremen vs Freiburg
4/11 (11 Apr)
Nurnberg vs Wolfsburg
Bochum vs Hamburg

3. Comment
3.1 Match of the week is top of table clash between Leverkusen and
B.Munich.  Leverkusen cannot lose again otherwise they may
not keep the Champ Lg spot.  B.Munich may be tired after
  the mid-week game against Man Utd.
3.2 Schalke must beat Hannover to keep up with leader B.Munich.
3.3  Bremen must beat Freiburg to keep their Europa Lg hope
  alive.  Likewise, Stuttgart and Hamburg must do the same,
  otherwise they will kiss their Europa Lg hope goodbye.
3.4 Relegation battle --
3.4.1 Hertha must beat Stuttgart to give themselves some
  survival hope. Hertha form turn up lately. They are in a position
  to make an upset.
3.4.2 Hannover can beat Schalke and Freiburg must beat Bremen.
  Bochum must also beat Hamburg. They are in the same
  position as Hertha.
3.4.3 Hoffenheim must beat Cologne, otherwise they will get
  themselves into the relegation mud-sling.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Time to look at Belgium League.
1. Overview -- The Regular Season of Belgium league is over.
  The top 6 teams (of Regular Season) gets into Championship Group.
  The teams will get half of the points (from Regular Season)
   bringing over the Championship Group.
  They are playing for 2 round-robin. That is, each team are playing
  for 10 more games.  

2. Standings (as of 4/9) -- All played 3 games already.
                                    Pts
1. Anderlecht           42
2. Club Brugge        34
3. AA Gent                31
4. St Truiden             28
5. Kortrijk                   23
6. Z-Waregem          21

3. Fixtures this weekend
4/9 (9 Apr)      St Truiden vs Anderlecht
4/10 (10 Apr)   Kortrijk vs Z-Waregem
4/11 (11 Apr)   Club Brugge vs AA Gent

4. Comment
4.1 Anderlecht are almost unstoppable now. St Truiden are
  no match to Anderlecht.
4.2 The only thing is the Runner-up spot is up for grab.
  the match between Club Brugge and AA Gent can be
  the decider.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Results of games played yesterday (4/9)
German D1
M'gladbach 2-0 Frankfurt  (HT 1-0)

German D2
TSV 1860 3-1 Bielefeld  (HT1-1)
Paderborn 2-0 Ahlen (HT 1-0)
Aachen 1-1 Koblenz  (HT 1-0)

Holland D1
RKC 4-1 Vitesse  (HT 2-0)

Portugal League
Naval 0-0 Nacional

Belgium Play-Off (Championship Group)
St Truiden 1-1 Anderlecht
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Let's preview France D1 fixtures this weekend.
Note -- NOW TV has announced that they have signed TV rights
  for French D1 games for the next 2 seasons (2010-11, and 2011-12).

1. Standings -- Pls refer to Post #7.

2. Fixtures this weekend (4/10-4/11)
4/10 (10 Apr)
PSG vs Bordeaux
Toulouse vs Grenoble
Le Mans vs Montpellier
Lorient vs Rennes
Sochaux vs St Etienne
Monaco vs Valenciennes

4/11 (11 Apr)
Nancy vs Auxerre
Lyon vs Lille
Marseille vs Nice

3. Comment
3.1 Game of the week should be Lyon hosting Lille.
  Lyon must win to keep pace with the leading pack. While Lille
  must win to keep their Europa Lg hope alive.
3.2 Teams from leading pack are playing with teams from
  lower half of the table.  The teams from the leading pack
  must win, otherwise they will be left behind.
3.3 Lower-Half-of-the-table derbys -- Though the 3 bottom teams
   are far behind. They will meet teams from lower half of the table.
The first one is Sochaux hosting St Etiennne. Sochaux is
  very disappointing this season. If they lose again, they will be
  dragged into relegation battles.
The second one is Lens hosting Boulogne. Lens cannot afford to
  lose again. This is the best chance for Boulogne to close the
  gap of the table.
The third one is Toulouse hosting Grenoble. This is the best
chance for Grenoble grabbing points.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Let's look at the Premier Lg this weekend.
There are 2-3 games of Premier Lg postponed until next
  Tuesday (or Wednesday) because of FA Cup Semi-Finals playing
  over the weekend.
1. Overview -- There are 20 teams playing 2 round-robins.
  Each team plays for 38 games in a season.
Qualify for Champ Lg -- Top 4 teams.
Qualify for Europa Lg -- The 5th-placed team + FA Cup
   Winner/Runner-up + League Cup Winner (if the Lg Cup Winner
   has already qualified in Champ Lg/Europa Lg, its place will go
   to the next-ranked team in the league)
Since Man Utd is the Lg Cup Winner, therefor the Europa Lg
  place will go to the next-placed team in the league.
For FA Cup Winner/Runner-up -- We must wait and see for
  the results of Semi-Final.
Relegation -- The bottom 3 teams relegated.

2. Standings -- As of 4/8
                                            P         Pts
1. Chelsea                         33       74
2. Man Utd                       33       72
3. Arsenal                          33       71
4. Man C                            32       59
   --- Qualified for Champ Lg line ---
5. Spurs                              32       58
6. Liverpool                       33        55
   --- Qualified for Europa Lg line ---
7. Aston V                          32       54
8. Everton                          33        50

14. Wolves                         33        32
15. Bolton                          33        32
16. Wigan                          33        31
17. West Ham                   33        28
    --- Relegation line ---
18. Hull                               32        27
19. Burnley                        33         24
20. Portsmouth                33         14  --> Almost relegated

3. Fixture this weekend
4/10 (10 Apr)
Hull vs Burnley
West Ham vs Sunderland

4/11 (11 Apr)
Liverpool vs Fulham
Man C vs Birmingham
Wolves vs Stoke
Blackburn vs Man Utd
Aston V vs Everton

4/13 (13 Apr)   Chelsea vs Bolton
4/14 (14 Apr)
Spurs vs Arsenal
Wigan vs Portsmouth

4. Comment
4.1 It is Relegation derby day on Saturday. The doghouse battle
   between Hull and Burnley.  Both sides must win to give themselves
   some chance of survival.  Losers are doomed.
4.2 The other game between West Ham and Stoke.
West Ham must win to keep them alive.  A draw does not help
4.3 The games Aston V vs Everton, and Liverpool vs Fulham
  are also exciting. All 4 sides are in must-win situation.
4.4 The game between Spurs and Arsenal are also a London derby.
  Both side must win. If Arsenal lose, they can kiss their title hpe
  goodbye.  If Spurs lose, their hope of getting the 4th spot
  (the last Champ Lg spot) will take a big blow.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

1. Results of England Premier Lg games yesterday (4/1).
Hull 1-4 Burnley
West Ham 1-0 Sunderland

2. Standings (the relegation picture only)
                            P         Pts   GD
14. Wolves            32        32    -23
15. Bolton             32        32    -25
16. West Ham        33        31   -16
17. Wigan              32        31   -34
   --- Relegation line ---
18. Burnley             33        27   -36
19. Hull                  34        27   -38
20. Portsmouth        32        14    --> Relegated

3. Comment
3.1 Portsmouth are relegated.
3.2 Wigan, Bolton and Wolves are dragged into the
  dogfight by West Ham win. Some have not played
  their game in this round yet.
  --- End of Update ---