A huge set of derby games on Sunday with Everton-Liverpool kicking things off, Arsenal-Chelsea following and then Barcelona-Real Madrid as the capper. Doesn't get much better than that.

MATCH-FIXING CASE
Players, cooks sedated?

Two Fortuna Dusseldorf players questioned

Bigger threat than doping?

And: The man who predicted it, Declan Hill

READS:
Scots FA seek video replay

Chile avoid expulsion from World Cup over Rangers’ suit

TV THIS WEEKEND:

TODAY: (All times ET, our picks in bold)
Sparta Rotterdam v PSV    1445    ESPND/360

SATURDAY
Aberdeen v Rangers        0730    Setanta P
Werder v Wolfsburg        0925    ESPND/360
Portsmouth v Man U        1000    ESPN2
West Ham v Burnley        1000    FSC
Fulham v Bolton        1000    Setanta X
Man City v Hull        1000    Setanta
Celtic v St. Mirren        1000    Setanta P
Modena v Triestina        1000    RAI
Udinese v Livorno        1200    RAI
Carlisle v Norwich        1200    Setanta
Villa v Spurs            1200    FSC
M’gladbach v Schalke     1230    GolTV
AZ v VVV            1230    ESPND
PSG v Auxerre        1300    TV5
Valencia v Mallorca        1400    ESPND/360
Genoa v Sampdoria        1445    FSC/RAI
Lens v OM            1500    Setanta
Sevilla v Malaga        1600    GolTV
Sporting v Benfica        1615    ESPN360
Cruz Azul v Puebla        1800    Azteca
Junior v Pereira        1830    GolTV
Tolima v Huila        2015    GolTV
America v Monterrey        2200    Telefutura

SUNDAY
Sydney v Newcastle        0200    FSC
Kuban v Rubin        0545    Setanta
Vitesse v Ajax            0630    ESPN360
Everton v Liverpool        0830    Setanta
Cagliari v Juventus        0900    ESPN360
Inter v Fiorentina        0900    FSC/FSE
Arsenal v Chelsea        1100    FSC/FSE
Hannover v Bayern        1130    ESPN360
Barcelona v Real Madrid    1300    ESPND/360/GolTV
Toluca v San Luis        1300    Telemundo
Catania v AC Milan        1445    FSC/FSE/RAI
Atletico v Espnayol        1500    ESPN360
Lyon v Rennes        1500    Setanta
Morelia v Santos Laguna    1700    Azteca

   Should any of you be looking for Europa League play today, you're out of luck. Instead of back-ending the Champions League week as it has done all year, UEFA's second club championship tournament gets own full spotlight for the final two match days. There will be full schedules next Dec. 2-3 and Dec, 16-17 to complete the opening stage.
    The Champions League returns for the final group games on Dec 9-10. And speaking of:
    Chelsea joined Arsenal as a group winner but Manchester United surprisingly fell at Old Trafford to a Besiktas already eliminated in the Champions League chase. United still needs a point in its final match to be certain to top Group B while the Turks can climb into the Europa League if they get the right combination of final night results.
    Nothing resolved in Group C and hardly an impressive night for Real Madrid. Although the Galacticos defeated FC Zurich there was nothing to suggest a level of play that will make this latest bunch of Madrid millionaires into European champions. Cristiano Ronaldo did return, however, and that might change things.
    Meanwhile, AC Milan and Marseille slugged it out in a terrific 1-1 draw at San Siro. Marseille was unlucky and now must beat Real Madrid by three goals in the final match to be sure to progress; Milan will advance with a win in Switzerland, but they lost the first meeting to FC Zurich. And the Swiss did compete hard in Madrid on Wednesday.
     Group A's champion, Bordeaux was completely on top of Juventus and looks like a side of real character and pedigree. Perhaps the biggest question about their chances next spring will be whether they can refuse the big money in January when Marouane Chamakh will again be a major transfer target. If he stays in Bordeaux through the spring this is a team that will not fear anyone; if the money is too good to refuse at least Laurent Blanc's team will be able to say they left an indelible memory in the group play.
    No surprise in Group D where the only question was whether Chelsea would clinch first place with a win at FC Porto. They did.
    Happy Thanksgiving to all!

DAILY READS
Everton out of luck on Kirkby stadium plan

Kroenke at 29.9% takeover threshold for Arsenal

Here's the players the new Philadelphia Union selected at today's expanion draft. Five teams did not have a player selected – FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Kansas City Wizards, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC. Each of the League’s 15 teams was allowed to protect 11 players, leaving all others unprotected and available for selection by the Union. 

Player (Pos.)                            Former Club
Jordan Harvey (D)                     Colorado Rapids
Andrew Jacobsen (M)                D.C. United
Brad Knighton (G)                     New England Revolution
Sebastien Le Toux (F)                Seattle Sounders FC
Stefani Miglioranzi (M)               LA Galaxy
Alejandro Moreno (F)                 Columbus Crew
Dave Myrie (D)                          Chicago Fire
Shea Salinas (M)                       San Jose Earthquakes
Shavar Thomas (D)                    Chivas USA
Nick Zimmerman (M)                  New York Red Bulls

(courtesy MLS PR dept.)

   Big wins for Fiorentina, Barcelona and Unriea last night. Another disappointment for the Rangers faithful. And the expected end of the Champions League story for Liverpool.
   (More) Injuries for Arsenal, a missed chance for Rubin Kazan in the Russian snow. And it's not all over for Standard Liege despite the Belgians offering little or no evidence that they belong in the knockout stages.
   In other words, Day Nine of the CL offered a plethora of storylines along with some decent games.

   Our preview of today: Group C is in the spotlight tonight as Match Day five concludes.
   There are some subplots, including the possible elimination of Bayern Munich, but the focus is squarely on Marseille, AC Milan and Real Madrid in their three-way fight for two available spots in Group C.
   Tonight's schedule, all kickoffs at 14:45 Eastern except for the CSKA-Wolfsburg 12:30 start in Moscow.

Group A
Bordeaux vs. Juventus, DTV464
Bayern Munich vs. Maccabi Haifa, DTV 465

Juventus will qualify and eliminate Bayern if they win in France. Bordeaux has already advanced which may prove a benefit to the visitors. Bayern must defeat Maccabi and hope that Juventus can get no better than a draw.

Group B
CSKA Moscow vs. Wolfsburg, 12:30 p.m., DTV462
Manchester United vs. Besiktas, Setanta, DTV468

The game is Moscow is vital to both teams. CSKA will pull level with the Germans if they win; Wolfsburg will qualify with a win or a draw. The game at Old Trafford is a training exercise for already-qualified United.

Group C
AC Milan vs. Marseille, FSC, DTV467
Real Madrid vs. FC Zurich, FSE, DTV469

A most complicated scenario: AC Milan and Real Madrid would both qualify if they win their games. Marseille would jump to the top of the group if they win in Italy and Zurich holds Real Madrid to nothing better than a draw. There's huge pressure on both home teams, neither of whom have performed to the satisfaction of their passionate fans.

Group D
FC Porto vs. Chelsea, DTV463
APOEL Nicosia vs. Atletico Madrid, DTV 466

The qualifiers are already known: Chelsea and Porto. Chelsea can clinch the top spot with a win or draw and the way they have been dominating this season there's no reason to believe they won't take tonight seriously. Atletico Madrid will be looking to spare any additional blushes after a dreadful CL campaign: they can qualify for the Europa League with a win in Cyprus.

___

    Preki Radosavljevic will rejoin old KC partner Mo Johnston in Toronto next season. Let's be the first to let one of the league's best fan bases know that, "yes, this time Mo's got it right."
    Johnston has hardly had a honeymoon in Toronto, taking heat for a team which has gone through coaches and players without reaching the playoffs. At times it has looked like the silly season up north.
    Turning to Preki should not be a gamble: the man has already proved he can coach during his stay with Chivas.
    Preki's sideline success should not have come as a surprise, either. Like all of the great ones, Preki was totally focused as a player, filled with supreme confidence and a special insight that defined his game. He should have been a regular on the US national team for years, but ran afoul of an old FIFA national team definition when he left the US indoor circuit for a stay in England, thereby interrupting his stay in America. Under today's rules, he'd have been eligible for the 1994 World Cup; then he wasn't and the US lost player whose time never really came at international level. He should have been the foundation for 1998 success.
    Expect Toronto to make the playoffs in 2010.
    And then, there’s Denis Hamlett. He took the Chicago Fire to the Eastern Conference final but he's unemployed this morning.
    While it is fair to suggest that the Fire did not hit top form for too much of the season it also seems a bit strange that the coach pays the price when a team comes within a penalty kick tie-breaker of reaching the MLS Cup. But off-field issues coloured his tenure, leading one insider to tell me that he'd be sacked even if the Fire won the Cup.
   Open job slots include: Chicago, Chivas, DC United, and the Red Bulls.

DAILY READS:
Fixing summit opens in Switzerland

Ben Olsen retires

Soccer in Iraq (just ignore the error about Bora in this one)

The defending champions can be eliminated today. And Liverpool's long run of European glory can also be extinguished.
Those are the two main story lines as Match Day Five, part one, unfolds across Europe.

Here's a quick look at each group playing today, all kickoffs at 14:45 Eastern except for the Rubin Kazan-Dynamo Kiev game that begins at 12:30 in Russia.

Group E
Fiorentina vs. Lyon, FSC, DTV456
Debreceni vs. Liverpool, Setanta, DTV 468

Liverpool must win in Hungary to have any chance of advancing. Even if they achieve that needed result they will be eliminated from the knockout stage if Fiorentina beats Lyon in Florence. Lyon has already qualified.

Group F
Rubin Kazan vs. Dynamo Kiev, 12:30 p.m., DTV462
Barcelona vs. Inter Milan, FSE, Fox Regionals, DTV469

If Inter and Rubin Kazan both win, Barcelona will be out. The defending champions would be eliminated because even though they could still match Rubin on points, the Russians hold the tie-breaker against Pep Guardiola's team. Inter has been decidedly unimpressive so far, but their two-goal rally in Kiev lifted them top of the group. They will be looking to end the suspense in Barcelona tonight.

Group G
Unirea vs. Sevilla, DTV464
Rangers vs. VfB Stuttgart, DTV465

Raise your hand if you picked the Romanians to advance out of this group. They will if they can beat already-qualified Sevilla tonight and VfB Stuttgart fails to win in Glasgow. However, if the Spanish powerhouse picks up a road win, then Rangers and VfB would both remain very much alive. Rangers, of course, have suffered successive humiliations at Ibrox in their first two group matches while the Germans have been unimpressive, themselves.

Group H
AZ vs. Olympiakos, DTV466
Arsenal vs. Standard Liege, DTV463

Arsenal will advance with a win or a draw; a victory would also clinch first place in the section. If the Gunners do rebound from a Saturday EPL loss at Sunderland and triumph, that would open the door for Olympiakos to qualify with a win in Holland.

DAILY READS
Seattle the star of MLS Cup

NASL back? (Sorta: We’ll have more this week on this one.)

Emergency meeting called by FIFA to discuss fixing, France-Ireland

England 2018 WC bid in chaos

The Quiet American, Philip Anschutz: “He settles any legal dispute – and there have been many – with whatever money is necessary rather than appear in court or the newspapers, including those he owns.”

Beckham can and will buy an MLS team (he says) AND has asthma

Global players union FIFPro asks FIFA to take action against MLS

Must read: Wynalda says he would never have played in MLS had he but known....