It is back to the bread and butter of the domestic leagues after a break of two weeks for World Cup qualifying matches. The most compelling match-ups this weekend are in Italy and Spain.


Roma vs. Inter

While Claudio Ranieri’s future as coach of Juventus has been widely debated and speculated upon there must be little doubts forming about Luciano Spalletti after Roma’s poor start to the Serie A season.

Roma form away from the Olympico has been brutal and they have lost all three games on their travels. When you consider that they only lost four games all last season it is a significant come down for a side that many thought would challenge for the scudetto right from the start.

Last time out Roma lost 1-0 away to Siena but also had Philippe Mexes and Christian Panucci sent off so they will miss this match. Roma’s home form in Serie A has been the only redeeming feature of their season so far with a couple of wins and a draw.

Inter sit tied at the top of the table with 13 points although they are third on goal difference. Inter’s single loss came in the Milan derby but they have so far failed to show a consistently high level of performance that would be expected from a Mourinho side.

At times the team has looked lackadaisical and overly reliant on Ibrahimovic providing a moment or two of magic. Inter’s defense has been less than secure with only one clean sheet in six games.


Napoli vs. Juventus

Both teams saw their unbeaten league records flush away two weeks ago. Napoli lost a cracking game to Genoa 3-2 and that came on top of a shattering loss to Benfica in the UEFA Cup.
Prior to the Benfica loss Napoli had rung up an impressive streak of eight games in all competitions without defeat.

Argentine striker German Denis arrived during the summer transfer window from Independiente and has scored a couple of goals already. Lavezzi with eight goals last season, one this season and more than enough skill and pace to terrorize most defenses is likely to form the first choice strike partnership with Denis.

Goals – or lack of goals – continue to plague Juventus. Juve are still averaging less than a goal a game and until the goals start coming with more regularity Ranieri is going to find his future in Turin being called into question. This weekend Ranieri is also looking at an extended injury list and Sissoko is suspended after being sent off against Palermo.


Catania vs. Palermo
Palermo are sitting fourth in Serie A, Catania seventh, there is only a point between the the two sides and that  means that the Sicilian derby will need little to bring it to a boil.

Catania has won all three home games 1-0 (yet to concede a goal at home) but away from home it has been two draws and a loss. It is a mirror image – albeit a bit better one – of last season.

Catania owed survival to their home form and picked up thirty of their thirty-seven points at home. They only conceded fourteen goals at home which was second best in the entire league – this from a side that escaped relegation by only a point.

While their defense carried the load their attack averaged less than a goal a game – at least this season they have upped the average to a goal a game! In fact Catania have scored a goal in all six games this season – but never more than the one marker.

It will not help on Sunday that top scorer Michele Paolucci (3 goals) is suspended. Paolucci has been an early surprise considering that he spent last season with Atalanta but was restricted to only two starts and no goals.

Palermo have scored more often this season but may be missing leading scorer Miccoli (6 goals) through injury. Let’s hope that the game comes with plenty of excitement but not the crowd trouble that marred the match in 2007.


Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid

With consecutive losses in Liga to Sevilla and Barcelona and with a date with Liverpool coming up in midweek Champions League action, Atletico Madrid has to contend with a Madrid derby squeezed into the middle.

The fixture has not been kind to Atletico lately. They have not beaten Real since June 1999 and have only won twice in the last 23 matches against their city rivals. While Atletico stutter, Real are rolling along unbeaten in their last five league matches and looked to have recovered from an opening day loss at Deportivo La Coruna.

Real’s Raul has picked up where he left off last season and has four goals in the last three games. That brings his tally to 22 goals since the start of the 2007/08 season – not bad considering he only scored 21 in the three seasons before.

Atletico may have striker Diego Forlan back after injury.

Serie A
Juventus vs. Palermo

Juventus are one of only two teams in Serie A (the other Napoli) that remain unbeaten after only five rounds of play. For the Turin club it has been a case of making a little go a long way. Four one goal games and a scoreless draw has been enough to generate nine points but if goals don’t start coming with more regularity then it is only a matter of time before that undefeated record is struck down.  

Amauri was signed from Palermo during the summer to add a cutting edge to the Juventus attack and three goals in four league matches would be a sign that the Brazilian is at least delivering on his part of the bargain.

Palermo are Sunday’s opponents and can boast of a player who has scored as many goals as Juventus have done in Serie A this season. And as with Juventus it is a case of a little going a long way but in this case the “little” refers to diminutive striker Fabrizio Miccoli. Miccoli spent a frustrating 2004 season with Juventus before being shipped out on loan to Fiorentina for a season followed by a two years in Portugal with Benfica.

Last season he returned to the Italian top flight with Palermo and although hampered by a series of injuries he still managed to score 8 goals and show the talent that first flourished with Perugia. If Miccoli can avoid injury there is no reason why he can’t hit double figures and also, in the process,  work his way back into Marcello Lippi’s international plans.   


Genoa vs. Napoli

Napoli unbeaten in Serie A and currently second behind Lazio will look to bounce back from being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Benfica in midweek. Although Napoli have been limited to only six goals you get the sense that it will not need much for one of their games to turn into a shootout .

They face a Genoa side that has one both their home games so far while losing all three on the road. The home wins have come against Milan and Roma and there is no reason why Napoli should not become a third high profile victim.  


LA LIGA
Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid

This game is being billed as Lionel Messi vs. Sergio Aguero which should not come as much of a surprise. While Messi led Argentina to an FIFA Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005, Aguero (he was also part of the 2005 squad but saw limited playing time) matched the feat last summer in Canada.

Both players could be considered as child protégés. Messi was whisked off to Spain and made his Barcelona debut as a 16-year-old; Aguero made his debut in Argentina for Independiente before he turned 16.

The emergence of Messi at Barcelona marginalized the former idol of the Nou Camp Ronaldinho while Aguero took full advantage of Fernando Torres’ move from Atletico to Anfield and is new hero of the Vicente Calderon.

For years Atletico held an uncanny hold over Barca – Torres especially tormented Barcelona – but that came to an end when Barca whipped Atletico 6-0 in the later stages of the 2007 season. Barcelona currently holds a one point advantage on Atletico with league leaders Valencia (yes Valencia) three points ahead of the Catalan club.


Premiership
Chelsea v Aston Villa

Early last season Aston Villa caught Chelsea at the right time and their 2-0 win at Villa Park helped point Mourinho to the exit door at Stamford Bridge. A little over three months later in a barnstormer o####ame Villa showed that the earlier result was no fluke by sharing eight goals at the Bridge.

On Sunday Villa have an opportunity to send a large and powerful warning shot across the bows of any clubs with pretensions of a top four finish. Currently sitting third Villa have already played Liverpool to a stalemate at Villa Park and Martin O’Neill is likely to keep with faith with the same eleven that have started each of the club’s six Premiership games so far.

That would mean another start for the striking duo of John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Last season they combined for 24 league goals and have already notched four each this season. Creator-in-chief Ashley Young is another potential tormentor of Chelsea.

A settled side is something that Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari doesn’t have the luxury of with a number of starters out through injury. Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Deco are all missing. Chelsea are now unbeaten in 85 home matches stretching back over 4 years – could this be the week when we stop counting?


MLS
DC United vs. Chivas

The end of the regular MLS season is in sight although the play-off prospects of the vast majority of clubs are still blurry.  With only the top three teams from each conference guaranteed post season play the two remaining spots are assigned to the sides with the best records overall.

For months the eastern circuit has held a clear advantage over their western cousins and the fourth and fifth placed teams in the east have been odds-on favourites to fill the last two spots.

But over the last couple of weeks the western conference has made inroads based on improved results and deterioration in form from the likes of the New York Red Bulls and DC United. Now with four rounds of play left to complete the race is now too close to call.

The match-up between DC United (5th in the east and 33 points) and Chivas (2nd in the west and 36 points) is one of a number of critical fixtures during the run-in. Currently sitting second with a top three finish needed would seem to put Chivas in a fairly comfortable position.

But with the surging Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas just two points behind a loss could leave the other team from LA looking at the rest of the conference from a very different vantage point.

Injuries have decimated Chivas all season and just when Coach Preki could look forward to the return of a number of starters key striker Ante Razov has gone down injured.

Over the last few weeks DC United have been attempting to put an end to a horrendous and poorly timed slump. The season as a whole has been one of fits and starts for United but the last four weeks have been particularly rocky with six losses and a draw since lifting the U.S. Cup at the start of September.

After this match DC United has to play the two conference leaders (Columbus Crew and Houston) away and New England Revolution at home.