African Cup of Nations
After going four-for-four in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations it was just too good to last and although both my semi final picks have made it through to a final game it has turned out to be for third place rather than the actual final.

Although Ghana enjoyed an edge in the play a lack of sharpness in the penalty box cost them a place in the final. Cameroon was bound to create and take a chance and sure enough it happened. Apart from the goal an outstanding moment was Geremi's 30+ yard free kick that hit the junction of the bar and the post - an absolute cracking shot.

I thought the Egyptian back four looked a bit perturbed by the physical play on Angola’s Manucho in the quarter finals and felt that Drogba would cause the defense nightmares. As it turned out the defense played exceptionally well and overall I thought the Egyptians were outstanding for ninety minutes.

They got a couple of breaks from deflections but even so they showed as a well drilled and composed side that were worth their 4-1 win. However, I would be amiss not to mention the rocket of a shot from Keita cutting in from the left that looked to have got the Ivory Coast back in the game.

After handling Cameroon in the group stage and then the semi final victory over the Ivory Coast, Egypt will start as favourites to take their 6th African Cup of Nations title. At the risk of hexing Egypt I will take them to win 2-1.

Serie A
One of the best games in prospect in Serie A is Juventus at Udinese. Udinese have only one win in their last six games and are slipping down the table. On the other hand Juventus is unbeaten in their last twelve games but six draws in the run means that although they remain in third position their points total has suffered.

When compared to Inter and Roma Juventus have slipped behind by 8 points and 3 points respectively. If history is a pointer then this game is good news for Juventus. Juventus has only lost three times in 33 visits.


Bundesliga
The Bundesliga may have only been back for one week but the second round of the second half has a thrown up a top of the table clash between leaders Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Werder went into the winter break tied on points with Bayern but an unexpected loss to Bochum last week (the first Bochum win at Bremen in 31 tries) means they trail the Munich side by three points.

Bayern defensive home record is impressive with only two goals conceded in eight games. However, three draws means that their home points total does not necessarily reflect their defensive dominance.

On the other hand Werder Bremen’s away form has been poor with only 12 points from 8 games. Diego is Werder Bremen’s leading scorer with 9 to date and he is tied at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose. Werder Bremen has also been buoyed by the return of Croatian international striker Ivan Klasnic after a second and this time successful kidney transplant.

La Liga
The top game in Spain would appear to pit Sevilla against Barcelona. Sevilla is up to 7th position but is still making heavy weather of this season. As a precaution they also announced this week that they will take part in the Intertoto Cup if necessary in order to find a route to next season’s UEFA Cup.

Fabiano is having an outstanding season and has more than carried the goal scoring load so far this season with 16 goals to Freddie Kanoute’s 8. Previous to signing for Sevilla in 2005 Fabiano had been a bust at Rennes in France (2000) and then after returning to Brazil he signed for Porto in 2004. With a record of only 5 goals in 20 plus games he was not considered a success in Portugal. But since moving to Sevilla he has now made over 100 appearances and has scored around a goal every two matches.

Barcelona, on the other hand, has spread their scoring around with 13 different players contributing at least a goal so far this season.  


Premiership
What are the chances of getting through the minute of silence at Old Trafford without a Neanderthal contributing to the occasion? Not very good I am guessing. City has not had much success at Old Trafford and you have to go back to 1974 for their last league win.

It was the game decided by Denis Law’s back heeler with only a couple of minutes left. United fans then invaded the field, the game was abandoned, the result stood and six years after winning the European Cup Manchester United was relegated. Law’s goal is often described as one that relegated United but the fact is that United would have gone down anyway.

Although City is winless in 34 years and obviously without a win in ten Premiership visits they have drawn four times when visiting Old Trafford on Premiership business. City’s form has dropped off and when you look at the points they have garnered in blocks of five games it becomes quite clear - (from start of season) 9 pts, 13 pts, 8 pts, 6 pts, 5 pts.

Chelsea is hoping to extend their unbeaten home record and based on Liverpool’s record over the last number of years at Stamford Bridge it is a record that looks like being extended. Liverpool has been blanked on their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge and has only scored two goals in the last 12 visits in all competitions.

The only current Liverpool player to have scored at Stamford Bridge is Sammi Hyypia and Liverpool has only one win in 14 Premierships trips to Stamford Bridge. Over the last six league games Chelsea has picked up 16 points (best in the Premiership) against Liverpool’s record of four draws combined with a loss and a win – only good for 12th in the current form table.

So you have Chelsea riding the crest of a wave in terms of their recent premiership form against a team that they have largely owned in Premiership meetings at Stamford Bridge. Looks like a banker home win but this might just be the match that brings Chelsea’s unbeaten home run to an end.