Cup football dominates in Britain this weekend with semi finals of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup being played on Saturday and Sunday. Watford’s chances of putting one over on United might come down to United suffering a hangover from the 7-1 annihilation of Roma. The news that Ronaldo has signed a five year contract extension is great but not unexpected news for United fans.

Watford and Manchester United have only met three times in the FA Cup, with Watford winning the last meeting 1-0 in 1982. While United have faced Premiership sides each step of the way, Watford have only come across top flight opposition once and that was West Ham. Three of Watford’s four wins have been 1-0’s.

The other semi has Chelsea facing rugged Blackburn Rovers. On the face of it Chelsea have a more difficult task than Manchester United although Rovers’ form since reaching the last four has been pretty awful. However, Blackburn have only conceded one goal in five Cup games and in Brad Friedel they have a goalkeeper who is capable on the day of stymieing the best of teams. Chelsea can look to three wins over Blackburn this season, all achieved without a goal being conceded.

In Scotland Celtic are looking to make it to their 4th final in 6 years. First Division St. Johnstone (currently trailing last season’s Cup runners-up Gretna) are the opposition. These teams have met 5 times in the Scottish Cup with St Johnstone’s only win coming 71 years ago.  St Johnstone have never appeared in a Scottish Cup Final and if they are to cause an upset it will likely be on account of  ####mp;T international Jason Scotland who has scored 25 goals this season.

Hibs fans don’t need reminding that they last won the Scottish Cup in 1902 and are looking to make their second trip to Hampden Park for a final this season – they beat Kilmarnock in the CIS Cup Final a few weeks ago. The opposition is Dunfermline who finds themselves in a similar position to Watford although there are signs that the Pars may conspire to escape the clutches of relegation. Dunfermline beat Hibs 2-0 in the 1965 semi and went on and lost to Celtic in the final.

With United and Chelsea on Cup duty it is relegation match-ups front and centre in the Premiership. The biggest game is West Ham playing Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. West Ham are on a roll although it may still turn out to be too late. They have won their last three Premiership game including two away from home against Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal. On the other hand Sheffield United have lost three league games in a row, have only picked up one point in their last five games and face Manchester United and Charlton after this game. Without Rob Hulse who has contributed nearly one third of United’s goals it is difficult to see where United’s goals are going to come from.

Everton and Charlton are two of the hottest team sin the Premiership at the moment and are both unbeaten in their last six games. Charlton have had four consecutive clean sheets – 5 in their last 6 - and have reached a position where by they no longer have to hope that other results go there way in order to avoid the dreaded drop.  However, remember that Charlton still have only one away win this season at that came at Portsmouth.

Other matches with relegation implications have Wigan at home to Spurs and Reading at home to Fulham who will have new manager Lawrie Sanchez in charge.

In MLS Kansas City make their 2007 league debut at DC United who lost their season opener last weekend in chilly (this is coming from someone in Winnipeg!!) Denver. DC looked very uninspired and perhaps suffering from their Champions League exertions against Chivas Guadalajara.

KC Wizards signed former Boro midfielder Carlos Marinelli although he is unlikely to see action for a couple of weeks because of fitness concerns. Marinelli, who is now 25, made his Premiership debut as a 17-year-old against Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day 1999. In 43 starting and substitute appearance in the Premiership the Argentine midfielder scored three goals.

Other notable games include Toronto FC away to New England, and two teams that won their seasons openers play in Denver – Colorado Rapids and Chicago Fire. For Toronto fans it will be a second look at their new team and particular attention will be paid to the effort over the full ninety minutes. The promise of last weekend’s first thirty minutes against Chivas only flattered to deceive as the side wilted badly in the last 2/3rds of the game.  

Inter Milan are looking to continue their march to a second straight Serie A title when they face a badly slumping Palermo. Palermo are struggling with the loss of striker Amauri through injury and have taken only ten points from a possible thirty-six. A win over Palermo, and another against second-placed AS Roma next Wednesday, would bring the title for Inter with six games left.

Spain has some mouth watering encounters this weekend. After rolling over and dying in midweek against Chelsea, Valencia desperately needs to beat Sevilla in order to stay in contention for the title. A loss for Valencia would leave them at least 8 points behind the leaders with 8 games to go. Valencia have taken just four points from a possible 12 and will face Real Madrid away next week. In turn Sevilla must play Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on May 6.

Racing Santander versus Real Madrid has two of Spain’s form teams going head-to-head. Santander are coached by former Real Madrid reserve team coach Miguel Angel Portugal and are on a seven-match unbeaten streak with ex-Real player Pedro Munitis (4 goals) and giant Serbian Nikola Zigic (10 goals) proving to be a handful for opposition defenses. Santander have also moved into contention for a UEFA Cup spot

Real Madrid, despite so many drab performances, are very much in contention and continue to apply heat to league leaders Barcelona who find themselves 11 points off of last season’s pace. Barcelona leads Sevilla by a single point with Real Madrid a point further behind. Of the top three teams Barcelona looks to have the easiest run-in with a trip to Atletico Madrid (their bogey team) the most difficult challenge.

Enjoy the weekend action and feel free to comment!

 A lively blog again this week as far as comments and opinions are concerened.

Henry14-1. Who do you think will win the title given that both teams are in Europe and FA Cup & also looking at the runs left for them?
2. l personally fancy Sheffield to stay up because of their matches at home left who do you think will drop?
3. How do you assess Klose this season?
4. It pains me to say this but l really see that Spurs have made big strides in the last two years do you know when they can ever win the title?
5. Lastly l disagree with what you said on the show that Benitez's rotation is paying dividends, l think it is because they were knocked out of domestic cups, so they were no replays because Arsenal played 7 domestic cup games after Liverpool, Man Utd. had 5 and Chelsea had 6 so l think that’s the main reason up to now. 
6 Do you think Fergie regret letting Larsson go?

Bobby–1. I picked Chelsea at the start of the season and I am not jumping ship even though United have the lead and an easier stretch-run.
2. With Rob Hulse out Sheffield United will struggle to score goals and that is their biggest challenge going into the last 6 games.
3. I haven’t seen enough of Klose this season to really comment. He seems to be off his usual goal scoring pace although he is still Bremen’s top scorer.
4. They will some day but I can’t see it in the near future.
5. Fair point but if Liverpool had won the cup games Benitez would have still rotated his squad.
6. Not after today’s display!

LosAngelesChelseaFan - Chelsea are certainly capable of dumping Valencia on Tuesday, since I suspect that stamina rather than skill will dominate the outcome of all competitions. We shall see.
What’s your considered opinion of all this?
What do think is more important for all these teams right now,
(a) heart and will to win?
(b) stamina?
(c) quality and skill?
(d) most recent result?
... and which one has it?

Bobby – All of the above plus momentum and some well-timed slices of luck ?

Flashman - Toronto FC looked competitive in their MLS debut at Chivas. Obviously, any MLS squad has flaws, but TFC didn't look like an expansion team to me. Greg Sutton looks solid in net and they generated some excellent scoring opportunities early on. Still some work to do in defense.
Do you see this team rewarding the Hogtown Massive - sold out at 20,000 for every game this year - by diving in and snagging a big name player? If so, at what position?
Also, as the streets of London's toney Islington district yet again run brown with fear, do you think Arsenal can hang on to a UEFA Cup qualifying position as they free fall this spring down the Prem standings? Who do you see them losing due to their inability to compete financially with bigger clubs in Yorkshi - er, umm, Europe?

Bobby – I would be surprised if Toronto go the “big name” player route this year. I think Mo Johnston has already said that he is not interested and with a sell out almost guaranteed there isn’t a financial incentive to make a move like that. I think they would be better off spreading the wealth around a bit in an attempt to improve the overall quality of the team. I think Sutton is a keeper – in more ways than the positional sense – but I didn’t see anything else that gave me much encouragement. But, there again it is early days, so maybe a fairer assessment can be made after 10 games. The games against Bolton and Spurs will be important over the next two weeks but I think Arsenal will hold on to 4th place.

jeffers77 - Any thoughts on Tottenham and Sevilla? I think Tottenham has a good chance on Thursday, that penalty against Robinson was ridiculous; a 1-1 score would have been a fair result. Do you feel they have a chance at WHL and if they do go on, what do you think their chances are of winning the whole thing?

Bobby – The penalty was an atrocious decision. If Spurs are to go through then I think scoring first is almost mandatory. Perhaps the bigger question is can the Spurs back four keep Sevilla from scoring. 

Henry14 - l wanted to know the requirements of entering the Intertoto cup and if the Gunners qualify.

Bobby – Here is a link to who is eligible. This link gives the reason for the competition – I think it might surprise you.

Ringo - Can someone explain how Portsmouth can beat Man U and then lose to Watford? Unless the Asian betting syndicates were involved!

Bobby – The only logical conclusion is that if Watford were in Serie A then they would be a serious challenge to Inter this season!

Henry14 - Who is a better winger Quaresma or Ribery or rather player because l thought Quaresma had the edge.

Bobby – I woud take Ribery. He seems a bit more robust to me.

Realmadridcffan - 1. Out of all the soccer magazines that are published, which is your favourite and your least favourite? 2. How would you rate the performances of DC United and the Houston Dynamo in the recent CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final? What do you think it will take for an MLS side to actually win the CONCACAF Champions Cup? 3. Besides the Houston Dynamo and DC United, who do you see as a dark horse(s) for the MLS Championship this year?

Bobby – 1. Favourite(s) – When Saturday Comes, Champions (the UEFA mag) and World Soccer. The least favourite – there are a number of them. The magazines that I have the most trouble with are the ones that just lift pieces and drop them into the magazine – Soccer Italia a prime example – and they are often contradictory stories. Page 3 states Fabio Star Defender wants a transfer to Real Madrid; Page 7 Fabio Star Defender says “I will never leave.” 2. I thought both teams did very well. When Brian Ching scored with only minutes left I thought Houston were going to do it. As far as what is needed - experience obviously helps and I don't think a MLS side winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup again in the next three or four seasons is out of the question. 3. Dark horse - well with a 13 team league it pretty difficult to be a dark horse. However, i can see Chicago Fire challenging DC United in the east and I liked the look of Colorado Rapids on Saturday so they might be the team to watch in the west.

djnima19 – 1. Do you think losing Vidic will cost United the title? 2. Is Foster or Kuzscak a better keeper than Edwin for next season? 3. Who would you like to see coming from La Liga to the EPL next season?

Bobby – 1. Not necessarily although he does leave a large hole in the defense – a lot can happen in the next half a dozen games. 2. I don’t think you can consider Foster or Kuzscak better than van der Sar. Kuzscak, for the rather obvious reason that he is currently the back-up. In Foster’s case he has been playing with very little pressure on him so it is a very unfair comparison at the moment. It is not unusual for keepers to look better playing in a poorer team because they get more chances to shine. With better sides I think that keepers need to concentrate more because of the lack of action. Foster is still very young for a keeper and he certainly looks like he has the potential to be a very good goalie.  3. There is always a big gulf between who we would like to see and who is available. Even with Premiership riches you can’t have all the great players. Goalscorers are high on everyone’s list so the likes of David Villa, Fernando Torres and Diego Milito will probably be targets.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - I have a few questions:
1. Can you recommend a theBLEEP who specializes in Depressive Goonophrenia?
2. Do you think asking over and over again if Thierry Henry will leave Arsenal at the end of the season is a symptom of the above condition?
3. Do you think if Arsene Wenger wears the grey suit with the grey tie at next week’s game against Bolton, it will bring him more of the bad luck that caused them to lose the double against Whamo Utd for the first time since 1965?
4. Do you think hell is a place:
a) populated by Arsenal players who pass the ball for endlessly, but who never shoot at the goal or
b) a place where there’s a soccer game in which the referee is being chased by a complaining Wane Rooney for all eternity?

Bobby – 1. Dr. George Graham. 2. No it is a condition caused by the Vieiraitis virus that was limited to Highbury for a period of five years although it was thought to have been eradicated. 3. Only if he wears it with the standard Sam Allardyce earpiece. 4. Hell is what North America was to soccer fans 20 years ago.

Verbal97 – 1. Does Dumfermline stand a chance to a) stay up in the SPL and b) to make it to the Scottish Cup Final? If they make the finals and play Celtic, would they get a UEFA Cup spot like in the FA Cup? 1 c. Also, how do you rate Adam Hammill, if you've seen him?
2. Also, do you think Abramovich will fire Mourinho this week WHEN Chelsea lose to Valencia or will he wait for the end of the season?

Bobby – 1a. Stephen Kenny seems to have whipped the Pars into much better shape and they now have at least a fighting chance of survival – four points behind St. Mirren with five to play. 1b. They beat Hibs last weekend in the SPL and they face each other again this Sunday in the Scottish Cup semi final. If they do make it and finish up facing Celtic (who play St. Johnstone on Saturday) then a UEFA spot is guaranteed. 1 c. I haven’t seen him and to be honest no one that I correspond with in Scotland has mentioned him. 2. I guess that now changes to “WHEN Chelsea lose to Liverpool.”

Neophyte – 1. What do you think about Riquelme coming to the Prem? or another La Liga team? What ever happened between Villarreal and Riquelme? You can clearly see that without him they're just middle to bottom of the Liga.
2. What do you see SAF doing about the obvious aging midfield at Old Trafford? Does Scholes get the same treatment as Becks and Keane? Is Giggs' time up as well?

 Bobby – 1. I never thought there was much of a chance of Riquelme moving to the Premiership at the end of last season and so I think that there is almost no chance now.  Most likely destination – where he is now, at Boca Juniors. Next – a return to Villarreal. Then – who can guess? It seems that Miguel Pellegrino and Riquelme just fell out – it can’t have been anything that important or we would have already heard all the lurid details. 2. Manchester United have clearly benefited from the incredible seasons that Scholes and Giggs have had. Unless they “misbehave” – and there is no reason to believe that will be the case – Ferguson will be dumping either of them out. Well deserved testimonials for these two – someday.