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Last-place Energie Cottbus stunned leader Bayern Munich with a 2-0 win on Saturday, throwing the Bundesliga title race wide open again.

Branko Jelic scored in the 18th and 38th minutes against a Bayern team that looked like it believed the pundits who said the title was secured last week. Bremen's 6-3 loss against Stuttgart put it seven points clear heading into the weekend.

Hamburger SV closed to within five points with a 1-0 win over Dortmund. Werder Bremen could chop the lead to four when it plays Wolfsburg Sunday and Leverkkusen would only be six back if it beats Nuremberg the same day.

Hamburg recovered from a UEFA Cup knockout at the hands of Leverkusen three days ago when Paolo Guerrero scored in the 63rd minute against Dortmund. Hamburg ran its league unbeaten streak to nine matches, and was helped when no Dortmund defender was close enough to stop Guerrero from putting his foot on Ivica Olic's cross right in front of the goal.

VfB Stuttgart's four-game winning streak was stopped by a 1-1 draw against VfL Bochum.

Thomas Hitzlsperger equalized in the 47th after Christoph Dabrowski's 20-minute goal for Duisburg. The draw set back Stuttgart's hopes of playing internationally next season, keeping it in sixth place.

In other games, it was: Karlsruhe 0, Eintracht Frankfurt 1; Hannover 2, Bielefeld 2; and Hansa Rostock 0, Berlin 0. On Friday, Schalke beat MSV Duisburg 2-1.

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Saturday:

Arsenal v. Aston Villa: Arsenal welcomes Villa to the Emirates on Saturday after a difficult week following the horrible incident that occurred in Birmingham. Arsenal is stretched with many injuries in their team, and Aston Villa will be looking to capitalize on this. Martin O’Neill’s squad has been playing very well this season and of late has been playing some captivating football. Olof Mellberg has gotten back to fitness, and Villa will need his experience against Adebayor. Watch for Theo Walcott, this is his time to shine, and after he scored twice against Birmingham, he is full of confidence.

Schalke v. Bayern Munich: Schalke coach Mirko Slomka, is on thin ice with his chairman after back to back defeats in the last two weeks. Schalke has fallen into fifth position in the Bundesliga, nine points behind their opponent on Saturday, Bayern Munich. Bayern Munich barely scraped out an extra time win during the midweek in a DFB-Pokal match. Luca Toni was sent off in the match, which means Bayern will be without his services as well as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lucio, Miroslav Klose, and Martin Demichelis. Frank Ribery will receive his first start in a month, but Bayern will be lacking in attacking options. This is a great opportunity for Schalke to get a win.

Barcelona v. Atletico Madrid: Barcelona has been flying of late, and Lionel Messi has been a man possessed with the ball at his feet. Although Barca was lucky during the midweek to earn a draw in the Copa Del Rey, they will be visiting a lack luster side in Atletico Madrid. Atletico has been knocked out of both the UEFA Cup and the Copa Del Rey in recent weeks, and Barca will be looking to close the gap on Real Madrid at the top of the table. Ronaldinho will return to the side, after being rested in the midweek and the formidable attack of Barcelona will be on display.

Sunday:

Juventus v. Fiorentina: The game of the weekend in the Italian Serie A has Juventus hosting Fiorentina in the Stadio Olimpico in Turin. Fiorentina, sitting in fourth position, has been losing points in the last two matches with AC Milan nipping at their heels. Fiorentina has lost their leading goal scorer in Adrian Mutu, so it will be up to Christian Vieri to score some important goals. Juventus is very close to both Fiorentina and Milan on points, and they know that this a playoff for the Champions League. Nedved and center-back Chiellini will be missing for the Turin outfit, and if Fiorentina can beat Juve and Milan beat Lazio, three points will separate the three teams.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Carling Cup Final: Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea AET

Common You Spurs! That was the cry around Wembley stadium after Tottenham beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final. In a match in which Avram Grant’s team selection has come under fire, for not picking Ballack and Alex, and picking Lampard and Terry, Chelsea was second best on the day. Spurs went a goal down after forty minutes, and looked to be losing the plot a bit until the end of the half. Yet, after the break, Spurs were attacking with menace, and finally got a penalty on seventy minutes. After Berbatov converted the penalty, the match went into extra time. After just four minutes, a ball was swung in and Jonathan Woodgate got a head on the ball that luckily found the back of the net. Cech was found wanting, and Spurs held on to win the match after 120 minutes of play.

Roma 1-0 Fiorentina:

Roma pulled within nine points of Inter Milan in their victory against Fiorentina. Totti equaled the clubs record of 386 appearances, while Cicinho, the Brazilian right back both scored the winner and was sent off in the match. Fiorentina looked the better side in the beginning of the match, yet suffered a large set back when Adrian Mutu was injured and was forced to leave the match. From that point on, Roma was pressing forward and dominated the match until the goal was scored in the fifty-fourth minute. Roma defended stoutly there after until the final ten minutes where Fiorentina headed wide of the target twice and a few long range efforts, which somewhat troubled Doni. But Roma prevailed in the end, and earned the three points.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Hamburg

From the Allianz Arena, Hamburg was able to keep their Championship and Champions League spots alive with earning a draw away from home. Bayern Munich dominated most of the proceedings and most of the possession in the first half of the match. Ze Roberto and Toni both went close in the first half, but the strongest defense in the Bundesliga held. After the break, Bayern kept pouring on the pressure, but when Ze Roberto was caught in possession near his goal, Olic made him pay with a strike that beat Oliver Kahn. But after the goal was scored, “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man”, when Franck Ribery was put on, and immediately made a contribution by playing Ze Roberto in to score from close range. Van Bommel was sent off in the ninetieth minute, but by then, a draw was seen as a fair result.

Eduardo Da Silva:

Most people have seen the horrific injury that Eduardo Da Silva suffered in the match against Birmingham. He suffered a full compound fracture of his fibula and a dislocation of his ankle from Martin Taylor’s challenge. Silva’s doctor has praised the quickness in which Eduardo was treated because of the severity of the injury he could have lost his foot to amputation. With any luck, Eduardo will be able to sufficiently walk and run again, but his professional career is on shaky ground. My strike partner on one of my squads suffered the exact same injury, and luckily he is still playing today, hopefully Eduardo Da Silva will recover as my friend did.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Saturday:

Bayern Leverkusen v. Shalke:

This is an important match between two sides with Champions League aspirations for next year. Both teams are tied on points in the Bundesliga, and will be hoping to put some distance between one another with a win. It will be interesting to see how both sides respond because both played in the midweek, with Leverkusen just playing yesterday, leaving only 48 hours in between matches. Look for Kevin Kuranyi to try and expose the tired back line of Leverkusen and the second half to become wide open, which should be great for the match.

Sunday:

Carling Cup Final, Tottenham v. Chelsea:

This hopefully will be a proper final at the Wembley Stadium. Tottenham will be looking for their first silverware in some time, and the Spurs fans will be biting their fingernails. Both teams have been playing some attractive football which has been very attractive. Chelsea will probably play a 4-3-3 with Anelka, Drogba, and Cole playing in the front three. Spurs will be playing with the diminutive Berbatov and Keane up front. On the spacious pitch at Wembley stadium, players like Huddelstone and Ballack will be able to spray balls all around the pitch and open up the defenses of both sides, enjoy.

Roma v. Fiorentina:

This is the cracking match in the Serie A this weekend. Roma played fairly well against a great Real Madrid side during the midweek. Totti was absolute quality, and his stringing of passes and controlling the flow of the game looked like a conductor of an orchestra. Although in this match, Roma will be playing against another striker on the peak of his form, Adrian Mutu. He has been missing in the big matches somewhat, and hopefully both strikers will put on a show for the masses.

Bayern Munich v. Hamburg:

This is another great match in the Bundesliga this weekend that puts the top of the league squad against the squad in third position. Bayern are playing at home, although two weekends ago, that didn’t help in the match against Werder Bremen in which they earned a draw. Bayern put on an impressive display against Aberdeen yesterday, while Hamburg traveled to Switzerland in the midweek to advance in the UEFA Cup. By the second half, the game should open up as it will in the Shalke/Bayern Leverkusen match, because of the exhaustion factor. Should be a quality match, with some great players on hand.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Manchester City 1-3 Manchester United: This promises to be the best match of the weekend. Firstly, it’s the Manchester Derby, always a great fixture, and normally with lot's of goals. Secondly, Manchester United will be celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the “Munich Air Disaster”. Both sides will be dressed in kits that don’t have any sponsors, and will all be wearing black boots to commemorate the memory of the people who lost their lives. Thirdly, the fans hate each other, and it will be interesting to see if the minute silence will be observed in good nature. Manchester United, in trying to ease tension, has apparently taken down a banner that reminds City fans that they haven’t won any silverware in thirty-two years. This match can be seen on Setanta, on Sunday at 8:30 AM ET.

Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea: This fixture always promises to be nuts. Liverpool will be without Fernando Torres, which is a shame to the match, and the reason I picked Chelsea to win. Michael Ballack has been unstoppable of late, and so has the form of Chelsea. Stamford Bridge has been a fortress for Chelsea as well, and it will be rocking as they welcome their "new rivals", since they have seen Liverpool so frequently, to London. This fixture can be seen on FSC on Sunday, at 11 AM ET.

Barcelona 2-2 Sevilla: Barca goes into Sevilla without seven first team members. They have closed the gap to six points between Real Madrid and themselves, although Sevilla are a good side. Sevilla are looking to maintain their Champions League spot, and will look to take Barca to task without some of their key squad members. This match is on Gol TV, on Saturday, at 4 PM ET.

Werder Bremen 1-1 Bayern Munich: Now here is a tasty fixture. Bayern will be without the services of Ribery, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that this is number one against number two in the table. This promises to be a heated affair and is definitely worth a few hours. Quality players on both sides, and in the Allianz Arena, which promises to have a great atmosphere. You can watch this match on Gol TV on Sunday at 11 AM ET.

Egypt 3-0 Cameroon: The African Cup of Nations final has the winner of the last tournament Egypt against Cameroon. Egypt is coming off a huge win against the Ivory Coast, in a match that they dominated. Cameroon barely scraped by the host’s Ghana, and it will be a difficult match for them. It will be a difficult game to watch if you haven’t already subscribed to watch the entire tournament, but try to find someone who can tape it, because this should be quite a spectacle.

By: Christopher Chantland

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Well it looks as though Michael Bradley will be leaving Dutch football at the end of the season. Bradley, who has done very well in Holland, hasn’t signed a new contract which the club has offered. His current contract is up in 2009, and the club understands they need to sell him before Michael get’s away for less than he is worth. Bradley has scored seven times in the eighteen matches he has played in, including a hat trick. Not a bad return considering he is being played predominately in a holding midfield role for Heerenveen.

Michael Bradley has Impressed
for both Club and Country

Bradley has a desire that I haven’t seen in any other young player in the United States. He eats, drinks, and dreams football, and then he goes and plays the game. The most revealing example that convinced me that Michael was serious about playing in Europe, and staying there, was this interview below. When a twenty year old American kid goes abroad to the Netherlands, the last thing you would expect is him to do is learn the native language and use it? I can’t wait to watch this young player’s career progress and evolve, because I see something special in him.

Reports have him linked with a move to the Bundesliga with club side Hamburg.

By: Christopher Chantland

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The Americans in Europe definitely made their mark this week. U.S. National Team and Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey scored the only Fulham goal in the 1-1 tie with Wigan. Michael Bradley got on the scoreboard for Heerenveen, as he's team destroyed Excelsior 5-2. DaMarcus Beasley couldn't be showed up by his National Team teammates also scoring in the Ranger's 4-2 loss to Hearts.

Other American players around Europe:

Carlos Bocanegra reached his 100th match for Fulham during the tie against Wigan. Kasey Keller was on the bench for that game.

Reading lost to Sunderland 2-1, but Marcus Hahnemann made eight saves, and Bobby Convey came off the bench in the 76-minute of play.

Brad Friedel helped Blackburn walk away with a point, as he made 13 saves against Chelsea.

Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock) and Frank Simek (Preston North End) all started and played for their respective teams.

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