TOP 5 GAMES FROM LEAGUES OF THE WORLD IN THE WEEK AHEAD

After the hassles of international friendlies, world cup qualifiers and European adventures, finally the focus has returned to domestic leagues. Coming week is going to be very busy and all the guns are ready to blaze. Here are my top 5 for the week-

5. WEST HAM V FULHAM UNITED-
In English Premier League this is a London Derby of different kind. Both the teams are struggling at 17th and 18th spot respectively with 10 points in their kitty. This season the blow of Hammer is making simple thuds. They have scored least goal by far among all the clubs, 9. Fulham on the other hand has inferior goal difference -10. Both the clubs are struggling for points and in this dry winter season for them, this is the perfect chance to collect important 3 points. Hammers could propel themselves to 15th after the win and breathe easy. Fulham is oldest among all the London clubs in Premier League. They are enjoying 13th straight season in top division but road is pretty slippery for them this year. Experience of club loyalist like Bent, Berbatov, Scott Parker, Sidwell, Senderos is going waste. Coach Martin Jol has to settle the bricks in this match. At Boleyn Ground, game will kick off at 20:30 hrs on Saturday.

4. FIORENTINA V HELLAS VERONA

This is the clash of 5th and 6th spot holders of Serie A. Verona can gallop over opponent with a win. Hellas lost first ever Verona derby which they were expected to win. They were 3rd in the table at one time. Problem with them is the weak defense. They have only one clean sheet to show this season. As a result, despite of scoring 22 goals, their GD is mere +2. Moreover they have registered only 1 win out of 5 away games. On the other hand, Fiorentina is bubbling with confidence. Giuseppe Rossi is in full cry. He is currently top scorer in Serie A with 11 goals, 7 of them as clean field goals. He spent 5 seasons with Villareal and now getting his due regard in second season at this Florence club. Coach ‘Little Aeroplane’ Vicenza Montella must be hoping nothing short of a win in this UNESCO town of Micheal Angelo. Artists will be on field on Monday night at 23:30 hrs.

3. MAINZ 05 V BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Winter is looking very shivering for this Ruhr valley’s club. Now they are 7 points behind league leaders, conceded 2 straight losses and suffering from injuries to Mats Hummmels and Marcel Schelzer. BVB is likely to miss the services of both of them for at least a month. It has increased some lines on forehead of Juergen Klopp. Match against Napoli could sink or revive the shaking confidence of the squad. Mainz is looking for hat trick of wins at home. Club’s loyal Nicolai Muller and Stuttgart purchase Japanese Shinji Okazaki have found the desired touch. Surely there will be a lot of smoke on the water of Rhine when both teams will clash on Saturday at 8pm.

2. PUNE V PRAYAG UNITED-
This is perhaps the most lopsidedAirtel I-League season ever played. With only 8 points separating top 10 clubs, anything can happen. At the start of the season who would have thought that power centres of Indian Soccer, Dempo and Churchill will be stumbling at the bottom. In this back drop, focus at top has shifted to other teams.
Pune fc is the team which has impressed critics the most. All the top three teams are tied on 18 points but Pune have played 1 fewer match than the others. Even though star player Arata Izumi is totally out of form, Dutch coach Mike Snoei has done wonders. The team is hungry and dreaming for I League win like their Junior Lads. Prayag United can join the summit with a win in this match. Ranti Martins is enjoying second season at the club and scoring quite frequently along with fellow Liberian Eric Brown. The clash will begin in Pune on 1st day of next month at 6pm.

1. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V MANCHESTER UNITED

This will be second straight Manchester test that AVB has to pass. After suffering heaviest defeat of his career, he surely will be looking to regain the respect. City played some fearsome soccer and bangled Spurs with tennis score line. Salgado is short of confidence. On the other hand, opponent Spanish stricker Negredo, wearing same jersey of 9 no., was full of confidence. 6 goals, 1 own goal, 3 yellows, surely Tottenham fans would like to forget that nightmare. In last 3 matches, they have collected only 1 point, losing the last 2. Manchester United on the other hand received unlikely draw at Cardiff and it put brake on their hat trick of wins. RVP and 18 year old Belgian Januzaj are playing sensational soccer. This match is a must win game for both the teams, specially Spurs, if they want to restart their journey to thetop. Action from White hart lane will begin as an early kickoff at 5:30pm on Sunday.