Matches To Watch This Weekend: Barcelona - Villarreal

Not sure what matches to watch this weekend? Well, I've decided that before every weekend I'll be writing a little preview post entitled, "Matches To Watch This Weekend" where I try and find enticing fixtures for you to watch. I hope you enjoy it.

Barcelona - Villarreal


With two weeks before Barcelona and Real Madrid clash in "El Clasico", Guardiola's team will have to face Villarreal. Villarreal, the team with the nickname "The Yellow Submarine", has done a fairly good job of keeping up with Barcelona and Real Madrid this season, and they surely intend on continuing their good form. Right now the top of the La Liga table looks something like this:


Real Madrid     26
Barcelona        25
Villarreal          23
Espanyol         18
Valencia          17

And while last season Barca and Real were in a league of their own, they're being followed by Juan Carlos Garrido's Villarreal side. So the question is, can Villarreal manage to slow down Barcelona this weekend? Probably not, although the newly-promoted side Hercules managed an epic 2-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, I don't think that the Catalans will let something like that happen again.

But, no matter how improbable it is that Villarreal manage to get a positive result from this match, it's still one you should watch. The main reason is that watching Barcelona weave their beautiful football, while Villarreal try to squeeze a result with their formidable attacking duo of Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar, will be exciting without a doubt.

Inter Milan - AC Milan


This match has to be included, it's my favorite derby of the world, mainly because it always has meaning, and there's always a fierce rivalry between the two sides. Right now AC Milan are top of the table in the Serie A, while Inter Milan is in fourth place, but if the nerazzurri manage to win this match, they'll draw level on points with their rossoneri cousins. That also means that this match is the perfect chance for AC Milan to increase their lead on last year's champions to six points, so it's without a doubt, an extremely important fixture for both sides.

If you're interested in a bigger and better preview, with info on which players will manage to play,  make sure to check out my preview here.


Juventus - Roma 


Another big Serie A game, and this is probably the most unpredictable match which is taking place this weekend. Both sides have been doing very well recently, and this clash will probably determine who can go on to challenge for the Serie A title. This match features plenty of tension and rivalry with Ranieri coming back to his old club's stadium with his new and energetic Roma side.

I'll certainly be watching this match because I think that this match will have goals in it, but for which team the goals are, I don't really know. And if you're interested in a more in-depth preview of this match, you can click here.

One of the most epic images I've seen in a long time...

Everton - Arsenal


Arsenal have a tough match to play at Goodison Park, and next week they'll be hosting their long-time rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium. If Arsene Wenger can manage to get his side to churn out a good result this weekend away from home, they'll be able to carry the good form into next week's crucial derby.

But this match is probably more important for Everton, mainly because they haven't been doing too well this season, and defeating the Gunners could be the perfect springboard to get back on track this season. I'll certainly be watching to see how Arsenal play, whether they go for defensive possession, or if they go out there to win the match. Meanwhile I think that Everton will have to play to win, because another loss could seriously impact the club's morale.

I hope you liked this little preview, make sure to share any thoughts by commenting below!

Adidas F50 Adizero Review Coming Soon!

Leather Adidas F50 Adizero, Black/Sun colorway

Instead of writing about all the midweek action which took place today, I've decided to write about my next Product Review! I have managed to get my hands on a pair of "gently-used" leather Adidas F50 Adizero, yet I could only find them in a US size 12 (I'm a US size 10), but I went for them anyways.

I played around with them a little at the end of practice, and so far the results are wonderful! Although they're a little big, the feeling of lightness is astounding. But I'll tell you more in the review which will be posted sometime next week.

And while you're waiting for the review to be posted, be sure to visit the Product Reviews page, and read up on other awesome products I've already reviewed! Alternatively, if you're interested in soccer cleats, especially lightweight soccer cleats, I suggest you go over to read my review comparing lightweight soccer cleats, and how they compare in weight, price, and quality.

There will be better pictures (with better lighting) in the review!

Messi To Win Ballon d'Or?

Will the Argentine be celebrating his second Ballon d'Or?

Having put up a poll some time ago regarding who will win the Ballon d'Or, I've decided to do a little update on what the results are so far. If you haven't voted yet, don't worry! The poll will be up until December 6th, when FIFA announce the winner of the award, so make sure to vote on the right sidebar for who you think will win the Ballon d'Or.

Right now Lionel Messi is sweeping up the competition in our poll, with almost about 27% of the votes going his way! In the first couple of days, there were many votes for Cristiano Ronaldo, but now the tide has slowly evened out to Messi.

Behind Messi is Cristiano Ronaldo with about 20% of the votes. I don't think he's going to win it this year, especially because of his mediocre performance in the World Cup.

And following the two wingers we have Wesley Sneijder, with about 15% of the votes. I think that the Dutch midfielder is the worthy winner for this year's award, having guided Inter to the treble, and then he helped the Netherlands all the way to the World Cup final! In my opinion Sneijder deserves the award.

Arjen isn't happy...

But what has surprised me the most about this poll is the fact that David Villa is last! The Spanish striker who was the key goalscorer for Spain in their World Cup is last in the poll! I truly can't believe it, I expected many more votes for him. And another underachieving player in the poll is Arjen Robben. This Dutch player helped Bayern win the domestic league and cup, and then he took them to the Champions League final where he lost to Wesley Sneijder's team, Inter Milan. Robben also had a fantastic World Cup, scoring plenty of important goals to help take the Netherlands to the final where they lost to Spain.

So I hope you vote in the poll if you haven't already, and here's a funny little blog that I'm running as a little project, it's Poetry about soccer. It's titled Poetry Wrap Up because I couldn't think of a better name, and so far I've done a little haiku about soccer, along with two poems about Barcelona and Real Madrid. So if you're an artistically inclined fan of the beautiful game, or you've got some time to burn, check out Poetry Wrap Up for soccer poems.

And a last random link/video for you to check out! Watch this video below showing the latest Brazilian samba move called, "The Broken Step". It's half elastico, half chop, but to understand it you should see it yourself.

Liverpool Defeat Chelsea with Torres Brace

A week literally full of action! Two fantastic derbies in the Serie A and La Liga, and then a wonderful match between Liverpool and Chelsea. Funnily enough, all three of the matches ended 2-0, and all three of them were entertaining.

Liverpool - Chelsea


While some people think that Chelsea will just run away with the title (I think that it'll be Manchester United who wins it this year), the blues have been halted, by Liverpool! Carlo Ancelotti's team travelled to Anfield to face Roy Hodgson's side which had just defeated Napoli 3-1 in the Europa League in the midweek.

The first half wasn't dominated by any of the two sides, it was more just Chelsea being surprised by Liverpool's intensity and work-rate. These two factors, along with the home crowd spurred the reds to score within the first eleven minutes. Kuyt lifting a good ball for Fernando Torres who controls, stays standing with Cole and Ivanovic on his back, and promptly does the business in front of Cech, giving Liverpool the lead.

There were a couple of okay chances for both sides, but nothing notable as Liverpool played with heart, spirit, and intensity not letting Chelsea get into their stride. And when Fernando Torres scored for a second time for Liverpool, right before halftime, Anfield exploded with joy. The Spaniard received the ball out on the left wing, he cuts in, and then curls a delightful shot onto the far post, unsavable for Cech.

But the second half had Chelsea display more conviction, and Liverpool suffer from the Blues's constant attacks. Reina was forced to make a great save from Zhirkov's close range shot towards the near post, and then Reina pulled off a mind-blowing parry against Malouda who thought he'd tapped in a goal from about a yard from the goal-line.

But Cech had to make a couple of great saves as well, he had to stop Dirk Kuyt's close range volley from a corner by spreading his legs to inhumane lengths. Yet Chelsea continued to push, forcing Liverpool on the back foot, and the reds had some luck when Anelka's low rocket bounced under Reina's body and onto the bottom of the crossbar and back into play. Liverpool finished the match with a counter-attack which ended with Maxi Rodriguez one on one with Cech, but the Argentine gets the ball flicked away from him by Cech's fingers as he tries to earn a penalty with a desperate dive.

And so Liverpool pull off a fantastic result with the team playing with an intensity unseen before this season. Torres is a player reborn as well, a fantastic performance by him is what truly helped Liverpool gather these three important points which raise them up to 9th in the table. Is this the rebirth of Liverpool? And where will Chelsea go from here? The Blues are still top of the table, but Manchester United are just two points away from them. Comment your thoughts regarding this game below!

Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid


And now onto a derby, the Madrid derby! First of all, a quick link to my good friends over at Madrid Atleticos, my favorite Atletico Madrid blog, and certainly one of the best La Liga blogs there is. So if you're looking for an Atleti point of view, go visit them there.

But now onto the game which ended 2-0 for Jose Mourinho's team. They started with a goal in the 13th minute, with Ricardo Carvalho played through into the box and the center-back finishing like a veteran striker past David De Gea. The second goal arrived about six minutes later with Mesut Ozil drilling in a puzzling free kick from the right of the penalty area.

But Aletico Madrid created opportunities as well, first Forlan sent an tap-in wide, and then Casillas had to produce a fantastic save from a corner. After that the Real goalkeeper had to save a curling shot from Reyes which seemed destined for the back of the net.

In the second half Higuain hit the post with a rocket volley, and the Atletico goalkeeper David De Gea was rooted to the spot, only able to watch the ball smash his far post. But minutes later Forlan hit the post as well with a volley from the top of the box, and although Casillas dove to save it, he was about half a meter from the ball when it hit the post.

While there were more opportunities for both sides, in the end Real Madrid created many more dangerous moments for the Atelti faithful. A fantastic win for Jose Mourinho's side, and with El Clasico against Barcelona coming up in a couple of weeks, Real Madrid are looking very powerful at the top of the La Liga table.

Lazio - Roma


There was another derby this weekend, the very exciting Rome derby! And it was all the more exciting with Lazio top of the table, and Roma being on a winning streak. But the match was slightly disappointing, while there were plenty of chances created by both sides, the 2-0 scoreline was marked by two penalties for the giallorossi.

The first was at the beginning of the second half, and Marco Borriello stepped up to take it. Lazio's goalkeeper guessed the direction, and even got to the ball, but unluckily for him, it slipped underneath his body and trickled over the goal-line. The second penalty was awarded in the 87th minute, and this time Mirko Vucinic took it. Muslera didn't get it right this time, and Vucinic scored the penalty easily sending the young Uruguayan keeper the wrong way.

But Lazio fans will be severely disappointed, they had a chance where a player was blatantly brought down in front of goal, but no penalty was awarded. If the two penalties for Roma were penalties, then this chance for Lazio should've been awarded with a penalty.

What are your thoughts regarding all these derbies? Did you expect Liverpool to beat Chelsea? Share your thoughts by commenting below!