Title Race
I wrote before the season started that I expected Chelsea to win the title, and I still stand by that. It is turning out to be a really interesting title race this year as none of the top teams are as dominant as in previous years, which means everyone drops points.

How will the Fire fare going forward in 2010? (Getty Images)

Today is the start of a new series. As teams get into training camp and new players come on board its worth looking into each club to see how they are stacking up and what else they need to do to get ready for the 2010 season. I got this idea from the post I did a few days back on how the Philadelphia Union were looking.

Arsenal 2-2 Everton

A point gained or two points dropped? Both; the former for us, and the latter for Everton.

Let's face it, we were very lucky indeed, scraping a late draw on a day when nothing went right and few people covered themselves in glory. It was a bad day in the office, one to file away in the recesses of the mind.

The away section at Villa Park on Tuesday evening was, not surprisingly, a noisy, joyful place after Fernando Torres scored a goal of huge magnitude.
But while the hymn that is dedicated to him was sung long and loud, with plenty of bouncing, he wasn't the only Liverpool player to be feted in verse by the travelling contingent – the identity of the man in question, though, may come as a surprise.

Tevez is a stud, not a dud
That break seemed like it lasted forever. Boxing Day fixtures, the New Year, then a bit of FA Cup action, some snow mixed in between, and now we're back to the Premier League this weekend...
I. Tottenham @ Liverpool: One of these two teams most certainly will not make the Top 4.

The number of goals conceded by the Gunners has much to do with the side's expansive style of football.
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The history of tactics, as Jonathan Wilson puts it, is the history of the manipulation of space.

Big Tom has Tottenham fans dreaming of the Champions League
Tottenham sit in 4th place - in a Champions League spot - with only 15 games to go in the season, but I just don't see them making Europe's greatest club competition...
Something about their poor performances when facing the top sides just rubs me the wrong way.

A Tight Affair

On a night when Wenger could have entered the history books by registering his 300′th league win as a manager, Arsenal flattered to decieve & left the gaffer wondering what could have been. With proceedings tighter than ever at the summit, nothing less than a victory was what the doctor ordered.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda is unhappy with his playing time during the big games and might consider leaving the club after the season. Malouda told L'Equipe,

"Before the match against Birmingham, I talked to the coach to tell him about my frustration .

Jonny Evans started against Leeds at the weekend after not playing since the first week of November.

He has been frustrated to miss so many games, but now he's back he hopes to play as much as possible.

"It's frustrating to have an injury at any time during the season but it was especially disappointing in the last two months to have missed so many games," said Evans.

We're in the middle of our worst season in years (both on and off the field), but our boys know how to turn it on for the big games, don't they?

Olympiacos? In the immortal words of Kool Rock Steady, YOU AIN'T NOBODY!!!

Full match report later today from AEKAlex.

(I guess I kind of gave my age away with the Kool Rock Steady quote, so I'll try to make up for it with one more acronym the kids today are using: Eddie Johnson and Freddy Adu both to Aris?

Title Race
I wrote before the season started that I expected Chelsea to win the title, and I still stand by that. It is turning out to be a really interesting title race this year as none of the top teams are as dominant as in previous years, which means everyone drops points.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Subscribe: Predictions

This week's predictions sees the continuation of the Africa Cup of Nations group stage, while there are also big games from Spain and France and of course Damon's Liverpool against Damian's Tottenham.

To requote one of our guest columnists almost word for word That was not the kind of atmosphere I was expecting to re-kick-off my column under.

We all know that thing about not judging a book by its cover. Clearly, that doesn't apply to Tevez. Then again, he's no book.

Sunday is Milan Derby Day when Inter hosts Milan. Perfect time to talk about one--actually two--of my favorite players.

First, some context. I used to be a huge hockey nut; loved the old school Boston Bruins and especially how Ray Bourque, a defenseman, always carried the puck up the ice and set up the offense (shit I'm old if Ray Bourque is Old School).

Back in the day, I used to do a sort of Friday preview of the weekend's big games. But no matter how many I included, there was always someone in the comments asking why I left out this or that match. Which was both good and bad. Good that The Offside has a global audience [...]

Peter Odemwingie (centre) - Nigeria's shining light (AFP)
Here is how the table looked after the completion of Group C:
As you can see the big boys made light work of this group, on paper at least, as holders Egypt and Nigeria careered past Benin and Mozambique on their way to the knockout stages.

It's that time again. A tricky Cup tie is upon us, eleven first team players are unavailable and we have a potentially decisive set of league fixtures lined up for the next fortnight. Le Boss has to walk the tightrope once again and hope that the squad has enough depth and quality to get a result.

So it begins. I guess all of us are looking forward to this period albeit with different mindsets. Some, like me, who believe in the team are hopeful of positive results over the next fortnight. Others are waiting for a slip-up so that they can come out and criticize the team and vent their frustrations.

Sir Alex Ferguson was asked whether he was concerned about the players' discipline in tonight's derby, after crowd trouble flared up last week at Wastelands.

"I think we have enough experience of playing in big games to know that [players must behave]," Ferguson said. "It's always a key factor.

Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 0
(Premiership)

A game that could have gone either way eventually petered out into a draw much fairer than its equivalent last season, when Villa battered us yet only pinched a point in injury time. That day, we could have conceded six, whereas last night was a much tighter affair.

Arsenal's next fixture in their crucial sequence of four games sees the Gunners face Manchester United. We give the lowdown on the encounter.
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Which Manchester United will turn up?
Some grumbles of discontent have begun to surface among fans recently of Sir Alex Ferguson's continuous tinkering of his side he has gone 105 consecutive matches now without picking the same team twice in a row - and that unpredictability means it difficult to know what line-up the manager is to send out and in which system.

When I started watching football this was the biggest game. In my mind it still is. With due respect to the North London Derby, which is always a game immersed in history, this one is more of a history-in-the-making kind of duel. There's always something going down when these two giants of English Football meet.

It's Manchester United friends. Now I don't know you, but when big games are upon us, I always end up dreaming of the game on the last night before kick-off. I dream that we win, ...