Second place Barcelona face a tough fixture tonight when they host third place Valencia at the Nou Camp. The leagues top scorer Lionel Messi who has scored 19 goals so far will be up against David Villa who is not to far off behind with 16 goals to his name. It will not only be a battle for the all important 3 points, but also for league supremacy as a Barcelona win coupled with a defeat or draw for Madrid at Valladolid will propel the Catalans back to the summit of La Liga.

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There are no easy games in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. However Pep Guardiola and his staff had to be happy with how the draw turned out for Barcelona.

If the group stage was any indication this matchup may be harder than it appears. VfB Stuttgart has won six of their last seven matches in the Bundesliga and are a very confident side at the moment.

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The long wait is over and the Round of 16 of the Champions League is about to begin. Going into the next two weeks of play, a few players will have to wait a little longer due to some recent injuries.

Chelsea

Ashley Cole was given a blow as he suffered a fractured ankle in Chelsea's defeat against Everton midweek.

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If Pep Guardiola needed more worries regarding his decimated backline, Éric Abidal was just piling on. Leg pain during the Blaugrana training session and somewhere Stuttgart are starting to feel a touch braver.
During a special training session at Reus, Abidal felt discomfort in his leg and was excused from training. Click to continue reading...

If Pep Guardiola needed more worries regarding his decimated backline, Éric Abidal was just piling on. Leg pain during the Blaugrana training session and somewhere Stuttgart are starting to feel a touch braver.
During a special training session at Reus, Abidal felt discomfort in his leg and was excused from training. Click to continue reading...

El Barcelona se proclama campeón de invierno a falta de una jornada para finalizar la primera vuelta del campeonato. El equipo azulgrana no ha perdido ningún partido de Liga y eso le hace alzarse con este premio honorífico. Y qué bien que sabe después de superar por 4-0 a nuestro verdugo en Copa del Rey, el Sevilla. Click to continue reading...

It was a lot harder than many people expected, but Barcelona finally defeated Club Estudiantes de La Plata 2-1 to win the FIFA Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

With a minute to go in regulation time Barcelona were trailing 1-0, and it took super sub Pedro Rodríguez to rescue Barca and send the game into overtime where the World's best plater Lionel Messi scored the winner.

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This might not be your first read on this topic but I just felt like giving an input on this very badly. There are rumors of Manchester City to go after Carlos Puyol and Eric Abidal of Barcelona. I don't see this happening clearly. In my view, Abidal is pretty settled in Barca and Barca are pretty settled with Abidal.

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2010 is on the horizon and it's safe to say that it's been a wonderful decade for football. We here at Footy Factor have taken the opportunity to celebrate the greatest teams, players, and matches of the past 10 years.  Our next award is...

Team of the Decade

Winner:Â Barcelona 2008-09.

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While Lionel Messi captured the Ballon d'Or as expected, France Football also named its Ballon d'Or Best XI, a collection of the best talent in the world and a team that would be a fun one to watch.

Here is the team chosen as Europe's Best XI:

---------------------Samuel Eto'o-----------------------

Cristiano Ronaldo------------------------Lionel Messi

-----------Kaka------------------Steven Gerrard-------

----------------------Xavi------Iniesta--------------------

Nemanja Vidic--------John Terry----------------Maicon

-------------------------Iker Casillas----------------------

Obviously it isn't a practical lineup, what with no defensive midfielder and a set of defenders that wouldn't quite work as a unit.

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While Lionel Messi captured the Ballon d'Or as expected, France Football also named its Ballon d'Or Best XI, a collection of the best talent in the world and a team that would be a fun one to watch.

Here is the team chosen as Europe's Best XI:

---------------------Samuel Eto'o-----------------------

Cristiano Ronaldo------------------------Lionel Messi

-----------Kaka------------------Steven Gerrard-------

----------------------Xavi------Iniesta--------------------

Nemanja Vidic--------John Terry----------------Maicon

-------------------------Iker Casillas----------------------

Obviously it isn't a practical lineup, what with no defensive midfielder and a set of defenders that wouldn't quite work as a unit.

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Not to dwell on the play-off saga any longer, but I missed this story about Domenech fighting with Bixente Lizarazu(former Bordeaux, Bayern, Marseille and France defender) on the French National Radio minutes after beating Ireland. If you can't understand the video, this article should help you understand what is going on.

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AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

On Wednesday FC Barcelona defender Eric Abidal signed a one year extension with the team. Abidal's previous contract ended in 2011 with a buyout clause of 90 million euros. The buyout clause on the French international will remain at 90 million with the next contract.

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- Signed: Eric Abidal's brand new contract with the club. His time on Barca has been extended till 2012 with a buy-out clause of ninety million - that's right, don't anybody even think of trying to lure him away, he's all ours.
- Agreed: Yet-to-be-penned new deal for Andres Iniesta. He's pulling a Messi, looking to sign an extension that goes all the way to 2015; and at two hundred million euros, his buy-out clause isn't too far from Leo's either. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona vs. Internazionale

If the beginning of this season has taught us anything it is that the Champions of Europe are only human after all. In their last four matches, Barcelona have only one win and three draws, a poor record for last year's treble winners.

It does not get any easier as they face Internazionale at the Camp Nou.

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Angel Martinez/Getty Images

Pep Guardiola announced today that the decision as to whether or not Lionel Messi will be available for Tuesday's very important Champions League matchup against Inter Milan will be made just before kickoff.

Messi suffered a leg injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao and was substituted in the 75th minute of the match.

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Oh dear - Barca boys Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure have been diagnosed with H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu. The club's medical staff are doing everything they can by way of treatment as well as prevention for the other players; but other reports suggest that Rafael Marquez may have already caught it. Click to continue reading...

AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

The H1N1 virus is taking its toll on FC Barcelona with both Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure out of commission after contracting the virus.

You can now add Rafa Marquez to that list, though test results have not yet been confirmed, but the Mexican defender is displaying all the common symptoms.

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The congestion of international, domestic and cup competitions is beginning to show as the injury lists grow longer. Several top stars will be missing from the Matchday 5 stage. Let's take a look at how this might impact the results and standings.

Eric Abidal D Barcelona
The 30-year-old suffered a thigh injury on international duty with France and will miss games against Athletic Club Bilbao at the weekend, Internazionale on Tuesday, and their massive derby with Real Madrid five days later.

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Thierry Henry has backed calls for a replay of the Ireland-Italy World Cup playoff he helped decide with his now infamous handball, even though FIFA has already rejected a request for a replay.

"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," said Henry.

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Thierry Henry has backed calls for a replay of the Ireland-Italy World Cup playoff he helped decide with his now infamous handball, even though FIFA has already rejected a request for a replay.

"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," said Henry.

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Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

Ahead of Barcelona's match against Athletic Club Bilbao the team was handed another blow going into a very important week for the team. Eric Abidal was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus also known as "swine flu" on top of already being sidelined for up to three weeks with a leg injury.

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First thing: If you're catching the game on delay on Setanta, DON'T read the comments. I broke down and forked over my $19.99 to Setanta to watch the game live, so I will be leaving updates there.

And if you have a working illicit stream, please leave that in the comments as well. It looks like there will be multiple options.

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Looking for a miracle.

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Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni is unlikely to make any changes for Wednesday's World Cup play-off second leg against France in Paris.

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Saturday's demoralizing one-nil home loss to France in the first leg of their World Cup play-off sees the Republic of Ireland facing an uphill task to reach next summer's showpiece. As French fans start booking their flights to South Africa, the Irish faithful are left praying for a miracle.

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FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

Barcelona received the bad news that they were dreading today regarding defender Eric Abidal. Team doctors confirmed the left leg injury that Abidal suffered in France's World Cup playoff match against Ireland.

The injury comes at a very bad time with the matches coming up in the next week against Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

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A header goal from Haris Seferovic proved to be the difference as the Switzerland Under-17 national team defeated Nigeria, 1-0, in the Under-17 World Cup Final on Sunday in Nigeria.

The Swiss capped an undefeated tournament with it latest impressive victory, knocking off the defending champions and heavily favored Nigerians in the final.

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A header goal from Haris Seferovic proved to be the difference as the Switzerland Under-17 national team defeated Nigeria, 1-0, in the Under-17 World Cup Final on Sunday in Nigeria.

The Swiss capped an undefeated tournament with it latest impressive victory, knocking off the defending champions and heavily favored Nigerians in the final.

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Let battle commence.

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Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has delayed finalising his team for Saturday's World Cup play-off first leg against France at Croke Park.

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France's do-or-die match against Ireland is just around the corner, with the first match taking place on November 14th in Ireland and the second taking place on the 18th at the Stade de France (boo...). I don't know about you guys, but I'll be praying extra hard that France don't screw up against a tough Irish team.

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The January transfer season began in earnest this week with rumors flying that Manchester City and Barcelona were working on a deal involving Robinho. But chalk it up to pure speculation because this transfer doesn't make sense for either club. Here are three reasons why:

Barcelona Can't Come Up with the Cash: Manchester City would want to recoup their £32.

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Will his luck hold?

Second place it is then. After a long and winding qualifying campaign Giovanni Trappatoni and his Irish team did what was expected of them and finished as runners up in Group Eight behind Italy. Suddenly the dark days of the Staunton era seem like a lifetime ago. Although certain notables are still absent from the international setup our wily Italian boss has done what was asked of him by his paymasters at the FAI.

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Mark Hughes looks to balance attack heavy squad by bringing in experienced defenders in potential swap deal.

Fulham Vs Manchester City Tickets Still Available!

The Manchester City hierarchy are holding talks in Abu Dhabi this week in a rare face-to-face management meeting as the club hone their ambitious plans on and off the pitch.

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This is it. For all the marbles. The group of players that will (absolutely positively will) get us at least to the UEFA playoffs for a World Cup slot.

Only "nouveau" is Nicolas Douchez from Rennes. (And FOUR goalkeepers? Have Lloris and Mandanda not impressed Domenech enough to guarantee their spots for next summer?

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AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani

According to Sport.es the Los Angeles Galaxy are interested in finding a replacement for David Beckham if he does what is expected and leaves the team for AC Milan. The Galaxy in their quest to have a high profile player on their roster to attract fan support are looking at both FC Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez and forward Thierry Henry.

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Hola Geri, what's the joke? We don't know what it is that's making Gerard Pique laugh like that during training, but we'd be laughing too if we had just scored a goal like his last night. And he's not the only Barca boy who scored for his NT...
- With all four Barca players who were called up to Spain (Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Busquets) starting their country's match against Belgium, Gerard Pique scored the third goal as Spain went on to win 5-0. Click to continue reading...

 France coach Raymond Domenech, selected his squad for two vital World Cup qualifiers against Romania and Serbia.  Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux) Hugo Lloris (Lyon) Steve Mandanda (Marseille) Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona) Gael Clichy (Arsenal) Julien Escude (Sevilla FC) Patrice Evra (Manchester United) Rod Fanni (Rennes) William Gallas (Arsenal) Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla FC) Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal) Alou Diarra (Bordeaux) Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid) Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux) Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon) Florent Malouda (Chelsea) Frank [. Click to continue reading...

Barcelona President Joan Laporta has resisted the urge to repeat his unfortunate comments from the summer ‘06. And for good reason. After winning the double in the '05-06 campaign, Laporta boldly predicted that Barça would go on to win six titles the following season. Instead, the Blaugrana went on a 2-year title drought that effectively ended Frank Rijkaard's tenure at the Camp Nou. Click to continue reading...

New! Shocking! Amazing! Unusual!

Except not really.

Clichy and Diaby are back from injury. Vieira is not called up. Remy merited a recall. Other than that...

No new players on the list for the WC qualifiers against Romania and Serbia. Domenech is obviously assuming that the old guard can get the new job done.

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FC Barcelona vs. Seattle Sounders FC August 05, 2009 Qwest Field, Seattle, WA Scoring Summary: FCB Lionel Messi 1 (Xavi Hernandez 1, Eric Abidal 1) 21 FCB Lionel Messi 2 (Xavi Hernandez 1, Thierry Henry 2) 41 FCB Jeffren Suarez 1 (Pedro Rodriguez ) 75 FCB Pedro Rodriguez 1 (unassisted) 89 FC Barcelona Jose Manuel [. Click to continue reading...