photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Nearly two and a half years after the accident that almost claimed his life, Charlie Davies made his official return for Sochaux.

Having last played in a Ligue 1 game on Oct. 3, 2009, Davies completed his return to Sochaux by coming off the bench in its 1-0 defeat to Stade Rennes.

In appreciation of the cat who made it onto the pitch at Anfield this evening I felt that it was about time I drew up another "Best XI". This time it's for players with "cat" in their name.

Cat XI

Between the sticks is Antalyaspor's 35 year old custodian Omer Catkic.

Clint Dempsey will try to keep his torrid hot streak in the English Premier League going against a Manchester City side looking to hold on to first place in one of today's best matches.

The Cottagers are in need of points to move further away from the relegation zone, but earning any in Manchester against a City side coming off a loss to Everton won't be easy.

Friday, February 3
2:30pm Nürnberg vs Borussia Dortmund GolTV
8pm Altamira vs Irapuato GolTV
9:10pm Estudiantes Tecos vs Atlas Galavision

Saturday, February 4
7:30am West Ham United vs Millwall FoxSoccer.tv, Fox Soccer 2Go
8am Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
9am Cesena vs Catania RAI Internazionale
9am Roma vs Internazionale Fox Soccer Plus, RAI Internazionale, ESPN3 USA
9:30am Bayer Leverkusen vs Stuttgart ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
10am Wigan Athletic vs Everton FSC, Fox Deportes
10am Stoke City vs Sunderland Fox Soccer Plus, FoxSoccer.

Less than two months ago Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane were combining on a game-winning goal that helped lead the Los Angeles Galaxy to an MLS Cup title. Today, the two will square off on the other side of the planet as Donovan's Everton and Keane's Aston Villa do battle.

Manchester United will look to keep the heat on Manchester City by knocking off Bolton, which is awaiting a work permit for newly-acquired defender Tim Ream.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

With nearly full slates of action in the Premier League, Serie A and Ligue 1 and domestic cup play on the docket as well, plenty is on the line across Europe today.

A number of Americans are in action across the continent, as Clint Dempsey looks to keep his goal-scoring form going at Craven Cottage against Manchester United, while goalkeepers Tim Howard and Brad Guzan aim for clean sheets against Swansea City and Arsenal, respectively.

Though the game is being played while much of the United States is still asleep, the Club World Cup Final between Barcelona and Santos is promising to be must-see football.

The battle between the reigning European and South American champions will feature some serious star power, with Lionel Messi and Neymar grabbing most of the headlines.

The UEFA Europa League group stage will wrap up today, and several Americans are hoping their respective team is still standing after the dust has settled.

Jozy Altidore is one of those players, as he and AZ Alkmaar need a win over already-qualified FC Metalist Kharkiv in Group G in order to secure qualification.

The two best teams in the world prepare to square off today in the highly-anticipated match-up of Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The latest chapter of 'El Clasico' brings us Real Madrid in first place by three points, but knowing that Barcelona has gotten the better of them in recent match-ups.

Messi and Ronaldo. Guardiola and Mourinho. Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Anyway you slice it, El Clasico is the marquee match of the weekend and will command the eyes of soccer fans around the world. Real Madrid is currently in the driver's seat in La Liga, leading Barcelona by three points, placing added significance on a match that doesn't need any extra luster.

Currently in an impressive fourth position in Ligue 1, Stade Rennais Football Club is a soccer club from the city of Rennes. The team is also referred to Stade Rennais, Rennes and Les Rouges et Noirs (red and blacks). With talent such as France international Yann M'Vila and Morocco's Youssouf Hadji on its roster, Stade [.

France national team head coach Laurent Blanc has released his roster for the upcoming friendly against the U.S. men's national team, and as expected, the team is stacked.

Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Hugo Lloris headline a 22-man roster that will face the United States and Belgium on November 11 and 15, respectively.

Take a look for yourselves, courtesy of the mugshots on FFF.fr. And that's without Gourcuff.

I'll update later, but here's the squad to face the USA and Belgium:

Goalkeepers
Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux)
Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon)
Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille)

Defenders
Eric Abidal (Barcelona)
Matthieu Debuchy (Lille)
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal)
Adil Rami (Valencia)
Anthony Reveillere (Lyon)
Jeremy Mathieu (Valencia)
Mamadou Sakho (Paris St Germain)

Midfielders
Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United)
Alou Diarra (Marseille)
Yann M'Vila (Stade Rennes)
Marvin Martin (Sochaux)

Attacking Midfielders
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Jeremy Menez (PSG)
Samir Nasri (Manchester City)
Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

Forwards
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Kevin Gameiro (PSG)
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier)
Loic Remy (Marseille)

The Major League Soccer playoffs will be in full swing today, taking center stage on a busy day in the soccer world.

The headlining match of the day takes place at Red Bull Arena, where the New York Red Bulls take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in the most star-studded playoff match in MLS history.

Europa League on GolTV: Stade Rennes - Atletico Madrid at 1pm and Sporting - Lazio at 3pm. MLS on ESPN2: Philadelphia - DC at 8pm. CONCACAF Champions League on Galavision: Alajuelense - Motagua at 10pm. All Times Eastern

It isn't often that a college soccer game headlines a day's action during the weekend, but today's South Florida/West Virginia tilt has something for all.

Along with being two of the country's top teams, South Florida and West Virginia feature some of the best pro prospects in the nation, with South Florida goalkeeper Chris Blais and West Virginia centerback Eric Schoenle among the most highly-regarded prospects in college soccer.

The first match-up of true English Premier League title contenders takes place today as defending champion Manchester United takes on arch-rival Chelsea in the weekend's top match (11am, Fox Soccer Channel).

Manchester United has been virtually unstoppable in league play, with Wayne Rooney running rampant as the spear-head of United's outstanding attack.

Fernando Torres' performance since joining Chelsea has been below average on the field, and now the Spanish striker is taking a bit of heat for comments he has made off the field.

According to reports, Torres called out some of his older Chelsea teammates for being "very slow" in an interview with a Spanish soccer website.

Manchester United is going through a youth movement, while Arsenal is underdoing a transformation after seeing two starts live via transfer, but all that change isn't taking away from the drama that surrounds one of the better rivalries in Europe.

United will be the heavy favorite when the team's meet today, but Arsenal isn't likely to lay down and will have some confidence coming in after an impressive Champions League playoff victory at mid-week.

Two of the most impressive teams of the English Premier League's first week were Manchester City and Bolton, which both posted blowout wins to start the season.

We will find out just which of those fast starters is the truly legitimate one when they face off at the Reebok this morning in one of the day's most intriguing match-ups.

It's the best day of the year (at least for some soccer fans).

Today marks the start of the English Premier League season, the first real sign that European soccer is back in full swing, and American soccer fans will have plenty of juicy match-ups to make this special day enjoyable.

It's as if European soccer never left.

A full slate of games from overseas are on tap for this weekend as the Premier League joins the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 as major leagues to start the 2011-2012 campaign. Defending Premier League champion Manchester United opens up against West Brom on Sunday, but a game most Americans will want to keep an eye on is the Fulham-Aston Villa tilt on Saturday.

Manchester United and Manchester City figure to contend for the Premier League crown this season, but they'll fight for the FA Community Shield on Sunday in a high-profile season tune-up.

A number of Americans are also slated to be in action Sunday as well. Although he's not guaranteed to start after coming off a hamstring injury, Jozy Altidore's AZ Alkmaar gets its season underway against PSV Eindhoven; Carlos Bocanegra and St.

Stade Rennais Football Club is a French Ligue 1 football club from the city of Rennes. The team is also referred to Stade Rennais, Rennes and Les Rouges et Noirs (red and blacks). With talent such as France international Yann M'Vila on its roster, Stade Rennes finished the 2010/11 Ligue 1 season in 6th place and [.

French League leaders Lille will look to lock up the Ligue 1 title today in a home showdown against Paris St. German.

With the English Premier League, German Bundesliga and Serie A all having already decided their champions, Lille will look to be the next in line to lift a trophy (or drop one off a bus), but with PSG having its own European aspirations to fight for, it won't be a cakewalk for Eden Hazard and Co.

The championships in all of the major European leagues are already spoken for, but there's still plenty on the line in this weekend's soccer around the world.

The five-team relegation battle in England's Premier League is one thing to keep an eye on, as is the race for spots in next year's European competitions.

Stade Rennais Football Club is a French Ligue 1 football club from the city of Rennes. The team is also referred to Stade Rennais, Rennes and Les Rouges et Noirs (red and blacks). With talent such as France international Yann M'Vila on its roster, Stade Rennes is currently in 5th place in Ligue 1 with two [.

Between championship and playoff showdowns and other matchups with big implications, Sunday's slate has something for everybody.

Jonathan Spector's West Ham seeks a win against Wigan in a matchup of two desperate teams currently on the bottom of England's drop zone, while Liverpool and Tottenham meet in a match that will almost certainly decide which team qualifies for the UEFA Europa League next season.

The English Premier League title will go a long way toward being decided today when Manchester United plays host to Chelsea at Old Trafford.

A Manchester United win would all but lock up the title for United, while a Chelsea victory would put the Blues in the driver's seat with three matches remaining.

The games that will matter most to the relegation battles the weekend of May 7 & 8:
Officially Relegated
Arles - Ligue 1
Bari - Serie A
St Pauli in Germany and Almeria in Spain are down for all intents and purposes, but not officially quite yet.
Serie A - 3 games to go (three lowest placed teams relegated)
42 Chievo - Mon May 9 at Juventus (-13)
41 Parma - Sun May 8 at Bologna (-13)
40 Catania - Sun May 8 at Brescia (-14)
37 Cesena - Sun May 8 at Cagliari (-13)
36 Sampdoria - Sun May 8 at Genoa (-12)
- - - - -
35 Lecce - Sun May 8 v Napoli (-20)
31 Brescia - Sun May 8 v Catania (-13)
REL-21 Bari - Sat May 7 at Palermo (-30)
Bundesliga - 2 games to go (two lowest placed teams relegated, with third lowest in playoff against third highest in 2.

Arsenal's title hopes have faded, but now the Gunners must focus on holding off Chelsea for second place in the English Premier League.

In order to avoid sliding into third place permanently the Gunners will need to beat a struggling Bolton side looking to erase the memories of its ugly FA Cup exit.

As one of the top players in NCAA soccer, UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe is currently on trial at French club Stade Rennes this week as he contemplates turning professional.

Manchester City spent millions and millions to build a team capable of winning trophies, but the boys in Blue are down to one last chance for silverware, with the FA Cup being the last trophy the Citizens are capable of winning.

The only problem is Manchester United stands in the way.

Whether you're a lover of Premier League soccer, or you prefer a more well-rounded mix of international soccer, today's schedule of matches is attractive enough to entice any soccer fan.

Consider this list of match-ups today:

Borussia Dortmund-Hannover 96, FC Twente-PSV Eindhoven, AC Milan-Inter Milan and Villarreal-Barcelona.

I'm sorry for being so lax on this site, but I'm having a great time in Mexico and despite the fact that there is a lot of stuff going on in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores at the moment, the sad fact is that those results don't affect the rankings until the end of each round.

I'm sorry for being so lax on this site, but I'm having a great time in Mexico and despite the fact that there is a lot of stuff going on in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores at the moment, the sad fact is that those results don't affect the rankings until the end of each round.

The last time Bolton faced Everton, Tim Howard robbed Stuart Holden of what would have been his first Premier League goal. The in-form Bolton midfielder has a second chance to beat his international teammate on Sunday.

Bolton-Everton is one of the marquee matches of the day for American soccer fans, but another one of great importance is happening in Germany, where captain Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 continue their push for a UEFA Champions League berth with a key game against Werder Bremen.

While Dimitar Berbatov has been stealing most of the headlines during Manchester United's unbeaten league run, Mexican striker Javier Hernandez has also played a pivotal role, scoring seven league goals and threatening Wayne Rooney for a starting role.

Hernandez should get another chance to work his magic today as Manchester United takes on Southampton in FA Cup action.