Thursday, January 21, 2010

It's Never Too Early To Talk Weekend!


(Sulley Muntari, left, and David Beckham, right, during a recent Milan derby)

Happy Thursday to all of you out there; only one more day until the weekend can officially begin. This one in particular features a clash of titans in Italy and more matches from the African Nations Cup.

On Sunday, the San Siro derby between Inter Milan and AC Milan will engulf the northern Italian city. The top two teams in Serie A, both have been in good form with AC Milan bolstered by the resurgence of Ronaldinho. But the Rossoneri may be without two key players for the match, as Alexandre Pato and Alessandro Nesta have injury concerns. Expect a tight contest here, but I believe that ultimately Inter will prevail.

The African Nations Cup wraps up group play and begins its quarterfinal stage on Sunday. Two matches are slated to be played: Ivory Coast vs. Algeria and Angola vs. Ghana. Angola is the only team out of these four that didn't qualify for the World Cup. My picks to advance? I like the Ivory Coast and Angola in an upset.

The English Premier League only features one match over the weekend, a potential snorefest when Hull City visits Manchester United. Expect a comfortable result for the Red Devils at Old Trafford. One sidenote will be to see if Hull striker Jozy Altidore, an American, will play in the contest. Last week, he was granted compassionate leave while dealing with the massive earthquake in Haiti. In a post last week, I detailed the situation regarding Altidore's relatives that were trapped on the island during the disaster.

Finally, Real Madrid look to get back on track on Sunday vs. La Liga minnow Malaga. Los Blancos have been in a rut of late, tallying only three goals in their last three respective matches. Compare that with the 16 goals bagged in four matches before the new year. Only sitting five points in the league behind Barcelona, it's not quite panic time for Real, but the slump cannot stay prolonged if they wish to usurp Barca.


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