Weekly Ranks 10/5 - Bayern Jumps Barcelona, English Sides Struggle

Rankings

1. Bayern Munich
2. Barcelona
3. Real Madrid
4. Paris Saint-Germain
5. Manchester City
6. Juventus
7. Atletico Madrid
8. Borussia Dortmund
9. Zenit St. Petersburg
10. Chelsea
11. Arsenal
12. AS Roma
13. Manchester United
14. FC Porto
15. Benfica
16. Fiorentina
17. Vfl Wolfsburg
18. Villarreal
19. Celta Vigo
20. CSKA Moscow

Out: Bayer Leverkusen

In: CSKA Moscow

News:

Bayern Munich tops the rankings after their 5-1 drubbing of Dortmund. Bayern were ruthless on Sunday, scoring their five goals within a forty-minute time period. It seems to come in fives for the German sides now-a-days. Both Bayern and PSG will run away with their respective leagues – the question is, will the lack of legitimate competition derail performance in the Champions League, or will it allow star players some much needed rest? Bayern were beaten easily by Barcelona in last year’s semifinal after winning a weak Bundesliga, a year after they were crushed by Real Madrid at the same stage. Bayern's transfer policy, which has substantially weakened their opponents, seems to be backfiring in Europe.. Fiorentina is sitting on top of Serie A, and has scored thirteen goals to just one against in their last four matches, all wins. They’ve built up a ten-point lead over struggling Juventus, and must be considered legitimate contenders. Juve picked up two wins this week, and will surely begin to close the gap sooner rather than later.. Manchester City were the only English side to pick up two wins this week, slipping by Borussia Monchengladbach before destroying Newcastle. City can go as far as Sergio Aguero will take them.. It was another week of disaster for Chelsea, as two listless performances against Porto and Southampton has Jose Mourinho talking about his job prospects. I don’t believe Chelsea will fire Mourinho, but something needs to change, fast. The performances are getting worse and the defense is routinely out of position, giving away easy goals. A loss to Aston Villa after the break could spell big trouble for the Blues.. Arsenal and Manchester United had mixed weeks. Arsenal suffered a devastating loss against Greek champions Olympiakos, which practically ends their Champions League hopes, but bounced back with a 3-0 win over United. The Reds picked up a solid win over Wolfsburg on Wednesday before collapsing in the aforementioned defeat. It’s simply more of the same; United have yet to establish any consistency, while Arsenal are just the same old Arsenal. These sides wouldn’t be considered contenders if Chelsea weren’t in miserable form. It’s Manchester City’s title to lose.. I want to give some love to Andre Villas-Boas and Zenit. The club has navigated around AVB’s six-game domestic suspension to go top of Group H. Their domestic form is improving, but CSKA lead the pack with nine wins and two losses in eleven matches. AVB will be leaving Zenit at the end of the season, and while his tenure in Russia has had some curious moments, he has certainly earned himself another chance at a big club.. It was a good week for the Portuguese sides, as Porto and Benfica produced three wins from three. Benfica’s win in Madrid over Atletico was most impressive, albeit Atletico were preparing for a Madrid derby on the weekend. Porto’s win over Chelsea was analyzed particularly for Chelsea’s poor form, but Porto deserves a ton of credit. They attacked Chelsea with pace and were able to win the ball back quickly in midfield. Executing that type of football could take Porto a long way this season; they seem due for a run, don’t they?

Games to Watch:

Thursday: Euro 2016 qualifying matches will be taking place and there are just two matches left for many teams. Two interesting affairs, which happen to be in the same group, are Ireland – Germany and Scotland – Poland. The current standings in Group D are Germany with 19 points, Poland with 17, Ireland with 15 and Scotland with 11. However, Scotland’s last game is against Gibraltar, so barring what would perhaps be the biggest upset in qualifying history, Scotland will gain an additional three points, giving them 14. Despite playing the current world champions, the pressure is squarely on Ireland, as a loss would make their trip to Poland on Monday a must-win, unless the Poles can help them out by defeating Scotland. These four sides are all pretty good (obviously the Germans are world class) and usually light up the scoreboard, so the magnitude of these matches make them all the more compelling.

Keep an eye on Albania – Serbia as well. The first fixture was abandoned in Serbia after a pro-Albanian flag was attached to a drone and flown above the field during the match. The flag was eventually pulled down by a Serbian player, sparking a melee. The game was awarded as a 3-0 win to Albania, and Serbia were deducted a further three points due to the incident, which was yet another chapter is a series of worrying race and discrimination issues with Serbian fans. Albania have already qualified for the playoffs, and could secure an automatic place in Euro 2016 with wins over Serbia and Armenia, while Serbia are dead last and eliminated. It’s quite sad with Serbia, as there a number of household names on the team, but their fans continue to commit various hooligan crimes, both abroad and at home. It has undoubtedly affected the performance of the team, which has failed to build on their 2010 World Cup qualification.

Friday: 2018 World Cup qualifiers? Already? Qualifying begins in CONMEBOL, the football federation of South America, and Chile – Brazil is the highlighted matchup. Chile won the Copa America on home turf, sealing their first ever title. There isn’t much new with Brazil – they have begun to wash away last summer’s disaster, but their Copa America quarterfinal loss to a mediocre Paraguay side wasn’t nearly enough. I expect Chile to keep on rolling here.

Saturday: More European qualifiers, as Czech Republic – Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina – Wales highlight the slate. The Czechs, along with Iceland, have already qualified from Group A, while Turkey leads the Netherlands by two points for third. Four points from the two remaining games will send Turkey to the playoffs, which would mark a shocking collapse for the heralded Dutch side. Both sides play Iceland and the Netherlands face off against Kazakhstan on Saturday. It’s all on the line for Bosnia, as they must defeat group leaders Wales to have any chance of qualifying. They currently trail Israel by two points for third place. After qualifying for the World Cup for the first time as an independent nation, Bosnia has struggled badly in Group B, losing matches to Israel and Cyprus. Like the Dutch, they would be noticeable absentees if they don’t qualify for the final tournament.

Sunday: Thursday’s matches will determine the ultimate significance of Poland – Ireland but it will have meaning regardless of the results. If the Poles and Irish are able to secure their places with wins on Thursday, the match will determine which side goes through automatically versus through the playoffs. If Scotland defeats Poland on Thursday, the match will be for survival. These are two good sides so it should be an entertaining affair, especially with the form that Robert Lewandowski has been displaying for Bayern.

Monday: It could be a testy affair between Russia and Montenegro for each team’s final qualifying match. The Russians are currently in second place with Montenegro fourth. Sweden is in third, one point ahead of Montenegro, but face minnows Liechtenstein and Moldova in their final two matches. Montenegro could easily be eliminated by kickoff, and even if they remain three points behind Russia, they will need to win by four goals to go through. I’m highlighting the match because like Serbia and Albania, the first match was abandoned due to crowd trouble, and Russia was awarded a 3-0 win. The pressure will be cranked up further if the Swedes or Russians trip up on Friday, but things have to break perfectly for the Montenegrins.