Weekend Watch: Comparing Cleats

By: Daryl | February 22nd, 2008

Comparing cleats

A few games to keep an eye on this weekend:

Saturday

Japan vs South Korea
The East Asian Cup wraps up this weekend with the final round of games. Japan and South Korea are currently level on four points and face each other knowing a win for either team guarantees the trophy. A draw would open the door for North Korea, provided they beat China at least 2-0. Full preview (and current standings) over on World Cup Blog.

Legia Warszawa vs Groclin Dyskobolia
It’s second place Legia vs fourth place Dyskobolia (or Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski to use their full name) in the Polish league. Legia currently trail leaders Wisla Kraków by a full 10 points, so a home win is essential to keep title hopes even close to realistic.

Newcastle United vs Manchester United
Kevin Keegan vs Alex Ferguson is worth watching, ever since Keegan’s famous breakdown in 1996:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXpUdBlRZe8

But turns out Keggy’s record against Fergie is statistically quite respectable, including a 5-0 win in his first spell with Newcastle and a 4-1 win with Manchester City. Keegan’s current Newcastle isn’t looking too hot, but after a nice long break and with all his Africa Cup of Nations players back, the King Kev revolution could begin (again) in front of the Geordie faithful this weekend. Or not.

Sunday

Chelsea vs Tottenham
No one cares about the Carling Cup… until the final. All of a sudden it’s Wembley, there’s a guaranteed UEFA Cup spot and there’s silverware to be win. For either Juande Ramos or Avram Grant it would be a chance to win their first trophies at their respective new teams.

Bayern Munich vs Hamburg
First vs third in the Bundesliga, with just six points between them. Both managers Ottmar Hitzfeld and Huub Stevens have announced their impending end of season departures, and both will want to finish with a Bundesliga title. The pressure’s on Hitzfeld though, as he’s expected to deliver after his summer spending. Injuries permitting we could see the talents of Franck Ribery and Rafael Van der Vaart pitted against one another.

Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets
After 21 rounds of league action and the mind-boggling but actually quite good Aussie play-off system, the Mariners and the Jets face off in the Grand Final at Sydney Football Stadium. It’s been uncomfortably close between these two all season, but Central Coast Mariners have managed to sneak a victory every time. Both teams finished on 34 points in the regular season, with Mariners finishing first thanks to a goal difference just +1 better, then in the Major Semi-Final they traded 2-0 wins home and away before Central Coast scored a winner in extra time.

Any other big games we should know about?