European competition has fully commenced with the draw of the Europa League groups for this season. Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen will be the teams representing the Bundesliga during the competition. Here are the groups: GROUP A Group B Juventus Atletico Madrid Manchester City Bayer Leverkusen Red Bull Salzburg Rosenborg Lech Poznan Aris Salonika […]

Steve McClaren's new-look Wolfsburg side are now equipped with a weapon of mass destruction in the form of Brazilian playmaker Diego. The additions of Simon Kjaer, Arne Friedrich, Caiuby, Cicero, and Mario Mandzukic are all well and good. They'll fight for a first-team place and look to impress their new manager, and hey'll be effective […]

A lot of football fans and football people in general disregard the Europa League as a status-free, unwanted distraction. The argument goes that it offers neither the financial rewards nor the glamour of its flashy cousin the Champions League and that there are too many games to play. All that may be true but try […]

Today's UEFA Champions League draw was one that should prove that Serie A is still one of the premier leagues in the world, and that Inter is arguably the world's best club. The Nerazzurri swept the UEFA individual awards: Goalkeeper of the Year (Julio Cesar), Defender of the Year (Maicon), Midfielder of the Year (Wesley […]

Today's Champions League group stage draw will pit Bundesliga sides Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Schalke against some of Europe's most successful clubs. Bayern will face Serie A runners-up Roma, as well as FC Basel of Switzerland and CFR Cluj of Romania. Werder Bremen will take on Champions League holders and Italian champions Inter, as […]

Tottenham is through to Champions League group stage. Liverpool is in to Europa's, as is Manchester City, though Aston Villa meets another early demise. On this episode of the EPL Talk podcast, I'm joined by Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna to discuss the week's action as well as this weekend's fixtures – the third weekend […]

Last season, the one team who no-one was surprised to see to go down were Hull City. The dreadful run that began in November 2008 saw them go the rest of that season with just two wins, against Middlesbrough and Fulham out of 23 matches. Incredibly as we remember, they stayed up on the last […]

Granted I haven't been writing this column for years, but for the first time in my tenure, there simply isn't a 4-star drop-everything match. So enjoy the late summer fine weather, hang out at the beach or lake or your local soccer field. Queue up the DVR as there are some interesting early-season games, though, […]

Many Tottenham Hotspur supporters must be giddy with delight knowing who their opponents will be during their first ever entry into the Champions League group stage. Spurs will be facing current Champions League title holders Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and Dutch champions FC Twente, who were formerly managed by Steve McClaren. The anticipation is already […]

Udinese have been underachievers, this was especially seen last season, when the club only arrived in 15th place. While it could seem strange that I define them as underachievers, I know the talent in the team is incredible, especially going forward. Maybe they've never had the right coach, or maybe the team never gelled together […]

The Champions League draw has ended and this year's groups can now be confirmed. As far as the Bundesliga goes, Bayern Munich will have to battle Serie A side Roma, as well as FC Basel of Switzerland and CFR Cluj of Romania. Schalke is drawn against Benfica and Olympique Lyon as well as Hapoel Tel-Aviv, […]

The draw for the group phase of the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League has been made. And all four English teams who have qualified for this stage of the tournament now know who their opponents are. Manchester United is in Group C with Rangers, Valencia and Bursaspor. Chelsea in Group F will face Spartak Moscow, Marseille […]

It's ironic that Peter Crouch and Gareth Bale were two of the many heroes starring for Tottenham Hotspur Wednesday night in their impressive 4-0 win against Young Boys. Both players have received their fair amount of ridicule from not only armchair supporters, who have belittled them during parts of their career, but also managers who […]

As Fall taps on our shoulders and scatters around the corner here in the States, the impending chase to catch it can only mean one thing: College Football. I recently received another story idea from a reader of EPL Talk asking to take a glance at the rituals of college football, more specifically, tailgating in […]

On September 1, Apple will hold an event for the media where they're rumored to relaunch their Apple TV product as Apple iTV (or a similar name). While much of the tech world will be waiting in anticipation to find out if the rumor is true, the ramifications for soccer fans could be massive. If […]