Sport: Arsenal, the Unravelling

So, the Gunners now have a win under their belts, and the seemingly disastrous transfer window now shows some glimmers of hope, with help form la Liga (and the Spanish economy).

Hooray.

Forgive this writer for not jumping and cheering. Underneth the sighs of relief, there is that feeling of "same crap, different season"

Another opening day. Another loss. Comprehensively beaten 4-3 by a marauding Liverpool side that included a familiar bane to Gunners in the form of Sadio Mane. Then on to a drab, scoreless stalemate at Champions Leceister City that might well have had a different result had a penalty been awarded for Bellerin's "professional" foul late in the game.

The truth is, Arsenal, for its seeming upswing, in in the throes of a long unravelling that is especially painful for fans. Season after season, the team underachieves, losing games that it ought to win, and i n some cases embarrassingly so.

And things are about to get worse. Old Wenger nemesis Jose Mourinho has taken the reins at Manchester united, while his bitter rival Pep Guardiola (who some had as a potential Wenger successor) is settling in for the sheiks at Manchester City. a massive Manchester Derby looms in about two weeks. Italian maestro Antonio Conte is leading a revitalized Chelsea squad untethered from the toxic relationship with Mourinho that torpedoed their title defense last season.

And Arsenal? Still plodding along with a manager stuck in the past, and propped up by a Board too busy milking the cash cow that the club has become.

Has Wenger been great for Arsenal? Without doubt. And the club has clearly benefitted form his tenure, both i n the footballing and the financial sense.

But Wenger has been making a string of inexcusable tactical errors ove the past few seasons. The most egregious being against Liverpool i nthe season past; Wenger, with a 3-2 lead and minutes left to play, he inserts Arteta into a game that we ought o have taken full points form; Arteta almost immediately gets caught out, allowing Joe Allen to run on to the loose ball and slot past a helpless Cech. And the less said about the Champions league tie against Barcelona, the better.

its easy to call for a manager's head i n the Premier League; money's being sprayed left right and centre like water treatment on a grass pitch, but it should be clear to even the most hardened loyalists that the end of the Wenger era is at hand.

to the Board: do it now, when there's less pain and there can - unlike the departure of Pellegrini at City - be some dignity; a proper farewell.

let's not let the team disintegrate before we do something

Sports: the EPL about to kickoff

The 2016-17 Premier League season is nearly upon us. Lots has happened already this summer, so our ESPN FC bloggers take a look at how their teams will fare in the coming campaign.

REIGNING CHAMPIONS & TITLE CHALLENGERS

LEICESTER: Leicester City are the defending Premier League champions. And that sentence still takes some getting used to. Now, they're the team to beat and Claudio Ranieri's men must balance a title defence with Champions League football. >>Read -- Ben Jacobs

ARSENAL: An injury crisis, frustration in the transfer market and Arsenal haven't even played a match yet. Do you ever get the feeling you know exactly what's coming? >> Read -- Tom Adams

MAN CITY: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City mission involves improving the club's performances in Europe as well as winning back the Premier League title. Widely regarded as the best manager on the planet, the Catalan will enter the campaign under plenty of pressure. >> Read -- Simon Curtis

MAN UNITED: It's sure to be lively in Manchester this season, with Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic going up against their nemesis, Pep Guardiola. Can Mourinho restore United to their former glories? >> Read -- Scott Patterson

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHASERS

CHELSEA: Another season, another high-flying manager in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat trying to satisfy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's unquenchable thirst for silverware. >> Read -- Mark Worrall

LIVERPOOL: With no European football at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has fewer distractions this season. Improvement must be measured by the Reds' league points total after two seasons of inadvertent focus on cup competitions. >> Read -- Steven Kelly

TOTTENHAM:It's the final campaign at White Hart Lane and with Champions League football on the agenda, boss Mauricio Pochettino will have to balance matters in Europe with his side's exploits in the Premier League. >> Read -- Ben Pearce

RACE FOR EUROPE

STOKE: Mark Hughes has established the Potters as a strong Premier League side -- now the hunt is on for European football. Read >> --James Whittaker

SOUTHAMPTON: With Ronald Koeman, Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane gone, it has been another difficult summer for Saints. Read >> -- Alex Crook

WEST HAM: The Hammers have signed Andre Ayew but could still be too reliant on Andy Carroll. Read >> -- Peter Thorne

MIDTABLE FINISHERS

EVERTON: Ronald Koeman's era at Everton will get underway at home to Tottenham. Koeman left Southampton to move to Goodison Park earlier this summer, with fans expecting a much better campaign than 2015-16. Read >> -- Luke O'Farrell

SWANSEA: Garry Monk lost his job at Swansea as the club flirted with relegation last season so what lies in store this time around? Francesco Guidolin steered the club to safety and will now look to avoid another scrape for survival. Read >> -- Max Hicks

WATFORD: Walter Mazzarri is the new man in charge at Vicarage Road and will be expected to consolidate his side's top flight status. Read >> -- Michael Moruzzi

WEST BROM: With Tony Pulis still at the helm, West Brom look set for another season of dull, percentage football that will in all likelihood keep them in the Premier League. >> Read -- Matthew Evans

RELEGATION CANDIDATES

BOURNEMOUTH: Bournemouth's first appearance in the Premier League ended well, with the club finishing a respectable 16th in the table in 2015-16. The key now is to build on that. Read >> -- Will Kent

BURNLEY: Burnley are back. Sean Dyche masterminded a quick return to the Premier League after relegation in 2014-15, but the Championship winners do not look equipped for Premier League survival without major investment. Read >> -- Jamie Smith

CRYSTAL PALACE: Crystal Palace were challenging the top four in December last year but fell away in 2016 to eventually finish a disappointing 15th. A top-half finish and another cup run would do the trick. Maybe even win it this time. Read >> -- Jim Daly

HULL CITY: Hull City bounced back to the Premier League following victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship playoff final. But can they stay there? Read >> -- Philip Buckingham

MIDDLESBROUGH: Aitor Karanka has masterminded Boro's return to the big time after seven seasons in the Football League, but now he must keep them there. All eyes will be on a rejuvenated team who make their return to the Premier League looking much more primed for action than their promoted counterparts. Read >> -- Catherine Wilson

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland staged another escape act last season, as they once again survived in the Premier League. The challenge now is for new boss David Moyes to develop the club so that late-season scrapes are a thing of the past. Read >> -- Colin Randall

Sports and Brands: Leceister say "iluv u" to players with a new i-8

Following their historic English Premier League win, Leicester City players were thanked by their chairman with a brand new BMW i8each.

The club's chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha is worth almost $3 billion and is said to have forked out almost $2 million to buy 19 i8s. It is reported that four of the players from the championship squad didn't receive an i8. Of those, one has moved to Chelsea after claiming the title and the three others were only briefly used as substitutes.

The 19 cars handed over to the players were specced almost identically, painted in a bright shade of blue. While no pictures of the interiors are available, the only element distinguishing some of the cars from the outside are different alloy wheels.

Designed by BMW to rival the Porsche 911, the i3 is the only sports car at its price point to feature a performance-focused hybrid powertrain. In conjunction with a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine and an electric motor, the i8 delivers 362 hp. 

Sport: In a hot English Summer, Paul Pogba Is Signing For Manchester United, and Sam Allardyce gets the England nod

-from SPORTSBIBLE

FINALLY! After months of negotiations, L'Equipe claim that Manchester United have finished negotiations for the transfer of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.

Although it has taken some time, it appears the transfer is finally coming to an end. The report claims that all three parties have reached an agreement and he will become a Manchester United player.

A price tag is yet to be announced, but it is expected to cost Manchester United upwards of £100 million.

Be happy, United fans. It seems to be happening.

Meanwhile....

Sam Allardyce will be the next man to lead England to disappointing international tournament failure after it was reported he will be announced as Three Lions boss.

Sky Sports believe his appointment will be ratified at an FA board meeting on Thursday and that current club Sunderland have accepted the decision.

The much travelled 61-year-old coach was the choice of a 12-man FA board panel, who also sought fit to offer Steve Bruce an interview in what must have been the world's shortest shortlist for any job, ever.

It has now been '50 years of hurt' since England's glorious 1966 World Cup triumph, and if that drought ends with Allardyce at the helm in 2018, TheSPORTbible will personally plant a big fat kiss upon Big Sam's ample rump.

Sports: the "least likelys" make history at EURO 2016

In a tournament that virtually celebrated the "least likely to succeed" it was the Campeoes of Portugal

who ultimately made good with a heartbreaking 1-0 extra time victory over hosts and favourites France on Sunday.

The winning strike came of the boot of former Swansea man Eder (sentto Lille on loan, and recently made permanent - how they must be smiling now), after a hard challenge from Dmitri Payet saw star Cristiano Ronaldo stretchered off after a mere 24 minutes.

no doubt CR7 took it on himself to do some dressing-room "Gipper-style" motivation during the interval, and the Portuguese held off the hard-charging yet seemingly disorganized French for the rest of regulation. Greizman and Gignac each came agonizingly close for France, but, with despondence all around the once hopeful nation, it was the dreadlocked Eder who sealed the deal and sent the Iberians into ecstatic celebrations.

Eder afterwards indeed credited Ronaldo with motivation, saying thatthe superstar told him he was going to score the winning goal. Does this mean that Ronals will get a share of the goal for his clairvoyance? Nah, but he will surely, along with the rest of the team and manager Santos relish the reality of their first-ever Euro triumph and first major tournament win; it was also Portugal's first win against 'les Bleus" in 11 internationals.

Not bad for a team which practically crawled out of the group stage, third without a win to its name in the initial competition.

they now join the other "least-likelys", the Viking heroes of Iceland who, ironically, were dispatched by France in the last 8.

Branding: Swiss timing "TAGs" the Premier League

Already the Official Timekeeper for the German Bundesliga, MLS (Major Soccer League) in the USA, the 2016 Copa America which will take place in the USA in June, the Chinese Football Association Super League, and the Australian National Football team, TAG Heuer is now also the partner of The Premier League, which is one of the most popular competitions in global sport.

Yesterday, the new partnership between the Premier League and TAG Heuer was being jointly unveiled in simultaneous announcements taking place in London (picture above) and Hong Kong.

Twenty teams, all their matches, and the most followed football league in the world, will now be running on TAG Heuer time, both on English pitches and on broadcasts across the globe in 185 countries.

On the field, the fourth official's boards will now be shaped like a TAG Heuer Carrera watch, and will bear the name of the Swiss watch brand.
The referees will be sporting the TAG Heuer Connected smartwatch.
Finally, the TAG Heuer logo will appear during Premier League match broadcasts to 730 million homes in 185 countries across the world. Of course, TAG Heuer branding and its brand motto, #DontCrackUnderPressure, will also feature across all of the Premier League’s digital platforms, including its website and social media.

Football: that Confounded, Carling/League/Capital One, Whatever Cup!

Of course, its not really the Cup, under its sundry guises, that is to be cursed but, having fallen in quick succession to "lesser" (as in lower division) teams, Arsenal, Chelsea  and Manchester United may probably be excused for having negative sentiments.

Firstly, it had ALL been going SO well for Arsenal. Having rolled over the likes of Leceister, Watford and Man United in the Premiership and beaten their Champions League nemesis Bayern at home, to boot, the Gunners could do no wrong.

And then they did. Faced with  Sheffield Wednesday - 9th in the Championship currently, but a side with considerable historical pedigree, the Gunners were dismantled and also collapsed on their own effort, beating the Gunners 3-0 at Hillsborough on Tuesday to reach the quarter finals. Portuguese international Joao did arguably most damage, doubling the home side's lead for his second goal in as many matches. Ross Wallace and Sam Hutchinson also got on the score sheet.

Holders Chelsea were beaten 5-4 on penalties in the fourth-round tie after forcing extra-time through Loic Remy's injury-time equaliser. Manager Mourinho's Blues side had 59% possession and 24 attempts at goal - nine of those were on target, compared to Stoke's five. They also won 11 corners to Stoke's two.
Mourinho faced the media after the match for the first time since Friday, having refused to speak after Saturday's 2-1 defeat by West Ham and before Tuesday's cup tie.

Then Herr van Gaal. Man United's opponents, Middlesborough just missed out on a return to the top flight in last season's Championship playoffs. But the side looked "Premier-worthy" in holding the visitors to a 0-0 scoreline through regulation and the extra time periods. In the ensuing penalty shootout, Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young each laid an egg in their respective kicks, allowing Boro fans to erupt at the famous victory.

A victory which is now part of an embarrassing pattern for the Mancunians: Manchester United have been knocked out by lower-league opposition in three of their last four League Cup meetings with sides from outside the top-flight

Football: It couldn't get much better for Gunners (could it?)

For 12 exquisite hours this past weekend, life couldn't get much better for Arsenal fans. Still blissfully floating in the happy haze of -- Mein Gott! -- their team's 2-0 Champions League upset of mighty Bayern Munich on Wednesday, they returned to earth long enough to watch the Gunners eke out a 2-1 win over Everton that temporarily vaulted Arsenal to the top of the Premier League. Or, as I look at it, 15 places ahead of another London side managed by a certain lonely and friendless Portuguese has-been.

Never mind that Man City rudely evicted Arsenal from the Prem penthouse by dint of goal difference after their eye-bleedingly boring 0-0 draw with Manchester United, this was still five days to savor like a hog in a new trough.

Oh, how Jose Mourinho could use a hug today -- the kind of warm, manly embrace Arsene Wenger gave Petr Cech after the former Chelsea goalkeeper saved the Gunners' bratwurst against Bayern. The odds, however, of Wenger comforting Mourinho in his moment of need are about the same as Roy Keane trick-or-treating with Sir Alex Ferguson.

No; if the Frenchman is reacting at all to Chelsea's gloriously sorry plight, it would be to laugh his derriere off at the delicious mess Mourinho's cooking up at Stamford Bridge. And like every other red-card carrying Arsenal supporter, he's praying that owner Roman Abramovich resists the temptation to put "The Greatest Manager Chelsea Ever Had" (says Mourinho, of course) out of his misery.

Roman, please do this one thing for me and ignore those churlish Hammer fans who belted out their lusty chorus of "You're Getting Sacked In The Morning." Because let's face it, watching Jose find a new way to melt down every week is too much fun. Long may he suffer!

The Gunners didn't exactly cover themselves in glory against Everton as they had three days earlier in defeating Bayern. Worryingly, they once again failed to close down a game in which they had taken an early lead and nearly let the Toffees nick a draw, but they have been showing a new-found flexibility that should benefit them when the games are coming thick and fast over the next couple of months.

After years of blindly adhering to Wenger's erstwhile mania for ball retention, the Gunners are willing to adapt their tactics to their opponent. In the exhilarating 3-0 beat-down of United, Arsenal played a direct game, at least for those dizzying opening 20 minutes in which they were a blur of speed and penetration. Against Bayern, they were content to sit back and wait for the opportunity to counter even if the approach meant having very little of the ball. On Sunday, they combined the two styles, indulging in their usual slick one-touch passing but also using a couple of magnificent deliveries from Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla to score on soaring headers from Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny.

All of which shows that the Gunners are no longer hung up on possession for possession's sake unless, of course, the thing that they are possessing is the Premier League trophy. I wonder if Jose will still be in England long enough to enjoy that moment.

-from ESPN FC

Sport: with Villa 'out to lunch" Gunners, Wenger leap into history

Going into today's FA Cup final at London's Wembley, Arsenal was a team on the cusp, in several repsects.

A win would mean no other team would have as many trophies (12), no other team would have notched back-to-back wins on two separate occasions (the gunners previously did it in the 2002 and 2003 seasons) and no other manager since WWII had notched more than 5 wins.

Well, all those conditionalities were soundly resolved today in one of the most lop-sided victories in over a decade, as the resurgent Gunners thumped a strangely out of touch and out of sorts Aston Villa 4-0, in a game that could easily have seen two or three more goals for Wenger's men.

Walcott opened the account with a fine volley 5 minutes from the interval, justifying the manager's faith in starting him over Giroud.  Then, ironically five minutes into the second half, Alexis Sanchez delivered the coup de grace, a thunderous 32-yard screamer that dipped exquisitely to chip in under the crossbar and effectively remove any residual resistance from a clearly resigned Tim Sherwood and his squad.

A towering Mertesacker header and a simple tap-in from late sub Giroud (who now has 4 goals in consecutive matches against Villa) slammed and sealed the coffin and sent the trophy back to the Emirates for at least another year. Deserved jubilation for Arsenal and dejection for the shell-shocked Villans and their fans, the latter no doubt expecting much more of a contest than materialized.

It may not totally wipe taste of losing both the Premiership (to Chelsea) and the Champions League (to Monaco, subsequently wiped out by finalists Juventus), but it sure speaks volume about Arsenal's potential as a dominant team, both in England and in Europe, come next season.

The players will surely be off to a well-deserved summer break.

localjoe.myorganogold.com

Sports: Riding the Gap, in Fear of an Anticlimactic Year

There's no club colours taking manicured football pitches, the FA Cup Final notwithstanding, and Mayweather and Pacquaio have gone their respective ways, with their respective (uneven) rewards

When the most compelling story in sports is the ongoing FIFA drama, its clear sports fans  have a lot to worry about. Sure, in a matter of a week or less, big-time events return to the fore - the Champions League final pits defensive stalwarts Juventus against the prime attacking force of Barcelona's Neymar, Suarez and Messi. Around the same time, LeBron James will begin the attempt to catapult him firmlyinto a permanent place among NBA elite as his Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Golden State Warriors and "ideal Dad" Steph Curry. baseball is cruising toward its summer peak, and the Stanley Cup, one of the most coveted trophies in sports, sees playoff action continuing.

But to the mnd of this writer, the truly transcendent sporting competition won't arrive till August, when Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium once again hosts the world's best track athletes including none other than the sprint god himself, Usain Bolt. This time around, Bolt's looking to silence, once and for all (OK maybe until Rio in 2016) the pipsqueak loudmouth (and no, we won't retract) Justin Gatlin. I've already declared, from as early as last year, that Bolt eill break at least one personal record (likely 200m) before he retires as many expect he will after the next Olympics.

Its no less intense for the ladies, with Jamaicans Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce (hate those double-barrels) both anxious to prove they're still worthy of the world sprinting throne against the likes of Blessing Okagbare, Carmelita Jeter and Ahoure.

Just as the Moscow Worlds provided a nice post-Olympic lift in a down year, I'm expecting another "Red nation" to do the same in this brief but intense doldrums now facing us.

Go Gunners!
I'm somehwat split between La Liga and Serie A, but its gonna either be tight or a blowout


localjoe.myorganogold.com

Sport: Bellerin Betters Bolt?

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin is obviously quick, but it turns out the young Spanish full-back is actually capable of matching and outrunning 100m world record holder Usain Bolt over a short distance. A feat made all the sweeter for Gunners fans given "Lightning" Bolt's known affiliations to Manchester United

Bellerin clocked a 40m sprint time of 4.42 seconds earlier this season and it has been revealed that this time is actually faster than Bolt ran over the first 40m when he set the current world record at 9.58s in 2009.

The Jamaican icon's split time for the same distance in that race came in at 4.64s, practically sloth-like when compared to the Gunners' speedster.

Bolt set that world record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin's famous Olympiastadion, the same week that he also shattered his own record over 200m.

Together with his Jamaican colleagues, he also holds the 4x100m relay world record, set at the 2012 Olympics in London.

It was only a few months ago that Bellerin officially became the fastest player at Arsenal, beating Theo Walcott's previous club record in the 40m sprint. It all came as quite a surprise to Bellerin though, who apparently had little idea quite how fast he is.

"Beating the record was at the beginning of the season and was really unexpected. There was a bit of banter, and he (Walcott) is trying to beat me now, so we will see what happens," the 20-year-old recently said.

"He was really close, I did not beat it by that much, but he still needs to beat me!"

Having played just once for Arsenal before this season, Bellerin has been given his chance in the first-team as a result of the injuries suffered by Mathieu Debuchy and is certainly grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

He's appeared 21 times in all competitions since bursting onto the scene in the Champions League in September - playing 90 minutes against Borussia Dortmund. The defender made his Premier League debut against Hull a month later and has been a regular since January.

Sports: Suddenly, BPL is more than a two-horse race

It's March.
The Champions League ranks are thinning out, and in the BPL, as well as other Euro leagues, the late-season shuffle is well and truly on

Chelsea look home and dry at this point in the season, especially with 2 games in hand, thanks in part to their League Cup success

but are they really safe? Dropping two points in a draw with Southampton would have been fatal had not nearest rivals Manchester City not succumbed to their own malaise, losing to bottom-three strugglers Burnley.

Arsenal meanwhile are humming along, dispatching West Ham convincingly on Saturday as they look to scale a mountain in Monaco to advance to the Champions League quarters. Domestically, they next face Newcastle, a team over which they have a convincing advantage at home, but away, are actually in deficit - 22 wins against 40, with 20 draws. With Manchester United disposing of a sub-par Tottenham on Sunday, the battle for Top 4 (and thus Champions League  qualification next season) next season is hotter than ever, with six or seven teams (including Liverpool, who take on Swansea as I write) and the aforementioned Spurs and Southampton fancying their chances.

Who'll get in and who''l be left out when this football version of musical chairs is played out? One thing is for sure - it's not the 2-horse race you thought it was 2 weeks ago.

Sport: That Man Shelvey

Bafetimbi Gomis got the touch that stymied the keeper, but it was another mid-range strike from Jonjo Shelvey (pictured) that allowed Welsh side Swansea to make club history today. Their 2-1 defeat of Manchester United , apart form sending Arsenal into third (following the Gunners win over Crystal Palace, marked the first time they had ever pulled the seasonal double over the Premier League's winningest team.

Sport: What future for teams in FA Cup and Champions League Pt I

Arsenals' victory over Middlesborough atthe weekend has set up a tasty quarterfinal Cup tie at Old Trafford against nemesis Manchester United, who overcame a goal deficit to beat plucky Preston North End and avoid joining the "fallen giants" list of this year's competition.

16 February 2015Last updated at 23:54 GMT

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FA Cup: Holders Arsenal to face Manchester United in last eight

FA Cup holders Arsenal will travel to Manchester United in the quarter-finals on 7 or 8 March.

United confirmed their place in the last eight after coming from behind to win 3-1 at Preston North End.

The quarter-final tie at Old Trafford will be broadcast live on BBC One.

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Arsenal draw is "tie of the round"

Liverpool host Blackburn, League One survivors Bradford City face Reading while West Midlands rivals Aston Villa and West Brom will meet at Villa Park.

Marouane Fellaini, who scored Manchester United's second goal against Preston, is relishing the quarter-final tie against the Gunners. "It will be a good game, a great game. Against Arsenal is always a great game," the Belgian told BBC Sport.

Arsenal and United met in the 2004-05 FA Cup final in Cardiff with the north London side winning 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw.

Liverpool's last-eight draw will give Steven Gerrard hope of reaching Wembley in his final season at the Reds, although they will have to overcome a Blackburn side who have knocked out Premier League opposition in Swansea and Stoke already this season.

League One side Bradford are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1976, and will be confident of progressing further against Reading after beating Premier League sides Chelsea and Sunderland in the previous rounds.

Bradford chairman Mark Lawn told Sky Sports News: "Ninety minutes from Wembley, both sides will realise, and they will both be going for it. I think we'll sell out here again, hopefully it will be bouncing and we'll push through."

The quarter-final draw was made by England boss Roy Hodgson and Brian Finney, son of Preston legend Tom Finney, at Deepdale on Monday before the Preston-Manchester United game.

FA Cup quarter-final draw
Aston Villa v West Brom
Bradford City v Reading
Liverpool v Blackburn
Manchester United v Arsenal
Ties to be played on the weekend of 7-8 March

Manchester United are the joint-most successful side in FA Cup history with 11 victories

Bradford City beat Sunderland to secure their place in the quarter-final

Liverpool, who beat Crystal Palace in the previous round, have won 15 of their last 16 quarter-final ties

Tim Sherwood, appointed Aston Villa boss on Saturday, watched his new side beat Leicester in the fifth round on Sunday

Meanwhile, i nthe Champions League, Chelsea and PSg renew acquaintances. This is not just a repeat of last season's thrilling quarter-final between the sides, but the occasion of David Luiz facing his old team-mates for the first time.

Many raised their eyebrows when the French champions paid in excess of £40m for a defender who can be erratic and rash - especially after his nightmare display in Brazil's World Cup semi-final humiliation against Germany - but his impact at the Parc des Princes has been largely positive.

Even if Luiz still has his share of heart-in-mouth moments and there is the feeling that PSG's transfer kitty might have been better spent elsewhere - they had to back out of a move for Angel Di Maria because of financial fair play restrictions - he has strengthened Laurent Blanc's side.

In Ligue 1, PSG concede 0.4 goals per game with Luiz in the team compared to 1.3 per game without him, and his partnership with Thiago Silva is growing in stature.

Bayern face a similar problem to last season; the lack of domestic competition. After winning the Bundesliga in record time last season, the level of intensity in Pep Guardiola's side noticeably dropped, and it cost them in a comprehensive semi-final defeat by Real Madrid.

They went into the winter break unbeaten and 11 points clear at home this time, but were flamed 4-1 by a Kevin De Bruyne-inspired Wolfsburg in the first game back, so Guardiola hopes this is an early wake-up call.

They face a peculiar task in visiting Shakhtar, who have been displaced 966km (600 miles) west from their home city to Lviv because of the political situation in the country.

It has clearly had an effect - Mircea Lucescu's side trail Dynamo Kiev in the Ukrainian Premier League by five points - but they did however retain the group stage top scorer Luiz Adriano (nine goals) in the window despite strong interest from Roma.

Schalke fans probably winced when this tie was drawn; die Konigsblauen (Royal Blues) were hammered 6-1 at home in the first leg of this fixture at the same stage last season, with the front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema all striking twice.

The reigning holders are no less formidable this season, but the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as Schalke coach in October has changed things. The underachieving Gelsenkirchen giants were languishing in 11th when the 2012 Champions League winner with Chelsea arrived, but are up to third.

Di Matteo's style of football is not to all fans' tastes at a club where expectation is considerable, but they are far less open ("he has made us much more stable defensively," said their captain Benedikt Howedes recently) under the new boss and should at least give Carlo Ancelotti's men a run for their money this year.

Former Swansea and Leicester boss Paulo Sousa has done a splendid job in getting the Swiss champions this far, emerging from a group containing Real Madrid and Liverpool. A two-times Champions League winner as a player, he returns to Portugal to face the only one of the big three he did not represent.

His opposite number Julen Lopetegui, who won Under-21 and Under-19 European Championships with Spain, is garnering plenty of attention.

Porto have sold more than £300m worth of talent since winning the Champions League under Jose Mourinho in 2004.

But Lopetegui is attempting to form a distinct playing style with a richly talented squad which includes Jackson Martinez and BBC African Footballer of the Year Yacine Brahimi . This is a big opportunity for him to reach the latter stages of the competition.

Sports: The Axe Swings and the "Fat Lady" warms up her throat

Its undoubtedly crunch time in the English Premier league, that point in the season when the race for the top and the race to escape bottom hits warp speed.

Its also the time when new media deals are finalized and, not coincidentally, when club managers deemed non-performers are sacked. Leceister's Nigel Pearson seems to have dodged for now (his, though bottom of the League,still have a shot at the FA Cup) but Villa's Paul Lambert did not. With back-to-back embarrasing losses, a local paper campaigning for his sacking and the huge spectre of no goals, it was all too much for Villa owner Randy Lerner, and the announcement came swiftly after the mid-week defeat to fellow-strugglers Hull (who have found a bit of wind in their sails at the moment).

At the top though, its a different story. The Chelsea juggernaut may have taken a few licks and scrapes (and dished out some on the field too) but with the win over admirable Everton, the Blues have virtually locked in the title. yes, we know its February but, quite simply, we don't expect this team to lose the number of games it would take for Man City or Man U to overhaul them.