In England …
• Can Bradford City do it again
There are no Premier League games this weekend, so all attention will be on the FA Cup 5th round ties. Third tier Bradford City, conquerors of Chelsea in the previous round, face Premier League opposition again. Sunderland are the visitors to Valley Parade, where expectations of another top flight scalp will be sky high .
In France …
• Can Caen continue climbing?
Four successive wins have seen Patrice Garande’s side rise from bottom of Ligue 1 to 14th, but a testing trip to defending champions Paris Saint-Germain is up next. However, the Caen coach promises that his team will keep “attacking even when we’re not playing brilliantly”.
In Germany …
• Will Bremen’s set-piece specialist strike again?
Werder Bremen’s Zlatko Junuzovic has scored four goals direct from free-kicks in his last seven games. Augsburg, you have been warned…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXB65QhCYp8
In Germany …
• Can Torino maintain their hot streak?
Torino will be looking for a fifth consecutive triumph when they host relegation-threatened Cagliari on Sunday.
Giampiero Ventura’s side have scored 12 times in their last four games and have now moved into contention for the European places.
In Spain …
• Who’ll tune in to watch Espanyol’s game at Malaga?
Espanyol president Joan Collet is threatening a strike over the distribution of TV revenue and says “we’re willing to bring La Liga to a halt”. Meanwhile, the vast majority of viewers can enjoy Real Madrid at home to Deportivo La Coruna earlier on Saturday and Barcelona v Levante the following day.
And finally, in South America …
• Could this be Boca’s year?
Having signed nine new players, Boca Juniors have high hopes of a first domestic title in three years as Argentina’s new, overblown 30-team Primera campaign kicks off. The slightly more modest 16-team Uruguayan clausura championship also gets under way.
