Munich Derby - 2:30 ET, Setanta

The fierce rivalry between Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich gets renewed tonight, as the teams meet in the quarterfinals of the German Cup. The Munich derby is one of the biggest in European football, but in recent years league/cup games between the two sides have been hard to come by. Tonight, however, that will all change as the club meet competitively for the first time in four years.

Americans Gregg Berhalter and Josh Wolff will likely be suiting up for 1860 in a game that will be played at the Allianz Arena in front of around 70,000 fans. Lucky for us here in the states, the game will be televised on Setanta sports, with coverage beginning at 2:30 pm ET. You can read more about the storied rivalry between the two clubs here.

CORY GIBBS (CHARLTON ATHLETIC)

Cory Gibbs is recovering well from injury, and appeared in Charlton's reserve match last night. The defender played the full 90 minutes at center back, and looks to be on his way back into the reckoning for the first team. His potential return couldn't come at a better time for Charlton, who are currently in 6th place in the Championship table. With 12 matches to go in the season, Charlton are looking consolidate their position in the playoffs - the teams placed 2nd through 6th in the table play post-season games to determine promotion to the Premier League.

Weekend Round Up: Europe

In the Eredivisie, Heerenveen's charge for a European place took a hit with 3-2 loss at home to NEC Nijmegen. Heerenveen went up 1-0 in the 1st half before being reduced to 10 men after a red card to the Goalkeeper in the 23rd minute.


Heerenveen added another before halftime, and even had the majority of chances in the game, but eventually NEC's numerical advantage handed them the edge. Three second half goals, including an injury time winner, handed NEC the victory and condemned Heerenveen to their first defeat in 2008.

Michael Bradley played the full 90 minutes for Heerenveen, and hit the bar in the second half with a header (check out the red carded Brian Vandenbussche watching from the locker room too!)

In Portugal, Benfica tied Braga 1-1, and slipped further behind leaders Porto in the Portuguese table. Freddy Adu came on as a sub in the 83rd minute for the Eagles.



Hannover have endured a tough start to the second half of the Bundesliga season and are yet to win since the league recommenced earlier this month. This weekend was no different, as Hannover slipped into the bottom half of the table following a 2-1 loss away to VFL Bochum. Hannover's bad luck of late was epitomized by Steve Cherundolo's unlucky own goal in the game (reminiscient of Gooch's against Brazil) and hopefully the team will be able to turn their fortunes in this Saturday's home clash with Nurnberg. Sal Zizzo was on the subs bench but did not play for Hannover this weekend.


Speaking of Gooch, Standard Liege tied Gent 0-0 this weekend. The result leaves Onyewu's club in second place, two points behind Club Brugge after 23 games played.

Weekend Round Up: England

Fulham suited up five American's for the game against West Ham on Saturday, with Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey featuring in the starting 11. Eddie Johnson also made his debut for the club, coming on in the 76th minute to replace Clint on the wing for the Cottagers. Ultimately it was another late goal that decided the game, and Nolberto Soloano's contentious winner left Fulham with no points on the day. Jonathan Spector came on as a late sub for West Ham as the Hammers climbed to tenth place with the victory.

Reading suffered a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa at the Madejeski Stadium on Saturday. Marcus Hahnemann was in goal for the Royals, who remain in the relegation zone (along with Fulham and Derby) at the bottom of the Premier League table.

In the Championship, Jay DeMerit returned from injury for Watford, coming on as a late second half sub in Saturday's tie against Preston North End. The Hornets, however, dropped out of the top two in the Championship as a result of the 0-0 draw.

Today, Tim Howard and Everton take on Manchester City in a game that will be televised live on Setanta Sports from 2 pm ET. Everton have fallen out of the top four on goal differential, but a win tonight will vault them over bitter rival Liverpool who currently occupy the final Champions League spot.

Brief Weekend Update!

Heerenveen were involved in a 2-2 draw with SC Heracles Almelo on Saturday. Michael Bradley played the full 90 minutes, but didn't score for the first time in seven games and his club could only draw. The result leaves Heerenveen in fifth place, though a logjam still exists at the top of the Eredivisie: two points separate second place from fifth.

In Germany, Steve Cherundolo and Hannover slipped to defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich, being on the wrong end of a Luca Toni hat trick.

Over in Portugal, Freddy Adu made a substitute appearance in the 72nd minute of Benfica's 2-0 win Naval 1˚ Maio.

WEEKEND REVIEW

Michael Bradley was on the scoresheet again as Heerenveen earned a hard fought away point at league leaders PSV Eindhoven. The goal was Bradley’s seventh in six games, and his club now sits in second place after Ajax’s loss to Roda JC. Heerenveen, on 44 points, is tied with Ajax, Feyenoord and NAC Breda, but Bradley’s team leapfrogs the competition courtesy of a superior goal differential. Also check out this interview with Michael about his trip back from the states.

In England, Fulham succumbed to a 1-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough. On the positive side for the Cottagers, Brian McBride made his long awaited return from injury, coming off the bench to play 26 minutes in the loss. Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey were also on the bench, with Clint entering the game at the beginning of the second half.

Everton maintained its fourth place position with a dour 1-0 win against Reading. American goalkeepers minded the nets for both teams, as Tim Howard collected his third straight shutout and Marcus Hahnemann stopped six shots for Reading. In the end, a Phil Jagielka goal was the difference between the two sides. Reading slide to 18^th place and inside the relegation zone with the loss.

Jonathan Spector made a last minute substitute appearance for West Ham as the Hammer’s drew 1-1 with Birmingham City at Upton Park.

In the Bundesliga, Steve Cherundolo was fit again for Hannover’s 2-2 draw with Karlsruhe, while in Belgium, Oguchi Onyewu marshaled a Standard Liege backline that contributed to a 0-0 draw with Roeselare, extending Standard's unbeaten run to 21 games.

Benfica drew 0-0 with CD Nacional de Madeira on Saturday, and now lie 10 points behind leaders Porto. After returning from Houston the day before, Freddy Adu was an unused substitute in the game.

Saturday Wrap

Bundesliga play resumed in Germany after the league took January off for the traditional winter break. Hannover 96 and Steve Cherundolo earned a 1-1 draw away from home at Hamburg. Hannover was the better team throughout, and Cherundolo went 90 minutes as his club remained in 7th place.

In England, Tim Howard kept a clean sheet, but Everton were controversially denied a late winner, after an offside flag disallowed Andy Johnson’s goal. Howard made four saves for the Toffees, who still sit in fourth place, one point ahead of rivals Liverpool.

Finally in Holland, Heerenveen continued its fantastic form, smashing seven goals past Vitesse Arnhem. Michael Bradley grabbed his 16th goal in all competitions (his 12th in the Eredivisie) and also added two assists.



Heerenveen’s win vaults them into second place, nine points behind leaders PSV, who also won today. The two clubs meet next Saturday in what could be a vital match in the title race…