Preview in England

Clint Dempsey and Fulham host resurgent Tottenham at Craven Cottage. Fulham have won their most recent two games at home, and a win this weekend would give them three home wins on the trot for the first time in two years. The Cottagers are unbeaten in their last six home games against Spurs and last year's 3-3 game in the corresponding fixture featured Clint Dempsey opening the scoring for Fulham.

Tim Howard and Everton put their four match unbeaten streak on the line against Middlesborough (also unbeaten in four) at Goodison Park. For the ambitious ones among you there are still some seats available.

Jay DeMerit and struggling Watford host Barnsley in the Championship. Watford managed a 1-0 win over Swansea in the Carling Cup midweek, but their league form has been poor and they'll look to get back on track with an important away game on Saturday. In other action, Eddie Johnson and Cardiff host Crystal Palace, while Marcus Hahnemann and Reading face off with Sheffield Utd. in a match between teams placed three and four, respectively, in the Championship table.

Gooch Goes on in Cup

Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege needed a shootout to see off KV Courtral in the Belgian League Cup. Next up for Liege is KSC Lokeren in the Belgian League on Sunday.

Pass the Time on Thursday

The Global Blog knows that you're just trying to grind out the hours until Friday so here are a few things to pass the time:

- Landon Donovan is still in Germany training with Bayern Munich. Here are a really long video taken from training. Really long.

- Speaking of Bayern Munich, they're playing Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend as one of Germany's biggest rivalries gets renewed for the first time this year. Back in the 1970s, these two teams dueled for Bundesliga supremacy on more than one occasion so Saturday's match could make for an interesting throwback. Michael Bradley could be in line to play for 'Gladbach, who jumped out of the relegation zone with last weekend's win.'Gladbach meanwhile got a boost with players returning from injury.

- In cup reults, Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes were eliminated from the French Cup by Le Havre. Villarreall and Jozy Altidore met the same fate over in the Spanish Copa del Rey.

Midweek Cup Action

There's league cup action around Europe today, which means a few of our guys are suiting up for some games. Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes look to keep up their fine form of late with a Round of 16 game against Le Havre.

In the Copa del Rey, Jozy Altidore and Villarreal have lots to do as they try to overturn a five goal first leg deficit against Club Polideportivo Ejido.

In Scotland, Rangers are playing a midweek SPL game against Motherwell at Fir Park Stadium. In cup news, the draw for the semifinals of the Scottish Cup have just been made, and the Old Firm has been separated in to different halves, with Rangers taking on Falkirk and Celtic facing Dundee United.

Recent Highlights from Germany

Michael Bradley and 'Gladbach earned a 2-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld this weekend, here are some highlights from the game:

Season Done in Sweden

Hammarby concluded their Swedish Allsvenskanliga season with a 5-2 loss to IFK Norrkoping on Sunday. Despite two quick goals from Charlie Davies, Hammarby eventually capitulated and gave up five unanswered goals to mark a disappointing end to a season where they finished 9th in the league.

On the bright side, Davies finished with an impressive 14 goals, tying him with Henrik Larsson of Helsingborg (yes, that Henrik Larsson) for fourth best in the league. While we couldn't find video of Davies' goals from this weekend we did find this really sweet video somebody made of Charlie in FIFA 09. Big props for the soundtrack choice too.

Donovan in Deutschland

Landon Donovan is keeping busy in the offseason by heading over to Germany for a 10-day training period with Bayern Munich. "I know Landon from my time with LA Galaxy," said Bayern head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to the club's website.

Klinsmann calls Southern California home and famously took the job coaching the German national team while still living abroad in the States. Donovan, who will use the visit to keep in shape during the MLS offseason, joins Bayern as they are in the midst of preparing for the traditionally busy buildup to the holiday period. The German giants next face Michael Bradley and Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday Nov. 15.

Picture courtesy of Bayern's official website. You can also read the full article about Donovan's arrival (in German) here.

100 Games and a Record for Howard

Tim Howard's appearance in Everton's 3-1 win over West Ham on Saturday marked his 100th game for the Merseyside club. In addition to achieving the century mark, Howard also wrote his name in the record book with an interesting achievement for his club: he's the first Everton goalkeeper to average less than a goal a game over his first 100 games.

As you can see from this nifty chart (from Everton's official club website) Howard just comes in under the 1 GAA mark and he's even done a few better than Wales and Everton legend Neville Southall. Below is a list of the top Everton keepers over 100 games with appearances followed by (goals conceded).

• Tim Howard - 100 (99)
• Neville Southall - 100 (102)
• George Wood - 100 (108)
• Gordon West - 100 (113)

Of course, Howard would be the first to tell you that he still has a long way to go, especially if he wants to come anywhere close Southall's amazing tally of 750 games for Everton, a club record.
"Neville is a legend and the reason he's a legend is because he did it over a long period of time," Howard told Everton's website. "I've got a long way to go, I know that. But I hope that I can stay consistent, stay here for a long time and do it with this club."

Premier League Highlights

Tim Howard played 90 minutes in Everton's 3-1 victory over West Ham United:


Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub in Fulham's 2-1 win over Newcastle:

Weekend Results

In England, Tim Howard and Everton earned a 3-1 win over West Ham. Clint Dempsey came on as a second half sub to help Fulham grind out a 2-1 win over Newcastle at Craven Cottage.

Over in Germany, Hannover 96 and Steve Cherundolo fell 2-1 to FC Köln on Friday but it was better news for 'Gladbach this weekend, as Michael Bradley's club earned a 2-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld.

In France, Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes are up to fourth after a 3-0 win over St. Etienne on Sunday. Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege got back to winning ways in Belgium with a 3-1 win over GBA.



We'll be back later with more weekend highlights from around the world...

Weekend Preview

Carlos Bocanegra and Rennes look to continue their climb up the Ligue 1 table when they face St. Etienne this weekend. Storied club St. Etienne are in the midst of a shocking season, and their coach has been given two games to effectively save his job. For Rennes, times are good and they're unbeaten in five consecutive Ligue 1 games. Carlos Bocanegra took time to talk to FIFA.com about the transition at his new club and the U.S.' good start to World Cup qualifying. You can read the full article here.

Borussia Monchengladbach are without seven players ahead of this weekend's game against Arminia Bielefeld. Fortunately Michael Bradley is not one of those injured players and he is fit for 'Gladbach, as they look to stop a two game skid on Saturday.

In England, Everton and Tim Howard travel to London on Saturday to face struggling West Ham. Across the city, Clint Dempsey and Fulham play host to Newcastle on Sunday.

UEFA Cup Roundup

Oguchi Onyewu and Standard Liege got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Sevilla. Gooch played all 90 minutes for Standard, who next face Germinal Beerschot in the Belgian league on Sunday.



Meanwhile, Aston Villa battled for a 1-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic. Brad Guzan started for Villa, making nine saves in the win. It was Guzan's first appearance in the UEFA Cup for Aston Villa and his first clean sheet for the club. Martin O'Neill praised the team's performance, and Guzan chipped in with some comments of his own to SkySports.com. "We did a great job in terms of commitment and defending as a unit," said Guzan. You can read the whole article here.

Following the win, O'Neill spoke to the BBC about Guzan's potential, you can read that article here.



Aston Villa next take on Middlesbrough on Sunday in the Premier League.

Picture courtesy of avfc.co.uk, Aston Villa's official website.