Poppa's Picks

Only 8 weeks of fixtures keep the Bundesliga season alive, so this WILL come down to the wire. Especially because these next 3 weeks Leverkusen, Bayern, and Schalke will all play each other once. Keep up with the Bundesliga's nail-biting finish.

Schalke 04 X Stuttgart - Friday 2:30PM ET
Schalke continue to chase Bayern Munich, behind the leaders only two points.  However, Champions League contenders Stuttgart are a road block to the title this weekend.  Schalke who have only lost twice at home this season will host the showdown.  This will be a pretty good game given the great talent on the pitch.  Kevin Kuranyi will score, and Jefferson Farfan will add one on.  Schalke continues their run 2-0.

Sevilla X Deportivo Coruña - Saturday 4:00PM ET
Sevilla are coming off a heartbreaking last minute loss to Real Madrid last weekend in La Liga.  Deportivo sit in 6th place, only 2 points behind 4th place Sevilla.  Diego Perotti and company will want to prepare their stadium for the 2nd leg against CSKA with a win on Saturday, so look for a very attack oriented Sevilla.  However they won't be able to come away with the victory in this 1-1 draw, goals from Alvaro Negredo and
Mexican star Andres Guardado.

Ajax X PSV Eindhoven - Sunday 11:30PM ET
3rd place Ajax square off against PSV who are 4 points ahead of them in 2nd.  With 8 games left in the Eredivisie, the battle for Holland's other Champions League spot is on.  Ajax will be playing in Amsterdam, and have not lost in Dutch competitions since last year (December).  But a strong PSV will want an opportunity at the Champions League, after a solid performance in the Europa League this season.  Ajax will win 1-0, with another from Luis Suarez.

Bayer Leverkusen X Hamburg SV - Sunday 12:30PM ET 
Live on Sunday is a battle from the top of the German table, and Stefan Kießling's Leverkusen is playing phenomenal so watch it!  They currently sit in 3rd, a point behind Schalke, and 3 behind Bayern.  Like Schalke though, Leverkusen face a bit of an obstacle this weekend.  Hamburg is right behind them, but with 7 points less.  They'll be tired after a pressure packed match versus Anderlecht Thursday in the Europa League.  Although this may play in Hamburg's favor, I think it'll be enough to hinder their chances Sunday and allow a Kießling strike to attack Germany's first place spot.

Barcelona X Valencia - Sunday 2:00PM ET
Perhaps the most anticipated event of the weekend is this matchup at the Camp Nou.  Messi's 19 goals versus David Villa's 17.  Deloitte's two richest clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid are currently tied with 62 points a piece.  Yes, that is roughly 20 wins out of the 25 games already played in Spain.  The Madridistas really want to see Valencia take one from Barce, but they won't even take 2 points.  Barcelona are getting in form for their Champions League showdown against Stuttgart with a win against the Bats.  2-0, Zlatan and Pedro will score.

The Dream's Europa League Predictions: Round of 32, 2nd Leg

Wolfsburg vs. Villareal

After a 2-2 away draw Wolfsburg have set themselves up for a very manageable 2nd leg fixture at home. Expect Wolfsburg to play a tight well-organized game with the main focus being on not conceding any goals. Villareal will have to go for the win if they will have any realistic shot of advancing to the next round. An early goal off a set piece will give Wolfsburg the advantage and a late equalizer will make it close for Villareal but not close enough. Wolfsburg 1 Villareal 1.

Juventus vs. Ajax

Juve's quality finally showed last week after getting two away goals in a 2-1 win at the Amsterdam Arena. With the return leg being played in Turin, look for a very strong performance from a Juve side coming off of a 2-1 win against Bologna over the weekend. A young Ajax side will most likely be outmatched by the home team and Bianconeri will pass through to the next round with a comfortable 1-0 victory.

Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid

Frank Rijkaard's club has the clear advantage after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last week. Another disappointing loss to Almeria over the weekend won't do anything Atletico's confidence. As much as I like Kun Aguero and his Portugal-linked teammates there is slim chance they will be able to advance to the next round. A loss here will most likely mean a coaching change for Atletico in the near future. Not too big of a surprise considering Quique Flores, their coach, is no stranger to late season collapses (Benfica last year). Expect Galatasaray to play well at home and come up with a 2-1 win.

Sporting C.P. vs. Everton (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Its no coincidence that the Dream Matchup has including a Portuguese side over the past two weeks. The importance of this game is HUGE for the Lisbon side and keep in mind the counter for Sporting's current winless streak at the top of our page. Sporting did in fact end up with a decent result in the first leg at Goodison Park losing 2-1, but getting the much needed away goal. I'm just going to be blunt about this... Sporting has been terrible this year and like Poppa has mentioned the streak will continue to grow if they do not come up with a win tomorrow night at home. Having said all that, I still cannot get myself to believe in a team that hasn't even shown a glimpse of hope in months. Everton will win, hopefully not by much. Sporting 1 Everton 2

Since it is very difficult to predict exact scores for all these matchup with aggregate and away goals in mind, here are the my predictions for the teams I believe will advance to the quarter finals.

Ruben Kazan over H. Tel-Aviv

Valencia over Club Brugge

Red Bull Salzburg over Standard Liege

FC Twente over Werder Bremen

Fenerbahce over Lille

Athletic Bilbao over Anderlecht

Marseille over Kobenhavn

Roma over Panathinaikos

Shaktar Donetsk over Fulham

Liverpool over Unirea Urziceni

Hamburger SV over PSV

The Dream's Europa League Predictions

With plenty of interesting match ups in the round of 32 the Europa League should prove to have some excitement along with some upsets. Here are some of Seam the Dream's predictions for the most intriguing fixtures this Thursday.

Ajax vs. Juventus

Ajax will face off against a very disappointing Juve (currently in 7th in Serie A). The bianconeri have struggled in all aspects of their campaign this year and hopefully their new coach Alberto Zaccheroni will push for some away goals in Amsterdam. Having said that, Ajax will use their European experience against the Turin side hold them to a 1-1 draw. More.

Villareal vs. Wolfsburg

The defending Bundesliga champions will visit the yellow submarine Thursday night looking for an away goal. Both teams have disappointed in their leagues so far this season and since both teams have problems conceding goals, look for the team with the better attack to take this first leg. In my opinion that will be Wolfsburg and their Bosnian attack of Misimovic and Dzeko to contribute to a 2-1 victory. (Sorry Giuseppe)

Panathinaikos vs. Roma

Roma has been in great form of late and currently stand in 2nd place in Serie A. I expect their current form to carry them into Athens and get a strong result. 2-0 Roma with solid performances from the "Beast" and Jeremy Menez. More.

Atletico vs. Galatasaray

Expect a confident Atletico side after ending Barcelona's undefeated league run this weekend. Look for Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan to get on the scoresheet and give Atletico a solid result, but an away goal from Frank Rijkaard's side will keep the next leg interesting. 2-1 Atletico Madrid. More.

Hamburg vs. PSV

The first place Dutch side from Eindhoven will face some tough opposition against Hamburger SV. Hamburg are coming off a 3-1 victory against Stuttgart over the weekend and if healthy Dutch winger Eljero Elia can play a major role in this first leg. Also look for Hamburg's two strikers with Eredivisie experience, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Marcus Berg, to get some goals. Hamburg wins 3-1.

Hertha vs. SL Benfica (Seam's Dream Matchup)

Here's my personal favorite from all of Thursday night's fixtures. Look for a focused Benfica squad with no league match this weekend to get the win in Berlin (yes it rhymes). Hertha are bound for relegation in the Bundesliga with only 2 wins all season. With really nothing else to play for expect Hertha to put forth a strong effort against the much more talented Lisbon side. Goals from Cardozo and/or Saviola will give the Eagles a big advantage heading back home for the return leg. A sometimes shaky defense will most likely give up a goal to the home side so a 2-1 win will be enough for the Encarnados to be satisfied with the result.

Here are my predictions for the other Europa League matches Thursday night.

Rubin Kazan 2-0 H. Tel-Aviv

Clubb Brugge 0-3 Valencia

Standard Liege 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg

FC Twente 0-0 Werder Bremen

Lille 1-0 Fenerbache

Athletic Bilbao 1-0 Anderlecht

Kobenhavn 0-2 Olympique Marseille

Fulham 1-1 Shaktar Donetsk

Liverpool 2-1 Unirea Urziceni