International friendlies don't matter much in the grand scheme of things, and the attendance at most of Wednesday's game reflected that, but with just a couple of months left before national team coaches have to announce their prelim squads for the World Cup, this week was a good opportunity to see where some of the untested names stand. And from the looks of things a lot of squads came out with more questions than answers. England lost Jack Wilshere, possibly for the WC since Hodgson said he'd only pick 100% fit players, and need to figure out how to properly play Sturridge so they can profit from his blazing form. In Germany there was unconscionable booing of Ozil (who assisted on the lone goal it must be noted), while France handily beat a B-ish Holland team and have now driven the national media into its customary pre-World Cup all-or-nothing frenzy.

Back to the domestic stuff we don't have a lot of games in the EPL since there are a few Cup games to contend with. Thankfully one of those league games happens to be Chelsea v Spurs, which doesn't really have a spiffy derby name (actually come to think of it, few of the English derbies do) but plenty of importance, not to mention plenty of draws as of late. Stop me if you've heard this before but the Spurs are making a push for the 4th spot and its ever-elusive Champions League qualification. They have their work cut out for them though with 6 pts to make up on Arsenal (I assume City are gonna get more than 2 pts out of the 2 games they have in hand). Speaking of the Gunners they will be taking on Everton in the highest-profile tie of the round. And considering who else is left in the other games, the winner of this one will probably feel good about its chances to face off with City for the trophy. They will be without Wilshere but with Kim Kallstrom. One of these pieces of information is more important than the other. Back to the league we get to see if the United shitshow will resume at West Brom. Another loss and Moyes might need to pen a lot more apology letters to the fans. Cardiff City host Fulham, in what is clearly a must-win for Solskjaer's club as relegation creeps ever closer.

Spain: None of the big three face a really tough opponent this weekend, although that hasn't meant much lately. Barcelona icon Carlos Puyol made it official this week that he will be leaving at the end of the season. Will he pull a Raul and go to another league (some say MLS) to try to get more PT? Not sure his creaky knees will let him, and you have to believe a Barca title would be the perfect ending to an illustrious career.

Italy: Massive weekend in Serie A this weekend as the top 4 teams face off, with Juve taking on Fiorentina while Napoli host Roma. The Champions League spots seem close to being set, so this is probably one of the last opportunities to close the gap for the also-rans.

Germany: The big question now is whether Bayern will manage to make it through the entire season without losing. Their unbeaten streak is up to 48 games now, and their league over 2d place Dortmund has stretched to 20pts.

France: There is more and more insistent talk from the media that the title race is, for all intents and purposes, now done. 8 pts seems a little low to be calling it, but it is true that the club's form has only been increasing recently, Matuidi's fantastic goal against Holland being a good example of how high confidence is in Paris.

EPL
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
7:45 ET West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United
10:00 ET Cardiff City v Fulham
10:00 ET Crystal Palace v Southampton
10:00 ET Norwich City v Stoke City
12:30 ET Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur

FA CUP 1/4 FINALS
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
7:45 ET Arsenal v Everton
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
8:00 ET Sheffield United v Charlton Athletic
10:00 ET Hull City v Sunderland
12:05 ET Manchester City v Wigan Athletic

LIGA
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
10:00 ET Real Valladolid v Barcelona
12:00 ET Real Betis v Getafe
2:00 ET Celta Vigo v Atletico Madrid
4:00 ET Granada v Villarreal
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
7:00 ET Espanyol v Elche
12:00 ET Almeria v Sevilla FC
2:00 ET Real Madrid v Levante
4:00 ET Valencia v Athletic Bilbao
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2014
3:00 ET Osasuna v Malaga
5:00 ET Real Sociedad v Rayo Vallecano

SERIE A
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
12:00 ET Udinese v AC Milan
2:45 ET Catania v Cagliari
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
7:30 ET Juventus v Fiorentina
10:00 ET Bologna v Sassuolo
10:00 ET Chievo Verona v Genoa
10:00 ET Internazionale v Torino
10:00 ET Lazio v Atalanta
10:00 ET Parma v Hellas Verona
10:00 ET Sampdoria v Livorno
3:45 ET Napoli v AS Roma

BUNDESLIGA
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
9:30 ET Borussia Monchengladbach v FC Augsburg
9:30 ET Hamburg SV v Eintracht Frankfurt
9:30 ET Hannover 96 v Bayer Leverkusen
9:30 ET Schalke 04 v TSG Hoffenheim
9:30 ET VfB Stuttgart v TSV Eintracht Braunschweig
9:30 ET VfL Wolfsburg v Bayern Munich
12:30 ET Nurnberg v Werder Bremen
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
10:30 ET SC Freiburg v Borussia Dortmund
12:30 ET Mainz v Hertha Berlin

LIGUE 1
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014
2:30 ET Marseille v Nice
SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014
10:30 ET Bastia v Paris Saint-Germain
2:00 ET AS Monaco v Sochaux
2:00 ET Guingamp v Evian Thonon Gaillard
2:00 ET Nantes v AC Ajaccio
2:00 ET Toulouse v Stade de Reims
2:00 ET Valenciennes v Stade Rennes
SUNDAY, MARCH 9, 2014
9:00 ET Lille v Montpellier
12:00 ET Lorient v St Etienne
4:00 ET Bordeaux v Lyon

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For the record, my teams:
MLB: Mets / Soccer: PSG
NCAA BB: Arizona / NCAA FB: Michigan
NBA: Spurs / NFL: Jets