It's a classic story, one that gets told season after season. A tale of two clubs if you will, with one speeding along in its domestic and European campaigns, using superior skill and execution while the other flounders about, with fans roundly criticizing the manager's tactics at every opportunity. But for once the roles are reversed and Arsenal are in the envied role while United stumble into their Fall matchup. As with all narratives, the one currently being written for Arsenal can very much crumble at any moment. One such moment could very well be the 90th (+change) minute at Old Trafford this Sunday, as has happened many times before. But one gets the sense that the Gunners know this and while there is a feeling a confidence that emanates from the squad, it is one based on experiences and not the folly of youth as might have been in the past. Still the tension will be high at kick-off. Man City take their goal-scoring roadshow to Sunderland, which, despite recent history in this matchup, looks like it might have to hold off its nascent improvement for another week. Er, or two, since there's an international break coming up (on a related note I've started stocking up on Pepto-Bismol). Tottenham will want to avoid the same fate as Chelsea when they host Newcastle, although who knows which version of that club will show up.

Spain: Real Madrid will need to push aside upstarts Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu (soon to be Microsoft Arena? Ugh). They'll need to watch out for on-form Antoine Griezmann, the French midfielder who's scored 3 in the last couple of games
Italy: While Roma will try to put the end of their record-breaking winning streak behind them by taking on Sassuolo (uh, who?), there is a cracker of a matchup brewing between Napoli and Juve on Sunday. Both played well in the midweek CL games and are both 3 pts behind Roma.
Germany: Not the easiest of tasks for Dortmund to get over their loss to Arsenal as they are away to 5th-place Wolfsburg. A win wouldn't be a bad idea if they want to keep up with Bayern.
France: PSG will have a somewhat stern test when Nice come to town on Saturday. The eaglets always play tough at the Parc des Princes and the club will want to rebound after the relative complacency shown against Anderlecht in the CL. And now here's another installment of everyone's favorite series "Fuck you Patrice Evra". Here it is: "Fuck you Patrice Evra"

EPL
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013
10:00 ET Aston Villa v Cardiff City
10:00 ET Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion
10:00 ET Crystal Palace v Everton
10:00 ET Liverpool v Fulham
10:00 ET Southampton v Hull City
12:30 ET Norwich City v West Ham United
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013
7:00 ET Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United
9:05 ET Sunderland v Manchester City
11:10 ET Manchester United v Arsenal
11:10 ET Swansea City v Stoke City

LA LIGA
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
2:00 ET Osasuna v Almeria
4:00 ET Granada v Malaga
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013
10:00 ET Real Madrid v Real Sociedad
12:00 ET Getafe v Elche
2:00 ET Athletic Bilbao v Levante
4:00 ET Celta Vigo v Rayo Vallecano
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013
6:00 ET Espanyol v Sevilla FC
11:00 ET Valencia v Real Valladolid
1:00 ET Villarreal v Atletico Madrid
3:00 ET Real Betis v Barcelona

SERIE A
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013
12:00 ET Catania v Udinese
2:45 ET Internazionale v Livorno
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013
6:30 ET Genoa v Hellas Verona
9:00 ET AS Roma v Sassuolo
9:00 ET Atalanta v Bologna
9:00 ET Cagliari v Torino
9:00 ET Chievo Verona v AC Milan
9:00 ET Parma v Lazio
2:45 ET Fiorentina v Sampdoria
2:45 ET Juventus v Napoli

BUNDESLIGA
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
2:30 ET Hannover 96 v TSV Eintracht
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013
9:30 ET Bayer Leverkusen v Hamburg SV
9:30 ET Bayern Munich v FC Augsburg
9:30 ET Schalke 04 v Werder Bremen
9:30 ET TSG Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin
9:30 ET VfL Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund
12:30 ET Borussia Monchengladbach v Nurnberg
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013
9:30 ET Mainz v Eintracht Frankfurt
11:30 ET SC Freiburg v VfB Stuttgart

LIGUE 1
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2013
2:30 ET AS Monaco v Evian Thonon Gaillard
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2013
11:00 ET Paris Saint-Germain v Nice
2:00 ET Bastia v Stade Rennes
2:00 ET Guingamp v Lille
2:00 ET Lorient v Stade de Reims
2:00 ET Toulouse v AC Ajaccio
2:00 ET Valenciennes v Montpellier
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013
8:00 ET Bordeaux v Nantes
11:00 ET Marseille v Sochaux
3:00 ET St Etienne 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