La Plaza del Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid is the largest bullring in Spain, and it is considered the most prestigious bullring in the world.

The thrilling race at the top of La Liga came to a head last weekend, when Barcelona dropped two points at surging Almería, and Real Madrid fought back from a 0-2 deficit to win against Sevilla in the second minute of stoppage time 3-2.  Now the two exemplars of Spanish football are tied for the lead on sixty-two points, fifteen points of third-place Valencia, who could only manage a 0-0 draw at home against struggling Racing Santander on Monday night.

Barcelona will play with two minds, as they play in the glamor match of the weekend against Valencia on Sunday while worrying about their second leg in the Champions League against Stuttgart three days later.  With Real Madrid only focusing on La Liga at this point, Barça cannot afford to drop points at this juncture of the season, even against a Valencia team that outplayed them in the 0-0 reverse fixture in October.

As for Real Madrid, the postmortem of their dismissal from the Champions League continues, as everyone has chimed in about Madrid’s performance against Olympique Lyonnais, from the players involved to the manager, the owner, and former players.  The Madrid press labeled their loss as an embarrassment, while the Barcelona press echoed the same sentiments in a more gleeful manner.

Although Real has a right to blush about being knocked out in the first elimination round of the Champions League for the sixth consecutive year, the media and the team has completely belittled the stellar performance by Lyon and the second half adjustments by Claude Puel to seize the result in the Santiago Bernabéu.  Of course no one will deny that Real should have scored twice more in the first half, especially Gonzalo Higuaín’s open-netter that hit the post, but a team that is worthy of winning Europe’s most prestigious competition converts those chances, and Real Madrid did not.

Los Blancos visit Real Valladolid in the late Sunday kickoff, and if Madrid is not careful, their Champions League hangover could filter into this match against a team fighting for top-flight survival.

The other two intriguing matches of the weekend include the late Saturday kickoff between Sevilla and Deportivo La Coruña, where they are two of the four teams fighting a battle royale for the fourth Champions League spot, and the traditional 5:00 PM Sunday kickoff between Almería and Málaga, two teams that have turned their seasons around from certain relegation to relative mid-table security.

The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Extra note: the main ESPN channels will carry their first La Liga match in over a month with Barcelona against Valencia, so catch this important clash on ESPN2 in high definiton.

Extra extra note: the United States will go into daylight savings time on Sunday, but Europe will not go into daylight savings time until March 28, so for the next couple of weeks, the US times for these matches will be one hour later than normal.

Mar. 13

Getafe vs. Mallorca – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Sporting Gijón vs. Athletic Bilbao – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Sevilla vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 14

Almería vs. Málaga – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Racing Santander vs. Real Zaragoza – 11:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Villarreal vs. Xerez – 11:55 AM on Gol TV

FC Barcelona vs. Valencia – 1:55 PM on ESPN2 HD/ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Valladolid vs. Real Madrid – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 15

Atlético Madrid vs. Osasuna – 3:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Unfortunately, the Tenerife – Espanyol match at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López will not be shown on US TV.

UEFA Champions League

The ramifications from Real Madrid’s elimination are still being felt throughout Spain, but there are still two La Liga teams in the tournament that have a chance to carry the flag for Spain.  Stuttgart bested Barcelona through many parts of the first leg, but despite that, Stuttgart conceded the away goal and face avoiding a negative result at the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.  Barcelona hopes this will be déjà vu all over again because last season in the first knockout round, they scrapped their way to a 1-1 draw at the Stade de Gerland against Lyon before convincingly ousting them in the second leg at home 5-2.  Knowing that they have a legitimate shot to defend the trophy at the Bernabéu, the blaugrana will have all the motivation they need to succeed on Wednesday.

Sevilla will encounter a similar situation to Barcelona, as they play a crucial domestic league match against Deportivo La Coruña before battling CSKA Moskva on Tuesday.  Los Nervionenses are the betting favorites to proceed to the quarterfinals, and the fitness of CSKA will be tested on Tuesday because they sent out their best eleven against FK Amkar Perm on Friday in their first Russian Premier League match of the season.  CSKA midfielder Mark Gonzalez will be sure to get the rudest of ovations in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán since he scored the equalizer in Moscow, but more pertinent to the Sevilla fans, he was a Real Betis player.

Mar. 16

Sevilla vs. CSKA Moskva – 3:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel (Sevilla 1-1 CSKA Moskva after the first leg)

Mar. 17

FC Barcelona vs. Stuttgart – 3:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español (FC Barcelona 1-1 Stuttgart after the first leg)

UEFA Europa League

Atlético Madrid and Sporting Clube de Portugal played to a drab 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderón on Thursday, but there were a couple of flash points, as two Sporting defenders, Leandro Grimi and Tonel, received red cards and will not be available for Sporting in Lisbon next Thursday.

Los Colchoneros had a man-advantage for more than an hour and a two-man advantage for the final few minutes, but as they are wont to do this season, they do not perform well when circumstances fall their way.  Now they face the cauldron that is the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon in the second leg, but Atleti can take comfort knowing that they were able to win at Galatasaray to advance to this round, one of the most fearsome teams to play at home in all of Europe.

Valencia’s match at the Mestalla vs. Werder Bremen had every ingredient of an enthralling match; beautiful, flowing football, offensive aggressiveness from both teams, controversial calls, multiple yellow cards, a red card, wonderful saves, and golden chances spurned.  All of this equaled a 1-1 draw that gives the advantage to Werder Bremen as they return to the Weserstadion on Thursday.  Juan Mata and David Villa uncharacteristically flubbed on significant opportunities, and just like Real Madrid did in the first half of their second leg against Lyon, those missed chances could come back to haunt Los Che by the end of this tie.

Mar. 18

Werder Bremen vs. Valencia – 1:45 PM on DirecTV channel 463 (463-1 for HD) (Werder Bremen 1-1 Valencia after the first leg)

Sporting CP vs. Atletico Madrid – 4:00 PM on Gol TV (Sporting CP 0-0 Atlético Madrid after the first leg)

The Almería – Barcelona match had not concluded when Real Madrid took to the pitch, but a few minutes into their match with Sevilla, they knew that Barça slipped at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos and dropped two points with a 2-2 draw against Almería.  Expectations were that Real Madrid would not have the chance to grab at least a share of the lead away from the Blaugrana until the second Clásico meeting on April 11, but this unforeseen gift, wrapped in a bow by their archrivals to the northeast, laid at the doorstep of the Bernabéu for the Madridistas to open gleefully.

Unfortunately, Xabi Alonso put it into his own net in the 10th minute, and Ivica Dragutinovic scored an unlikely free kick that was meant to be crossed into a flood of players.  Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso looked at each other with contempt as both expected one another to handle the harmless ball.  Xabi Alonso let the ball sail over his head, assuming that Casillas would catch it on the bounce.  Casillas anticipated Xabi Alonso to head the ball away to safety and therefore did not cover the left post.  The ball furtively sneaked into the bottom left corner of the net, and Sevilla held a 0-2 lead at the Santiago Bernabéu with 38+ minutes remaining.

A loss for Real Madrid against Sevilla, even in the capital city, would not have been a shocking revelation, and a defeat to the Andalusians would still have Los Blancos a mere three points behind Barcelona with thirteen matches left to overturn the deficit. Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini entertained zero options of settling, as he removed Álvaro Arbeloa and Lassana Diarra from the action in the 55th minute and sent in two creative midfielders, Rafael van der Vaart and Guti, to revitalize the incessant but stagnant attack.

Observing that Sevilla had only one shot on target in fifty-five minutes, the unlikely Dragutinovic goal, Pellegrini concluded that there was little need for a second defensive midfielder and a stay-at-home left back.  Real Madrid played intricate football in the middle of the pitch, used both flanks effectively, and dabbled in a more direct, long-ball approach up to that point, but Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop and his defensive line held firm without a breach of goal.  Los Nervionenses cared little that their two goals came courtesy of a Xabi Alonso own goal and miscommunication between Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso on a Dragutinovic free kick.

Rafael van der Vaart and Guti certainly have the fecundity to create and exploit any gaps within the Sevilla defense, and each had differing problems with Pellegrini this season.  Van der Vaart was supposed to be gone in the previous summer transfer window.  He was not in Pellegrini’s blueprints to the point where Esteban Granero was given van der Vaart’s number 23 in the preseason.  Wesley Sneijder, exiled by Real Madrid and eventually sold to Inter Milan, more than suggested to van der Vaart that he should leave to join a club that wanted him.

Van der Vaart stubbornly stayed with Madrid, feeling as though he was good enough for the team and wanted to prove his Madrid doubters wrong.  While he has fought injuries throughout the season, van der Vaart showed himself to be the third attacking midfielder with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká.

As for José María Gutiérrez Hernández, that man known as Guti, Guti is and will always be Guti.  Perpetually and chronically incorrigible, he has gotten under the skin of every Real Madrid manager since he first made it to the senior squad.  If anyone tugs on his gossamer robe, he lashes out and leaves no one in his wake.

For a character like that, he should have been booted out years ago, but he still roams the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu because of his truly world-class vision and passing distribution.  The term “world-class” is bandied around quite frequently, but for Guti, the label fits.  If he did not possess this type of talent, there is no way manager after manager would have kept this turbulent truculent on their squads.

Manuel Pellegrini could have easily phased out both van der Vaart and Guti if he let his ego get the best of him, but when the bell rung, he employed the players best suited for the situation rather than use others just because they did not vex him.  What Madrid needed in the final half-hour against Sevilla were players that forced Sevilla’s defensive and midfield lines to lose their shape.

Sergio Ramos getting R-rated after heading in the equalizer.

Whereas the field tilted toward Andrés Palop’s goal in the first half, this Madrid torrent in the second half completely inundated everyone with a red tinge.  A 60th minute Cristiano Ronaldo strike that benefited from a wicked Marius Stankevicius deflection and a 64th minute Sergio Ramos header from a van der Vaart corner turned the match completely around in the ten minutes since the substitutes entered the match.  Guti struck the crossbar, and Gonzalo Higuaín hit the post and the crossbar on two separate shots in the ensuing ten minutes after the Ramos equalizer, but Pellegrini was not done with his tinkering.

In the 75th minute, he made the bold move of withdrawing the €65 million Kaká in favor of Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer Raúl, who has made very few appearances since losing his starting spot early in the season.  Kaká had a decent game, but van der Vaart and Guti accomplished more in twenty minutes than Kaká did in seventy-five.  Pellegrini, soft-spoken but strong in his convictions, knew the gravity of the situation and wanted no less than three points.

An ultra-offensive 4-1-3-2 formation proved to be too much for Sevilla, as Rafael van der Vaart outmuscled Stankevicius for a rebound from three yards out and converted his scoring chance after Palop understandably gave up a rebound from Higuaín’s header in the second minute of stoppage time.

The euphoria felt and created by the players sent the Madridistas into a higher state of consciousness as they witnessed the most electric thirty minutes of the La Liga season.  Pellegrini, always the levelheaded statesman, put this match into its proper perspective when he spoke with Spanish sports daily Marca:

“There are still 39 points to play for.  These are three important points.  We will only be happy when our final objectives are obtained.  Now we depend on ourselves.”

With all the emotion spent on conquering this two-goal deficit against Sevilla, Real Madrid will have little time to recover because they host Lyon on Wednesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie down a single goal.  Whether they maintain this surging momentum into that match remains to be seen, and for all the plaudits and accolades they received on Saturday, a deluge of harsh criticism will be levied upon them if they fail to defeat Lyon and advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

That discussion, however, is for another day.  Real Madrid and Barcelona are tied at the top of La Liga with thirteen matches remaining.  Barcelona has the edge because they defeated Real 1-0 in November, and as the famous Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once quipped:

If you are first, you are first.  If you are second, you are nothing.

Real Madrid would not want it any other way.

Fueras de Juego

- Athletic Bilbao’s resurgence this season is due to many factors, including a stellar home record and Fernando Llorente leading the line, but some credit has to go to Gaizka Toquero, the perfect wingman to Llorente’s hold-up play.  Once a lower division vagabond with such illustrious clubs as SD Lemona, Sestao River Club, and SD Eibar, he caught the eye of Bilbao, although he was not in manager Joaquín Caparrós’ plans when Toquero first arrived in Bilbao.  He scored both of Athletic’s goals in their routine 2-0 win over Real Valladolid on Sunday, including a clinical finish off the short-hop to give his team an insurmountable two-goal advantage.

- Felicitaciones to Xerez as they won their first match away from home in the top flight after defeating an in-form Málaga 2-4 in a match that featured two red cards, nine yellow cards and a penalty miss and a penalty make by Xerez winger Momo.  Xerez manager Néstor Gorosito had an impossible task of keeping Xerez afloat after he replaced José Ángel Ziganda in January, and while Xerez is still ten points adrift of safety, Gorosito has instilled confidence in a team that had none before he arrived.

- The weekly drama that is Atlético Madrid came up with another plot twist, as Ibrahima Baldé scored in stoppage time to give Los Colchoneros an undeserved 1-1 draw.  A poor match in terms of quality, Diego Forlán was livid when he was substituted with thirty minutes left, and Atleti seemed to release the guillotine on itself after José Antonio Reyes received a straight red card for flailing his arm at Eliseu Pereira, although what little contact Reyes made on Eliseu sent him into “unfathomable” pain.  Clearly frustrated by Zaragoza’s bounty on him, he decided to take the law into his own hands in a half-hearted attempt to send a message.  If Atlético manager Quique Sánchez Flores has not already been prescribed Thorazine, Zyprexa, or any other antipsychotic drug because he has to deal with this club on a daily basis, he needs them now.

The Sevillana, one of the variants of the iconic Flamenco style of dance that the city of Sevilla made famous, normally gets confused with the traditional Flamenco dance.

The marquee matchup of the weekend is the late Saturday kickoff between top four teams Real Madrid and Sevilla.  The reverse fixture in early October was one of the matches of the season, and while Sevilla’s title chances faded away during the dregs of mid-season, they still lie fourth in the league, they have the away-goal advantage in their Champions League tie with CSKA Moskva, and they made it to the final of the Copa del Rey.  Their second leg with CSKA will not commence until March 16, whereas Real’s second leg with Lyon occurs on Wednesday, four days removed from this important La Liga match.  Real will likely field their strongest eleven against Sevilla, but how that will affect their performance against Lyon will be unknown until Wednesday night.

Another compelling match this weekend pits Atlético Madrid visiting Aragon to face Real Zaragoza at La Romareda.  With their glamorous conquests of Barcelona, Valencia, and Galatasaray comes their disappointments against Málaga, Almería, and Racing Santander, all within the span of one month.  Where Zaragoza has something for which to play (top-flight survival), Atlético’s hunger in La Liga waned eons ago.  A true iconoclast of conventional thought, however, Atlético Madrid may just play at the level they perform against top teams to show the doubters that they do not play to the level of their competition (Logic with this team does not work, so any maniacal theory fits in this situation).

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Mar. 6

Deportivo La Coruña vs. Tenerife – 11:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Almería vs. FC Barcelona – 1:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Madrid vs. Sevilla – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 7

Espanyol vs. Villarreal – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Mallorca vs. Sporting Gijón – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Osasuna vs. Getafe – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Valladolid – 12:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Real Zaragoza vs. Atlético Madrid – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Mar. 8

Valencia vs. Racing Santander – 2:55 PM on Gol TV

Unfortunately, the Málaga – Xerez matchup at La Rosaleda will not be shown on US TV.

UEFA Champions League

Staring elimination in the first knockout round for the sixth consecutive season, Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid did not assemble this second galáctico generation to bow out unceremoniously yet again.  A 1-0 deficit to overturn at the Santiago Bernabéu hardly constitutes as an overbearing chore on its own merit, but the expectations set by the Madridistas, the board, and the players’ own internal goals have Los Blancos in a more anxious situation than all of their past five Champions League failures combined.

Barring any injury in this weekend’s top-four clash with Sevilla, Real Madrid will have a nearly full squad from which to choose against Lyon.  The only significant injury issue for Los Merengues is Karim Benzema’s hernia.  Although he most likely would not start ahead of Gonzalo Higuaín, he can be a great option off the bench if Madrid still needs a goal with half an hour or less remaining.

Although it would be pusillanimous to blame Manuel Pellegrini should Real Madrid fail to advance to the quarterfinals, there would be little surprise if the generally capricious nature of the Real Madrid brass decided to fire him at the end of the season, regardless of his results in La Liga.

Mar. 10

Real Madrid vs. Olympique Lyonnais – 2:30 on Fox Soccer Plus (5:00 PM on delay on Fox Soccer Channel)

UEFA Europa League

With Wolfsburg and Anderlecht enervating what little vitality Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao contained in their respective second legs, Atlético Madrid and Valencia will have to carry the torch for La Liga in the Europa League.  Romelu Lukaku, the Anderlecht 16-year-old wunderkind, torchered the Bilbao defense throughout the match, the pinnacle of his contributions being the fourth minute goal that gave his side the edge in the tie.  Unsurprisingly, he caught the eye of some top European clubs, including Barcelona and Real Madrid.

For Atlético Madrid, the wave trajectory continues, as they head up their highest amplitude this season.  Wins over Barcelona, Valencia, and Galatasaray within the past few weeks gear Los Colchoneros into their most important matches of the season.  They will not reach any of the top four spots in La Liga to secure a Champions League berth, and with Sevilla virtually guaranteeing themselves a spot in European competition next season, Atlético Madrid will grab a Europa League spot due to reaching the final of the Copa del Rey.  Thus, the Europa League is Atleti’s most important objective until the Copa del Rey final, whose date is still up in the air.

Atlético Madrid’s opponent in the Round of 16, Sporting CP, can commiserate with Los Rojiblancos because their season has not met expectations as well.  Although they stand fourth in the Portuguese Liga, they are nine points behind FC Porto for the final Champions League place with only nine matches remaining.  Like Atlético, however, their most impressive results occurred in the past few weeks, with their victories over Everton in the Europa League and a shock 3-0 depredation of FC Porto.  A team with Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, and Liédson can never be underestimated despite their uneven results in their league.

Valencia had to break through one of the great goalkeeping performances in recent European history when they finally blasted Stijn Stijnen’s brick wall in extra time to defeat Club Brugge in the Round of 32.  With the lineup of teams in the Europa League Round of 16 nearly as strong as the final 16 in the Champions League, Valencia’s tie with Werder Bremen is one of the star attractions of this round.  It matches the third-ranked attack in La Liga versus the third-ranked attack in the Bundesliga.  With both teams having the affinity to play better in the counter-attack, it will be interesting to see which team decides to take the majority of possession and how they react to this responsibility.

Mar. 11

Atlético Madrid vs. Sporting CP – 12:45 PM on DirecTV channel 462 (462-1 for HD) (8:00 PM on delay on Gol TV)

Valencia vs. Werder Bremen – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 462 (462-1 for HD)

Part of the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon, El Palacio de la Aljafería is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that used to house the Banu Dan dynasty, who ruled the taifa (principality) of Zaragoza in the 11th century. Photo courtesy of Anvica.

This weekend, the focus will be on those teams who will play in European competition in the following midweek.  The question of domestic vs. European responsibilities remains an individual club decision, but for some teams, choices become more plentiful than others.

Real Madrid faces Xerez at El Chapín, but Los Blancos have the capability to send out a relatively weakened side and rest some of their regular starting eleven.  Valencia also has a deep squad, and playing against a Sporting Gijón side that has lost four consecutive La Liga matches, do not be surprised if Nikola Zigic or Alejandro “Chori” Domínguez receive starts for Los Che in the early Saturday kickoff.

The Villarreal – Athletic Bilbao clash at El Madrigal will be the most intriguing match of the weekend because both continue to fight for the final Europa League places.  Necessity will force both of their hands, as a loss at this point of the season may come back to haunt them at the end of the season.  Expect strong starting elevens to play both this match and their respective European encounters.

Atlético Madrid, with their 6-3 aggregate win over Racing Santander in the semifinal of the Copa del Rey, booked their place in the final on May 26.  They will face Sevilla, who used their catenaccio tactic in the second leg as they did against Barcelona in the Round of 16, to win 2-1 on agggregate over Getafe.  The winner of the Copa del Rey receives a place in the Europa League, but if that team has already qualified for Europe, the runner-up is awarded that spot.  Sevilla looks assured to finish in the top six, so Atleti, virtually out of the running for a Champions League spot, has a booked spot for next year’s Europa League.

They do not have the same urgency as Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, and others hovering around sixth place in the league, but the leaders Barcelona visit Los Colchoneros in the late Sunday kickoff, and Atlético boasts a decent record against the champions in the Vicente Calderón.  Even though they will host Galatasaray on Thursday, there is no way that the fans will allow their team to field a less than full strength side against their Catalunyan rivals.

The times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST) and include the pregame pleasantries, although sometimes the matches on the DirecTV La Liga specific channels may not go to match coverage until right before kickoff.

Feb. 13

Sporting Gijón vs. Valencia – 11:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Xerez vs. Real Madrid – 1:55 PM on Gol TV

Villarreal vs. Athletic Bilbao – 3:55 PM on Gol TV

Feb. 14

Real Valladolid vs. Real Zaragoza – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 456

Getafe vs. Almería – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 457

Racing Santander vs. Málaga – 10:45 AM on DirecTV channel 458

Espanyol vs. Deportivo La Coruña – 10:55 AM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Sevilla vs. Osasuna – 12:55 PM on Gol TV

Atlético Madrid vs. FC Barcelona – 2:55 PM on ESPN Deportes/ESPN 360

Unfortunately, the Tenerife – Mallorca match at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López will not be shown on US TV, the first Monday night football match in La Liga for many years (twelve years to be exact).

UEFA Champions League

Barcelona and Sevilla will not play the first legs of the Round of 16 until the next Tuesday and Wednesday, so all of the Spanish eyes will lay upon the kings of the European Cup, nine-time champions Real Madrid.  Los Merengues, however, have been dismissed from the competition in the first knockout round for five successive years.  This season, they will hope to move past Olympique Lyonnais, the perennially tough French club, as Karim Benzema faces his previous club for the first time.  They last met in the 2006-07 Champions League group stage, where Lyon won their home match 2-0 and drew at Madrid 2-2.  Lyon would finish top of the group with Real finishing second.

Even though the major summer signings were signed in part to dethrone Barcelona from the La Liga pedestal, Florentino Pérez recruited them mainly for the Champions League.  Real Madrid sees their record in the Champions League in the past few years as an embarrassment, and with the Santiago Bernabéu hosting the Champions League final in May, they would want nothing more than to play and compete as hosts.

Feb. 16

AC Milan vs. Manchester United – 2:30 PM on Fox Sports Net HD (5:00 PM on delay on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Real Madrid – 2:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español (5:00 PM on delay on Setanta Sports) (For those who do not have access to Fox Soccer Channel in high definition, certain Fox Sports Net outlets will show the Lyon – Real Madrid match in high definition at 8:00 PM.  As of right now, these stations include MSG+, Fox Sports South, and Fox Sports Pittsburgh.  For those out west, Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports Northwest will show this match in high definition at 11:00 EST, 8:00 PST)

Feb. 17

FC Porto vs. Arsenal – 2:30 PM on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español (5:00 PM on delay on Setanta Sports)

Bayern Munich vs. Fiorentina – 2:15 PM on Setanta Sports (5:00 PM on delay on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español)

UEFA Europa League

Not to be overshadowed by the Champions League, Thursday will provide sixteen matches in the Europa League as it also starts their first knockout round.  A rare Spain vs. Belgium double will occur as Valencia visits the Jan Breydel Stadium against Club Brugge, and Athletic Bilbao invites Anderlecht into the San Mamés.

Atlético Madrid, having taken the parachute down from the Champions League as a third-place finisher in their group, will play Galatasaray at the Vicente Calderón.  When these teams fall from the Champions League into the Europa League, they feel as though it is a huge letdown.  Shakhtar Donetsk was the exception last year as the won the UEFA Cup, but generally, the Champions League teams generally lose in the first couple of rounds of the knockout stage.  Atlético will try to emulate Shakhtar and use their frustration from the Champions League to spur them on through the Europa League.

The best matchup of the four Spanish teams will be Villarreal against Wolfsburg.  Both teams have underachieved mightily, with the defending German Bundesliga champions mired in twelfth place and the consistent top five Spanish team hovering in mediocrity at tenth place.  Both love to attack and also leave holes in defense, so if goals are your flavor, this is the match to witness (as this is said, both legs will be 0-0 dour affairs).

Club Brugge vs. Valencia – 12:45 PM on DirecTV channel 464 (464-1 for HD)

Villarreal vs. Wolfsburg – 12:55 PM on Gol TV

Athletic Bilbao vs. Anderlecht – 3:00 PM on DirecTV channel 467 (467-1 for HD)

Atlético Madrid vs. Galatasaray – 3:00 on Gol TV