Soccer

Spanish Primera Liga, or La Liga, is the professional football league in Spain. It is considered to be one of the best leagues in the world. There are 20 teams in La Liga. The current champions are Real Madrid FC, who have been champions of La Liga 30 times since its inception in 1928. Barcelona FC have 18 La Liga titles.

Among the top teams expected to become champions of the 2007-08 Spanish La Liga are:

• Barcelona FC
• Real Madrid CF
• Atletico Madrid
• Valencia
• Sevilla FC

The Barclays English Premier League is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the English football league system. There are 20 teams in the English Premier League. The current champions are Manchester United, who have become champions of the Premiership 16 times. Liverpool FC has had the most Premiership championships with 18.

Among the top teams expected to become champions of the 2007-08 Barclays English Premier League are:

• Arsenal= 3/1
• Chelsea= 7/2
• Liverpool = 3/1
• Manchester United= 3/2
• Manchester City= 50/1

The German Bundesliga is the name for the premier league of the highest quality of football in Germany. 18 teams are participating in the 2007-2008 season of the German Bundesliga. The current champions are VfB Stuttgart, their third time to be champions of the German Bundesliga since it began in 1963. The German football club with the most Bundesliga titles is Bayern Munich, who have 20 championships to their name.

Among the top German football clubs expected to be competing for the 2007-08 German Bundesliga championship are:

• Bayern Munich
• Bayer04
• Schalke04
• VfB Stuttgart
• Werder Bremen

The Italian Serie A TIM is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Italian football league system. The league is widely regarded as one of the most elite in the footballing world. 20 teams are currently competing for the Italian Serie A Championship title. The current Serie A champions are FC Internazionale Milano, better known as Inter Milan. Inter Milan have been Serie A Champions for a total of 15 times. However, the most successful Italian football club is Juventus FC who have won 27 Italian Serie A Championships, followed by AC Milan who have won 17.

The top Italian football clubs expected to be contenders for the 2007-08 Italian Serie A Championship are:

• Juventus FC
• AC Milan
• Inter Milan
• AS Roma
• Lazio

The French Ligue 1 is the top division of French football. There are 20 teams currently competing in the 2007-08 season of The French Ligue 1. The current champions of the French Ligue 1 are Olympique Lyonnais, popularly known as Lyon. Lyon has been champions of the French Ligue 1 for a total of 6 times. Lyon has the most consecutive French Ligue 1 titles since they won their first championship in 2001-2002 season. They have won every French Ligue championship since then. However, the French football club with the most titles is AS Saint-Etienne with a total of 10 French Ligue 1 titles.

The top French football clubs expected to win the 2007-08 French Ligue 1 Championship are:

• Olympique Lyonnais, or Lyon
• AS Nancy Lorraine
• Bordeaux
• Valenciennes
• Le Mans

The UEFA Champions League also known as the European Cup, is a seasonal club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 1955 for the most successful football clubs in Europe. The prize, the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is considered the most prestigious club trophy in the sport.

The UEFA Champions League is separate from the less prestigious UEFA Cup.

The tournament consists of several stages and begins with three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds. The sixteen teams emerging from the preliminary rounds take part in the final knock-out stage, which starts in late February and ends with the final match in May.

The most successful club of the UEFA Champions League is Spanish club Real Madrid, who have been champions of the UEFA Champions League for a total of 9 times.

The current holders of the UEFA Champions League trophy are AC Milan, who beat Liverpool F.C. 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece on 23 May 2007. AC Milan have won the title 7 times.

Moscow will host its first European Cup final for the 2007-08 season.

The 32 teams who are now competing in the Group stages of the 2007-08 season of the UEFA Champions League are:

• Group A: Besiktas, Liverpool, Porto, Marseille
• Group B: Chelsea, Rosenborg, Schalke, Valencia
• Group C: Lazio, Olympiacos, Real Madrid, Werder Bremen
• Group D: AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic FC, Shaktar Donetsk,
• Group E: Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart, Rangers
• Group F: AS Roma, Dynamo Kyiv, Manchester United, Sporting Lisbon
• Group G: CSKA Moskva, Fenerbahce, Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven
• Group H: Arsenal, Sevilla, Slavia Praha, Steaua Bucharest

Oddsmakers are expecting these teams to win the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League Finals in Moscow on May 2008:

• Barcelona: 5/1
• Chelsea: 6/1
• Manchester United: 7/1
• Inter Milan: 8/1
• AC Milan: 8/1
• Real Madrid: 10/1
• Liverpool: 10/1