European Round-Up

We're well over the half way point in all of the top European Leagues, so let's take a look at where everyone stands in their respective leagues:

Starting close to home, Chelsea are the dominant force in the Barclays Premier League having survived a minor blip around the New Year. The Blues hold a 5 point lead over holders, Manchester City to have suffered due to injuries in attack. They are very much on the tale of the London club, but I don't expect them to beat Mourinho's Chelsea to the title. Not many people would expect Southampton to be mentioned in the top 3, but Koeman has got a side who were tipped for a low finish at the start of the season due to the departure of many of their players.

At the foot of the table, it is hard to predict who will make the drop, with Hull, QPR and Leicester occupying the spots as it stands. 4 points seperates Everton in 12th which proves how tight it really is. At the start of the season, I predicted Palace, Villa and Sunderland to get relegated and it seems likely that at least one of these teams won't survive.

In Germany's Bundesliga, there isn't much competition for Bayern Munich who sit unbeaten and 11 points ahead of Wolfsburg in second. Bayern's domestic dominance seems likely to continue for a number of years, particularly as main rivals, Borussia Dortmund lie in the relegation zone level on points with 18th placed Freiburg. I hope Klopp is able to resurrect Dortmund While the competition is minimum at the top of the table, there is plenty of it at the bottom. Only 12 points seperates 18 and 4th position. There is plenty of time for Jurgen Klopp's men to hit a purple patch and finish in a respectable position. Similarly, sides to seem out of the danger zone could slip down the table, if the next couple of matches don't go to plan.

We through Austria/Switzerland to Italy. As predicted, Juventus and Roma are leading the pack with third place Napoli 6 points behind. It is certainly a gap that Napoli can catch, but they will need to begin their charge pretty soon, especially as Juventus and Roma don't look like slipping up anytime soon. Both Milan and Internazionale trundle through their stage of 'transition' and sit in 11th and 10th respectively. With Inter capturing the signature of Xherdan Shaqiri, Mancini aims to stamp his mark on a side that could be doing with an ounce of quality. More signings to this calibre and we could be seeing the Nerazurri return to the heights of the Champions League.

Let's turn our attention to Spain. Real Madrid lead the pack by a point with Barcelona and Atletico chasing behind. Real triumphed in the solitary Clasico so far with an excellent display of counter attacking football and with the current situation at the Nou Camp in dispute, it doesn't look like they will be able to topple Real Madrid. Despite losing their goalkeeper, left back and striker in the summer transfer window, Atletico are up there albeit 4 points behind the leaders and having played a game more. I still think Real Madrid will have enough strength to fend off the challenge of their competitors, but being able to compete for the Champions League as well, is a completely different scenario.

In France, PSG have been faltering and this can be put down to problems in a fractured dressing room. Marcelo Bielsa's Marseille came firing out of the blocks at the start of the season and Gignac was scoring for fun. However the form has declined and some may say it is down to Bielsa's rigorous training methods. Olympique Lyon now lead the charge and Alexandre Lacazette has made his price tag more expensive to possible suitors this month. After a slow start from Monaco, Leonardo Jardim has tidied up and now they are sitting in a respectable 5th. The loss of Falcao has clearly affected them, and a 5th place finish come May might not be enough for Jardim to keep his job.