Posted by Stephen Kuzner

By Stephen Kuzner - WFD Fan Correspondent

Three of these articles will come-out this 2010-11 club season. One now, one about-half-way, and one at the end of the season. Which league is stronger, The Barclays English Premier League or La Liga BBVA? The best way I can think to compare the two leagues is to pair-up a team in each league with another team with the same table standing and guess (yes it's a guess) as to which team would win, lose, or draw if they played a (1) meaningful game (2) on a neutral site, (3) not altering their normal playing style. By meaningful game, I mean the two teams play their best 11 and best bench. #2 and #3 don't need an explanation. At the end, we'll tally up the wins, loses, and draws and see which league is stronger. Let's take a look at the "EPL Champions Liga".

#1 Chelsea vs. Valencia - After 6 games, Chelsea sits atop the EPL with 15 points out of a possible 18 with a goal-differential of +19 and only having conceded 2 goals. After 5 games Valencia has dropped less points than Chelsea, only 2, and have 13 points out of a possible 15 after 5 games. Chelsea gets a slight edge in Champions League play with Valencia falling late to Manchester United. On the surface, this seems like a easy pick with Chelsea simply destroying people left, right, and center. But, could Valencia pose some problems for Chelsea the on the counter-attack similar to what Manchester City did? At this point I have to give the edge to Chelsea. They are time-tested and a more proven product. Valencia seems to be more of a great story at this point. In a season-long competition, Valencia's depth might gain them more points than Chelsea. But, this is a single game. Give the edge to Chelsea 2-1. Chalk-up one win to the EPL.

#2 Villarreal vs. Manchester United - The bottom line here is Villarreal looks like it has a good chance to win the Europa League and via for a top 4 spot in La Liga, while Manchester United may be Chelsea's only viable contender in the EPL and has a chance to make some noise in the Champion's League, but not necessarily contend to win it. Both teams have a lot of young talent, Nilmar, Giuseppe Rossi, Mateo Musacchio, Jonny Evans, Javier Hernández, Federico Macheda, and Darron Gibson. Villarreal, however, relies more on this talent, particularly up-front and with creating opportunities. At the moment, Manchester United is better at going forward, particularly with Dimitar Berbatov's current form, and Villarreal are better at the back. This is a close one to call, however, Manchester United is doing well enough now to give them a 1-2 win.

#3 Arsenal vs. Barcelona - Well, wouldn't we all like to see this again? Beautiful football takes on gorgeous football. The drama of Cesc-gate played-out on the pitch. Maybe we'll get this in the Champion's League again. Barcelona may still be suffering from a hangover from the World Cup and only having 19 players will hurt them in the grind of the season, but not in a single game against Arsenal. Like last year against Barcelona, the same will happen here: "Arsenal did not get any trophy". Here Barcelona wins 1-3.

#4 Real Madrid vs. Manchester City - Picture the amount of money on display here. And, what would you get? .... one boring negative 0-0 draw that would make you hate life and lock yourself in a dark room for 2 weeks.

#5 Aston Villa vs. Atlético Madrid - Now this is a tasty match-up. A lot of talent here. Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, Stephen Ireland, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Diego Forlán, Simão, Sergio Agüero, Diego Godín, and Tiago. The thing is, Atlético's talent is World Class and there's more of it. They were atop the La Liga table for this reason. Atlético wins 1-2.

#6 Espanyol vs. West Bromwich Albion - Here we got two teams really punching above their weight. West Brom at #6 on the table? Its' only been 6 games, but still. Espanyol is slightly better, but this is a 1-1 draw.

#7 Fulham vs. Sevilla FC - Sevilla is sputtering and sacked their coach. On the other hand, every year there seems to be just such a charming story about the Cottagers. This year they are undefeated after 6 games with 1 wins and 5 draws. Would Sevilla and Fulham draw? I don't think so. A sputtering Sevilla has too much talent not to beat a play-it-safe Fulham. Minus a few minor slip-ups, Sevilla might be sitting near the top of the table. Sevilla wins 1-2. When Sevilla hits their stride later this year this is a big win.

#8 Hercules vs. Tottenham Hotspur - The giant-killers in Spain face a team in the Champions League slipping a little down the table early in the season. All you have to do here is look at the two rosters. The only Hercules player that has a chance to get into Spur's staring 11 is Nelson Valdez. Spurs win 1-3.

#8 Blackburn Rovers vs. Athletic Bilbao - Here are two teams that beat-up you, don't given- up much at the back, and score just enough. Bilbao just does it a lot better and has better talent in World-Cup winners Fernando Llorente and Javi Martínez. Blackburn is punching above their weight right now. The average height in this game would be off the charts for soccer. They look more like two basketball teams. Bilbao wins in an ugly 0-1.

#10 Getafe vs. Newcastle United - Getafe is right where I predicted they would finish in my La Liga preview. That's me patting myself on my back. Newcastle United are probably a little above where we would expect them. Nevertheless, I see two equally stacked sides that will probably play conservative and draw 1-1.

#11 Sunderland vs. Mallorca - Sunderland should beat Mallorca, but they won't. Mallorca, despite selling Aritz Aduriz, Borja Valero, and Mario Suárez to pay debts, continue to overachieve. As a collective Mallorca may be better. If Darren Bent doesn't score, then Sunderland are toast. However, he will score in a 1-1 draw.

#12 Málaga vs. Bolton Wanderers - If this was Bolton on a Monday night, I'd chalk a win to Bolton, but in this comparison we are using a neutral field. This is another game that I'd really like to see. Málaga leads La Liga in scoring with 11 goals from offensive firepower in Eliseu, Rondon, Apono, and Juanmi. But, they have also given up 11 goals in 5 games. Bolton have given-up 10 and scored 9. The talent between these two teams are comparable as well. This is a fun 2-2 draw.

#13 Birmingham vs. Almeria - Do any of you other than supporters of these two clubs really care who would win this one? I kind of do because I have Liam Ridgewell on my fantasy team and Almeria are like a junior-Barcelona. Birmingham has more talent looking at the rosters, but these are two teams not playing really good or bad right now. Draw 1-1.

#14 Osasuna vs. Stoke City - The Candlesticks versus The Little Red Ones These are two teams that are hard to watch that will both finish about 14th-ish in their respective tables. They do enough to overachieve, not get relegated, and draw. This has 0-0 written all over it.

#15 Blackpool vs. Racing Santander - Interesting one here. Two lowly teams not yet in the relegation zone yet. Ton's of orange and green on the field. I'd guess a high-scoring 3-3 draw.

#16 Real Sociedad vs. Liverpool - Let's get real here! If Liverpool can't beat Sociedad, they're probably on the road to relegation. There is a gulf in talent between these teams. It's a good thing this is a hypothetical. Liverpool wins 1-4.

#17 Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Sporting Gijon - Who cares about what would happen in this game? What I want is to hear Mick McCarthy talk about Sporting Gijon. Now that would be entertainment. To hear him talk about Diego Castro, Alberto Botía, Miguel de las Cuevas, and Nacho Novo would be epic. However, the game would be epic as well. Both teams are terrible at the back and Gijon just don't stop attacking. I think this match-up would a goal-festival. But, Gijon will get more and win 3-4.

#18 Levante vs. Wigan Athletic - Ugh. Draw. 1-1.

#19 West Ham United vs. Deportivo La Coruña - What the heck are these two teams doing here? I heard that West Ham is handling-out goals at the mall and Deportivo couldn't kick the ball into a goal even if it was the size of the ocean. This could be the most inept 0-0 draw you would ever see. West Ham would just open-up the goal and Deportivo would shank it time after time in-memorial. 0-0.

#20 Real Zaragoza vs. Everton - What the "eff" is Everton doing here? I know they start slow, but this is ridiculous. If they can't be Zaragoza they should be relegated to League One. Everton win 0-2.

What is our tally? There were 10 draws. The EPL won 5. And, if you can do second grade math, that means La Liga won 5. Looks like we have a tie folks. I know what you are thinking. Come-on Steve! Make a stand! But, if you look at the mid-table teams, there really isn't much of a noticeable difference between the teams to think one would beat the other. My gut tells me this type of exercise will become more decisive as we go through the season. Don't tell me you know who would win between Birmingham and Almeria. Have you seen both play a full game at this point? I haven't seen either.



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