GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs VFL Wolfsburg (9:30 AM ET/Fox Sports 1)
The big game of the Bundesliga comes tomorrow, but this clash of two Champions League participants is big for both the league and the two sides involved. Gladbach have finally dragged themselves out of the Bundesliga relegation zone, but still have ways to go if they hope on replicating their success of a year ago. They come off a crushing defeat in the UCL to Manchester City as a Joe Hart master class in goalkeeping mixed with a dodgy penalty allowed Sergio Aguero to send the Foals home pointless by the score of 2-1. Wolfsburg were done in by the same score to the red side of Manchester as Chris Smalling put home Juan Mata's clever flick. Wolfsburg still sits fourth in the table, but have dropped points in their last two games in the league. The first was of course that Robert Lewandowski-induced reversal of fortune two weeks ago. They also could only muster a draw last week against bottom of the table Hannover. Gladbach on the other hand have won their last two, which also happens to be their first two wins of 2015-16. It all comes down to the better team (Wolfsburg) against the in form team (Gladbach) and in that case I always hedge my bets with a draw. Not a yawner here, but I think the two teams will share the spoils.
PREDICTION: Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 Wolfsburg 2
SPANISH LA LIGA
UD Las Palmas vs SD Eibar (4:00 PM ET/beIN Sports 4)
Oh look, Eibar's on the picks again. I can't get enough of the plucky underdog in La Liga. They were a Iago Aspas goal away from breaking into the European spots last week as they drew with Celta Vigo. Now they get to take on another team who've wrong Barcelona. While Celta Vigo embarrassed the Catalan gods, Las Palmas did something much worse. The newly promoted club put the league's, and possibly the world's, most popular player on the sidelines as Lionel Messi tore his MCL against them. Eibar can exact revenge for Barca fans across the globe today by pummeling Palmas. Striker Borja is in tremendous form for Eibar, scoring all three of their goals over the last two games. I think he'll make it three games in a row today against the Yellows. Yellows is a fitting name for the team from the Canary Islands because they don't really try to come at you in attack. To be honest they really don't even try to score on the counter. Their goals usually come from nothing and they always seem content to play a nil-all draw. Well, I just won't have that here. I've picked only one 0-0 draw since I started these picks and was sick to my stomach for doing so. Go on you Gunners! Viva Eibar!
PREDICTION: Eibar 2 Las Palmas 0
ITALIAN SERIE A
Carpi FC 1909 vs Torino FC (12 NOON ET/beIN Sports)
Much stink was made in the calcio community about a team like Carpi being granted promotion into Serie A. Their home stadium upon their promotion only held a little over 4,000 fans (4,144 to be exact) and they were viewed as a dredge to potential TV sponsors and rights purchasers. Now in Modena's Stadio Alberto Braglia, the team that had never even been in Serie B before last year searches for their first Serie A victory today against Torino. Torino has only improved after their breakout 2014-15, which saw them make the round of 16 in the Europa League. It was their best run in Europe since losing in the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) final all the way back in 1991-92. Sporting what should have been the winner in Sirius XM FC's kit competition, Torino is currently third in the table behind Fiorentina and Internazionale. They can go top with a win over Carpi. No matter how much I want a team with a tremendous rags to riches story like Carpi to stay up, I just can't see them getting their first W of the season off of The Bull. There will just be too much of the old (Fabio Quagliarella) and the new (Daniele Baselli) from Torino for the little guys to handle.
PREDICTION: Torino 2 Carpi 0
FRENCH LIGUE 1
Angers SCO vs SC Bastia (2:00 PM ET/beIN Sports 6)
No matter how much it angers me as a French loather, it is impossible for me to deny the influx of French talent infiltrating the sport of football throughout Europe. Paul Pogba of Juventus, Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid, Karim Benzema of Real Madrid, and Hugo Lloris of Spurs are some of the huge names across the continent who ply their international trade for Les Bleus. Teams are always looking to France for the new crop of young talent, much like the way Manchester United splurged on Monaco's Anthony Martial. Don't expect any of that from today's game between Angers and Bastia. Angers has punched way above their weight thus far in the Ligue 1 season and are only on the outside of the Champions League picture on goal differential. Midfielder/defender Thomas Mangani has been the talisman for the side that won promotion from Ligue 2. He has three goals and two assists on the season with one of each coming in a shock win against previously unbeaten Marseille last week. For Bastia, they could have a promising future star in Francois Kamano. However, two petulant red cards and a broken foot have even the most optimistic of talent evaluators looking elsewhere. This one smells like another draw on the day.
PREDICTION: Angers 1 Bastia 1
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
West Ham United vs Sunderland AFC (10:00 AM ET/USA Network)
Break up the Hammers! West Ham United have the chance to go top of the league (although Man City may beat them to it) with a win against Sunderland this morning. New head man Slaven Bilić has the lost team of London in third as of this writing and is playing entertaining football, an adjective that could never have been used during the Sam Allardyce era at the club. Dimitri Payet, my current Player of the Year thus far, has been a bargain signing for West Ham and one that probably couldn't have been wooed to the Premiership without Bilić's influence. He leads an all out assault on goal featuring last year's leading scorer Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyaté. They've beaten Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City already this season and have shaken off the effects of a long summer. No such joy has been felt in 2015-16 for the Black Cats of Sunderland. Dick Advocaat's men sit rock bottom in the Premier League with just two points from their first seven games with one of those coming from fellow relegation battlers Aston Villa. Sunderland has done wonders to avoid the drop in the past, but unless they strike gold in the January transfer window and sack Advocaat in the process, no such magic will come in this campaign. Hammers go to at least second today, depending on whether Man City can right their EPL wrongs against Sunderland's neighborly cellar dweller Newcastle.
PREDICTION: West Ham 3 Sunderland 0
Enjoy the day's games wherever you are and be sure to come back tomorrow for my picks to supplement your NFL football with some European football. Crack open a beer and have at it.