Clash of the Titans!

After an uninspiring week of Champions League that featured beatdown after beatdown after pathetic beatdown, it's time to return our attention to domestic play this week and there is no better place to start than with the best team in all of football, FC Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians used a modest 35-0 advantage in shots to destroy Czech foes Viktoria Plzen.  Star Arjen Robben said afterward: “We played well, but Plzen didn’t make it hard for us. We’ll soon face more difficult opponents.”

Well that time is Saturday at the Allianz Arena against another team holding a Champions League place in fourth-place Hertha BSC - the team that hails from the capital of Berlin and that is also the official German club of United States-based sports information powerhouse STATS, where several employees proudly display Hertha memorabilia.

The Berliners have been praised by none other than Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who predicts a more competitive affair than Wednesday. Hertha manager Jos Luhukay, known best among American fans for previous coaching U.S. superstar Michael Bradley, has instituted an airtight defense that has shipped the third-fewest goals in the country and features ex-Bayern 'keeper Thomas Kraft.

On attack, Hertha are dangerous thanks to the 'Tunisian terrors' - Sami Allagui and Anis Ben-Hatira - while Bayern feature European player of the year Franck Ribery and other big-name players too numerous to list.

The Bayern camp have been surprisingly respectful about their opponents this week, with Pep Guardiola saying he is 'surprised' by Hertha's strong start.

It figures to be an interesting matchup and one that should live up to its billing as more competitive than Wednesday.

Prediction:   Bayern Munich 3, Hertha BSC 0

The truth about Jermaine Jones

So the United States has said that Jermaine Jones will be available for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers this month against Jamaica and Panama. This came after the Schalke 04 madman told German rag BILD that he would be out at least a month due to knee surgery after the club suspended him from Tuesday's Champions League trip to Basel. Jones later retracted that claim on Twitter, but Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies was said to be furious. 

In any case, it is clear that the lunatic Jones has has no future at Schalke, according to the Rheinische Post. As usual, these are troubled times at Schalke, who have six points from two European matches but just eight from seven in Germany to languish in 14th place - fitting for a club that has gone through 14 coaches in the last decade with Jens Keller currently occupying the hot seat.

Some are suggesting Jones is a scapegoat for Schalke, but here's some food for thought about what the darling of US coach Jurgen Klinsmann is doing for his club.

Jones has started five of seven league games for Schalke. The Royal Blues have surrendered 16 goals in those starts. The other two matches, you ask? Clean sheets against Leverkusen (one of the league's highest scoring teams) and Mainz. It goes without saying that had Jones started every league match Schalke would have shipped the most goals in Germany - a direct reflection on what a 'destroyer' like Jones is supposed to prevent.

No, Jones has earned his place on the bench on merit and if he is in the team this weekend, don't expect him to start. What this means for the United States national team remains to be seen, but you can be rest assured that Klinsmann will figure something out since he has masterminded some of this country's greatest footballing moments.