Monday Afternoon/Evening Open Thread

Liverpool supporters still have 24 hours to wait until the League Cup tie with Notts County kicks off, so most will have their focus on Old Trafford and the Manchester United v. Chelsea clash that gets underway shortly. It won't necessarily be the prettiest match of football you'll ever see, but it's a fixture that's never short on storylines and drama. Most notable right now seems to the rumors of a third Chelsea bid for Wayne Rooney, which Jose Mourinho--the great moral compass of our time--has assured would be coming, though only after this match was over. Class, you guys. Look into it. After you're done trying to poke someone's eye out with your thumb, of course.

Real Madrid are set to face Granada in La Liga's only fixture of the evening, but they'll miss out on most of the negative juju for once, with most directing their angst toward the impressive collection--even by Real Madrid's standards--of completely unlikable footballers at Old Trafford. Impressive stuff, as you'd expect from two sides that have dominated the Premier League over the past decade, both in terms of trophies and how much they manage to annoy everyone else.

You can watch the match live on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports Live Extra in the US, while Sky Sports 1 carries coverage in the UK as part of their Monday Night Football coverage. Or not at all, and just shout about other stuff.