When Manchester United travels to Anfield on Sunday to take on Liverpool, the defending EPL champions will have a very real chance of beating the struggling Reds and pushing Rafa Benitez one step closer to the exit door.
Liverpool has already lost four matches this year in the EPL, and dropped more points in Champions League at mid-week, making Sunday's match a virtual must-win for the under-fire Spanish manager.
Manchester United-Liverpool is the most high-profile meeting in a weekend filled with rivalry match-ups. Boca-River, Chivas-Club America and West Ham-Arsenal are among the most heated rivalries around and you may want to try and catch each one.
Then you have MLS, which comes down to its final weekend with several crucial tilts that will help shape the MLS playoff field, including Chivas USA-Houston and Seattle-FC Dallas.
Here is this weekend's soccer TV schedule, as well as SBI's Top 10 Matches to Watch:
SBI's Top 10 Matches to Watch
1. Liverpool vs. Manchester United. Can Liverpool stop the bleeding and knock off a hated rival to boot? Will Sir Alex put the final knife in his old buddy Rafa?
2. River Plate vs. Boca Juniors. Enough said.
3. Club America vs. Chivas de Guadalajara. Guaranteed entertainment, and the one time you may not mind watching a Mexican team win at Azteca.
4. Fiorentina vs. Napoli. Check out the red-hot Viola go up against a Napoli team featuring Marek Hamsik, who the USA will play against next month.
5. Seattle Sounders vs. FC Dallas. Can the hottest team in MLS win in arguably the toughest stadium to play in as a visitor?
6. West Ham United vs. Arsenal. This London derby should be a tough game for the red-hot Gunners.
7. Chivas USA vs. Houston Dynamo. First place in the West could be on the line if the LA Galaxy don't win on Saturday. And if LA does win? This suddenly becomes a playoff preview.
8. New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC. The last soccer game at Giants Stadium could also be the night Toronto FC clinches its first playoff berth.
9. Tigres vs. San Luis. Edgar Castillo vs. Michael Orozco.
T10. Schalke 04 vs. Hamburg. Jermaine Jones' squad could leap-frog first-place Hamburg with a win in this battle of Bundesliga powers.
T10. Internacional vs. Gremio. If you like watching Brazilian soccer, this Porto Alegre Clasico should be an intriguing one.
This weekend's Soccer on TV
SATURDAY
7:30am- ESPN2- Wolves vs. Aston Villa
9:30am- GolTV- Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
9:30am- Setanta USA- Tottenham vs. Stoke City
10am- FSC- Birmingham City vs. Sunderland
10:55am- ESPN360.com/Galavision- Mexico vs. Switzerland (Under-17 World Cup)
11am- ESPN360.com- Honduras vs. Argentina (Under-17 World Cup)
12:25pm- Setanta USA- Derby County vs. Queens Park Rangers
12:30pm- FSC/FSE- Chelsea vs. Blackburn
2pm- ESPN360.com- Nigeria vs. Germany (Under-17 World Cup)
2pm- ESPN360.com- Brazil vs. Japan (Under-17 World Cup)
2:55pm- Setanta USA- Rennes vs. Montpelier
3pm- GolTV/ESPN Deportes/ESPN360.com- Sporting Gijon vs. Real Madrid
3:45pm- FSC- Inter Milan vs. Catania
5pm- FSC- Burnley vs. Wigan Athletic (Delayed)
5pm- Setanta USA- Hull City vs. Portsmouth (Delayed)
5pm- GolTV- Sevilla vs. Espanyol
6pm- Azteca America- Jaguares vs. Santos Laguna
6pm- Telefutura- Queretaro vs. Cruz Azul
6pm- GolTV- Atletico Mineiro vs. Vitoria
7:30pm- MSG- New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC
8pm- Telefutura- Pachuca vs. Indios
8pm- Telemundo- Tigres vs. San Luis
8:30pm- Direct Kick- Kansas City Wizards vs. D.C. United
9pm- FSC- Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids
10pm- Telemundo- Atlante vs. Atlas
10:30pm- Direct Kick- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes
10:30pm- Direct Kick- Seattle Sounders vs. FC Dallas
2am- FSC- Sydney FC vs. Brisbane Roar
SUNDAY
6:55am- Setanta USA- CSKA Moscow vs. FC Moscow
9:25am- Setanta USA- Bolton vs. Everton
9am- RAI- Fiorentina vs. Napoli
9:30am- ESPN360.com/ESPN Deportes- AZ Alkmaar vs. Ajax
10am- FSC/FSE-Liverpool vs. Manchester United
11am- ESPN360.com- Iran vs. Gambia (Under-17 World Cup)
11am- ESPN360.com- Turkey vs. Burkina Faso (Under-17 World Cup)
11:30am- ESPN360.com- NEC Breda vs. PSV Eindhoven
Noon- Setanta USA- Manchester City vs. Fulham (Delayed)
Noon- FSC/FSE- West Ham United vs. Arsenal
2pm- Telemundo- UNAM Pumas vs. Monterrey
2pm- ESPN360.com/Galavision- Colombia vs. Netherlands (Under-17 World Cup)
2pm- ESPN36.com- Costa Rica vs. New Zealand (Under-17 World Cup)
2pm- FSE- River Plate vs. Boca Juniors
2pm- GolTV- Internacional vs. Gremio
2pm- Setanta USA- Lens vs. Toulouse (Delayed)
3pm- Galavision/Telefutura- Chivas USA vs. Houston Dynamo
3:45pm- FSC- Chievo vs. AC Milan
3:55pm- Setanta USA- Marseille vs. Paris St. Germain
4pm- GolTV- Schalke 04 vs. Hamburg (Delayed)
6pm- ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN360.com- Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution
6pm- Univision- Club America vs. Chivas de Guadalajara
6pm- Azteca America- Puebla vs. Morelia
6pm- FSC- River Plate vs. Boca Juniors (Delayed)
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…and that’s because they said ESPN2 is showing the Barcelona-Real Zaragoza match at 4PM Eastern.
albert Celades announced his retirement and the toronto game will be his last…thanks for nothing just another signing bust from JCO even with him gone he manages to screw over the team one last time this season.
I am prepared to take the Liverpool job.
We will play a 7-3-0 and I will play Torres in central defense due to his speed.
David…actually Englands “fall back” time change is usually 1 week before ours in the US… expect the match to start @ 10am
On ESPN2’s MLS broadcast last night they noted that the starting time for the NE v. Crew was changed to 6PM Eastern.
Is there a time change somewhere on Sunday, Ives? Man Utd vs. Liverpool is at 10am Sunday, Arsenal vs. West Ham is at 12:15pm, and Fulham vs. Man City is at 11am. None of the three times make sense given the day before the times are five hours apart, and Sundays are only four.
(SBI-I had the Man-Liverpool match an hour early–the listing probably included the pre-game coverage–Arsenal-West Ham is scheduled for Noon and Fulham-Man City is being shown on what is apparently a one-hour delay.)
I believe he injured his ankle last week and came off at halftime.
Adu isnt even on the bench for his club team…thats sad. Anyone know if he is injured?