A pair of English giants looking to rebound from disappointing performances in the UEFA Champions League headline this weekend's soccer on TV.
Chelsea takes on Liverpool in a battle of EPL powers. Chelsea will be looking to regroup following a disappointing mid-week performance in the UEFA Champions League, and it's shock loss to Wigan last weekend, by beating a Liverpool team still recovering from a 2-0 loss to Fiorentina in mid-week.
Liverpool sits three points back of league leaders Manchester United and Chelsea, but is riding a four-match winning streak in EPL play. It will need a win at Stamford Bridge to avoid falling six points back of the leaders.
Chelsea-Liverpool is just one of several quality match-ups this weekend. Here is a breakdown of SBI's Top 10 matches to watch as well as a full schedule of this weekend's soccer TV viewing options:
SBI TOP 10 MATCHES to WATCH
1. Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Gerrard vs. Lampard. Terry vs. Torres. Essien vs. Mascherano. A star-studded battle that shouldn't be missed.
2. Sevilla vs. Real Madrid. Unbeaten 'Galacticos' face their first truly tough test of the season, taking on Freddie Kanoute and Co.
3. Columbus Crew vs. Seattle Sounders. Subplots galore here with Sigi Schmid making his first return to Columbus and the Sounders needing points against a Crew team undefeated at home.
4. Inter Milan vs. Udinese. Inter's recent stumbles have Jose Mourinho's men in third place. Can they rebound against a dangerous Udinese side?
5. San Lorenzo vs. River Plate. This Buenos Aires derby is always an intense affair, even if they do sit eighth and fourteenth in the Argentine standings.
6. USA vs. South Korea (Under-20 World Cup). Can these American teenagers build on their blowout of Cameroon? We will soon find out.
7. Santos vs. Palmeiras. When these Sao Paulo rivals meet, there are usually fireworks. With Vagner Love and teen sensation Neymar among the participants, this is one you should see.
8. West Ham vs. Fulham. Clint Dempsey has been on good form in recent weeks and he just might be matched up against U.S. teammate Jonathan Spector, a possibility that makes this must-see TV.
9. LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire. If Cuauhtemoc Blanco were playing this match would be higher on the list, but even without him, this battle of second-place teams should entertain.
T10. Roma vs. Napoli. Why is this clash of underachieving Italian teams on the list? We like goals and we think this one will have more than a few quality strikes.
T10. D.C. United vs. Chivas USA. A battle of teams coming off of brutal league results. Chivas USA looks to recover from last week's disappointing draw vs. New York while D.C. tries to erase the memory of it stunning home loss to San Jose.
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER on TV
FRIDAY
12:45pm- ESPN2/ESPN360- USA vs. South Korea (Under-20 World Cup)
12:45pm- ESPN360- Germany vs. Cameroon (Under-20 World Cup)
2:30pm- GolTV- Schalke 04 vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
3:30pm- ESPN360- Uruguay vs. Ghana (Under-20 World Cup)
3:30pm- ESPN360- Uzbekistan vs. England (Under-20 World Cup)
9pm- Galavision- Tecos vs. Atlas
11pm- ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN360- LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire
11pm- FSC- UC Santa Barbara vs. Indiana
3:30am- FSC- Perth Glory vs. North Queensland Fury
SATURDAY
9:45am- ESPN2- Bolton vs. Tottenham
10am- Setanta Sports USA- Wolverhampton vs. Portsmouth
10am- FSC/FSE- Hull City vs. Wigan Athletic
12:15pm- FSC/FSE- Manchester United vs. Sunderland
12:45pm- ESPN360- Hungary vs. United Arab Emirates (Under-20 World Cup)
12:45pm- ESPN360- South Africa vs. Honduras (Under-20 World Cup)
1pm- Setanta Sports USA- St. Etienne vs. Bordeaux
2:40pm- FSC/RAI- Inter Milan vs. Udinese
3pm- Setanta Sports USA- Lens vs. Lyon
3:30pm- ESPN360- Costa Rica vs. Czech Republic (Under-20 World Cup)
3:30pm- ESPN360/Galavision- Australia vs. Brazil (Under-20 World Cup)
4pm- GolTV/ESPN Deportes- Atletico Madrid vs. Real Zaragoza
5pm- Setanta Sports USA-Burnley vs. Birmingham City (Delayed)
5pm- FSC- AS Bari vs. Catania (Delayed)
6pm- Azteca America- Jaguares vs. UNAM Pumas
6pm- Telefutura- Queretaro FC vs. Indios
6:4pm- Setanta Sports USA- Wolverhampton vs. Portsmouth
7:30pm- Direct Kick- Columbus Crew vs. Seattle Sounders
7:30pm- Direct Kick- D.C. United vs. Chivas USA
8pm- Telefutura- Pachuca CF vs. Club America
8pm- GolTV- Cali vs. Nacional
8pm- Telemundo- Chivas Guadalajara vs. Monterrey
10pm- Telemundo- Atlante vs. Morelia
10:55pm- FSC- San Jose Earthquakes vs. New York Red Bulls
SUNDAY
6am- Setanta Sports USA- Lokomotiv Moscow vs. Rubin Kazan
6:30am- ESPN360- Roda JC vs. Ajax
8:30am- Setanta Sports USA- Arsenal vs. Blackburn
8:30am- ESPN360- FC Utrecht vs. PSV Eindhoven
8:55am- FSC/FSE- AS Roma vs. Napoli
9am- ESPN360- Atalanta vs. AC Milan
11am- FSC/FSE- Chelsea vs. Liverpool
11am- GolTV- Sporting Gijon vs. Mallorca
1pm- GolTV- Hertha Berlin vs. Hamburg
1pm- ESPN Deportes/ESPN360- Racing Santander vs. Valencia
1pm- Telemundo- Toluca vs. San Luis
2:40pm- FSC- Palermo vs. Juventus
3pm- GolTV- Sevilla vs. Real Madrid
3pm- Setanta Sports USA- Marseille vs. Monaco
3pm- Telefutura- Houston Dynamo vs. Kansas City Wizards
3:15pm- ESPN360- SC Olhanense vs. FC Porto
5pm- FSE- Puebla vs. Santos Laguna
5pm- GolTV- Santos vs. Palmeiras (Delayed)
5pm- FSC- West Ham vs. Fulham (Delayed)
6pm- FSE- San Lorenzo vs. River Plate
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Which matches are you most looking forward to? Think Sevilla can knock off Real Madrid? Are you hoping Dempsey and Spector do battle?
Share your thoughts below.
and how in the wide wide world of sports does the New York/San Jose game get picked up. are they the worst teams in the league?
(SBI-Obviously the game was picked before the season, back when it was a match-up of an MLS Cup finalist against an up-and-coming second-year team. Things didn’t quite work out that way obviously.)
how can Celtic/Rangers NOT be on???
(SBI-I’m pretty sure that’s always the case in the USA because the money is made on pay-per-view.)
Even if Ives doesn’t hate Chelski, I’ll cover for him — I have enough Chelseaa hate for two men.
AHHHH! I thought Fulham-West Ham were on ESPN 2 this Saturday!?! I am massively disappointed.
Juan C – I wish I could be there! Do the students really fill Harder Stadium? I never saw it when I was a student there.
I’ve recently found myself following Wigan’s results. I think they will be a dark horse this year. Martinez has them playin some attractive football. Rodallega, Thomas, Gomes, Figueroa, Scharner and N’zogbia are pretty formidable players. Once they start clickin it’s gonna get fun.
hard to find a much better slate than what we have this weekend. I agree with JP this weekly post is great. helps me plan my weekend. Lets go Reds! Lets go Sounders!
Totally off topic but…while it is disapointing Chicago didn’t get the Olympics how awesome is it that Brazil will play host to the first South America World Cup in 30 years and the first South American Olympics ever within 2 years of each other?
Barca – Almeria is on ESPN Deportes at 2.
Ives,
There isn’t enough Chelsea hate on this site. Can you please fix that?
I guess Barca-Almeria wasn’t tasty enough
Ives, thanks for doing this entry every Friday.
It’s extremely helpful to myself and the youth teams I coach.
The U-20s are absolutely awful today against the South Koreans. I have to wonder if Rongen is going to do something, because at the half this looks plainly like a disaster. Duka and Arguez have both been very quiet, and Shea’s been nothing short of frustrating. Throw in how bad Williams and Flores have been, and you just can’t make enough subs to make this team look good.
Here’s hoping I’m wrong.
No Barca on GolTV or ESPN this weekend. I’m not liking this new TV arrangement with La Liga so far this season. . . seems like GolTV has less and less quality matches from Spain as well as Germany this season. Hope that network is faring OK. . .
I’m going to be at Harder Stadium for the UC Santa Barbara – Indiana match.
Five year anniversary from their battle at the Home Depot Center for the 2004 NCAA title. It’s definitely going to be an insane atmoshpere.
Ives, why do you hate America? Ok so I’m joking a bit but you are ignoring the USL-1 semi finals going on Sunday. Portland host Vancouver Sunday night at 7est on FSC and the Montreal puerto Rico game is free on usllive.com.
no argument that there have been questions about Chelsea’s form. I just hate seeing them put on the same level as Liverpool’s woeful performance vs. Fiorentina. Then again, I’m biased cuz I really don’t like the ‘pool.
Cheers,
Ugh, tomorrow’s schedule is brutal…
And Mig, I think if you take into account the beating you received from Wigan last weekend, I think it is safe to say that Chelsea’s results in the last week have been a bit disappointing…
world cup and olympics !!! in RIO
is the aston villa v man city game on monday going to be on espn/espn2?
and redknapp is almost gone
Actually Ives, you have always had a slight distaste for Chelsea (or it appears so from a couple years of reading you). And please don’t think I’m criticizing you for that…it IS your blog. I just think that equating two performances when one was a road win to put Chelsea at the top of its group while the other was a loss that puts Liverpool in a bit of trouble is a bit of hatin’ on the Blues.
But that’s just me, a Blues fan, talking.
Kind Regards,
Here are some other games that weren’t listed.
Friday
6:00pm- ESPNU -(women’s NCAA) West Virginia vs. Notre Dame
Saturday
9:55am- Setanta Xtra (DirecTV only)- Burnley vs. Birmingham
Sunday
9:55am- Xtra – Everton vs. Stoke City
IVES
are you gonna have running comentary of the U-20 game?
(SBI-Yes)
I’m hoping Chelsea lose to Liverpool, and then all United has to do is win every single game for the rest of the season and they win the title again! Another one in the bag…
Let’s hope Jozy gets some more time this weekend, and that its the end of Phil Brown.
“A pair of English giants looking to rebound from disappointing performances in the UEFA Champions League”
Ah the Chelsea hate. Liverpool had a disappointing Champions League game…they lost. Chelsea didn’t look good but they won.
(SBI-Mig, Carlo Ancelotti himself expressed disappointment with the performance, therefore, it was a disappointing performance. How is that “Chelsea hate”?)
FYI Ives, West Ham vs. Fulham is delayed as well.
Unreal to me still that this much footy is at our disposal every weekend.