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This Weekend’s Soccer on TV (& SBI’s Top Ten Matches to Watch)

CisseChelsea (Getty Images)

Even though Newcastle finished ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League table last season, Chelsea's UEFA Champions League title pushed Newcastle into the qualifying rounds of the Europa League instead of automatic entry into the group stage. The Magpies can exact a bit of revenge at Stamford Bridge in their high-profile matchup in England on Saturday, a rematch of the meeting between the two clubs last year in which Papiss Cisse scored one of the goals of the year.

The Bundesliga and Serie A seasons get underway as well to complete the restarts around Europe, with defending German champion Borussia Dortmund facing Werder Bremen Friday and defending Italian champion Juventus starting their defense against Parma on Saturday.

Hoping to catch some Americans abroad? There are a pair of intriguing matchups featuring U.S. men's national teamers going up against each other, as Steve Cherundolo's Hannover 96 meet Jermaine Jones' Schalke, and Jose Francisco Torres' Pachuca square off with Herculez Gomez' Santos Laguna.

As for MLS, the playoff hunt continues, with the Montreal Impact facing a golden opportunity to close the gap in the Eastern Conference on fifth-place D.C. United when the two meet at Stade Saputo Saturday afternoon. The games of the weekend take place Sunday night, with the L.A. Galaxy facing red-hot FC Dallas, and Sporting Kansas City meeting the New York Red Bulls with first place in the East on the line.

Here is this weekend's soccer on TV, and SBI's Top Ten Matches to Watch:

SBI'S TOP TEN MATCHES TO WATCH

1. Chelsea vs. Newcastle. Two teams who will be battling for Champions League spots all season, and two teams coming off season-opening victories.

2. Liverpool vs. Manchester City. City is riding high after last week's late comeback, while Liverpool will look to erase memories of ugly opening loss.

3. Sporting Kansas City vs. New York Red Bulls. Battle for first place in the East should be an intense one, even without Thierry Henry.

4. Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna. Herculez Gomez and Jose Torres face off in what should be an entertaining tilt.

5. Manchester United vs. Fulham. First-place Fulham (yes, we know, for now) takes on a United side in dire need of a victory after opening the season with a loss.

6. Tottenham vs. West Brom. Spurs started with a loss while the Baggies opened with a big win. Can Andres Villas Boas work some magic in his home managerial debut?

7. Corinthians vs. Sao Paulo. The 'Classico Majestoso' pits these two Sao Paulo-based clubs in a good battle of top Brazilian clubs.

8. Chivas Guadalajara vs. Monterrey. Another good Mexican league clash. You may not like the Mexican national team, but the Mexican League offers up some quality action.

9. Osasuna vs. Barcelona. It's Barcelona. Need any other reason?

10. LA Galaxy vs. FC Dallas. Red-hot Dallas needs a win to close the gap on the Galaxy, while LA needs a victory to close in on the Top Three in the Western Conference.

(Remember folks, this list is just a recommendation from us for our readers. It's not means to be a literal ranking of the quality of the games available, just our take on the games we think our readers will either be most interested in, or might be most entertained by.)

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THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV

FRIDAY

2:30 p.m. – GOLTV – Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen

2:40 p.m. – beIN Sport – Evian TG vs. Lyon

7 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Michigan vs. South Florida

7:30 p.m. – NBC Sports Network – Philadelphia Union vs. Real Salt Lake

9:45 p.m. – GOLTV – Universidad de Guadalajara vs. Dorados

SATURDAY

7:30 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN3.com – Swansea City vs. West Ham

7:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus – Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs. Celtic

9:30 a.m. – GOLTV – Gruether Furth vs. Bayern Munich

10 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Manchester United vs. Fulham

10 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer2Go – Tottenham vs. West Brom

10 a.m. – FoxSoccer2Go – Aston Villa vs. Everton

10 a.m. – FoxSoccer2Go – Norwich City vs. Queens Park Rangers

10 a.m. – FoxSoccer2Go – Sunderland vs. Reading

10 a.m. – FoxSoccer2Go – Southampton vs. Wigan Athletic

10 a.m. – beIN Sport – Blackburn vs. Leicester City

12 p.m. – beIN Sport – Fiorentina vs. Udinese

12:30 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Chelsea vs. Newcastle

12:30 p.m. – GOLTV – Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayer Leverkusen

2:40 p.m. – beIN Sport – Juventus vs. Parma

2:45 p.m. – GOLTV – Stuttgart vs. Wolfsburg

3 p.m. – Univision Deportes – Valenciennes vs. Ajaccio

4 p.m. – MLS Live/Direct Kick – Montreal Impact vs. D.C. United

4:45 p.m. – GOLTV – Defensor Sporting vs. Nacional

5 p.m. – beIN Sport – Malaga vs. Mallorca

5:30 p.m. – Univision – America vs. Tijuana

5:30 p.m. – Telefutura – Pachuca vs. Santos Laguna

5:30 p.m. – Univision Deportes – Tigres UANL vs. Toluca

5:30 p.m. – ESPN3.com – Vasco de Gama vs. Fluminense

7 p.m. – ESPN3.com – North Carolina vs. Gardner-Webb

7:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick – Columbus Crew vs. New England Revolution

8:30 p.m. – MLS Live/Direct Kick – Houston Dynamo vs. Toronto FC

10:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick – San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids

10:30 p.m. – MLS Live/Direct Kick – Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

10:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick – Chivas USA vs. Seattle Sounders

SUNDAY

3:10 a.m. – ESPNU/ESPN3.com – South Korea vs. Brazil (U-20 Women's World Cup)

6:10 a.m. – ESPNU/ESPN3.com/Univision Deportes – Mexico vs. New Zealand (U-20 Women's World Cup)

8 a.m. – beIN Sport – Montpellier vs. Marseille

8:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Stoke City vs. Arsenal

10:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Liverpool vs. Manchester City

10:30 a.m. – ESPN3.com – Groningen vs. PSV Eindhoven

11 a.m. – beIN Sport – Paris St.-Germain vs. Bordeaux

11:30 a.m. – GOLTV – Hannover 96 vs. Schalke

1 p.m. – beIN Sport – Osasuna vs. Barcelona

1 p.m. – Univision Deportes – Pumas UNAM vs. Cruz Azul

1:30 p.m. – GOLTV – Cruz Azul Hidalgo vs. Estudiantes Tecos

3 p.m. – beIN Sport – Getafe vs. Real Madrid

3 p.m. – GOLTV – Corinthians vs. Sao Paulo

5 p.m. – beIN Sport – Valencia vs. Deportivo La Coruna

6 p.m. – Telemundo – Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Monterrey

6:15 p.m. – GOLTV – River Plate vs. San Lorenzo

6:30 p.m. – Univision Deportes – Atlante vs. Atlas

7 p.m. – NBC Sports Network – Los Angeles Galaxy vs. FC Dallas

9 p.m. – ESPN2/ESPN3.com – Sporting Kansas City vs. New York Red Bulls 

Comments

  1. Hey Ives,

    One too many at Village Whiskey last nite? :-). You know I had to go with chef Garces.

    How bout we fire up the ‘Running Commentary’.

    Cheers

    Reply
  2. Thanks for doing the top 10 list; I will try to catch seven of these matches. We are watching South Florida vs. Michigan right now.

    Reply
  3. I am surprized that Real Madrid game did not make it into top 10 to watch and that Barcelona game barely made it at No. 9. I guess SBI thinks watching Messi and Ronaldo would be less interesting than watching West Brom. As for EPL games, I am surprized that Arsenal/Stoke did not make the list – the game will offer a big contrast in playing styles, plus there’s an outside chance that Cameron will play.

    Reply
  4. Pulis will make a game-time decision based on his fitness level.

    Side note: Couple of sources on Twitter stating that Edu is en route to Stoke for a medical/contract discussion now that their loan move for Huddlestone fell through.

    Reply
  5. True on all counts and I definitely understand. I couldn’t resist yapping about it and my intent is comparable to a good natured ribbing. Hopefully Bordeaux will suck Sundday but knowing their track record against PSG, it will be a hell of a match.

    Reply
  6. Before Martin “Darth Vader” Jol’s vicious public attack on Clint Dempsey I would have been pulling for Fulham to kick Man U’s you-know-what. But now I am hoping Fulham gets demolished just so I see the look on Jol’s face.

    Reply
  7. I’m hopeful that United are will still be working out the kinks in adding RVP to the squad and that we’ll be able to nick a result. COYW

    Reply
  8. I have an idea…because they literally tell you at the end of the article…

    “(Remember folks, this list is just a recommendation from us for our readers. It’s not means to be a literal ranking of the quality of the games available, just our take on the games we think our readers will either be most interested in, or might be most entertained by.)”

    Reply
  9. I like the Fulham v ManPoo match because we can see how far they’ve progressed compared to the big boys. Beating Norwich 5-0 at home doesn’t prove much.

    Reply
  10. Seriously, how do you not have PSG X Bordeaux in your top 10 matches? Historically this tends to be a good match to watch and hopefully the Mighty PSG will beat the Bordeaux then drink the fine wine they make afterwards to celebrate.
    :O)
    P.S.
    Ok, I have no idea what SBI’s criteria is for determing a top 10 match.

    (SBI-It almost made the cut, but Bordeaux isn’t as strong as past years and most American fans haven’t embraced Ligue 1 yet, even with PSG’s spending.)

    Reply

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