After a week that saw a flurry of moves all over Europe, including deals taking place at the last minute, soccer will return to the pitch instead of the in the office for the weekend. With the summer transfer window closed, rosters are now finalized for the time being, with many formidable teams improving their rosters. Some players such as Clint Dempsey, Scott Sinclair, Dimitar Berbatov, and others could be making their debut for their new clubs as soon as this weekend.
There are plenty of intriguing matchups taking place in the Premier League, specifically with Liverpool hosting Arsenal on Sunday. After a draw with Manchester City last weekend, manager Brendan Rodgers is still looking for his first win with his new club. Not to be outdone, a rematch of the amazing 2011 season finale between Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers will take place at Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Across the pond in America, the playoff races are beginning to heat up, with quite a few intriguing matchups taking place over the next few days. The Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew will look to continue their ascent up the standings as they face off against each other on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Whitecaps will look to stop the bleeding in Los Angeles against the Galaxy on Saturday, as they look to halt a three-game losing streak. Currently they hold the last spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
If you're looking to catch some Americans Abroad, Dempsey will join his new London club, as Tottenham hosts Norwich City at White Hart Lane. He joins fellow American, goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Newcomer Geoff Cameron will welcome Maurice Edu to Stoke City, as the Potters take on Wigan Athletic.
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV
FRIDAY
9:30pm – NBC Sports – Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids
SATURDAY
7:45 am-ESPN2/ESPN3 - West Ham United vs. Fulham
9:30am- GolTV– Nuremberg vs. Borussia Dortmund
9:30am– beIN Sport 2- Werder Bremen vs. Hamburger SV
10am- FOX Soccer Channel– Tottenham vs. Norwich City
10am- FOX Soccer Plus– West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton
10am- FOX Soccer2go– Wigan Athletic vs. Stoke City
10am- FOX Soccer2go– Celtic vs. Hibernian
10 am– beIN Sport- Celta de Vigo vs. Osasuna
11am- Univision– Olympique Lyon vs. Valenciennes
Noon- beIN Sport– Torino vs. Pescara
12:30pm- FOX Soccer Channel– Manchester City vs. Queens Park Rangers
12:30pm- GolTV– Fortuna Dusseldorf vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach
2pm- Univision Deportes– Ajaccio vs. Evian TG
2:30pm- NBC– U.S. Women's National Team vs. Costa Rica
2:45pm- beIN Sport– Bologna vs. AC Milan
4:30pm- FOX Soccer Channel– Swansea City vs. Sunderland (tape delay)
6:30pm- beINSport– Sochaux vs. Montpellier
7:30pm- MLS Direct Kick– New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union
7:30pm- MLS Direct Kick– Columbus Crew vs. Montreal Impact
7:55pm- Telefutura– Santos Laguna vs. Tigres
8pm- FOX Soccer Channel– Tottenham vs. Norwich City (tape delay)
8pm- beIN Sport– Deportivo La Coruna vs. Getafe (tape delay)
8pm- Univision Deportes– Monterrey vs. Atlas
8:30pm- MLS Direct Kick– Sporting Kansas City vs. D.C. United
9pm– MLS Live/Direct Kick- Real Salt Lake vs. DC United
10pm- MLS Direct Kick– LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
10pm- Univision Deportes– San Luis vs. Leon
Midnight- beIN Sport– Bastia vs. Saint Etienne (tape delay)
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SUNDAY
6am- beIN Sport– Rayo Vallecano vs. Sevilla
6:30am- ESPN3– Vitesse Arnhem vs. Feyenoord
8am- Univision Deportes/beIN Sport– Bordeaux vs. Nice
8:30am- FOX Soccer Channel– Liverpool vs. Arsenal
8:30am- ESPN3– PSV Eindhoven vs. AZ Alkmaar
9:30am- GolTV– Wolfsburg vs. Hannover 96
10am- beIN Sport– Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Valladolid
10:30am- ESPN3– Heerenveen vs. Ajax
11am- FOX Soccer Channel– Southampton vs. Manchester United
11am- FOX Soccer Plus– Newcastle vs. Aston Villa
11am- Univision Deportes– Marseille vs. Rennes
11:30am- GolTV– Bayern Munich vs. Stuttgart
NOON- beIN Sport– Udinese vs. Juventus
1pm- Univision– Toluca vs. Club America
1:50pm- beIN Sport– Real Madrid vs. Granada
2:45pm- RAI– Inter Milan vs. AS Roma
3pm- Univision Deportes– Lille vs. Paris St. Germain
3pm- GolTV– Internacional vs. Flamengo
6pm- Telemundo– Chivas Guadalajara vs. Puebla
3:30pm- beIN Sport– Barcelona vs. Valencia
5:30pm- beIN Sport– Napoli vs. Fiorentina (tape delay)
7pm- Galavision– Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo
7pm- MLS Direct Kick– FC Dallas vs. Seattle Sounders
7:30pm- beIN Sport– Lille vs. Paris St. Germain
9pm- NBC Sports Network– San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chivas USA
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What do you think of this weekend's selection of matches? Which match are you most looking forward to? Who do you see winning the Arsenal-Liverpool clash?
Share your thoughts below.
I wish I could watch Liverpool vs. Arsenal, but I’m working Sunday morning. I set a recording on my Hopper so I can see how the match goes when I get home. The 2,000 hours of hard drive space makes it easier to record games I can’t see live TV. My coworkers at Dish suggested that I make the upgrade since I like recording a lot sports and it’s been a good choice. I don’t think the game will be a scoreless shutout, maybe Liverpool is finally due a win against the Arsenal!
how come the fulham west ham was not listed?
You´re missing Pachuca/Cruz Azul, Saturday 6 PM, Azteca America and Fox Deportes
I’m now predicting a ridiculously high scoring game.
7-5 Liverpool.
It’s always nice to see a Portland game to get fired up about the MLS weekend. Best American sports crowd anywhere.
Finally MLS games on Friday Night….Own it NBC!!!
Falcao is on tear he and Atletico Madrid destroyed Chelsea today to win the Super cup. Anyone that believes the Spanish league is just like the Scottish League used be just isn’t paying attention there are talented teams beyond Barca and Real its just those 2 clubs have been on a whole other level lately.
Tonight’s Rapids-Timbers match is at 10:30 PM Eastern, not 9:30.
Thank you
lol im totally watching arsenal vs liverpool. gonna be a spectacular scoreless draw