Before the English Premier League season began, if you were told a team from Liverpool would be sitting in the top four at the end of October the natural inclination would have been to think that Liverpool was off to strong start, and not perennially slow-starting Everton.
Things have changed this season, with the Toffees off to a red-hot start to the season. They take on a struggling Liverpool side currently sitting 12th in the table in the latest installment of the Merseyside Derby. A win against their rivals could catapult the Blues closer to the top, while also potentially creating some distance between them and London clubs Tottenham and Arsenal.
The biggest game of the weekend features the current top two teams in England, as Chelsea tries to add to their current four-point lead on Manchester United. The Red Devils know securing all three points at Stamford Bridge won’t be easy, but a point is a must for Alex Ferguson’s side.
Here is a rundown of This Weekend’s Soccer on TV (and SBI’s Top Ten Matches to Watch):
SBI’s TOP TEN MATCHES TO WATCH
1. Chelsea vs. Manchester United. First place in the Premier League is on the line in this classic can’t-miss match-up.
2. Everton vs. Liverpool. The Merseyside Derby goes to Goodison Park, where Tim Howard and the Toffees look to keep their fast start to the season going against a Reds squad still looking for its stride.
3. Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United. These Eastern Conference rivals are already in the playoffs, but they’re playing for the No. 2 seed (and for a chance to avoid the wild card round).
4. Roma vs. Udinese. Michael Bradley’s team is one of these teams that just doesn’t play boring games, and while Udinese is having a disappointing year, this one could be a goal fest.
5. Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes. The Timbers aren’t making the playoffs, and San Jose has already secured the Supporters Shield, but Chris Wondolowski’s chase for the MLS goal-scoring record will make this a match worth watching.
6. Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona. Can you remember the last Barcelona game that didn’t have some drama and great goals? Right, we can’t either.
7. Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls. The Red Bulls are playing for a chance to avoid the wild card round while the Union are a young team with players trying to impress head coach John Hackworth one last time before a busy off-season.
8. Aston Villa vs. Norwich City. Currently on the fringe of the relegation zone, Aston Villa can climb away from danger with a win against a Norwich City side not too far ahead of them in the table.
9. Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders. The Galaxy might choose to rest some players ahead of the Western Conference wild card round, but this regular season finale should a wide-open match.
10. Manchester City vs. Swansea. With their Champions League dreams fading fast, City must avoid a letdown against a dangerous Swansea side, especially with Chelsea and Manchester United facin off.
THIS WEEKEND’S SOCCER ON TV
(all times Eastern Time)
FRIDAY
2:30pm- GolTV- Augusburg vs. Hamburg
2:45pm- Univision Deportes- Saint Etienne vs. Rennes
2:45pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Motherwell vs. Hibernian
SATURDAY
7:45am- Fox Soccer Channel- Aston Villa vs. Norwich City
9:30am- GolTV- Freiburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
10am- Fox Soccer Channel- Arsenal vs. Queens Park Rangers
10am- Fox Soccer Plus- Reading vs. Fulham
10am- FoxSoccer2Go- Stoke City vs. Sunderland
10am- FoxSoccer2Go- Wigan Athletic vs. West Ham United
10am- FoxSoccer2Go- Celtic vs. Kilmarnock
10am- beIN Sport- Espanyol vs. Malaga
11am- Univision Deportes- Lille vs. Valenciennes
11:30am- GolTV- Schalke vs. Nurnberg (Delayed)
Noon- beIN Sport- Siena vs. Palermo
Noon- beIN Sport en Espanol- Real Betis vs. Valencia
12:30pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Manchester City vs. Swansea City
1:30pm- NBC- Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls
2pm- beIN Sport en Espanol- Celta Vigo vs. Deportivo La Coruna
2pm- Univision Deportes- Nancy vs. Paris St. Germain
2pm- MLS Direct Kick- Montreal Impact vs. New England Revolution
2:45pm- RAI- AC Milan vs. Genoa
3:30pm- ESPN3.com- Gil Vicente vs. Benfica
4pm- beIN Sport USA- Rayo Vallecano vs. Barcelona
4pm- NBC Sports Network- Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United
6:30pm- beIN Sport- AC Milan vs. Genoa (Delayed)
6:30pm- NBC Sports Network- Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes
8pm- beIN Sport USA- Real Betis vs. Valencia (Delayed)
8pm- MLS Direct Kick- Real Salt Lake vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
8pm- MLS Direct Kick- Colorado Rapids vs. Houston Dynamo
SUNDAY
6:30am- ESPN Deportes/ESPN3.com- Feyenoord vs. Ajax
7:30am- RAI- Catania vs. Juventus
8:30am- ESPN3.com- Zwolle vs. PSV Eindhoven
9am- Univision Deportes- Lorient vs. Ajaccio
9:30am- ESPN2/ESPN3.com- Everton vs. Liverpool
10am- beIN Sport en Espanol- Bologna vs. Inter Milan
10am- beIN Sport- Fiorentina vs. Lazio
10:3am- GolTV- Stuttgart vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
11am- FoxSoccer2Go.com- Newcastle United vs. West Bromwich Albion
11am- Fox Soccer Plus- Southampton vs. Tottenham
Noon- Fox Soccer Channel- Chelsea vs. Manchester United
Noon- beIN Sport- Bastia vs. Bordeaux
12:30pm- GolTV- Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen
2pm- beIN Sport- Real Zaragoza vs. Sevilla (Delayed)
3:15pm- ESPN.com- Estoril vs. Porto
3:45pm- RAI- Roma vs. Udinese
4pm- MLS Direct Kick- Columbus Crew vs. Toronto FC
4:30pm- beIN Sport- Mallorca vs. Real Madrid
6:30pm- beIN Sport- Marseille vs. Lyon (Delayed)
7pm- Galavision- FC Dallas vs. Chivas USA
9pm- ESPN, ESPN3.com- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders
What is RAI?
An Italian network, been around forever. Not everyone gets it, but it’s out there.
Uhh – Boca v River?
I love your top 10 games to watch lists to go along with the games of the weekend. Great addition.
Three games on NBC/NBCSN and one on ESPN.
Seems like NBC is happy with the TV contract, adding games even ?
I hope so, I enjoy the games on that channel better than any. I hope the playoffs are mainly there.
I understand this is your personal list, but curious why you are more interested in City vs Swansea and Villa vs Norwich than either in Marseille vs Lyon or Leverkusen vs Munich…? Marseille vs Lyon is #2 vs #3….Leverkusen vs Munich is #5 vs #1…and all historically good clubs. (I imagine it might be that Fox is showing those EPL mid-table thrillers). Anyway, just curious.
Both those games are definitely worthy of being on the list, both ahead of the City-Swansea match, but I’m not sure either of those games is really catching the eye of American fans. Marseille-Lyon doesn’t have the sizzle it had a few years ago and how many people are clamoring to watch Leverkusen play? Most weeks I probably do add those two matches, just not this week. Villa starts two USMNT players (when Lichaj starts) so it’s not really tough to figure out why that game would be on the list ahead of the others.
OK.
Is beIN available in the US on Comcast (or Xfinity)?
I believe that Comcast has a deal with BeIn Sports, but I am not sure if you would need to get one of their premium packages. I cannot get a cable provider that carries BeIn Sports and, thus, I cannot watch from home La Liga, USMNT road games, and several other European top leagues. I wish ESPN and/or FoxSoccerChannel were more aggressive in their bidding for the TV rights so that fans like me could watch World’s top players like Ronaldo, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Castillas, etc.
Did beIN give the rights of serie a to rai?