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Soccer Saturday: Your Running Commentary

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If AC Milan is going to turn its surprising start to the Series A season into a full-blown title challenge, then the Rossoneri will need to beat Juventus to close the gap.

The Italian rivals square off in Milan, with Juventus currently holding a five-point lead atop Serie A. The match will feature the old guard and new guard, as Gianluigi Buffon and Gianluigi Donnarumma face off.

In England, Bob Bradley will make his home debut as Swansea City manager, with the Swans playing host to Watford. Bradley suffered defeat in his Premier League debut last week, but will look to start the climb up the standings with a win today.

In Spain, FC Barcelona travels to Valencia in a promising La Liga clash. Barca is fresh off a 4-0 humbling of Manchester City in UEFA Champions League play, and needs a win to start the climb back toward the top of the league standings.

If you will be watching today’s soccer action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (here is today’s Soccer TV schedule):

SATURDAY SOCCER ON TV

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

10 a.m. — NBCSN/NBC Sports Live Extra — Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough

10 a.m. — CNBC — Swansea City vs. Watford

10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Burnley vs. Everton

10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Hull City vs. Stoke City

10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Leicester City vs. Crystal Palace

10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — West Ham United vs. Sunderland

12:30 p.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra/NBC Universo/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Liverpool vs. West Bromwich Albion

SPANISH LA LIGA

10:10 a.m. — beIN Sports — Valencia vs. FC Barcelona

GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

9:30 a.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — FC Ingolstadt vs. Borussia Dortmund

9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer Plus/Fox Deportes/Fox Soccer 2Go — Bayer Leverkusen vs. Hoffenheim

9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Hertha Berlin vs. Cologne

9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Darmstadt 98 vs. VfL Wolfsburg

9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Freiburg vs. FC Augsburg

12:30 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach

ITALIAN SERIE A

12:15 p.m. — beIN Sports — Sampdoria vs. Genoa

2:40 p.m. — beIN Sports — AC Milan vs. Juventus

MEXICAN LIGA MX

6 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Cruz Azul vs. Puebla

8 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Querétaro vs. Club América

8 p.m. — Univision — Monterrey vs. Toluca

10 p.m. — Univision Deportes/Galavision — Club León vs. Morelia

NASL

7 p.m. — One World Sports — New York Cosmos vs. Miami FC

7:30 p.m. — beIN Sports en Espanol/beIN Sports Connect — Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Ottawa Fury

7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Carolina RailHawks vs. Minnesota United

NCAA MEN

7 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Wright State vs. Cleveland State

7 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — East Tennessee State vs. Furman

7 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Monmouth vs. Canisius

7 p.m. — ACC Network/WatchESPN — North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech

7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Northern Kentucky vs. Detroit

7:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — UNC Greensboro vs. Wofford

11 p.m. — Fox Sports Prime Ticket — UC Santa Barbara vs. Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo

NCAA WOMEN

1 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Canisius vs. Monmouth

1 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Cleveland State vs. Green Bay

3 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Youngstown State vs. Milwaukee

4 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Wright State vs. Illinois-Chicago

4:30 p.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Northern Kentucky vs. Detroit

MEXICAN LIGA MX

6 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Cruz Azul vs. Puebla

8 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Querétaro vs. Club América

8 p.m. — Univision — Monterrey vs. Toluca

10 p.m. — Univision Deportes/Galavision — Club León vs. Morelia

PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA

3:30 p.m. — Univision Deportes — FC Porto vs. Arouca

SCOTTISH LEAGUE CUP

7:15 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Greenock Morton vs. Aberdeen

Comments

    • But Wynalda is the only one of those who actually played in a top 4 league, right? Ligue 1 is 5th/6th depending on how you rate it compared to the Eredivisie. 1-4 is clearly La Liga, Bundesliga, Premier League, and Serie A.

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      • Checked it out on Wikipedia. Wynalda’s first year in the Bundesliga he did well enough to be voted newcomer of the year. Apparently, his club was relegated because the next two seasons he was in 2 Bundesliga, so he didn’t play 3 years in a top 4 league. But, you are right in that France is generally considered 5th best. Off the top of my head, outfield US players who have started consistently at least 3 years in a top 4 league include McBride, Dempsey, Cameron, Bradley, J Jones, F Johnson, Brooks, Thomas Dooley, Reyna, Bocanegra. I’m probably forgetting one or two players, but it isn’t a long list (while Spector was in the EPL longer than 3 years, I don’t think he was a consistent starter for that long). When you think about it, Cameron actually has one of the best records for starts among US players, something that has probably escaped the attention of most people.

      • Gary- I feel ya. For some context: Wynalda doesn’t like bedoyas talent and laments him often. Last night on Eric’s show he mentioned that MLS needs to make players like kljestan and nagbe millionaires instead of investing in the older vets from Europe.
        I then tweeted him pointing out that if they deserve millions then so does bedoya; pointing out a discrepancy in his statements. U can’t think nagbe dwarves a million over a player that started on France three seasons and was a club fan favorite. Club fans don’t make favorites out of just anyone.

        Overall I just find Eric’s overt hate for bedoyas playing a bid odd and he refuses to admit his bias.

        For he record I like all three (nagbe kljestan and bedoya) and think they deserve millions in MLS perhaps. But of all the three bedoya deserves it most imho. So you can’t say only the two deserve it and a better player doesn’t without acknowledging a bias– which he still didn’t do lol

        Never change Eric…

  1. Sigurdsson just missed a good chance off the post on a pretty nice counter. Swans have looked good on the break but with Watford generally putting numbers behind the ball, they haven’t had too many chances in that category.

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  2. I guess the Coach has a lot of confidence in this kid. I see the transfer price soaring. He is a really scrappy player and a reliable one.

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    • I don’t think manager confidence or transfer price are important issues anymore. He’s a pretty much a first choice starter at this point (rested today, I think, with Gotze in the first 45 but on as soon as the match was in jeopardy). He’s starting for what is probably one of the top 10 sides in the world. He’s in a perfect situation for his development with a side and a manager that perfectly suits him and I’d be heartily disappointed if he were transferred anywhere, including Barca. Just my opinion.

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      • Not sure if BvB is a top 10 side in the world right now…..but they are a very good team loaded with a lot of young talent. If they can keep these young attackers together and upgrade the defense a bit they should be a team that can contend for years to come.

        I don’t think Pulisic is going anywhere anytime to soon. He isn’t a finished product yet, so as he improves over the next 2-3 yrs. the transfer price is going to just keep raising. As an 18 yr old he’s already getting offers of $11-15M. By the end of the season that price is going to be around $20. If the US does well in the WC and CP plays a major role I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the 30M range. It’s worth it for CP and BvB to wait the 18 months to cash in big.

      • Lost in space what are your ten teams certainly better than Dortmund.

        The 3 la liga teams, Bayern, arsenal, Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool… So which other two teams are certainly better than Dortmund? I’ll give u City if U want. That puts Dortmund at 10. I wouldn’t say any Italian team is better at this current moment imho

      • I would say they’re absolutely top 10 when it comes to their attacking talent. They just suck at defending after long spells of possession. So where Pulisic is concerned the top 10 label is fair, but overall they might be on the fringe of the top 10. When they were solidly places as the #2 team in the Bundesliga it was fair to say they were a top 10 team in the world, but right now as banged up as they are they’ve slipped a bit.

        But, and this is coming from a person who feels CP is currently the US’s best player, he is not in BVB’s full strength best eleven. He’s a steady choice at the moment because that team is riddled with injuries throughout their midfield, but I still would say that if Dortmund makes the CL knockouts and Schurrle, Sahin, Reus are all back healthy CP will be back to his rotational position with Mor, Dembele (who may overtake one of those other spots ahead of Pulisic and I’d rate him slightly higher on talent), and co.

      • Yeah, ESPNFC had them in the top 10 most of the season, but they’ve dropped out in the last couple weeks. They’re top 15-20 at least. I think they’ll be top 10 by season’s end. With their young talent and depth, they’re poised for a good run in the UCL.

      • @ DLOS –
        They may not be “certainly better than Dortmund”, but I would say that they are a number of clubs that are equal to them. Outside of club giants Bayern M, Barca, & RM there are few clubs that are clearly better than any of the other table leaders from the big 5 leagues.

        Man U, Man C, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Paris SG, Monico, PSV, Ajax, Juventus, and BVB are all fairly close to one another talent wise. All have good coaches, have a good recent history, and are competitive on multiple competition fronts. IMO it comes down to what style of play you prefer.

        I’d say BVB’s offence is top 10 right now….but their defense drops the team rating a bit. Until BVB can defend better I have a hard time calling them a top 10 team. Just my opinion.

  3. BB’s team seems to be having much the better of the action. The Swans sat back through the first 20 minutes and looked organized but are now pressing the action and have been on the front foot for most of the day. They’re pressing and winning the ball well but don’t seem to have much of an idea how to break down the numbers that Watford is putting behind the ball.

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      • Being finally in the EPL I guess now he can afford some fancy duds for a change. I’ve thought for a while that Mark Hughes is one of the best dressed managers. How did BB look?

  4. Just another day at the office for CP22 with an assist and a 90th minute equalizer in 45 minutes. All despite the ref oddly allowing Ingolstadt to knock him around and down to the pitch at will, but nothing seems to be able to stop the gritty, little winger. He’s got something special, alright.

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  5. cameron, brooks starting; guzan, gooch, morales, pulisic on bench (ingolstadt already 2-0 up on dortmund!); no carter-vickers today.

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