Not much has troubled Chelsea in the Premier League this season, but looking back at the Blues’ results thus far, a 3-0 loss at the hands of Arsenal stand out as one of the lone sore spots of their campaign.
Three first-half goals by the Gunners in that September 2016 match slowed down the momentum of Antonio Conte’s squad, but only briefly. With 23 league matches under the belt for both sides and a nine-point gap separating the two, the showdown this Saturday at Stamford Bridge can prove to be a make-or-break momentum for both clubs.
Should Arsenal repeat its feat from the first meeting, second-place Tottenham — who also trails Chelsea by nine points — has a chance to put some pressure on the leaders as well with a home win over Middlesbrough.
Fourth-place Liverpool and fifth-place Manchester City can also tighten the race with wins over Hull City and Swansea City, respectively.
In France, a top-of-the-table clash will take place between Monaco and Nice. Both sides currently possess 49 points atop Ligue 1 and the match will pit Monaco’s league-best offense against Nice’s league-best defense.
Third-place Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, can keep pace with a road win over Dijon.
The Spanish La Liga will feature Real Madrid on the road against Celta de Vigo and Barcelona at home against Athletic Bilbao. The Italian Serie A, on the other hand, will have Juventus taking on Inter Milan to headline its weekend action.
Internationally, the United States will wrap up its current camp with a match against Jamaica, while the African Cup of Nation draws to a close on Sunday.
Here is a rundown of all the soccer action on TV this weekend:
FRIDAY
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
2:30 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Go/Fox Deportes/Fox Soccer 2Go — Hamburg SV vs. Bayer Leverkusen
SPANISH LA LIGA
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Deportivo La Coruña vs. Real Betis
FRENCH LIGUE 1
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Metz vs. Marseille
MEXICAN LIGA MX
10 p.m. — Azteca America — Veracruz vs. Chiapas
ENGLISH LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports Connect — Wigan Athletic vs. Sheffield Wednesday
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
7:30 p.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go/UniMás/Univision Deportes/Univision NOW — United States vs. Jamaica
SATURDAY
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
7:30 a.m. — NBCSN/NBC Sports Live Extra/NBC Universo/NBC Universo NOW/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Chelsea vs. Arsenal
10 a.m. — NBCSN/NBC Sports Live Extra/NBC Universo/NBC Universo NOW/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Hull City vs. Liverpool
10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Southampton vs. West Ham United
10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Crystal Palace vs. Sunderland
10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Everton vs. Bournemouth
10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — Watford vs. Burnley
10 a.m. — NBC Sports Live Extra — West Bromwich Albion vs. Stoke City
12:30 p.m. — NBC Sports Live/NBC Universo/NBC Universo NOW/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Tottenham vs. Middlesbrough
SPANISH LA LIGA
7 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Málaga vs. Espanyol
10:15 a.m. — beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao
12:30 p.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Atlético Madrid vs. Leganés
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Valencia vs. Eibar
ITALIAN SERIE A
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports Connect — Bologna vs. Napoli
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
9:30 a.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — Bayern Munich vs. Schalke 04
9:30 a.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — Hoffenheim vs. Mainz 05
9:30 a.m. — Fox Sports Go/Fox Deportes/Fox Soccer Plus/Fox Soccer 2Go — Hertha Berlin vs. FC Ingolstadt
9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Freiburg
9:30 a.m. — Fox Soccer 2Go — Cologne vs. VfL Wolfsburg
12:30 p.m. — Fox Sports 2/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — Borussia Dortmund vs. RB Leipzig
FRENCH LIGUE 1
11 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — AS Monaco vs. Nice
2 p.m. — beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports Connect — Dijon vs. Paris Saint-Germain
2 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Bordeaux vs. Stade Rennes
2 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Lille vs. Lorient
2 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Montpellier vs. Bastia
2 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Guingamp vs. Caen
PORTUGUESE PRIMEIRA LIGA
3:30 p.m. — Univision Deportes — FC Porto vs. Sporting CP
MEXICAN LIGA MX
6 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Cruz Azul vs. Querétaro
8 p.m. — Azteca America — Morelia vs. Club América
8 p.m. – Univision/Univision Deportes/Univision NOW — Tigres UANL vs. Toluca
8:06 p.m. — Galavision/Univision NOW — Club León vs. Tijuana
10 p.m. — ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN — Necaxa vs. Monterrey
10:06 p.m. – Univision/Univision Deportes/Univision NOW — Guadalajara vs. Santos Laguna
AUSTRALIAN A-LEAGUE
3:50 a.m. — ESPN3/WatchESPN — Melbourne Victory vs. Melbourne City
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
7:15 a.m. — Fox Sports Go/Soccer Plus/Fox Soccer 2Go — Motherwell vs. Heart of Midlothian
SUNDAY
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
8:30 a.m. — NBCSN/NBC Sports Live/Telemundo/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Manchester City vs. Swansea City
11 a.m. — NBCSN/NBC Sports Live/Telemundo/Telemundo Deportes en Vivo — Leicester City vs. Manchester United
SPANISH LA LIGA
6 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Sevilla vs. Villarreal
10:15 a.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Sporting Gijón vs. Deportivo Alavés
12:30 p.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect —Real Sociedad vs. Osasuna
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports en Español/beIN Sports Connect — Celta de Vigo vs. Real Madrid
ITALIAN SERIE A
6:30 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — AC Milan vs. Sampdoria
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Atalanta vs. Cagliari
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Pescara vs. Lazio
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Genoa vs. Sassuolo
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Empoli vs. Torino
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Chievo Verona vs. Udinese
Noon — beIN Sports Connect — Palermo vs. Crotone
2:45 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Juventus vs. Inter Milan
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA
9:30 a.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer 2Go — FC Augsburg vs. Werder Bremen
11:30 a.m. — Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports Go/Fox Deportes/Fox Soccer 2Go — Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Darmstadt 98
FRENCH LIGUE 1
9 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Toulouse vs. Angers
11 a.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Nantes vs. Nancy
3 p.m. — beIN Sports Connect — Saint-Étienne vs. Lyon
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS
2 p.m. — beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports Connect — Egypt vs. Cameroon (final)
MEXICAN LIGA MX
1 p.m. — Univision/Univision Deportes/Univision NOW — Pumas UNAM vs. Pachuca
7 p.m. — Univision Deportes — Puebla vs. Atlas
SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE
7:30 a.m. — Fox Sports Go/Fox Soccer Plus/Fox Soccer 2Go — St. Johnstone vs. Celtic