If you are in the mood to watch a bunch of intense rivalries, this is your weekend.
As if the Old Firm clash at midweek wasn’t enough to quench the thirst of fans who relish the chance to see arch-rivals do battle, this weekend brings us several good match-ups that can be considered must-see, even if they aren’t necessarily between table-topping teams.
Here is a rundown of the SBI Top Five Matches to Watch this weekend:
Espanyol at Barcelona. Always an intense and entertaining game, this installment of the Barcelona clasico should be a memorable one.
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund. German Cup Final will be Bayern’s first step toward a potential treble.
Birmingham City at Aston Villa. The Birmingham Derby is one of the more heated rivalries around. You never know when a fan will run out and smack the opposing goalkeeper in the face.
New England at Red Bulls. The I-95 Derby has been pretty one-sided, but it is always good for some good goals.
Kansas City at Chicago Fire. They might be a little far apart to be considered a real derby but these Eastern Conference rivals should deliver a good match-up between two teams who have done well early in the MLS season.
Here is the rest of the weekend’s schedule of games on TV:
SATURDAY
- 7:30am- Setanta USA – Reading at Arsenal
- 9:45am- Setanta USA – Liverpool at Fulham
- 10am- FSC- Tottenham at Wigan
- Noon- FSC- Manchester United at Blackburn
- 2pm- GolTV- Espanyol at Barcelona
- 2pm- Setanta USA- Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (German Cup Final)
- 2:30pm- FSC- Palermo at Fiorentina
- 4pm- GolTV- Almeria at Sevilla
- 4:15pm- Setanta USA- Derby County at West Ham United
- 4:30pm- FSC- Livorno at AS Roma
- 6pm- GolTV- Real Betis at Atletico Madrid
- 6:30pm- FSC- Bolton at Middlesbrough
- 7:30pm- HDNet- New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls
- 9:30pm- FSC- San Jose Earthquakes at Colorado Rapids
SUNDAY
- 7am- Setanta USA- Birmingham City at Aston Villa
- 9am- FSC- Reggina at AC Milan
- 11am- FSC- Portsmouth at Manchester City
- 11am- GolTV- Valladolid at Villarreal
- Noon- Setanta USA- Bordeaux at Tolouse
- 1pm- GolTV- Real Madrid at Racing de Santander
- 2:30pm- FSC- Inter Milan at Torino
- 3pm- Telefutura- Kansas City Wizards at Chicago Fire
- 3pm- Setanta USA- Lille at Marseille
- 5pm- Setanta USA- Sunderland at Newcastle
- 5pm- FSC- River Plate at Rosario Central
- 7pm- GolTV- La Equidad at Once Caldas
I’m pretty bummed that the NY-Rev’s game is on HDNet, I’d definitely be watching that if it was on a channel that I got (or had even SEEN before)
Not sure if we are having a running commentary for Saturday, but Dempsey, McBride, and Keller get the start vs. Liverpool today and Bocanegra makes the bench. Eddie Johnson has been sick, or at least I remember reading that somewhere.
I figure Coppell has nothing to lose. His strikers haven’t scored since December, partly because of poor service so I can see the manager changing those providing the service by putting Little and Convey on the wings and Hunt in the middle. Hunt has been terrific this year but crosses aren’t his strength. Will be interesting.
Galaxy vs Houston 10:30 PM EST Saturday
The 4pm Almeria at Sevilla game will also be shown live and in HD, at VOOM Network’s WorldSport channel.
Plus no one is happy with their playing time unless they get to start and play the whole time or till they are tired.
Convey will probably grab a start especially after how bad they got beat at home by Fulham.
Well…this might be it for Reading and Convey. He was pulled after 60 minutes in the reserves this week which I think means either he is going to start or it’s all over at Reading for him. Of course talking to the press about how unhappy he is not playing might be a factor as well.
Does anyone know where online I can watch the Setanta games? Especially Fulham and Bayern.
This Marmol news is awful. Now every time I read Ives, I’m going to have to slog through the snivelly whining of the RBNY fans tossing off a bunch of paranoia about grudges. Hey – Agoos offered peanuts, and that’s what he got in return.
JCO – thanks for getting Marmol fit for the season! Appreciate you did it on RBNY’s dime! Hopefully he has some good insights on your defensive tactics to share with Klopas and Hamlett.
WHOA! Has anyone read this story?!?!?
Marmol signed with the Fire today?!?
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080418&content_id=151489&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
This is ridiculous….
The Fire game for the locals according to my directtv receiver will also be on channel 50
Speaking of the Fire,
Marmol is flying in to train with a team that actually has the talent and depth to make a legitamate title run.
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/
Is the Red Bull game on MSG or some other New York network? I don’t have HDNet, but I’d like to watch the Revs win again.
Though maybe not quite a rivalry, Palermo have some anger towards Fiorentina from when Fiorentina bought Luca Toni from them a few years ago (which is when Fiorentina started to do well, though since Palermo were willing sellers of the player, I don’t understand why they’re upset). In any case, it should be a good match. Fiorentina finally got a week with no midweek matches so they could rest up, while Palermo seem to have found their direction again.
HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED MARMOL
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2008/04/marmol-travelin.html
Don’t forget the Newcastle-Sunderland rivalry game. It doesn’t matter a bit in the standings, but they dislike each other intensely.