Photo by ISIphotos.com
The 2009 MLS Cup will serve as the marquee match of a busy weekend of soccer on TV.
The LA Galaxy takes on Real Salt Lake on Sunday night in a match that should offer plenty of intrigue and attacking soccer. Before we get to that championship match, soccer fans will be treated with quality tilts from England to Italy, as well as from Mexico, where the playoffs are about to begin.
Here are SBI's Top 10 Matches to Watch this weekend, as well as this weekend's schedule of matches on TV:
SBI's Top 10 Matches to Watch
1. Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake. The MLS Cup Final is a classic story, the big favorite against the underdog. Can Donovan and Beckham lift the cup, or will RSL's Cinderella story continue?
2. Liverpool vs. Manchester City. Two big teams in desperate need of a win square off. Will a loss push Rafa Benitez closer to the door? Will City settle for another draw?
3. Manchester United vs. Everton. Tim Howard faces his former club for the first time since his FA Cup heroics last season.
4. Hull City vs. West Ham United. Could we see Jozy Altidore and Jonathan Spector doing battle? Altidore needs to start getting more minutes, and this could be the match he gets going.
5. Juventus vs. Udinese. Can Juve close any ground on Inter? Udinese is a dangerous club that could pull the upset.
6. San Luis vs. Toluca. Michael Orozco and San Luis will try to pull the upset in the Mexican League playoffs.
7. Schalke 04 vs. Hannover 96. Steve Cherundolo and Hannover play their first match since Robert Enke's death.
8. Fiorentina vs. Parma. Another quality Serie A match-up as the Viola look to secure a Champions League spot in the standings against one of the surprises of the season.
9. Rubin Kazan vs. Zenit St. Petersburg. Okay, so it's really early in the morning, but Zenit has the talent to potentially halt the Rubin Kazan freight train.
10. Sunderland vs. Arsenal. Can the Gunners keep rolling without Robin Van Persie? Can Darren Bent recover from his English national team disappointment?
This Weekend's Soccer on TV
SATURDAY
- 5:45am- Setanta Sports- Rubin Kazan vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
- 7:45am- ESPN2- Liverpool vs. Manchester City
- 9:30am- GolTV- Schalke 04 vs. Hannover 96
- 10am- Setanta Sports- Chelsea vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
- 10am- FSC, FSE- Sunderland vs. Arsenal
- 10am- ESPN360.com- Barnsley vs. Cardiff City
- 12pm- ESPN360.com- Deportivo La Coruna vs. Atletico Madrid
- 12pm- GolTV- CD Tenerife vs. Sevilla
- 12pm- ESPN360.com- Bologna vs. Inter Milan
- 12:20pm- Setanta Sports- Ipswich Town vs. Sheffield Wednesday
- 12:30pm- FSC, FSE- Manchester United vs. Everton
- 2pm- ESPN360.com- Real Madrid vs. Racing Santander
- 2:30pm- FSE- Inter Milan vs. Bologna (Delayed)
- 3pm- Setanta Sports- Auxerre vs. Monaco
- 4pm- GolTV- Atletico Bilbao vs. Barcelona
- 4:30pm- FSE- Fiorentina vs. Parma FC
- 5pm- Setanta Sports- Burnley vs. Aston Villa
- 5pm- FSC- Inter Milan vs. Bologna (Delayed)
- 7pm- FSC- Hull City vs. West Ham United
- 8pm- GolTV- Pereira vs. Medellin
- 8:30pm- Setanta Sports- Birmingham City vs. Fulham (Delayed)
- 10:15pm- Setanta Sports- Burnley vs. Aston Villa (Delayed)
SUNDAY
- 3am- FSC- Perth Glory vs. Sydney FC
- 8:30am- Setanta Sports- Bolton Wanderers vs. Blackburn Rovers
- 8:30am- ESPN360.com- Ajax vs. Heerenveen
- 9am- ESPN360.com- AS Roma vs. AS Bari
- 9am- FSC- AC Milan vs. Cagliari
- 10am- FSE- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wigan Athletic
- 10:30am- ESPN360.com- PSV vs. Heracles
- 11am- FSC- Stoke City vs. Portsmouth
- 11am- Setanta Sports- Saint-Etienne vs. Lorient
- 11:30am- GolTV- Hamburg SV vs. Vfl Bochum
- 12pm- FSE- Stoke City vs. Portsmouth (Delayed)
- 1pm- ESPN360.com- Malaga vs. Real Zaragoza
- 1pm- Setanta Sports-Bolton Wanderers vs. Blackburn Rovers
- 1pm- Univision- San Luis vs. CD Toluca
- 2pm- GolTV- Botafogo vs. Sao Paulo FC
- 2:30pm- FSC, FSE- Juventus vs. Udinese
- 2:45pm- Setanta Sports- Montpelier vs. Lille
- 3pm- GolTV- Osasuna vs. Valencia
- 5pm- FSE- AC Milan vs. Cagliari (Delayed)
- 5pm- FSC- Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wigan Athletic
- 6pm- Galavision, Telefutura- Santos Laguna vs. Morelia
- 7pm- FSE- Juventus vs. Udinese (Delayed)
- 8:30pm- ESPN, ESPN360.com, ESPN Deportes, Galavision, Telefutura- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake (MLS Cup)
- 10pm- Setanta Sports- Manchester United vs. Everton (Delayed)
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Which matches will you be watching? Share your thoughts below.
Go Wolf Eyes Dema! Go LA!
Josh- everything that I’ve seen about that is good news! Hanson’s first goal is to build a better training facility next to or near the stadium. I also love that fact that our ownership group are Utah natives. I think that will increase the local attention more. Which I also believe is one of Hanson’s goals. GO RSL!!!
and Lescott….oh…sorry.
dolo’s knock in the last seconds of the demark game had to be the reason he’s out. hopefully he’s ok.
in better news Jozy got the start for Hull…halftime now and a “cracker of a game”
Kovalenko (Ukraine) would have been a Soviet when he was about 8 years old. He went to high-school in Rochester and was a part of arguably the best college soccer team ever put together at Indiana for three seasons. Go Hoosiers!
I’ll be right there with you.. Even if we had Arteta, Jags, and Pienaar healthy we’d be in for a long day at OT
remember, ESPN360 counts as ESPN. Real Madrid game is on ESPN360.
i’m pretty sure they show EPL games on Saturday mornings [and Monday afternoons if there is a game] and La Liga games on Sundays around noon or after. i’ve seen a few of the La Liga games so i know they exist on ESPN2.
No Cherundolo for Hannover.
You always come up with great stuff I just love your site you are very talented I’ll recommend your site to my friends and family members great job very appreciated..keep it up..
You’re going to stay up all night in hopes of a scoreless draw? Gnarly.
Rubin will be champs with a win!
Come on Bayern vs Leverkusen has to be top ten
i’ve seen this asked a few times but never answered (doesn’t mean it hasn’t been, i just haven’t seen it) they haven’t shown any matches since the first few weeks of the season. i’m not sure why and i’m not sure what the deal was as far as showing the matches. maybe the ratings just sucked. it bums me out as i loved seeing the La Liga matches in HD again after World Sport HD went under when the Zoom networks seized operations.
More news from foxsoccer on why this is a BIG game,
MUNICH (AP) – Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal thinks his job is on the line in Sunday’s game against Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen.
“If we win – and we have to – we’ll have everything again in our hands,” van Gaal said Friday. “The club needs success, but the coach too.”
“If I don’t produce, I will be fired,” van Gaal said. “We are in eighth place, that’s not normal, it can’t be.”
Ives, because of the Lahm/ Hoeness spat I would have included this ESPN360 game.
Sun, Nov 22 9:25AM German Bundesliga Bundesliga – Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Are you at Kells yet?
ives, why do you not post the bundesliga matches that are on espn360? i know they exist!
Is that a picture of the two former Soviets battling it out?
I will be watching my Toffees get crushed by Man United. Yay!
pulling an all nighter to watch the Man City-Liverpool game, Hoping for a 0-0 draw.
Ives, I need your expertise and opinion please. I cannot trust what I am reading in the newspapers. As a concerned RSL fan, I am trying to figure out how selling a stake of the team by the RSL owner to a local developer affects RSL. Is this a common thing in the league for an owner to do, and do you think it is a good or bad thing? Maybe I am making too much of this, but just seems strange of Checketts to sell his pride and joy. Thanks Ives.
(SBI- Josh, look at it this way. Having a partner means having someone with some financial muscle to help you take your business to another level. Checketts will still be a majority owner, but now he’ll have a partner with some cash to help boost RSL, while also helping integrate RSL into whathever development ideas he may have. It would be different if Checketts was selling the whole thing or the majority stake.)
Havent been following this so sorry if it has been answered 1000 times before, but i thought espn2 showed la liga weekly?? not every weekend?
Yep all times are in eastern time
Is that eastern time?
MLS CUP!!!!!