There are few rivalries as intense as the Milan Derby, and this weekend's installment should be even better than usual.
You have Zlatan Ibrahimovic facing his former club wearing enemy colors. You have the battle for first place in Serie A (at least the battle to be closest to streaking Lazio). You have Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o continuing their own rivalry. Name it, and Milan-Inter has it.
Serie A has the best menu of match-ups this weekend, with Napoli-Lazio and Juventus-Roma also serving as enticing battles on the Italian calendar.
If you're into La Liga, you can't do much better than Barcelona facing Villarreal. England gives us Everton against Arsenal, while the MLS playoffs will offer American fans a pair of compelling match-ups as well.
Here are SBI's Top Ten Matches to Watch, as well as This Weekend's Soccer on TV:
SBI'S TOP 10 MATCHES TO WATCH
1. Inter Milan vs. AC Milan. Milan Derby always has enough sizzle, but with the battle for first place in Italy so wide-open, this one is even more important.
2. Barcelona vs. Villarreal. Not just to teams chasing Real Madrid, but also Jozy Altidore's chance to face a world powerhouse.
3. Los Angeles Galaxy vs. FC Dallas. Some will call the Western Conference final the real MLS Cup Final as MVP candidates and the two best remaining MLS playoff teams do battle.
4. Everton vs. Arsenal. Tim Howard will look to help the Toffees upset a strong Gunners squad.
5. Lazio vs. Napoli. Some of the best young talent in Europe will be on display in this one. Hernanes, Lavezzi, Hamsik just some of the stars on the billboard.
6. Juventus vs. Roma. Another tasty Italian clash you're going to want to at least TIVO to enjoy at your discretion.
7. Colorado Rapids vs. San Jose Earthquakes. As if the Cinderella storylines weren't enough, there could be snow for this one.
8. Aston Villa vs. Manchester United. Brad Friedel looks to shut down an inconsistent, and in many cases sick, United Squad.
9. Corinthians vs. Cruzeiro. Two of the top teams in the Brazilian Campeonato face off with a chance to close ground on first-place Fluminense.
10. Necaxa vs. Pachuca. The Tuzos need a win to secure a playoff berth. Yes, Americans Jose Torres, Marco Vidal and Herculez Gomez in a playoff-deciding match. You'll want to watch.
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV
TONIGHT
9:10pm- Azteca America- Necaxa vs. Pachuca
SATURDAY
7:45am- ESPN2/ESPN3.com- Aston Villa vs. Manchester United
9:30am- ESPN3.com- Schalke 04 vs. Wolfsburg
9:30am- GolTV- Stuttgart vs. Werder Bremen
10am- Fox Soccer Channel- Manchester City vs. Birmingham City
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- Newcastle vs. Fulham
10am- FoxSoccer.tv/Fox Soccer Plus- Tottenham vs. Blackburn
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- West Ham vs. Blackpool
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- Wigan vs. West Bromwich Albion
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- Wolverhampton vs. Bolton
12pm- FoxSoccer.tv/Fox Soccer Plus- Fiorentina vs. Cesena
12pm- DirecTV- Athletic Bilbao vs. Almeria
12:20pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Reading vs. Norwich City
12:30pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Liverpool vs. Stoke City
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Bordeaux vs. Nancy
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Brest vs. Sochaux
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Marseillve vs. Lens
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Monaco vs. Arles
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Montpellier vs. Toulouse
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Valenciennes vs. St. Etienne
2pm- GolTV- Atletico Madrid vs. Osasuna
2:45pm- ESPN3.com/Fox Soccer Channel- Juventus vs. Roma
3pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Caen vs. Lille
4pm- ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes- Barcelona vs. Villarreal
4pm- GolTV- Corinthians vs. Cruziero
5pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Newcastle vs. Fulham (delayed)
6pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Wigan vs. West Bromwich Albion (delayed)
6:20pm- GolTV- Santa Fe Bogota vs. Atletico Huila
7pm- Fox Sports Deportes- Cruz Azul vs. San Luis
8pm- Telefutura- Santos Laguna vs. Estudiantes Tecos
9:30pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Colorado Rapids vs. San Jose Earthquakes
9:45pm- Telemundo- Atlas vs. Tigres UANL
SUNDAY
1:00am- Fox Soccer Channel- Melbourne Heart vs. Brisbane Roar
6:30am- ESPN3.com/Fox Soccer Plus- Lazio vs. Napoli
8:30am- ESPN3.com- AZ Alkmaar vs. Ajax
9:00am- FoxSoccer.tv/Fox Soccer Plus- Everton vs. Arsenal
9:00am- Fox Soccer Channel- Palermo vs. Catania
9:00am- ESPN3.com- Sampdoria vs. Verona
11:00am- Fox Soccer Plus- Milwall vs. Sheffield United
11:00am- GolTV- Real Zaragoza vs. Sevilla
11:00am- DirecTV- Hercules vs. Real Sociedad
11:00am- DirecTV- Racing Santandor vs. Espanyol
11:00am- ESPN3.com- Mallorca vs. Deportivo La Coruna
11:00am- FoxSoccer.tv- Auxerre vs. Rennes
11:00am- FoxSoccer.tv- Lorient vs. Paris St. Germain
11:10am- Fox Soccer Channel- Chelsea vs. Sunderland
1:00pm- Azteca America- Morelia vs. Puebla
1:00pm- Telemundo- Toluca vs. Atlante
1:00pm- GolTV- Sporting Gijon vs. Real Madrid
1:00pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Tottenham vs. Blackburn (delayed)
2:45pm- ESPN3.com/Fox Soccer Channel- Inter Milan vs. AC Milan
3:00pm- ESPN3.com- Valencia vs. Getafe
3:00pm- FoxSoccer.tv/Fox Soccer Plus- Lyon vs. Nice
3:15pm- ESPN3.com- FC Porto vs. Portimonense
5:00pm- GolTV- Fluminense vs. Goias
5:30pm- Telefutura- America vs. Pumas UNAM
7:00pm- Fox Sports Premium- Newell's Old Boys vs. Racing Santander
9:00pm- ESPN2/ESPN3.com- Los Angeles Galaxy vs. FC Dallas
10:00pm- GolTV- Bayern Munich vs. Nuremberg (delayed)
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What matches are you most looking forward to?
Share your thoughts on this weekend's schedule in the comments section below.
Ronaldinho is looking old these days huh?
ESPN2 only shows La Liga matches on Sunday outside of College Basketball season, so usually some weekends in September and October, since they have time to fill with no NFL, and will pick it up again in mid to late March, after the college b-ball season ends. At that, it’s usually only Real or Barca matches, since those get decent enough ratings to justify in those timeslots.
Also, ESPN doesn’t purchase the rights, they get sublicensed matches from GolTV, who own the La Liga rights. The matches they get (3 a week) all get shown on Deportes, so it’s not like they aren’t used.
nevermind. Stindl is starting again.
ESPN Gamecast says they have 4 defenders with Duff playing LB?
For Aston Villa? Or the USMNT?
Holden with an assist and a goal in a 10 minute span.
Bradley has scored, M’Gladbach up 2-0. Beasley is also slated to start for Hannover today according to their website.
1min a few days ago. maybe 3mins today. Maybe next week even more. By January maybe he’s a starter.
are Fulham playing a 3-5-2?
Dempsey is playing in center midfield today?
Good for him. I’m excited to see him against South Africa. I guess Ives slept in today. Lol
Lichaj entering for Albrighton with 2 mins + change left.
Holy Cow. Macheda with a rocket in the 80th minute. Looking forward to a barn burner
Aston Villa with constant pressure. 2 shots off the Man U post within 2 mins and now a penalty slammed into the net by Ashley Young. AV is the better side today and although you can argue the penalty call they certainly deserve to be ahead.
MLS games for all the marbles !!!
I know SBI isn’t really ranking these as much as giving us 10 great games, but those are the two must see games of the weekend.
WE ARE VERY LUCKY, to have such a great league that is getting better by the day.
No one’s saying that San Jose or Colorado have no chance. Given the way the regular season went, it’s just a completely fair statement to say that LA and FC Dallas are possibly the two best remaining teams.
Word. Totally understand why one would put some of the other games ahead of those two, but for me…MLS=most enjoyable to watch
What’s Fox Sports Premium? I wanna watch Newell’s vs Racing.
#1. LA Galaxy vs. Dallas
#2. Quakes vs. Colorado
MLS baby!!! wooo! great to see the level of play improve so much since i first saw the SJ Clash game in ’96!
i of course want an ALL – CALIFORNIA final!
Hmmm…maybe it’s because the Galaxy and FC Dallas were the 1st and 3rd best team in the playoffs, and Colorado and SJ were the 7th and 8th.
Exactly…LA and Dallas have proven to be the better teams over the season and in the playoffs…
They used to show La Liga games on Sundays last year I don’t know what happened.
The comment is completely fair based on the regular season and playoff performances of the teams involved. Colorado and San Jose are in good form and capable of winning the title, but are certainly the third and fourth picks.
What an insulting comment for fans of the Rapids or the Earthquake. Just because neither team hails from a large market they get no respect what-so-ever. It really is a shame.
It would be absolutely foolish to call LA-Dallas the real MLS Cup final. LA split the season series with Colorado and tied one and lost the other to San Jose. Dallas tied Colorado both times and beat and tied San Jose.
Sure, I’d favor LA to win MLS Cup if they were to advance, but I wouldn’t say it was a foregone conclusion. If Dallas advances, it’s probably a tossup. All four teams are playing great soccer right now and are capable of winning the title.
The skies have opened up and blessed me with ESPN3 via Xbox Live. However, I still cannot believe that ESPN purchases the rights to these Barca games and does not air them on ESPN2. Unbelievable, leave them with GolTV and let the masses enjoy.