As if Chelsea-Liverpool needed any more drama to make it a must-see encounter, having Fernando Torres make his Chelsea debut against the very Liverpool side he just left days ago makes this one a can't-miss match and the headliner in a loaded weekend of soccer action.
The uncomfortable reunion also happens to be a seriously important match for both sides, with Chelsea trying to stay in the title race and Liverpool trying to climb back into the picture. Liverpool will be calling on newly-signed Luis Suarez to show Torres what he left behind.
Chelsea-Liverpool is far from the only top-quality match this weekend. In Italy, Inter Milan and Roma square off, while in Spain you'll see an incredible collection of attacking talent when Barcelona faces Atletico Madrid.
So what matches should you be watching this weekend? Here is a rundown of This Weekend's Soccer on TV, as well as SBI's Top Ten Matches to Watch:
SBI'S TOP 10 MATCHES TO WATCH
1. Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Fernando Torres faces off against Liverpool. Talk about drama and a match you can't miss.
2. Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid. Barca will be heavily favored, but Forlan and Aguero give Atletico a puncher's chance.
3. Inter Milan vs. AS Roma. Expect a fierce battle as both teams enter needing points to close the gap on AC Milan in Serie A.
4. Aston Villa vs. Fulham. Michael Bradley's Villa debut could come against Clint Dempsey's side. Last time Bradley and Dempsey played against each other? Try MLS in 2005.
5. Tottenham vs. Bolton. Stuart Holden and Wilson Palacios could give us a Gold Cup preview battle as Tottenham tries to crack the top four and Bolton looks to rebuild its own race for a European spot.
6. Argentina vs. Brazil Under-20s. This CONMEBOL Under-20 clash is one of those games you'll want to record and watch again in five years to see all the superstars you caught an early glimpse of.
7. Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke 04. You know how Barcelona is a team you must watch every chance you get? Well, Borussia Dortmund is one of the most exciting young teams in Europe and should face a good test from Schalke.
8. Palmeiras vs. Corinthians. Ronaldo may be on the verge of retiring, and Roberto Carlos may be feeling his age as well, but Corinthians/Palmeiras is still a quality Brazilian clash.
9. Tigres vs. Santos Laguna. Top two teams in Mexico right now square off with first place on the line, and it will be a chance to see how Jonathan Bornstein is coming along with his new club.
10. Olympique Lyon vs. Bordeaux. Yes, Paris St. Germain-Rennes is a match-up of teams higher in the standings, but Lyon-Bordeaux always has fireworks.
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV
FRIDAY
2:30pm– GolTV- Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke 04
2:45pm– Fox Soccer Plus- Reading vs. Queens Park Rangers
8:30am– Azteca America- Necaxa vs. Morelia
SATURDAY
7:45am– ESPN2- Stoke City vs. Sunderland
9:30am– ESPN3.com- FC Cologne vs. Bayern Munich
10am– Fox Soccer Channel- Newcastle United vs. Arsenal
10am– Fox Soccer Plus- Manchester City vs. West Bromwich Albion
10am– FoxSoccer.tv- Aston Villa vs. Fulham
10am– FoxSoccer.tv- Everton vs. Blackpool
10am– FoxSoccer.tv- Tottenham vs. Bolton
10am– FoxSoccer.tv- Burnley vs. Norwich City
Noon– Fox Soccer Plus- Udinese vs. Sampdoria
Noon– DirecTV- Almeria vs. Espanyol
Noon– DirecTV- Osasuna vs. Mallorca
12:30pm– Fox Soccer Channel- Wolverhampton vs. Manchester United
12:30pm– ESPN3.com- Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. VfB Stuttgart
1pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Brest vs. AS Nancy Lorraine
1pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Caen vs. Lorient
1pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Lens vs. Valenciennes
1pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Montpelier vs. Saint Etienne
1pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Nice vs. Sochaux
1:45pm– ESPN3.com- PSV Eindhoven vs. ADO Den Haag
2pm– GolTV- Villarreal vs. Levante
2pm– Fox Soccer Plus- Burnley vs. Norwich City (Delayed)
2:45pm– Fox Soccer Channel- Cagliari vs. Juventus
3pm– FoxSoccer.tv- Stade Rennes vs. Paris St. Germain
4pm– GolTV- Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid
4pm– Fox Soccer Plus- Everton vs. Blackpool (Delayed)
6pm– Fox Soccer Plus- Tottenham vs. Bolton (Delayed)
6pm– Azteca America- Cruz Azul vs. Jaguares
6pm– Telemundo- Monterrey vs. Pachuca
6:15pm– GolTV- Deportes Tolima vs. Santa Fe
8pm– Galavision- Santos Laguna vs. Tigres UANL
8pm– Telemundo- Chivas Guadalajara vs. Atlante
8:30pm– GolTV- Boyaca Chico vs. Once Caldas
10pm– Telefutura- San Luis vs. Estudiantes Tecos
1am– Fox Soccer Channel- Newcastle Jets vs. Sydney FC
SUNDAY
6:30am– Fox Soccer Plus- Bologna vs. Catania
8:15am– FoxSoccer.tv- Swansea City vs. Cardiff City
8:30am– Fox Soccer Plus- West Ham United vs. Birmingham City
9am– ESPN3.com- Lazio vs. Chievo Verona
9am– ESPN3.com- Napoli vs. AC Cesena
9am– FoxSoccer.tv- Genoa vs. AC Milan
9am– ESPN3.com- Lecce vs. Palermo
10:30am– Fox Soccer Plus- Swansea City vs. Cardiff City (Delayed)
11am– Fox Soccer Channel- Chelsea vs. Liverpool
11am– ESPN3.com- Sevilla vs. Malaga
11am– FoxSoccer.tv- Auxerre vs. Lille
11am– FoxSoccer.tv- Toulouse vs. Monaco
11:30am– GolTV- SC Freiburg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
1pm– ESPN3.com- Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad
1pm– Telemundo- Toluca vs. Atlas
1pm– Azteca America- Puebla vs. UNAM Pumas
2:45pm– Fox Soccer Channel- Inter Milan vs. AS Roma
3pm– GolTV- Valencia vs. Hercules
3pm– Fox Soccer Plus- Olympique Lyon vs. Bordeaux
3:15pm– ESPN3.com- Vitoria Setubal vs. Benfica
3:30pm– ESPN3.com- Ecuador vs. Colombia (CONMEBOL Under-20 Championships)
5pm– Fox Soccer Channel- Genoa vs. AC Milan (Delayed)
5pm– GolTV- Palmeiras vs. Corinthians (Delayed)
5pm– Univision- Club America vs. Queretaro
7pm– ESPN3.com- Uruguay vs. Chile (CONMEBOL Under-20 Championships)
9pm– ESPN3.com- Argentina vs. Brazil (CONMEBOL Under-20 Championships)
————–
Which matches are you most looking forward to watching?
Share your thoughts below.
Bradley didn’t even make the bench for AV.
Is anyone else having some minor problems with FoxSoccerTV?
Nevermind. Found it. Yay!
What is the new extension?
plus there are no guarantees that MB will even play.
haha good one, that made me laugh
Kenny miller bagged a brace for Bursaspor in his debut 2-1 win. Hope Jozy can get out of the block as well.
If you’re not paying attention, Michael Hoyos is U-20 Argentina’s No. 10. And he’s had a pretty darn good tournament.
I thought the Old Firm was this weekend, no?
Tigres and Santos are 1st and 2nd in group 1, they are 7th and 8th in the general table.
Not that the table means much going into matchday 5, it’s quite early.
I will point out that Tigres barely pulled out a win at home against almost certain to be relegated Necaxa, and barely tied Querétaro(currently 2nd in line for relegation) on the road. They did have a nice road win at América.
(Information can be verified at http://www.femexfut.org.mx)
And we never heard from RedStateJim again….
“a puncher’s chance”
I thought the term was punter’s chance…
no love for the HSV vs FC St. Pauli derby on sunday? it’s gonna be intense!
I have the same top 4. I hope to catch the Dortmund v Schalke play-by-play right now online.
Is anyone else angry that Fox bought all these rights to EPL games but lacks the channels to show them to anyone?
I pay my cable bill for access to Fox and I pay extra for the extended sports channels, but in order to see 80% of the games they have the rights to they want me to pay $15 per month and watch in low-d on my computer?
Come on, that’s pretty outrageous.
I don’t see how they could possibly be profiting from that arrangement. I know there’s a lot of demand for the games involving the bigger name teams they put on FSC, the mythical FS+, and extremely rarely on FSN, but how can they afford to keep all those other games online and distribute them to essentially no one?
ESPN’s contract is for the early games. If that is the early game, then what are they supposed to do? Play a FIFA 11 match between AV and Fulham?
All three of them like it.
Because FSC’s job is to get the most viewers, which will (almost always) consist of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or a combination of the three.
I’m disappointed as well, but it’s not their job to appease us USMNT fans.
you should write ESPN, or call them or something, and let them in on that little secret. I’m sure it hasn’t occurred to them.
there will be loads of Reds supporters there. believe me that.
BTW what do BMG fans think of Bradley’s loan?
I really wish Comcast would get with the program and get FSC in HD. It is hard to watch games in standard definition on big screen tvs.
Agree. I seem to remember reading that they negotiate with FSC to broadcast a few EPL games (correct me if I’m wrong, though), so it could just be the terms of their contract.
FSC is awesome (and as a soccer fan, it’s worth every penny of my cable bill), but I agree–if the average American is going to get into EPL soccer, it’s most likely going to be through ESPN just by virtue of the fact that more people get it in their home. It’d be nice if the games that they showed were actually the good ones.
Now that I get ESPN3, I appreciate those games being in the list. With my ‘top-notch’ cable provider, the ESPN games are the only ones that I can (legally) see.
So I’m with EA, just filter out the channel names with a .com or .tv at the end.
If ESPN is trying to sell the EPL to Americans as the highest level of soccer available, then they need to pick some more entertaining games.
Plus, Stoke seems to be on ESPN2 every third week. Isn’t there a rotation for these early games?
Careful RK if you speak,write,or think the words Bowl and Super together the Goodell Gestapho will come down you you like Janet Reno on a cult.
It like if you say the word Olympics with out a license you will feel the wrath…whats going on…who are these people…they all have masks…yes i will stop typing
“but he will be manhandled by the fans.”
Huh?
Game is at Stamford Bridge.
The NFL is cracking down for the Super…er, Big Game.
Im with Patrick
It’s still up just under a different domain extension.
The thing that drives me nuts about ESPN’s coverage is the damn chyron showing the scores of all the games I’m DVRing. I wish there was a way to turn off chyrons.
Now these early morning games avoid that situation but more than once has ESPN made me very mad at it.
FSC/FSP does a great job of never putting its viewers in this situation.
I’d suggest looking at the ones that don’t have .com or .tv behind them.
That works really well for me.
Thanks for giving us that quality Stoke v Sunderland match-up ESPN…
i really don’t want to be a pain because I do appreciate the effort that goes into putting this together, but is there ANY way we could differentiate between games on TV and games online? I hate scrolling through 15 Espn3.com games to find the ones on TV. Italics? Bold? Different category??
dude it’s for sure going to be VIOLENT. I hope Torres plays well but he will be manhandled by the fans.
Liverpool versus Chelsea is going to be crazy. Glad that I’ll be watching from the safety of my own home and not the stands–I have a feeling that could turn ugly.
Really looking forward to AV-Fulham. I hope that we see Bradley get some playing time.
Anyone know what happened to atdhe.net? It appears the domain was shut down by the government.
Any good alternatives? That site was amazing 🙁
Glad to hear FSC is at least playing the replay of the AV-Fulham game. I’m gone all day at rehearsal anyways, so I’ll DVR it and watch it when I get home.
Unfortunately, that means I won’t be able to log on to SBI (my usual diversion during rehearsal downtime) until after I watch the game.
Live, that is.
That’s quite a list
How does Fox Soccer not televise Villa v. Fulham on Saturday?
FSC schedule is showing Villa vs. Fulham at 5 EST (delayed, obvi).
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/tvschedule