Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones haven't been teammates on the U.S. national team long, but their first club meeting since Jones joined the United States set-up will still draw plenty of attention and make the Aston Villa-Blackburn match a must-watch.
Bradley is expected to start for Aston Villa after the recent red card suspension of Jean Makoun, meaning he and Jones are likely to face each other in a match Villa needs to win to stay out of the relegation zone. Jones and Blackburn are only two points ahead of Villa so a loss could also drop Rovers closer to the drop zone.
This week's schedule of games doesn't feature many full-blown marquee match-ups, but there are some very exciting tilts on tap, including Bayern Munich's battle against first-place Borussia Dortmund and French leaders Lille taking on Lyon.
Here is a rundown of This Weekend's Soccer on TV, as well as SBI's Top Ten Matches to Watch:
SBI's TOP TEN MATCHES TO WATCH
1. Aston Villa vs. Blackburn. Michael Bradley vs. Jermaine Jones. Enough said.
2. Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund has a huge lead in the Bundesliga, but Bayern will be looking to close the gap with a home win.
3. Lille vs. Lyon. Look for an exciting attack-minded match between these French powers.
4. USA vs. Jamaica U-17s. The young Americans look to move a step closer to a CONCACAF title.
5. Arsenal vs. Birmingham City. Carling Cup Final will be Arsenal's first chance at its first trophy in years.
6. Manchester City vs. Fulham. Clint Dempsey will look to keep his dream season going against the big-spending Citizens.
7. PSV Eindhoven vs. Ajax. Dutch powers clash in what should be an entertaining contest.
8. Everton vs. Sunderland. Tim Howard will look to keep the Toffees clear of the relegation zone, while getting some revenge against Asamoah Gyan.
9. Sao Paulo vs. Palmeiras. Two of the better teams in Brazil clash, and let's face it, you know you need to watch more Brazilian soccer.
10. Schalke 04 vs. Nuremberg. The next potential U.S. national team convert, Timothy Chandler, faces off against a loaded, if underachieving, Schalke side.
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV
FRIDAY
4pm- ESPN3.com- Canada vs. Panama (CONCACAF Under-17 Championships)
7pm- ESPN3.com- USA vs. Jamaica (CONCACAF Under-17 Championships)
4am- FSC- Brisbane Roar vs. Central Coast Mariners
SATURDAY
7:45am- Fox Soccer Plus- Swansea City vs. Leeds United
9:30am- ESPN3.com- Schalke 04 vs. Nuremberg
10am- Fox Soccer Channel- Wigan vs. Manchester United
10am- Fox Soccer Plus- Everton vs. Sunderland
10am- FoxSoccer.tv Aston Villa vs. Blackburn Rovers
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- Newcastle vs. Bolton
10am- FoxSoccer.tv- Wolverhampton vs. Blackpool
Noon- Fox Soccer Channel- Aston Villa vs. Blackburn (Delayed)
Noon- Fox Soccer Plus- Wolverhampton vs. Blackpool
Noon- FoxSoccer.tv- Wigan vs. Manchester United (Delayed)
Noon- GolTV- Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla
Noon- DirecTV- Sporting Gijon vs. Real Zaragoza
Noon- DirecTV- Espanyol vs. Real Sociedad
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Arles vs. Brest
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Monaco vs. Caen
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Stade Rennes vs. Lens
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Saint Etienne vs. Nice
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Sochaux vs. Montpelier
1pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Valenciennes vs. Lorient
2pm- ESPN3.com- Mallorca vs. Barcelona
2pm- GolTV- Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (Delayed)
2:45pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Juventus vs. Bologna
3pm- FoxSoccer.tv- Bordeaux vs. Auxerre
3:15pm- ESPN3.com- SC Olhanense vs. FC Porto
4pm- GolTV- Deportivo La Coruna vs. Real Madrid
5pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Newcastle vs. Bolton (Delayed)
6pm- Azteca America- Jaguares vs. Chivas Guadalajara
6pm- Univision- Queretaro vs. Cruz Azul
6:15pm- GolTV- Nacional de Medellin vs. Millonarios
8pm- Telefutura- Pachuca vs. San Luis
8pm- Telemundo- Tigres vs. Puebla
10pm- Telefutura Atlas vs. Monterrey (Delayed)
SUNDAY
6:30am- Fox Soccer Plus- Catania vs. Genoa
8:30am- Fox Soccer Channel- West Ham vs. Liverpool
8:30am- ESPN3.com- PSV Eindhoven vs. Ajax
9am- ESPN3.com- Cagliari vs. Lazio
9am- ESPN3.com- AS Roma vs. Parma
9am- ESPN3.com- Palermo vs. Udinese
10am- ESPN2/ESPN3.com- Manchester City vs. Fulham
11am- Fox Soccer Channel- Arsenal vs. Birmingham City (Carling Cup Final)
11am- DirecTV- Levante vs. Osasuna
11am- FoxSoccer.tv- Nancy vs. Olympique Marseille
11am- FoxSoccer.tv- PSG vs. Toulouse
11:30am- GolTV- Werder Bremen vs. Bayer Leverkusen
1pm- ESPN3.com- Racing Santander vs. Villarreal
1pm- Telemundo- UNAM Pumas vs. Estudiantes Tecos
2pm- GolTV- Sao Paulo vs. Palmeiras
2:45pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Sampdoria vs. Inter Milan
3pm- ESPN3.com- Athletic Bilbao vs. Valencia
3pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Lille vs. Lyon
5pm- Univision- Club America vs. Toluca
7pm- Fox Soccer Channel- West Ham vs. Liverpool (Delayed)
Man City is my team, i want to see Edin Dzeko score
Dude it’s not attitude from Ives, he is from the tristate area, we kind of tell it like it is. People from this area may come off as ‘in your face’ or appear we are always right, but that’s the way some talk. Try not to be so sensitive, not disrespect intended.
By the way this is an American blog, it should focus more on National teams and the local league (you know MLS).
Olimpia vs. Cerro Porteño – El Clasico Paraguayo, know about it!
P.S. I love the MLS coverage here
The fact that you said things like “real football” and think that a Carling Cup final is more worthy than anything else going on in this weekend’s landscape tells me that you need to broaden your horizons beyond the EPL.
Wow. Kol, you need to find an extracurricular activity so you can vent.
Break a bone? Is DeJong in this match?
*work hard
Swype fail…
I Dont think that is fair. Bradley, while good, is going to have to quirk hard to break into a solid epl team. Also, I think he is confident MB will start because his main competition has a red or is injured…
It just means that these kids are ready for the next level of international competition! In the same league as Italy, Argentina, etc. Our day has arrived!
#sarcasm
I agree but to be fair there was a Jamaican kid doing it from the beginning of the game…. It is still no excuse. The other thing that bothers me about this bunch is the diving and pretending to be hurt, just like all those other national teams that some on this site love to criticize. It needs to stop.
Jones vs MB, somebody’s gonna break a bone (knock on wood)…
US really dominated possession there in the second half, didn’t they?
Our defense was a bit shaky at times (what else is new), but Jamaica bungled every chance they had.
92nd minute, Andrew Oliver, US 2-0 Jamaica.
Wow, tell us how you really feel… lol.
I hate when people call for cards. Red card for Jamaica, Powell, 88th minute, for stopping a breakaway. Deserved the card, but NO need for the US players to run to the ref with their hands up gesturing for him to be carded.
What if you’re a real football fan that cares to watch a game with something on the line Ives?
Makes me shake my head sometimes with your judgment lately. Seems you’ve become very narrow minded in terms of the football world. Maybe this blog should be turned into an MLS News only blog since it’s 95% of the way there anyway.
This comment will probably be deleted or Ives will start peeing on his screen and words will magically appear as a response to this comment telling me to never come back to his site again. Since whenever I see a comment even coming close to criticizing Ives it’s met with a harsh return.
It’s the internet, stop letting your sensitive self-esteem issues get affected by nobodies like me who disagree with you. I feel like people don’t post real disagreements on here because you lash out at them so harshly.
AmIright? or are you never wrong?
(SBI-All this because I didn’t rank the Carling Cup higher on my list of matches to watch? Give me a break Kol. It’s the ten matches I think American fans should see, if you want to disagree please go ahead, but spare me the whole speech about A) how my opinion is misguided because it doesn’t jibe with yours or B) I have a problem with anybody who disagrees with me. I don’t mind people who disagree. What I do have a problem with are people who are disrespectful or rude or flat-out out of line. People are entitled to disagree all they want, and I take those views into account all the time, but when people come at me with attitude, they’re going to get attitude in return, or they’re going to get the boot.
Ultimately, I think it’s pretty hilarious that you got so bent about the Carling Cup Final not being ranked higher. Tell me why American fans would be drawn to a mediocre cup final between Arsenal and Birmingham? It’s not as if I didn’t rank it at all, and I’d be willing to bet that most non-Arsenal fans would rather watch the games listed higher, with the possible exception of the U-17 game, than the Carling Cup Final.)
Thank you!
Favorite commentating quotes so far (first 10 minutes):
“And here come the Canadians!”….errr, I could have sworn we were a bit south of there but whatever.
“Jamaica really doesn’t want to give up a penalty kick this early in the match.” Do you ever want to give up a penalty kick?
Whoops, was it Pelosi? Replay looked like Koroma headed it…but then did Pelosi get on the end of it?
except a lot of people (including me) can’t access espn3. I assume that’s the case with Kevin, since the game is listed above as being on espn3 and yet he’s looking for a stream.
…also, US 1-0 Jamaica, Pelosi in the 10th minute
GOAL USA!!!! Pelosi.
USA up 1-0 in the first ten minutes of a header from Koroma.
….or ESPN 3.
concacaf.com
you can register for free for concacaf TV and watch pretty much any concacaf competition live, they stream pretty much everything
Link for the under 17s? atdhe does not have…
+1 Those guys were fantastic!
I agree. Bradley was a depth signing and his biggest weakness, cheap giveaways under pressure that derail attacking moves, is exposed in the speedy Prem style of play. He’s not a lock to make the 11 by any stretch.
Bayern is a peaking right now. A must win against an excellent Dortmund team will keep the momentum going for Champions League!
Ives – The Disney tournament is on ESPN3 on Saturday, right? Hoping to watch that Dallas-Houston game.
LOL! You’ve got me there, b. I have no excuse for leaving that gem off of my list. Priceless!
I liked how they said that it was not really a dirty game up that that point. Then three minutes later there were about 3 sending offs and a brawl.
You failed to mention their half hour long discussion about how soccer players with the same last names are not necessarily related to each other.
“I just thought of another one, mon: Esteban Rodriguez and Mario Rodriguez… also NOT related! Pass the ganja mon.”
But you can watch Hahnemann sitting on the bench!
Please, Baby Jesus, let the announcers for USA vs. Jamaica be the same as the USA vs. El Salvador match!
Some of my favorite commentating highlights from the last match:
1. “Dat boy took a shot to da neder regions!” Translation – he just got kicked in the nuts.
2. Discussing how all the boys now wear different color boots and pointing out the different colors while, in the background, there’s a great build-up happening on the pitch. They went on to point out that, back in their day, the only color available was black. It was riveting stuff.
3. Arguing about the rules of the game while the game is going on.
It’s gold, Jerry, gold!!
That was my thinking as well. Ives seems to think Bradley is in line to start, but I will not believe it until I see the lineups.
he meaning Bradley
I honestly would not be surprised if Houllier starts Reo-Coker with Petrov in the middle. Hoping he starts but am prepared for this…
What happens if they both get straight reds? But Bradley gets his 3 minutes after Jones.
What happens if they both get straight reds.
it about time. They should just have a Yank abroad TV Channel, like i really want to watch Wolverhampton vs Wigan or w/e.
Wait… what?
What happens if Jones outplays Bradley and Holden continues to dominate? Will Jones play Striker on march 26 vs Argentina?
(SBI-What happens is what most people paying attention know will happen. Bradley will use a 4-2-3-1 with Holden in front of Jones and Bradley.)
The Carling Cup get’s # 5?????
no love for my goons this time huh? haha
(SBI-It’s the Carling Cup and it’s Birmingham. The game is No. 1 if you’re an Arsenal fan. Not sure who else would consider that a must-watch.)
Manchester City vs. Fulham is on ESPN2 as well, fyi.