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For the U.S. men's and women's national teams, it's a big weekend.
The women kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2012 Olympics Friday night in Canada, going up against the Dominican Republic. Just a couple of days later, Pia Sundhage's charges are at it again, facing Guatemala and hoping to secure maximum points before a final group showdown with Mexico.
As for Jurgen Klinsmann's men, they'll kick off 2012 in Arizona, taking on Venezuela Saturday night as part of the culmination of January training camp.
Across Europe there are plenty of entertaining matches as well, with some of the top teams in England going head-to-head. Arsenal-Manchester United and Manchester City-Tottenham provide two of the more high-profile club games of the weekend. One of the more entertaining bouts, though, could take place in the Netherlands, where Jozy Altidore's AZ Alkmaar and Ajax continue their escalating rivalry with a league match on the heels of their pitch-invader-induced Dutch Cup replay.
Here is this weekend's soccer on TV:
THIS WEEKEND'S SOCCER ON TV
FRIDAY
8 p.m. – GOLTV – Altamira vs. Universidad Guadalajara
8 p.m. – CONCACAF.com stream – Mexico vs. Guatemala (Women's Olympic qualifying)
9 p.m. – Azteca America – Morelia vs. San Luis
9 p.m. – Galavision – Estudiantes Tecos vs Club America
10 p.m. – Universal Sports Network/CONCACAF.com stream – USA vs. Dominican Republic (Women's Olympic qualifying)
SATURDAY
7:45 a.m. – ESPN2/ESPN3.com – Norwich City vs. Chelsea
9:30 a.m. – ESPN3.com – Schalke vs. VfB Stuttgart
10 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Everton vs. Blackburn
10 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv – Fulham vs. Newcastle
10 a.m. – FoxSoccer.tv – Queens Park Rangers vs. Wigan Athletic
10 a.m. – FoxSoccer.tv – Stoke City vs. West Brom
10 a.m. – FoxSoccer.tv – Sunderland vs. Swansea City
10 a.m. – FoxSoccer.tv – Wolverhampton vs. Aston Villa
10 a.m. – FoxSoccer.tv – Coventry City vs. Middlesbrough
12 p.m. – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv – Roma vs. Cesena
12 p.m. – GOLTV – Racing Santander vs. Getafe
12 p.m. – ESPN3.com – Espanyol vs. Granada
12:30 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Bolton vs. Liverpool
1:55 p.m. – ESPN3.com – Corinthians vs. Mirassol
2 p.m. – GOLTV – Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid
2:45 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Atalanta vs. Juventus
4 p.m. – ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes – Real Betis vs. Sevilla
6 p.m. – Azteca America/ESPN Deportes – Cruz Azul vs. Pachuca
6 p.m. – Galavision – Queretaro vs. Atlas
6 p.m. – Telefutura – Monterrey vs. Pumas UNAM
8 p.m. – Telemundo – Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Tijuana
8 p.m. – Telefutura – Santos Laguna vs. Jaguares
8 p.m. – CONCACAF.com stream – Haiti vs. Costa Rica (Women's Olympic qualifying)
9 p.m. – Galavision/ESPN3.com – USA vs. Venezuela
10:30 p.m. – CONCACAF.com stream – Canada vs. Cuba (Women's Olympic qualifying)
SUNDAY
1 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Sydney FC vs. Gold Coast United
6:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus/ESPN3.com – Bologna vs. Parma
8:30 a.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Manchester City vs. Tottenham
8:30 a.m. – ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes – AZ Alkmaar vs. Ajax
9 a.m. – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv/ESPN3.com – Novara vs. AC Milan
9 a.m. – ESPN3.com – Palermo vs. Genoa
9:30 a.m. – ESPN3.com – Hamburg SV vs. Borussia Dortmund
10 a.m. – GOLTV – Rayo Vallecano vs. Mallorca
10 a.m. – ESPN3.com – Lucon vs. Lyon
11 a.m. – Fox – Arsenal vs. Manchester United
12 p.m. – GOLTV – Malaga vs. Barcelona
1 p.m. – Fox Deportes/Azteca America – Puebla vs. Atlante
1 p.m. – Univision – Toluca vs. Tigres UANL
1:15 p.m. – ESPN3.com – Porto vs. Vitoria Guimaraes
1:45 p.m. – DirecTV – Levante vs. Real Zaragoza
2:45 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel – Inter Milan vs. Lazio
3:30 p.m. – ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes – Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao
5 p.m. – CONCACAF.com stream – Mexico vs. Dominican Republic (Women's Olympic qualifying)
7:30 p.m. – Universal Sports Network/CONCACAF.com stream – United States vs. Guatemala (Women's Olympic qualifying)