Tim Howard will look to move a step closer to silverware today when he leads Everton into the FA Cup quarterfinals against Sunderland in one of the days top matches.
The Toffees come in off a disappointing derby day loss to Liverpool during the week, but a win today would ease that disappointment as it would cliinch a semifinal berth and trip to Wembley with a win against the Black Cats.
Clint Dempsey and Fulham have been riding high in the new year and can move a step closer to the top pack in the English Premier League with a win against Swansea City today. In London, Tottenham will look to halt their recent losing skid by beating a Bolton side riding high off a win last week that brought them out of the relegation zone.
In Mexico, red-hot Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna will look to regain first place with a win against Cruz Azul, while Jose Torres and Pachuca take on Atlante, and Edgar Castillo and surprising Club Tijuana face off against Tigres.
If you will be watching today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Commentary is after the jump):
TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV
8:30 a.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv - Dundee United vs. Rangers
8:45 a.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Everton vs. Sunderland
10:30 a.m. - GOLTV – Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen
11 a.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Wigan Athletic vs. West Brom
11 a.m. – ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes - Fulham vs. Swansea City
11 a.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv - Leeds United vs. West Ham
1 p.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv/ESPN3.com – Parma vs. AC Milan
1 p.m. - DirecTV - Granada vs. Sporting Gijon
1 p.m. – GOLTV - Real Zaragoza vs. Osasuna
1 p.m. - ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes - Getafe vs. Real Sociedad
1:30 p.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Tottenham vs. Bolton
1:30 p.m. - ESPN3.com - Hertha Berlin vs. Bayern Munich
2 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick/TSN – Montreal Impact vs. Chicago Fire
2 p.m. - FoxSoccer.tv - Auxerre vs. Evian Thonon Gaillard
2 p.m. - FoxSoccer.tv – Bordeaux vs. Ajaccio
2 p.m. – FoxSoccer.tv - Caen vs. Paris-St. Germain
2 p.m. - FoxSoccer.tv – Lorient vs. Brest
2 p.m. - FoxSoccer.tv – Marseille vs. Dijon
2 p.m. – FoxSoccer.tv - Nancy vs. Montpellier
3 p.m. – ESPN3.com/ESPN Deportes - Sevilla vs. Barcelona
3:45 p.m. – Fox Soccer Channel - Fiorentina vs. Juventus
4 p.m. - Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer.tv – St. Etienne vs. Lyon
5 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - San Jose Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo
5 p.m. - DirecTV - Rayo Vallecano vs. Real Betis
5:15 p.m. - GOLTV - River Plate vs. Deportivo Merlo
7 p.m. - Telefutura - Queretaro vs. Chivas de Guadalajara
7 p.m. - Azteca America – Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna
8:30 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Sporting Kansas City vs. New England
8:30 p.m. – MLS Live/Direct Kick – FC Dallas vs. Portland Timbers
9 p.m. – Telefutura - Pachuca vs. Atlante
9 p.m. - Galavision – Tigres UANL vs. Tijuana
10 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick – Real Salt Lake vs. New York Red Bulls
10 p.m. – MLS Live/Direct Kick - Seattle Sounders vs. Toronto FC
11 p.m. - Galavision - Atlas vs. Jaguares
Yep. Still in critical condition from an apparent heart attack. Thoughts go out to him and his family. From the videos I’ve seen, all of the Bolton AND Spurs players were distraught.
Things like this that remind you what’s really important.
My thoughts and prayers are with Fabrice and his loved ones. This has got to be incredibly difficult for both his nuclear and football families. I sincerely hope for a happy outcome.
thanks for posting Pepe
Muamba lives,good news.
Check Messi’s goal for the day. Megs the defender, chips the goalie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq9-3NptcYs
Muamba is reportedly in stable condition! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/news/9150696/Fabrice-Muamba-stable-after-collapsing-at-Tottenham-v-Bolton-game.html
All leagues in all sports do very thorough physical examinations of players; they’re making a huge investment in them, after all. Remember Zac Herold from Toronto FC had to retire before his first game after a physical revealed a previously-unknown heart condition.
Don’t know how routine, but as per the BBC, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor did make mention of insisting all youngsters coming into the game to have the ability to have heart screenings.
i agree, for me the decision should be to decide which is better: senderos at center and hughes at right back or hughes at center and baird at right back. either option is better than kelly on pitch and hughes off it.
Senderos should not be playing in front of Hughes.
Per BBC:
Owen Coyle and team captain Kevin Davies rode in the ambulance that took Fabrice Muamba to the hospital. Also a Bolton spokesperson confirms that Fabrice has been taken to hospital.
Does anyone know if the EPL does routine heart screenings for players? I would guess yes…
No news yet on Fabrice. Word out of England is ‘extreme condition,’ which in medical parlance means his chance of survival is very low.
or riise-hangeland-senderos-hughes? Just please nomore Kelly. And hughes hasroven his worth and chemistry for too many years at fulham to be on the sideline with kelly on instead.
Slow day with the comments on a saturday running commentary…. everybody must be getting drunk and celebrating!
Thanks. Keep us informed.
ditto
Bayern is running rampant on Hertha today. Its 6-0 with about 20 mins left to play, although Ribery drew a penalty and then limped off…
I am tracking on the BBC and SkySports and so far nothing, except that he’s been rushed to the hospital.
that is right back. but if sendoros has to start, then hughes has to be on the field somewhere like right back. personally i’d put hughes over senderos in the center. They sold a better right back in paintsil but could still start baird over kelly. I don’t get it. Jol seems great at offensive personnel and terrible at defense. why not play: riise-hangeland-hughes-baird?
Is he alive?
from the BBC:
ESPN’s reporter in the White Hart Lane tunnel says Fabrice Muamba was not breathing when the Bolton midfielder was carried past him. Medical staff were still attempting to resuscitate him and a defibillator had been used.
More from ESPN’s reporter in the White Hart Lane tunnel. Referee Howard Webb has spoken to all of the players and officials and none of them were in a fit state to continue while they wait for news on Fabrice Muamba. The Bolton midfielder collapsed on the pitch five minutes before half-time and received lengthy treatment while medical staff attempted to resuscitate him. Muamba has now been taken to hospital.
I am watching too and it’s confirmed that the match has been abandoned. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. I hope, whatever it is, he overcomes it.
This is awful. According to the Guardian a defibrilator has been used on Muamba.
apparently a defibrilator was being used. He’s been carried off the field, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s been resuscitated, and shortly after they pulled everybody else off the field as well. Looks like the match could be abandoned.
Just turned it on. The announcers sound very somber and serious. No idea what happened.
Muamba (of Bolton) collapsed on the pitch and was given CPR by the medics.
Cardiac arrest (heart attack.)
The match has been abandoned and will have to be played from the beginning in 9 or 10 days. Tottenham will remain host.
I’m at work but Sky Sports commentary says:
“We understand medical staff have been attempting to resuscitate Muamba”
I think he must’ve gone into cardiac arrest, holy crap.
The Fox Soccer twitter account says it may have been a heart attack. Wow.
Game has been abandoned.
Wish the best for Muamba.
Said something about cardiac arrest or seizure they werent clear
Muamba just went down with something..anyone see what happened?
What has happened in the Tot-Bol FA cup match? A player went down and it sounds pretty serious?
bad home loss for fulham
I don’t get to watch Fulham enough to know who should be playing where but from today, I watched a team basically play a 4-2-2-2 without any width from its outside backs. Swansea has done its job clogging up the middle and Fulham has done nothing to adjust. Even when Riise has gotten forward, he has mostly drifted inside. Defensively, Fulham has been a mess.
Dempsey then sets up Pogs, who fires high and wide from a tight angle. He’s a boss, even in defeat.
Holy cow, Dempsey just BLASTED one that had to be tipped over. Took it off his chest on the run, one bounce and drilled it. Dude is still dangerous.
Oh no, 3-0 Swansea, 78th. Bad give-away, a defender falls down, and dodgy goal keeping. Fulham getting thrashed in the battle for “surprisingly fun to watch team of the year”.
I completely agree regarding Kelly, I think he’s terrible, just not a Premier League level player. I think left back is a major hole on the team. I like Hughes, but see him as more of a central defender.
As for Murphy, I’m ok with the commentator mentioning early on that he thinks Murphy is important or whatever, but he just wouldn’t shut up about it. Enough already, we get it.
Fulham have not looked good overall though, no doubt about that.
Midway through the 2nd half, and it’s Diarrhea’s fault that Swans are up by 2. I’m not even sure he has a number on the back of his shirt. Not sure I am even watching Fulham at Craven Cottage anymore.
Nice team goal by Swansea. That’s the kind of thing that gets called “swashbuckling”. 2-0, 67th.
Why is he not ragging the fact that stephen kelly started over aaron hughes? That would have also helped the backline a bit. Have they also mentioned that Danny Murphy looked ragged after the aston villa game, might could use a rest?
Dempsey had the best play of the half for Fulham, a great run and shot that was well saved. Swansea remain a delight to watch.
I’m trying to be good and not stream games… but boy has foxsoccer.tv SUCKED the last few Saturdays. A full slate of French league games isn’t what I’m paying you for…
Oh my god, right? It’s so frustrating to have to listen to crappy color guys.
I wouldn’t say he’s been against Fulham as a whole but he is DEFINITELY against Diarra. To be fair, Fulham’s back has been very sloppy, so you can’t blame him for pointing that out. I’m not sure why he hasn’t been on PP’s lack of involvement? They mentioned it but were hardly critical.
Fulham down 0-1. Dempsey has had a chance or 2.
They didn’t start Danny Murphy, who is apparently one of the best passers ever to play the game, according to the color guy, who might be Murphy’s dad. He’s practically rooting against Fulham, he’s so upset with Murphy not playing.
How are the games going on FSC guys? My channel won’t work and Time Warner Cable is too stupid to fix it. They’ll send someone out next weekend … What a bunch of idiots (for lack of a better word).
Well … guess I’ll be watching the highlights online.
Go Everton!
Brace for Dempsey I’m hoping for
Come on Gomezzzzzzzzzzzzzzz