The race for the European places in Serie A is an intense one, and both Lazio and Napoli are aware that they can't afford any slip-ups at this point in the year. That will make their meeting in Rome today all the more intense, and therefore the top match of the day.
Lazio can put a hammer lock on third place with a victory today, on a day the club will honor the passing of team legend Giorgio Chinaglia. Napoli can catapult ahead of Lazi with a win at Stadio Olimpico, while also putting some space between themselves and the trailing pack in Serie A.
In Spain, Barcelona haven't quite given up on catching Real Madrid for the La Liga title, but a win today against Real Zaragoza will be vital to keep that chase alive. Barca also know that Real Madrid will face a tough test on Sunday against Real Madrid that could force a slip by Jose Mourinho's side.
In England, Clint Dempsey and Fulham take on streaking Bolton, with Tim Ream a good bet to face off against Dempsey. The Trotters have won three straight and will look to keep Fulham struggling on the road.
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 (Today's TV Schedule is after the jump):
TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV
7am- Fox Soccer Plus– Kilmarnock vs. Celtic
7:45am- ESPN2– Sunderland vs. Tottenham
9am- Fox Soccer 2Go/ESPN3– AC Milan vs. Fiorentina
9:30am- ESPN3– Bayern Munich vs. Augsburg
9:30am- GolTV– Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund
10am- Fox Soccer Channel– Chelsea vs. Wigan
10am- Fox Soccer Plus– Liverpool vs. Aston Villa
10am- Fox Soccer 2Go– Bolton vs. Fulham
10am- Fox Soccer 2Go– West Bromwich Albion vs. Blackburn
Noon- Direct Kick– Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC
Noon- DirecTV– Getafe vs. Sporting Gijon
Noon- DirecTV– Rayo Vallecano vs. Osasuna
Noon- DirecTV– Espanyol vs. Real Sociedad
12:20pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Nottingham Forest vs. Bristol City
12:30pm- Fox Soccer Channel– Stoke City vs. Woverhampton
12:30pm- Fox Soccer Plus– Palermo vs. Juventus
1pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Brest vs. Lille
1pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Dijon vs. Nancy
1pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Evian TG vs. Stade Rennes
1pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Valenciennes vs. Toulouse
1pm- Fox Soccer 2Go– Ajaccio vs. Saint-Etienne
2pm- GolTV– Real Zaragoza vs. Barcelona
3pm- Fox Soccer Channel– Lazio vs. Napoli
3pm- Fox Soccer Plus– Lyon vs. Auxerre
3pm- MSG/Direct Kick– Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls
3:30pm- ESPN3– Sporting Braga vs. FC Porto
4pm- DirecTV– Real Betis vs. Villarreal
4pm- ESPN– Sporting Kansas City vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
4:10pm- GolTV– Boca Juniors vs. Argentinos Juniors
7pm- Direct Kick– San Jose Earthquakes vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
7:30pm- Direct Kick– D.C. United vs. Seattle Sounders
8pm- GolTV– Irapuato vs. Pumas Morelos
9pm- Direct Kick– Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado
10pm- Azteca America– Club Tijuana vs. Atlante
10:30pm- Direct Kick– Portland Timbers vs. Chivas USA
3am- Fox Soccer Channel– Central Coast Mariner vs. Brisbane
Just Bolton is de mierda.
It’s only Bolton.
I want to see one game where we start Lichaj on the left, and Chandler on the right.
I know, Dolo has been our best right back ever, but having a hard time thinking Chandler wouldn’t be more useful in 2014.
He’s the kind of marauding fullback that the US hasn’t truly seen, but he’s not as effective on the left.
Carlos Vela with a brace against Espanyol in the first 20 minutes.
This kid is on fire right now with 9 goals and 7 assists for Real Sociedad. Marca stated that he has had three goals called back erroneously this season so he should have 12 instead of 9 but them’s the breaks. He is also rumored to be joining the Mexican Olympic team along with Hernandez and the dos Santos brothers.
damn….
CB, the midfield thing was a Man City only thing
Is he playing a deep lying defensive mid or center back?
Mata puts the Torres rebound in, but Wigan did look good enough today. That first Chelsea goal was awful.
What a crack by Torres!
They’re also only playing a game in hand today.
Doing well. Villa has been scrambling at times. Lichaj has been good on the 1v1 duels and positioning has been solid.
And with Dempsey beating the crap out of Bolton, at least Chelsea are up 1-0 on Wigan and QPR are up against Man U tomorrow. Things still looking okay for Holden/Ream duo next season.
Terrible non-call off-side, gives Chelsea a goal.
How is Lijach DOJ g?
Clint! How do you miss that hat trick?!?!
Thanks guys. Yeah, I had no reason to think that Ream has been playing poorly, despite the scoreline.
Make that 21 on the year. 15 in the PL.
Dare I say Dempsey is en fuego?!?!?!?
It would be odd given the scoreline to suggest anything other than bad, but he’s definitely been their best defender.
His positioning has been solid and his passing has been above average.
Not at fault on the goals, to answer your real question. Deuce isn’t cannibalizing our own, he’s consuming everyone else.
Like someone else said, his passing has been sharp, and my feed is too grainy to follow his defending well. But I’ve seen enough goal replays to know they weren’t his fault.
getting reamed, judging by the scoreline
LOL awesome
How is Ream playing?
Hi, my name is Clint Dempsey and I’m here to pillage your land.
It’s Clint Dempsey’s world, we’re all just living in it.
Alonso LB (JB)for Bolton gets turned easily and allows space for Fulham attacker to find Deuce at the net. Ream’s passing out of the back has been very sharp.
How is Mikey’s overall play this match (of course the 1st Serie A goal is terrific)?
Clint. Dempsey.
Deuce, seriously? Stop it!
DEUCE DROPS A DEUCE!
The Deuce is lose!
3-2 now. 5′ left…
I can’t wait for Fox Soccer to replay the Fulham game. Dempsey is unbelievable!
Chievo is up 3-1. That will put them within 1 of 8th place. And only 2 behind Inter.
20 on the year for Dempsey. 14 in the Premiere League. MVP?
Goal Dempsey!
Dempsey just put in a wonderful free kick from about 25-30 yards out. Fantastic placement.
Anyway, he scored. Which is always good.
Well at least pretty good.
DEMPSEY WITH A KILLER GOAL ON THE FREE KICK!
Thats what I thought. FOX listed him as RMF. I think they just throw the names up anywhere they feel.
He’s at LB
Streams anyone?
Eric Lichaj starting today, Fox listed him as MF but Espn has him as a defender
ARGH. I was going to watch that game, but I couldn’t find a working stream… Good news though.
Chandler listed as starting @ forward for Nurnberg today.
I’m so confused. As a Newcastle fan I’m hoping that Sunderland beat Spurs to give us a better shot at Europe… Looks like this one will end 0-0 though so I guess I’ll just go and sit in my shame.
bradley has a goal
Sunderland/Spurs is quite underwhelming
Ohh, text link ads. How fancy!
Mcmanaman referred to Assou Ekotto as Side Show Bob. Otherwise, nothing has happened.