By JUSTIN FERGUSON
A crosstown clash between the second and third place teams in La Liga will kick off a busy Saturday in the world of soccer.
After a 4-1 first leg loss at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semifinals, Real return to Madrid this weekend to face rival Atletico, who are determined to beat Real for the first time in 14 years.
While a spot in next season’s Champions League is almost guaranteed for Atletico, a win over Real would draw the two Madrid clubs level in the race for second in La Liga. It is unknown what kind of lineup Real manager Jose Mourinho will use against Atletico later today, but one thing is for certain—Los Blancos will be without star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is out with a thigh injury.
The Madrid derby could have a huge effect in Barcelona on Saturday. If Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao and Atletico can get a historic win over Real, the La Liga title will return to Catalonia. Barcelona and Bilbao kick off two hours before the start of the derby.
In England, relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic will look to repeat their shock 1-0 win against Tottenham from earlier this season. While the Latics prepare for a return to Wembley for the FA Cup Final in a few weeks, they currently sit three points back from safe Aston Villa in this season’s relegation battle. If Wigan can get three more points against Spurs, who need all the points they can get in their race for a Champions League spot, they will be level with Villa entering the final four matches of the season.
The day’s action will wrap up in Mexico, where Tigres UANL have the chance to get one step closer to clinching the Clausura title with a home win over Monterrey. If Tigres win and Atlas fail to secure all three points at Puebla on Sunday, Tigres will bring the title back to Nuevo Leon.
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):
7:45am – ESPN2 – Manchester City vs. West Ham United
9:30am – GolTV – Bayern Munich vs. Freiburg
10am – Fox Soccer Plus/FoxSoccer2Go.com – Everton vs. Fulham
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – Southampton vs. West Bromwich Albion
10am – FoxSoccer2Go.com – Stoke City vs. Norwich City
10am – Fox Soccer Channel – Wigan Athletic vs. Tottenham Hotspur
10am – beIN Sport en Español – Levante vs. Celta de Vigo
12pm – beIN Sport – Athletic Club vs. Barcelona
12:30pm – Fox Soccer Channel – Newcastle United vs. Liverpool
12:30pm – GolTV – Fortuna Dusseldorf vs. Borussia Dortmund
2pm – Univision Deportes – Ajaccio vs. Montpellier
2pm – beIN Sport – Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid
4pm – beIN Sport en Español – Real Zaragoza vs. Mallorca
6pm – ESPN Deportes – Cruz Azul vs. Santos Laguna
8pm – Univision Deportes – Pachuca vs. América
8pm – UniMás – Tigers UANL vs. Monterrey
9:05pm – Telemundo – León vs. Atlante
10pm – Univision Deportes – San Luis vs. Tijuana