By MICHAEL KLINE
The relegation battle in the English Premier League will be kicked up a notch this weekend, with six of the bottom nine clubs pitted against each other, and the ever-important goal of staying in the top division on the line.
Reading and Southampton will accompany Saturday morning’s breakfast, and a loss may very well doom The Royals to the Championship next season.
Reading currently sit tied with Queens Park Rangers for lowest points in the league, but a worse goal differential puts Nigel Adkins’ new club alone in last place. Southampton are coming off of impressive back-to-back victories against Liverpool and Chelsea, but the Saints still sit within four points of the drop-zone, and a loss to Reading could see them drop as many as five spots in the table.
On Sunday morning, Wigan Athletic will travel to Loftus Road to meet Queens Park Rangers in another match with relegation implications.
After a hot start to 2013, Queens Park Rangers have lost their last two matches, and sit seven points from safety. The Hoops’ crusade to avoid the drop doesn’t get easier this weekend, when they clash with Roberto Martinez’s squad, a group all too familiar with staring down relegation.
A similar match will take place in Mexico on Sunday night, when San Luis visits Atlante in a meeting between the two of the worst teams in Liga MX. There are some headlining clashes in Mexico as well, with Club Tijuana playing host to Santos Laguna on Saturday night.
The weekend kicks off on Friday afternoon, with the U.S. Women’s National Team returning to action with a friendly against Germany.
Here is a rundown of This Weekend’s Soccer on TV:
THIS WEEKEND’S SOCCER ON TV
FRIDAY
12:15pm – ESPN3.com – Germany vs. USWNT
3pm – beIN Sport en Español – Granada vs. Real Betis
8:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – Sporting Kansas City vs. DC United
9:30pm – ESPN2 – Jaguares vs. Guadalajara
SATURDAY
7:45am – ESPN2 – Reading vs. Southampton
9:30am – GolTV – Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich
10am – FoxSoccer2Go – Norwich City vs. Swansea City
10am – FoxSoccer2Go – Stoke City vs. Aston Villa
10am – Fox Soccer Channel – West Bromwich Albion vs. Arsenal
10am – beIN Sport en Español – Real Sociedad vs. Málaga
12pm – beIN Sport en Español – Juventus vs. Pescara
12pm – beIN Sport – Real Madrid vs. Levante
12:30pm – GolTV – Hamburger SV vs. Freiburg
4pm – MLS Direct Kick – Toronto FC vs. Dallas FC
4pm – beIN Sport – Barcelona vs. Mallorca
5pm – UniMás/MLS Direct Kick – Columbus Crew vs. Philadelphia Union
7pm – UniMás – América vs. Puebla
7pm – Univision Deportes – Querétaro vs. Cruz Azul
7:30pm – NBS Sports Network – Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake
9pm – Univision Deportes – Pachuca vs. Pumas UNAM
9pm – UniMás – Tigres UANL vs. León
10:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – San Jose Earthquakes vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
10:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – Portland Timbers vs. Houston Dynamo
11pm – Univision Deportes – Atlas vs. Morelia
11:55pm – Galavision – Tijuana vs. Santos Laguna
SUNDAY
8:30am – FoxSoccer2Go – Liverpool vs. West Ham United
9am – beIN Sport en Español – Catania vs. Cagliari
9:05am – Fox Soccer Channel – Tottenham vs. Everton
10am – FoxSoccer2Go – Chelsea vs. Sunderland
10am – FoxSoccer2Go – Newcastle United vs. Fulham
11am – beIN Sport – Reims vs. Olympique Lyon
11am – beIN Sport en Español – Osasuna vs. Espanyol
11:10am – Fox Soccer Channel – Queens Park Rangers vs. Wigan Athletic
1pm – beIN Sport – Getafe vs. Atlético Madrid
1pm – UniMás – Toluca vs. Monterrey
2:45pm – beIN Sport – Napoli vs. Genoa
3pm – beIN Sport en Español – Valencia vs. Real Valladolid
3:15pm – ESPN3 – Olhanense vs. Benfica
5pm – ESPN2 – Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls
7pm – Univision Deportes – Atlante vs. San Luis