Photo by Matt West/ISIPhotos.com
By JUSTIN FERGUSON
Although there are fewer matches today than most Saturdays, league titles, domestic cups and Champions League places will be up for grabs.
One piece of silverware will definitely be awarded on Saturday as Manchester City and Wigan Athletic square off at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup. Wigan will take a break from their treacherous relegation battle this weekend and look to pull of a major upset in their first ever shot at the famous trophy. Even though they were not able to repeat as Premier League champions and their Champions League campaign went poorly, Man City enter Wembley as heavy favorites for their second FA Cup in three years.
The day will kick off with an important Premier League match at Villa Park. Aston Villa are five points ahead of the drop zone and want to secure their safety as soon as possible. Chelsea are less than a week away from a Europa League Final and one win away from a spot in next season’s Champions League. Blues manager Rafa Benitez has hinted that he may be resting some of his starters before next week’s meeting with Benfica in Amsterdam, but Champions League qualification is first priority around Stamford Bridge.
Speaking of Benfica, the Portuguese club leads bitter rival Porto by two points heading into Saturday’s edition of O Classico. The two Portuguese Liga giants have dominated the title landscape in the last decade, and this season’s trophy could be won in Porto. Benfica could live with a draw in this battle for Portuguese supremacy, but the hosts will most likely need all three points in order to repeat as league champions.
Barcelona fans will have their eyes on neighbors Espanyol later in the day as they face second-place Real Madrid. If Los Blancos fail to secure all three points in their Saturday road match, Barcelona will have the Spanish league title before their Sunday meeting with Atletico Madrid.
The day’s action will wrap up with Clausura quarterfinal action in Liga MX. Second-seed Club America return to the Azteca with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg at Pumas UNAM. Meanwhile, top-seeded Tigres UANL need to overcome a 1-0 deficit from their first leg loss at CONCACAF Champions League winners Monterrey.
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 – Aston Villa vs. Chelsea
9:30am – GolTV – Bayern Munich vs. Augsburg
10am – beIN Sport en Español – Athletic Club vs. Mallorca
12pm – beIN Sport – Juventus vs. Cagliari
12:15pm – FOX – Manchester City vs. Wigan Athletic (FA Cup Final)
1:30pm – NBC Sports Network – Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union
2pm – MLS Direct Kick – Montreal Impact vs. Real Salt Lake
2pm – Univision Deportes – Ajaccio vs. Troyes
3:30pm – ESPN3.com – Porto vs. Benfica
4pm – Univision Deportes – Seattle Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes
4pm – beIN Sport – Espanyol vs. Real Madrid
6pm – Univision – América vs. Pumas UNAM
7pm – MLS Direct Kick – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
7:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
8pm – UniMás – Tigres UANL vs. Monterrey
8:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – FC Dallas vs. DC United