By JUSTIN FERGUSON
After a near seven-month wait, global giants Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet at Camp Nou on this Soccer Saturday for this season’s first installment of El Clasico, one of the world’s biggest sports rivalries.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo will be joined Saturday by some new faces making their Clasico debuts. Young Brazilian star Neymar and world-record signing Gareth Bale are set to take the field in Barcelona, under the direction of first-year managers Gerardo Martino and Carlo Ancelotti. After playing out back-to-back draws, Barcelona have a chance to bounce back Saturday with a home victory that would extend their league lead over their rivals to six points.
Saturday’s action will start in England, where Crystal Palace, now without manager Ian Holloway, host a first-place Arsenal side eager to move past their midweek Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund. The EPL matchday continues with third-place Liverpool’s battle with streaking West Bromwich Albion and struggling Manchester United’s match against Stoke City at Old Trafford.
In Germany, Schalke 04 host Borussia Dortmund in the highly anticipated Rivierderby, giving fans a heated rivalry match to enjoy before El Clasico. Schalke won both of their meetings with second-place Dortmund last season, but Jurgen Klopp’s side enters Saturday’s match at the Veltins Arena with plenty of momentum after a successful midweek trip to Emirates Stadium in North London.
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 – NBC Sports Network – Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
9:30am – Gol TV USA – Schalke 04 vs Borussia Dortmund
10am – beIN Sport Play – Burnley vs. Queens Park Rangers
10am – NBC Sports Network – Manchester United vs Stoke City
10am – NBC Sports Live Extra – Aston Villa vs Everton
10am – NBC Sports Live Extra – Liverpool vs West Brom
10am – NBC Sports Live Extra – Norwich City vs Cardiff City
11am – Univision Deportes – Marseille vs Stade de Reims
12pm – beIN Sport/beIN Sport en Español – Barcelona vs Real Madrid
12:30pm – NBC Sports Network – Southampton vs Fulham
2:45pm – beIn Sport USA – Inter Milan vs Hellas Verona
2:45pm – GolTV USA – Ajax vs RKC
3pm – NBC Sports Network – Philadelphia Union vs Sporting Kansas City
4pm – MLS Direct Kick/Univision Deportes/TSN – Toronto FC vs Montreal Impact
4pm – beIN Sport en Español – Levante vs. Espanyol
4:30pm – GolTV USA – Cruzeiro vs Criciuma
5:30pm – NBC Sports Network – San Jose Earthquakes vs FC Dallas
7pm – Univision – Club America vs Puebla
9pm – Univision Deportes – Pachuca vs Cruz Azul
9pm – UniMas – Monterrey vs Chiapas
9pm – Galavision – Atlante vs Santos Laguna
9:05pm – Telemundo – Club Leon vs. Toluca
10pm – Univision Deportes – Atlas vs Queretaro
10:30pm – MLS Direct Kick – Chivas USA vs Portland Timbers
Is Bocanegra still playing for the USMNT? Did he piss someone off?
Opening game WC starters
Howard
Dolo, Gooch, Boca, Chandler
Bradley, Jones
Zusi, Dempsey, Donovan
Jozy
Should he be? I think he’s too slow for the international game. I think others are simply better options.
Thanks for nothing goats. Well, except the laughs.
Nice emergency defending by Boca for dirty goats. Tree Killers still score.
Why do the announcers always pronounce it Chee-voss USA?
Uhh, you don’t deserve the playoffs if THAT is the defense you play. Wow. There were 3 open SKC players with 1 Union player within 10 yards in the Union box. I mean come on, you have to go play defense too.
Can’t blame them too much, they needed 2 goals in 10 minutes. KC should have scored a couple before that on the break. Also that game was pretty ugly, even with the excitement of the last 10 minutes.
Ugly it was.
Where’s the MLS specific running commentary?