By DAN KARELL
While the Bundesliga and FA Cup return to action this weekend, some of the best story lines in this weekend’s soccer action can be found in Italy.
Serie A leaders Juventus travel back to Rome’s Stadio Olimpico for the second time in the last five days with a match against Lazio. Last Tuesday, the Serie A-leading Juventus were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in a 1-0 defeat to AS Roma, as manager Antonio Conte chose to rest a half-dozen of his regular starters. Juve face a suddenly in-form Lazio side that has not lost since Edoardo Reja took over as head coach on Jan. 4.
While Juventus travel south, Roma travel north to take on fifth-placed Hellas Verona in a key Serie A match.
As mentioned before, the Bundesliga is back from their winter break with the 18th round of action, highlighted by Bayern Munich’s trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are doubtful to start while Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger have been ruled out.
Elsewhere around the world, AS Monaco face Olympique Marseille in their first game without Radamel Falcao, Arsenal host Coventry City in the FA Cup, and Barcelona host Malaga in La Liga action.
Here’s a rundown of this weekend’s soccer on TV:
FRIDAY
2:30pm – Lille vs. Rennes – beIN Sports USA
2:30pm – Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich – GolTV USA
2:45pm – Arsenal vs. Coventry City – Fox Sports 1
3pm – Celta de Vigo vs. Real Betis – beIN Sports en Español
8:30pm – Querétaro vs. Santos Laguna – Azteca America/ESPN Deportes
9:30pm – Universidad de Guadalajara vs. Cruz Azul Hidalgo – GolTV USA
10pm – Club Tijuana vs. Morelia – Azteca America/ESPN Deportes
SATURDAY
7:45am – AFC Bournemouth vs. Liverpool – Fox Sports 1
9:30am – SC Freiburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen – GolTV USA
10am – Real Madrid vs. Granada – beIN Sports USA
10am – Sunderland vs. Kidderminster – Fox Sports 1
10am – Bolton vs. Cardiff City – Fox Sports 2
10am – Southend United vs. Hull City – Fox Soccer Plus
11am – Guingamp vs. Paris Saint-Germain – Univision Deportes
12pm – Napoli vs. Chievo – beIN Sports USA
12pm – Real Valladolid vs. Villarreal – beIN Sports en Español
12:30pm – Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Hertha Berlin – GolTV USA
12:30pm – Stevenage vs. Everton – Fox Soccer Plus
2pm – Valencia vs. Espanyol – beIN Sports en Español
2pm – Ajaccio vs. Sochaux – Univision Deportes
2:45pm – Lazio vs. Juventus – beIN Sport USA
2:45pm – PSV Eindhoven vs. AZ Alkmaar – GolTV USA
4pm – Sevilla vs. Levante – beIN Sport en Español
6pm – Cruz Azul vs. Veracruz – UniMás/Univision Deportes
6pm – Corinthians vs. São Bernardo FC – ESPN3
7:50pm – Costa Rica vs. South Korea – ESPN Deportes
8pm – Tigres UANL vs. Pumas UNAM – UniMás/Univision Deportes
9:05pm – Club León vs. Pachuca – Telemundo
10pm – Atlas vs. Club America – Univision Deportes
SUNDAY
1am – Melbourne Victory vs. Sydney FC – Fox Soccer Plus
3am – Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Perth Glory – One World Sports/Fox Sports 2
7:45am – Hibernian vs. Celtic – Fox Soccer Plus
8am – Sheffield United vs. Fulham – Fox Sports 2/Fox Deportes
8:30am – Go Ahead Eagles vs. Ajax – ESPN Deportes/ESPN3
9am – Inter Milan vs. Catania – beIN Sports en Español
9am – Cagliari vs. AC Milan – beIN Sports USA
10:30am – Chelsea vs. Stoke City – Fox Sports 2/Fox Deportes
11am – Bordeaux vs. AS Saint-Etienne – beIN Sports USA
11am – Osasuna vs. Athletic Bilbao – beIN Sports en Español
11:30am – Hamburg vs. Schalke 04 – GolTV USA
1pm – Rayo Vallecano vs. Atletico Madrid – beIN Sports USA
1pm – Puebla vs. Chiapas – Azteca America/ESPN Deportes
1pm – Toluca vs. Monterrey – Univision Deportes/Univision
2pm – Sao Paulo vs. Oeste – GolTV USA
3pm – Barcelona vs. Malaga – beIN Sports USA
3pm – AS Monaco vs. Olympique Marseille – Univision Deportes
6pm – Atlante vs. Chivas de Guadalajara – Univision Deportes