By JUSTIN FERGUSON
This Soccer Saturday will start with a bang as Newcastle United host USMNT forward Jozy Altidore and Sunderland in the always competitive Tyne-Wear Derby to open a day filled with action from all over the world.
The last time these two rivals met in English Premier League play, Sunderland notched their first win of the season thanks to a late goal from Fabio Borini. The Black Cats have continued to improve from their horrid start, as they have only lost two of their last 13 matches across all competitions, climbing out of the relegation zone in the process. On the other side, Newcastle United have only won once in their last five league matches and will need to find someone to step up in the midfield after the sale of Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain.
In other EPL action, seventh-place Manchester United will look to keep their momentum going on the road at Stoke City. Tottenham will try to bounce back from their big loss against Manchester City with a road result at Hull City, who have not scored in four straight losses after routing Fulham 6-0 in December. There will also be a battle of American goalkeepers at Goodison Park as Tim Howard and Everton host Brad Guzan and Aston Villa on Merseyside.
Elsewhere, first-place Barcelona will put their perfect home record at Camp Nou on the line when Valencia comes to visit. Manager Clarence Seedorf and AC Milan host Torino in Serie A competition, and second-place AS Monaco will look to maintain their position behind league-leading PSG when they visit Lorient. In Mexico, the derby match between nearby rivals Tigres and Monterrey will highlight a busy night of Liga MX action.
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 schedule is after the jump):
SATURDAY SOCCER ON TV
7:45am – Newcastle vs. Sunderland – NBC Sports Network
7:45am – West Ham United vs. Swansea City – Premier League Extra Time
9:30am – Schalke 04 vs. Wolfsburg – GolTV USA
10am – Stoke City vs. Manchester United – NBC Sports Network
10am – Barcelona vs. Valencia – beIN Sports USA
10am – Hull City vs. Tottenham – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Fulham vs. Southampton – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Everton vs. Aston Villa – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Cardiff City vs. Norwich City – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Partick Thistle vs. Dundee United – Fox Soccer Plus
10:30am – Lorient vs. AS Monaco – Univision Deportes
12pm – Cagliari vs. Fiorentina – beIN Sports USA
12pm – Levante vs. Rayo Vallecano – beIN Sports en Español
12:30pm – Hannover vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach – GolTV USA
2pm – Evian TG vs. Ajaccio – Univision Deportes
2pm – Getafe vs. Real Valladolid – beIN Sports en Español
2:45pm – AC Milan vs. Torino – beIN Sports USA
4pm – Malaga vs. Sevilla – beIN Sports en Español
5pm – USA vs. South Korea – ESPN2/UniMas
5:30pm – Racing vs. Nacional – GolTV USA
6pm – Club America vs. Atlante – Univision
6pm – Santos Laguna vs. Toluca – Univision Deportes
6pm – Veracruz vs. Puebla – Univision Deportes 2
8pm – Chivas de Guadalajara vs. Cruz Azul – UniMas
8pm – Monterrey vs. Tigres UANL – Univision Deportes
8pm – Pachuca vs. Atlas – Univision Deportes 2
10pm – Chiapas vs. Queretaro – Univision Deportes
Great through ball to Ki by Altidore.
Jozy is having a great game.
On top of that Sunderland is actually playing well.
It’s a fricking miracle. If you aren’t watching, tune in!!!
This team would’ve been way better with Bradley
Ok now West Ham is up 2 -0 which puts Stoke in the R-Zone..maybe Cameron should think about the Sunderland offer. Amazing how tightly bunched the teams are
Sarcasm?
The window closed yesterday.
Sarcasm no, just pointing out the week to week volatility of the EPL and throwing the Cameron offer in for substance.
Ok, Poyet, this is where you insert Giac in for colback (…..)
Colback was MOTM, why replace him?
Jozy with the 20 ft. header.
Jozy seems to be developing a bit more chemistry with Borini but he and Johnson don’t seem to ever be on the same page.
Johnson is on Johnson’s page.
Sometimes
ha, after jozy’s shot, was that adam johnson screaming at him for a pass? well of course it was.
not to mention he was offside most of the play.
Man, Jozy is winning possession with multiple black and white shirts draped all over him! He’s a beast today!
Altidore wins the free-kick. The man is playing great today.
Fret job to get a shot off amid a huge crowd of black and white shirts, but it’s right at the keeper. At least he’s active and getting the ball in dangerous spots.
Tough angle, no where to go. If the pass to him was a second earlier he might’ve had a good look. Good try and good hustle by borini to get to that ball
Altidore with the shot! No room really.
Omg altidore got a shot
Nice cut back across the goal there by Joz. I love that thinking. Very dangerous ball.
Jozy can take on people he just doesn’t
Jozy is a different player when he is out of the box and has space.
Altidore with the skill to beat the right back of Newcastle.
Can’t fault his work in keeping the ball on the end line.
Colback…………..
NBC must’ve told announcers to be nice for American audience
arriving late this morning after getting kids ready for saturday events.
I have heard 2 positive comments about Jozy from the announcers this morning.
Positive comments about Jozy. Wow!
Altidore is playing well. His passing is splendid. His hold-up play is strong. We just need him to shoot.
As I have pointed out before, he is averaging only about 1 shot per game. He definitely needs to shoot more.
FLICK OF THE YEAR
Btw, Marcos Alonso still looks like crap on defense and not much better on the attack
I actually kind of like him. He gets forward nicely and shws a bit of skill on the ball. He’s a bit prone to the turnover I will give you, but I think he’s got some ability.
yeah, i probably wouldn’t like him on my team (scratch that–my team’s dc united, so i’d love to have him). he’s pretty unreliable, but he does have skill and can be exciting.
Ok to be fair, yes he does help in the attack and can be a positive force in that respect but I’m not sold that he knows how to defend at all… I’ve seen too many “ball watching” moments over the last several games. I’m rooting for him, yes, but he hasn’t shown me much. Potential tho, sure
Somehow I feel reporters will still say jozy has “terrible first touch” even tho he plays nice flicks like that all the time. He set up that goal. Very nice. TomG what uuuup!?
Sup FO?
When commentators refer to “first touch” they usually mean a player’s ability to trap or direct (with control) the ball into space away from a defender or toward an open look at goal. Jozy’s is not good. It’s not so bad that he has no business playing the game, but we are judging him to the standard of an international striker and it simply isn’t up to par for that level right now. It’s even more frustrating when you look at him physically, because he has all the tools in that area. His big problem is that when he traps, the ball does not stay close enough to him and when he tries to beat a defender with his first touch he loses the ball most of the time.
Is recommend you actually watch the games before commenting……
To elaborate, let’s just point out his play. On the goal AJ scored …. Jozy’s “first touch” nicely directed the ball “into space” for his teammate to be in on goal, AJ cleaned up the save. That, my fiend, is a good first touch. Trust me, I actually watch 80% of sunderland games…. Jory’s first touch an hold up play are a B+ at worst. His weakness is sometimes not working the correct run to get the ball later in the build. He almost always uses his large body to trap, shield and pass to teammate early in a build (aka hold up play, genius)
His first touch used to be awful, I think some fans still see it that way but he looks better now and that is with the increased level of competition! He must have worked at it very hard.
Also, I think “first touch” can be deceiving. There’s really two parts to “first touch”: receiving a pass and keeping it close in the process AND an ability to play it on with one touch. Many players struggle with one aspect but not the other.
Correct sir. Jozy holds his own. Yea he used to be awful at first touch but now is good. Really that’s where his game has improved the most in the last few years. Hold up play etc
His first touch when he’s trying to make a play in tight spaces is bad
One time I scored a goal from 30 yards out so clearly that means I have the skill to do it all the time.
nyrb, villareal, bb, jk, az, Sunderland all seemed to have no problems with jozy’s “first touch”,but hey, usaalltheway scored from 30 years out in a rec league once, so we should probably listen to him.
This was the last thing Newcastle could afford after selling Cabaye and only bringing in one player when they needed two even if they kept Cabaye.
Lol. And Sunderland moves to 12th place in the live standings
What a crazy season. It’s great. Funny that after a season of unprecedented parity and close races in MLS, we have Unusual parity in the Prem.
The parity is really only at the bottom of the table, which isn’t really parity at all.
The top 5 or 6 are also pretty close so that you have two clumps very close with a few teams in the middle far from either end.
Yes, but parity would imply that those top 5-6 teams are not the same teams every year, which is not the case.
Jozy playing with more confidence these last 2 games. Good to see!
Jozy starts that goal beautifully with the cheeky backwards flick to Colback in stride.
Jozy with a clever back heel flick.. Props from the announcers
OMG WHAT A SEXY PASS FROM ALTIDORE, LEADS TO A GOAL!!!!
Sunderland!
Goal Johnson
Cute little flick by Johnson to set up Bardsley for the penalty. One promising signof late is the increased offensive presence of the fullbacks since Alonso transferrred.
dowd is an incompetent referee.
Couple very odd yellows so far. Perhaps because of the fear of fan violence, he’s trying to shush any behaviors.
yeah, i typed “horrible” at first, but he hasn’t made any egregious calls, really; he just seems out of his depth.
Dowd seems to be friendly with the players, but he doesn’t always seem to be on the same page with the game.
Damn altidore doesn’t get to take ok, borini scores
I think Altidore is pretty far down the list of penalty takers. When Sunderland went to pens against ManU he wasn’t in the top 5.
Even when Dempsey was Fulham ‘s leading scorer, he rarely took free kicks. Soon after he started taking some he scored a beauty in the upper corner. Remember Jozy’s free kick against Bosnia? I think that’s the first free kick I’ve seen him take for the nats as Donovan usually does it. Sometimes the ability is there, but the coaches favor somebody else.
lol, how does anita totally miss the ball?
Another field goal for sunderland. They must lead the league. They don’t seem to realize you don’t get points for them in this kind of football.
question from a neutral observer:
why a yellow card on o’shea? i always thought that a deliberate handball was a straight red; is that not true?
and if it wasn’t a deliberate handball (which is my opinion), why was it a card at all? just a free kick, i would think.
Didn’t see the play, but if the deliberate handball stops a shot on goal, it should be a red. A few years ago FIFA decreed tackles from behind that didn’t get the ball were supposed to be red, but in practice the referees soon changed to yellow, so the referees aren’t always strict in observing the rules.
It’s red only if the hand ball prevents an obvious goal scoring opportunity. If it’s not a goal scoring opportunity but is done in an unsporting way it would be a yellow (like a professional foul). Otherwise, it’s just a free kick.
cool, thanks guys. didn’t feel like looking it up.
I notice that Jozy typically is forced to hold the ball up about thirty or so yards outside the box and the wings stream past him, putting him way behind the play. Even though he starts the sequence as the high man up the pitch, the tactics Gus employs puts the wings in position to score with Jozy far withdrawn. If anything, he needs the wings to look to cut the ball back, looking for late runs. Unfortunately, neither Johnson or Borini seem to have that skill. Jozy may also be able to nick a few goals sweeping late into the scrum in the box and poking in a rebound, but the pickings will be very slim as long as he’s employed like this.
There’s Alonso Gettin worked again, I think I’m gonna start watching m Alonso as close as people do jozy and you’ll see how bad Alonso is. Haha
True but it works for the team.
And as long as it aint broke ……
Poyet’s priority is Sunderland.
How in the world am, I up at 745.
How could you not? What a great game we have to watch!
Free header! Should have scored! What a miss by the defender.
Cats seem to be looking for Jozy a bit.
Nice control and passing by Altidore. looks good so far. He looks like he is ready for the occasion.
Jozy has a nice headed pass.
Jozy with the foul.
I always hate this derby. Newcastle is the team I favor in the EPL, but I want Jozy and Sunderland to succeed.
i would just cheer for a jozy hat trick, and newcastle winning 4-3. 🙂
I guess that would be the win-win scenario.
How did you become a Newcastle supporter? Seems a bit of a difficult choice and no real American presence.
I became a massive fan of soccer after the EURO 2008 tournament. The spectacular Turkey and Czech game, with the subsequent run by Turkey, made me love the game.
After that game, I watched a movie called GOAL!. It was the first introduction I had to the sport really, and the main character ended up playing for Newcastle. I looked them up and started investing myself into what the Toon army was about. And, now I am here.
Also, I now have friends from England that are Newcastle supporters.
Interesting.
Yeah….
That may sound a little weird or cheesy, but oh well.
i like it
Not any more cheesy than “oh, let’s see which team is winning now, I’ll root for them”
Thanks for sharing that, thats awesome.
Neat – I had heard about the Goal series.
newcastle has a long history of english top flight football. in the past the team was known for its attacking style – and apparently tremendously out of shape fans! – Not you Observer, the “big” fellows without their shirts on at St. James Park.
Yeah, I started to be there supporter in 2009-2010, and they were not as good in the following years, but alas, they are in the EPL again, so I am happy.
Also, I do not consider myself a fan of Newcastle; rather, I consider myself a supporter. I think there is a difference. I live in the South — US — so I do not have a team. I like multiple teams in multiple leagues, so I am a supporter of many teams. To be a fan is to be a fanatic, and I am not that. I am a fan of soccer, though. I will watch each and every game possible.
I used to do that, but kind of burned myself out of it. I just can’t find a team I feel a real connection to overseas. So I just root for American players, not teams.
All due respect, do not like pardew, like his vulgar insults to the gentleman Pellegrini a couple of weeks ago …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJPZQL7g4ZI
nor do I like Newcastle’s style of play that verges on dirty. Hope Sunderland whups ‘em and that Jozy does not end up injured like we often see when teams go up against Newcastle, like the horror tackel on Nasri a couple of weeks ago.
Pardew makes some very poor after the game comments. I appreciate his passion, although his ire is misplaced at times.
jozy starts up front. scocco on the bench instead of fletcher.
Good morning.
Very interesting seeing Fletcher not dress. I was wondering how Scocco would be used. I understand he can be a winger as well.
he is primarily a winger, although he can play anywhere in the front. unfortunately, however, poyet’s comments seem to indicate that he’ll be used as the striker in a 4-3-3, theoretically displacing jozy.
we’ll see if poyet actually plans on using a straight 4-3-3 (which would have been perfect for jozy), or if it’s still the 4-5-1 that’s been happening.
I don ‘t understand. If Jozy starts as a lone striker, why would he be displaced in a 4-3-3? Especially when it looks like he is favored ahead of Fletcher.
Sunderland signed a new striker in the transfer window. Argentinian named Nacho Scocco.
Thing is, Nacho can also play winger.
also worth noting that cattermole is not in the 18. as far as i heard, the mooted transfer to stoke was scrapped, so i’m not sure what’s up with that.
Catt is just nicked up. Have no idea about Fletch. That’s weird. Maybe he’s carrying a knock as well?
Read yesterday where Fletcher is still dealing with an achilles issue.
Poyet has been trying to keep Fletcher out due to some lingering issues – i thought it was a hamstring, but if KNP says it is his achilles, so be it.
The move to bring in the young Argentine, may have been for extra cover and the future. I believe that Sunderland had said they would take offers for Fletcher prior to the winter transfer window.
They desperately need help in the wings. After Borini and Johnson the drop-off is bad. Larson is not very good and Giacc can’t seem to settle in.
Huge, huge match for Jozy to stay as first choice. Unfortunately, I can’t see anything different with Catt missing, Colback still fumbling and hesitating in the middle of the pitch and Bridcutt not fit yet, possession will be hard to find. Maybe he can have a similar performance as he had midweek and find a way to slot one home.
Jozy starting. Fletcher did not dress.
ha, jinx.