By JUSTIN FERGUSON
While many fans in the United States eagerly anticipate the start of the 2014 Major League Soccer season, the busy Saturday of action will begin with several important matches in England.
Chelsea will look to extend their lead in the English Premier League when fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur visit Stamford Bridge, where Blues manager Jose Mourinho has never lost a league match. The hosts have had no trouble with Tottenham at home in recent years, but Spurs have already forced Chelsea to share points during their meeting earlier this season at White Hart Lane.
Before the two London rivals take the field at Stamford Bridge, another powerhouse from England’s capital will try to keep their quest for a FA Cup going with a quarterfinal match against visiting Everton. Arsenal are looking to bounce back from their loss at Stoke City with a cup victory against the visiting Toffees, who have never won at Emirates Stadium but have drawn in their last two visits.
In other EPL action, 19th-place Cardiff City and 20th-place Fulham will square off in a traditional relegation 6-pointer in South Wales. Elsewhere, first-place Bayern Munich visit Wolfsburg in Bundesliga play, while Barcelona look to put pressure on league-leading rivals Real Madrid with a road victory at Real Valladolid.
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 – West Bromwich Albion vs. Manchester United – NBC Sports Network
7:45am – Arsenal vs. Everton – Fox Sports 1
9:30am – Wolfsburg vs. Bayern Munich – GolTV USA
10am – Cardiff City vs. Fulham – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Crystal Palace vs. Southampton – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Norwich City vs. Stoke City – Premier League Extra Time
10am – Real Valladolid vs. Barcelona – beIN Sports USA
10:30am – Bastia vs. Paris Saint-Germain – Univision Deportes
12pm – Udinese vs. AC Milan – beIN Sports USA
12:30pm – Chelsea vs. Tottenham – NBC Sports Network
12:30pm – Nurnburg vs. Werder Bremen – GolTV USA
2pm – Nantes vs. Ajaccio – Univision Deportes
2pm – Celta de Vigo vs. Atletico Madrid – beIN Sports USA
2:45pm – PSV Eindhoven vs. Utrecht – GolTV USA
3pm – Seattle Sounders vs. Sporting KC – NBC Sports Network
4pm – Granada vs. Villarreal – beIN Sports en Español
6pm – Club America vs. Santos Laguna – Univision Deportes/Univision
7pm – D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew – MLS Direct Kick
7:30pm – Vancouver Whitecaps vs. New York Red Bulls – MLS Direct Kick
8pm – Pachuca vs. Monterrey – Univision Deportes
8pm – Tigres UANL vs. Cruz Azul – UniMás
8:30pm – Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution – MLS Direct Kick
8:30pm – FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact – MLS Direct Kick
10pm – Atlas vs. Chiapas – Univision Deportes
10:30pm – LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake – MLS Direct Kick
10:30pm – Portland Timbers vs. Philadelphia Union – MLS Direct Kick