By JUSTIN FERGUSON
This busy Soccer Saturday will start with a bang in London as first-place Chelsea welcome third-place Arsenal to Stamford Bridge for a crucial match between English Premier League title contenders.
Chelsea have never lost a home league match under manager Jose Mourinho, and they will look to keep that streak — and more importantly, their advantage atop the league — intact as the Gunners visit West London. The Blues will try to rebound from their 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last weekend without midfielders Ramires and Willian, who each had late red cards at Villa Park. Arsenal are focused on keeping their league momentum going with a road win as they continue their late-season push without several key players.
The two other title contenders in the EPL, Liverpool and Manchester City, will be in action in the middle slate of matches. High-scoring Liverpool travel to 19th-place Cardiff City, while Manchester City battle last-place Fulham at Ethiad Stadium. Later in the day, Manchester United begin their tough stretch without Champions League savior Robin van Persie with a road fixture at 12th-place West Ham United.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich look for their 18th consecutive victory in Bundesliga play against Mainz, who Bayern defeated to start their long winning streak. In Serie A, AS Roma take on Chievo Verona away from the Stadio Olimpico, and league-leading Cruz Azul visit Atlas to highlight Saturday night’s 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 TV schedule is after the jump):
8:15am – Derby County vs. Nottingham Forest – beIN Sports USA
8:45am – Chelsea vs. Arsenal – NBC Sports Network
10:30am – Mainz 05 vs. Bayern Munich – GolTV USA
11am – Cardiff City vs. Liverpool – NBC Sports Network
11am – Everton vs. Swansea City – Premier League Extra Time
11am – Hull City vs. West Bromwich Albion – Premier League Extra Time
11am – Manchester City vs. Fulham – Premier League Extra Time
11am – Newcastle United vs. Crystal Palace – Premier League Extra Time
11am – Norwich City vs. Sunderland – Premier League Extra Time
11am – Granada vs. Elche – beIN Sports en Español
11am – Middlesbrough vs. Queens Park Rangers – beIN Sports USA
11am – Aberdeen vs. Kilmarnock – Fox Soccer Plus
12pm – Marseille vs. Rennes – Univision Deportes
1pm — Torino vs. Livorno – beIN Sports USA
1pm – Espanyol vs. Levante – beIN Sports en Español
1:30pm – West Ham United vs. Manchester United – NBC Sports Network
1:30pm – Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Hertha BSC – GolTV USA
2pm – New England Revolution vs. Vancouver Whitecaps – MLS Direct Kick
3pm – Real Valladolid vs. Rayo Vallecano – beIN Sports en Español
3:45pm – Chievo vs. AS Roma – beIN Sports USA
3:45pm – PSV Eindhoven vs. Roda JC – GolTV USA
4pm – Montreal Impact vs. Seattle Sounders – MLS Direct Kick/Univision Deportes
4pm – Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy – NBC Sports Network
4:30pm – Toronto FC vs. D.C. United – MLS Direct Kick
5pm – Athletic Bilbao vs. Getafe – beIN Sports en Español
6pm – Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers – MLS Direct Kick
6pm – Columbus Crew vs. Philadelphia Union – MLS Direct Kick
6pm – Peñarol vs. Cerro – GolTV USA
7pm – Club America vs. Veracruz – Univision Deportes/Univision
8:30pm – Sporting KC vs. San Jose Earthquakes – MLS Direct Kick
8:30pm – FC Dallas vs. Chivas USA – MLS Direct Kick
9pm – Pachuca vs. Chiapas – Univision Deportes
9:30pm – Tigres UANL vs. Queretaro – UniMás
10:05pm – Club Leon vs. Cruz Azul – Telemundo Deportes/Telemundo
11pm – Atlas vs. Chivas de Guadalajara – Univision Deportes