By JUSTIN FERGUSON
After a crushing loss at Chelsea and a heartbreaking draw with Swansea City earlier this week, Arsenal face a must-win match for their English Premier League title hopes Saturday.
But the Gunners will have to go through one of the hottest teams in England if they are to get their title chase back on track.
Facing injuries and a six-point deficit to league-leading Chelsea, fourth-place Arsenal host third-place Manchester City at Emirates Stadium to on this Soccer Saturday of action. Manchester City have two matches in hand on the rest of the EPL’s title contenders, and they have posted five straight shutouts in league play in their race to the top of the table. The Citizens defeated Arsenal 6-3 in the reverse fixture earlier this season and will be favorites heading into North London on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the EPL, struggling Manchester United look for any momentum ahead of their Champions League matchup with title holders Bayern Munich when they host Aston Villa. First-place Chelsea hit the road to take on Crystal Palace, while several key relegation battles will take place in the middle slate of matches.
In Spain, La Liga’s top three squads will be in action Saturday. First-place Atletico Madrid look to stay ahead of the pack with a victory against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames, second-place Barcelona face city rivals Espanyol, and third-place Real Madrid hope to end their losing skid with a victory against Rayo Vallecano.
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):
8:45am- NBC Sports- Manchester United vs. Aston Villa
11am- beIN Sport USA- Espanyol vs. Barcelona
11am- NBC Sports- Crystal Palace vs. Chelsea
11am- NBC Sports Live Extra/DirecTV- Southampton vs. Newcastle United
11am- NBC Sports Live Extra/DirecTV- Stoke City vs. Hull City
11am- NBC Sports Live Extra/DirecTV- Swansea City vs. Norwich City
11am- NBC Sports Live Extra/DirecTV- West Bromwich Albion vs. Cardiff City
1:30pm- NBC Sports- Arsenal vs. Manchester City
3pm- beIN Sport USA- Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid
4pm- Direct Kick- Philadelphia Union vs. Montreal Impact
4pm- NBC Sports- D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire
5pm- beIN Sport- Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano
6pm- Direct Kick- Colorado Rapids vs. Sporting Kansas City
7pm- Direct Kick- Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Houston Dynamo
8:30pm- Direct Kick- FC Dallas vs. Portland Timbers
9:30pm- Direct Kick- Real Salt Lake vs. Toronto FC
10pm- Direct Kick- Seattle Sounders vs. Columbus Crew
10:30pm- Direct Kick- San Jose Earthquakes vs. New England Revolution