By CARL SETTERLUND
After a week off for the international break, club soccer is back with a vengeance this weekend, providing us with a handful of can’t-miss fixtures in the English Premier League and La Liga.
First up, though, there are a few interesting matches elsewhere in Europe to keep an eye one as Bayer Leverkusen look to stay atop the Bundesliga table when they play Werder Bremen on Friday afternoon. In Ligue 1, Lyon and AS Monaco will both look to shake off their slow starts.
The action really heats up on Saturday, with a big showdown at the Emirates between Arsenal and Manchester City forcing everybody to reach for their morning coffee bright and early. The NBC Sports doubleheader concludes with an interesting fixture involving the top two teams in the EPL as Swansea City travels to London, putting their unbeaten record on the line against Chelsea.
In La Liga, the four Champions League teams will provide a pair of compelling match-ups starting with a mid-morning game involving Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. The biggest game of the weekend, however, will likely be the Madrid derby at the Estadio Bernabéu as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid renew what has become perhaps the best current rivalry in all of soccer.
Later on Saturday night, fans of the U.S. Women’s National Team will be able to stream their game against Mexico. Meanwhile, the attention will undoubtedly be on Rio Ferdinand’s return to Old Trafford Sunday as Harry Redknapp’s Queens Park Rangers look for an upset against Manchester United.
Here’s a full listing of this weekend’s schedule (and where to watch) after the jump:
FRIDAY
2:30pm — beIN Sports Connect — Olympique Lyonnais vs. AS Monaco
2:30pm — GOLTV USA — Bayer Leverkusen vs. Werder Bremen
3:30pm — Univision Deportes — Vitoria Setúbal vs. Benfica
7pm — ESPN3 — Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina (men’s soccer)
8:30pm — ESPN Deportes — Queretaro vs. Puebla
9:30pm — Univision Deportes — Veracruz vs. Atlas
10:30pm — NBC Sports/MLS Live — Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake
10:30pm — Direct TV/MLS Live — Chivas USA vs. Sporting KC
10:30pm — ESPN Deportes — Santos Laguna vs. Club Leon
SATURDAY
7:15am — beIN Sports USA — Birmingham City vs. Leeds United
7:45am — NBC Sports — Arsenal vs. Manchester City
7:45am — Fox Soccer Plus — Celtic vs. Aberdeen
9:30am — GOLTV USA — Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart
10am — NBC Sports — Chelsea vs. Swansea City
10am — NBC Sports Live Extra — Crystal Palace vs. Burnley
10am — NBC Sports Live Extra — Southampton vs. Newcastle United
10am — NBC Sports Live Extra — Stoke City vs. Leicester City
10am — NBC Sports Live Extra — Sunderland vs. Tottenham Hotspur
10am — NBC Sports Live Extra — West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton
10am — beIN Sports Connect — Charlton Athletic vs. Watford
10am — beIN Sports USA — Barcelona vs. Athletic Bilbao
10:45am — beIN Sports Connect — Rennes vs. Paris Saint-Germain
12pm — beIN Sports USA — Empoli vs. Roma
12pm — beIN Sports en Español — Málaga vs. Levante
12:30pm — NBC — Liverpool vs. Aston Villa
12:30pm — GOLTV USA — Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Schalke 04
2pm — beIN Sports USA — Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid
2:30pm — beIN Sports Connect — Juventus vs. Udinese
3pm — NBC Sports — Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls
3:15pm — Univision Deportes — Sporting CP vs Belenenses
4pm — beIN Sports en Español — Celta de Vigo vs. Real Sociedad
5:30pm — GOLTV USA — Fluminense vs. Palmeiras
6pm — Univision Deportes — Cruz Azul vs Toluca
6:30pm — USsoccer.com — U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Mexico
7pm — One World Sports — New York Cosmos vs. Atlanta Silverbacks
7pm — ESPN3 — Notre Dame vs. Syracuse (men’s soccer)
7:30pm — ESPN3 — Carolina RailHawks vs. San Antonio Scorpions
7:30pm — MLS Live — New England Revolution vs. Montreal Impact
8pm — Univision Deportes — Monterrey vs. Guadalajara
8:30pm — MLS Live — Houston Dynamo vs. Columbus Crew
8:30pm — MLS Live — FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
8:30pm — MLS Live — Chicago Fire vs. Toronto FC
9pm — MLS Live — Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers
9pm — Telemundo — Pachuca vs. Tijuana
10pm — Univision Deportes — Universidad Guadalajara vs Club America
10pm — Univision Deportes 2 — Chiapas vs. Morelia
SUNDAY
6am — beIN Sports Connect — Rayo Vallecano vs. Elche
6:30am — beIN Sports Connect — Sampdoria vs. Torino
7:45am — beIN Sports Connect — Lille vs. Nantes
8:15am — beIN Sports USA — Nottingham Forest vs. Derby Country
9am — beIN Sports Connect — Fiorentina vs. Genoa
9am — beIN Sports en Español — Inter Milan vs. Sassuolo
9am — beIN Sports Connect — Lazio vs. Cesena
9am — beIN Sports Connect — Napoli vs. Chievo
9:30am — GOLTV USA — Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Augsburg
11am — NBC Sports/Telemundo — Manchester United vs. Queens Park Rangers
11am — beIN Sports Connect — Guingamp vs. Bordeaux
11am — beIN Sports en Español — Valencia vs. Espanyol
11:30am — GOLTV USA — Hannover 96 vs. Hamburger SV
1pm — beIN Sports en Español — Sevilla vs. Getafe
1pm — Univision — Pumas UNAM vs. Tigres UANL
2pm — ESPN3 — University of Missouri-Kansas City vs. Kansas (women’s soccer)
2:45pm — beIN Sports USA — Parma vs. AC Milan
3pm — MLS Live/Univision Deportes — San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy
3pm — beIN Sports Connect — Evian TG vs Olympique Marseille
3pm — beIN Sports en Español — Granada vs Villarreal
3pm — ESPN3 — São Paulo vs. Cruzeir0
Very disappointed in the SEC Network for not showing women’s soccer. We get reruns of football games instead.
I’m very disappointed in the SEC in General for not having any men’s soccer programs with the exception of South Carolina and Vandy
Check out the plans again. SEC Network is gonna play over 40 women’s soccer games this season. If there smart (and they are) they will begin to show all the games leading to the tournament after the rust is off and the engines are warm.
no men’s soccer at Vandy- increase your disappointment accordingly
Only 1 Prem game on Sunday?
There are 6 games on Sat. 10am instead of the usual 5
Go Galaxy!
“Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid renew what has become perhaps the best current rivalry in all of soccer.”
LOL.
Its not?
nah. of world-class teams, i’d say it’s still real madrid – barca. although if atletico can maintain their form over the next 5 years, it would make it interesting.
Not that I disagree with, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say it’s ‘perhaps’ the best ‘current’ rivalry. It’s certainly not comical, which is why I’m also confused at the original post.
Exactly and I’m a barca fan arguing the original comment. Just the number of games that these clubs have played each other in the past two years has put it on the pedestal of el clasico. Should be a fun race between the big three in La Liga this year, watch out for Valencia as the dark horse, they have made numerous big time signings this year with the new owner.
Anyone know if Julian Green is expected to play, would make the Hamburg game a lot more interesting.
Rumor has it that he has a good chance to play on Sunday.
Who plays and who starts in the Hannover game will be interesting. At least 6 new players have joined the team since their last game, the 0-3 total humiliation by Paterhorn.
Green should get a lot of playing time and may even go the full 90. Especially considering that van der Vaart is out for 2 weeks with his calf problem.
“Green should get a lot of playing time and may even go the full 90.”
I’m not discounting your statement but what do you base it on? Assumption? Reports? Other? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see that as well.
Mainly from reading the Hamburger Morgenpost @mopo.de
http://www.mopo.de of course.
hard to predict–they’ve had a lot of turnover, and the team is in disarray right now. i’m guessing that he’ll get some minutes this weekend, but i wouldn’t be surprised if not.
I saw that Ronaldinho is unlikely to debut tonight for Queretaro. That would’ve been worth seeing.