Things have not gone well for Barcelona so far in 2021.
The mysterious leak of Lionel Messi’s contract last month was the harbinger of high drama off the field. Things have been bad on the field too. The year so far has seen the team underperform in La Liga, have a complete meltdown in the Supercopa de España final, and set itself up with a 2-0 deficit in the Copa del Rey all while the much needed leadership reset hangs in the balance with the team’s presidential election coming up in March.
It isn’t garbage time yet, though.
In fact, it’s go time. The Catalan giant can right the ship and possibly more if it can get serious about the return of the UEFA Champions League, and its must-see matchup with PSG in the first leg of the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
The job is doable for Barca, too. PSG is not enjoying its usual cakewalk of France at the moment, and the honeymoon phase of Mauricio Pochettino abruptly ended when the team took a 3-2 loss to promotion side Lorient in his second match in charge, and the team still sits second in the Ligue 1 ranks with Neymar’s recent injury taking him out of the equation for the foreseeable future.
Advancing in the star-studded matchup will be a reprieve from their struggles for the winner, and the loser’s problems will be magnified.
Liverpool, another team who desperately needs to silence its critics with a good showing in the tournament, faces a passable test against RB Leipzig – but caution must be exercised. The German side already proved it has no reservations about punching up in the tournament, ask Manchester United fans about that story.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for your free trial of fuboTV and ESPN+ for all your soccer streaming needs.
Here is a look at This Weekend’s Top 5 Matches to Watch, along with a full rundown of the soccer viewing options available this week:
Top 5 Matches to Watch
- Barcelona vs PSG – Both desperately need to stay alive and start having fun, and the star power on display gives ground for someone to be the hero who leads the way.
- RB Leipzig vs Liverpool – Liverpool should win. But it has been blowing a lot of games it should win lately. How much trouble are they in?
- Porto vs Juventus – Cristiano Ronaldo in UCL mode. Enough said.
- USWNT vs Canada – The Canadians present the U.S. Women’s National Team with its toughest test in 2021 in the opening round of the SheBelieves Cup.
- Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund – More UCL fare. Both will feel like this one is winnable, both have good arguments to think that way, but only one can go on to be the underdog in the next round.
Monday
Premier League
1 p.m. -NBCSN, fuboTV – West Ham United vs Sheffield United
3 p.m. -NBCSN, fuboTV – Chelsea vs Newcastle United
Bundesliga
2:30 p.m. –ESPN+ – Bayern München vs Arminia Bielefeld
La Liga
3 p.m. -beIN SPORTS, fuboTV – Cádiz vs Athletic Club
Serie A
2:45 p.m. –ESPN+ – Hellas Verona vs Parma
Primeira Liga
3:15 p.m. –fuboTV – Sporting CP vs Paços de Ferreira
Liga MX
10 p.m. –fuboTV, TUDN USA – Pachuca vs Atlas
Primera División
5:15 p.m. –fuboTV – Rosario Central vs Argentinos Juniors
7:30 p.m. –fuboTV – Independiente vs Lanús
Indian Super League
9 a.m. –ESPN+– Mumbai City vs Bengaluru
Club Friendly
7 p.m. –fuboTV – Emelec vs Manta
Super Lig
8 a.m. –fuboTV – Gençlerbirliği vs Beşiktaş
Tuesday
UEFA Champions League
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN, – Barcelona vs PSG
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Galavision – RB Leipzig vs Liverpool
Australian A-League
3:05 a.m. –ESPN+– Melbourne City vs Sydney FC
EFL Championship
3:15 p.m. –ESPN+– Luton Town vs Cardiff City
Indian Super League
9 a.m. –ESPN+– Hyderabad vs Kerala Blasters
CAF U20 Championship
11:50 a.m. –fuboTV – Ghana vs Tanzania
2 p.m. –fuboTV – Gambia U20 vs Morocco U20
Wednesday
UEFA Champions League
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN – Porto vs Juventus
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Galavision – Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund
Premier League
1 p.m. -NBCSN, fuboTV– Burnley vs Fulham
3:15 p.m. -NBCSN, fuboTV– Everton vs Manchester City
La Liga
1 p.m. -beIN SPORTS, fuboTV– Levante vs Atlético Madrid
Liga MX
10 p.m. –fuboTV, TUDN USA – Tigres UANL vs Cruz Azul
Copa Argentina
7:10 p.m. –fuboTV– Vélez Sarsfield vs Deportivo Camioneros
Australian A-League
3:05 a.m. –ESPN+– Melbourne Victory vs Wellington Phoenix
Copa do Brasil
7:30 p.m. -Fox Soccer Plus, fuboTV– Palmeiras vs Grêmio
Primera A
8:10 p.m. –fuboTV– Junior vs Deportivo Cali
EFL Championship
3:15 p.m. –ESPN+– Bournemouth vs Rotherham United
Indian Super League
9 a.m. -ESPN App – Goa vs Odisha
CAF U20 Championship
2 p.m. –fuboTV– Mozambique vs Mauritania
Tournoi de France
1 p.m. –fuboTV– Norway vs Switzerland
Canc. -beIN SPORTS, fuboTV– France vs Iceland
Primera Division
5:30 p.m. –fuboTV– Cerro Largo vs Peñarol
Thursday
UEFA Europa League
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Galavision- Crvena Zvezda vs AC Milan
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Sporting Braga vs Roma
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Olympiakos Piraeus vs PSV
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Dynamo Kyiv vs Club Brugge
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Krasnodar vs Dinamo Zagreb
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Slavia Praha vs Leicester City
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com – Young Boys vs Bayer Leverkusen
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Univision – Real Sociedad vs Manchester United
12:55 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Wolfsberger AC vs Tottenham Hotspur
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Galavisiion – Lille vs Ajax
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Granada vs Napoli
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Antwerp vs Rangers
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, Univision – Benfica vs Arsenal
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Molde vs Hoffenheim
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Salzburg vs Villarreal
3 p.m. -CBS All Access, fuboTV, TUDN.com- Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Shakhtar Donetsk
SheBelieves Cup
4 p.m. -Fox Sports 1, fuboTV– Brazil vs Argentina
7 p.m. -Fox Sports 1, fuboTV– USA vs Canada
Liga MX
10 p.m. –fuboTV, TUDN USA- Atlético San Luis vs Santos Laguna
Copa Argentina
7:10 p.m. –fuboTV– San Lorenzo vs Liniers
10 p.m. –fuboTV– Defensores de Belgrano vs Almirante Brown
Primera A
8:05 p.m. –fuboTV– América de Cali vs Santa Fe
Indian Super League
9 a.m. –ESPN+– Chennaiyin vs NorthEast United
Primera Division
3 p.m. –fuboTV– Progreso vs Naciona
How are we not talking about how the different streaming services are ruining everything American soccer culture built? We get one champions league game on TV a WEEK now while the rest is hidden behind a further streaming paywall. Then with the EPL NBC has totally botched that coverage. NBC made EPL a common household sport in the US and now they are killing it with Peacock. This needs to be addressed.
Na-h, man, that ship has sailed. You open your mouth on any of these forums, you are immediately a thief, cheat and or a domestic terrorist.
As such, I just watch the games I want to watch without paying a dime to these money grabbing, vomit inducing disgusting corporations, and I keep my mouth shut.
Did anyone say, a BBC for PeaCOCK? (and the likes, for that matter, not a dime, not now, not ever, not in this lifetime)