A couple big matches in England this weekend, with 4 of the 5 consensus contenders in the Premier League race facing off against each other: Spurs-Chelsea on Sunday, and Arsenal-Man U on Monday. Here are the details on those, plus a handful of additional matches to spend your weekend on. As usual, all times ET (and as usual culled from the SoccerInsider’s weekly post)
SATURDAY
England, Aston Villa-West Brom 10 a.m. FSC: one of the two West Midlands derbies this weekend.
England, Newcastle-Liverpool 12:30 p.m. FSC: Newcastle unceremoniously dumped their manager Chris Hughton on Monday–the guy that had led them to promotion from the Championship last season, in a decision that was equally unpopular among Newcastle’s fans and current players (as well as the press, including one former England legend/Newcastle manager). So it will be interesting to see how newly appointed Alan Pardew is received at St James’ Park and what sort of performance
Germany, Werder Bremen-Dortmund 6 p.m. ESPN Deportes (also ESPN3.com): A chance to see Borussia Dortmund, who is still atop the Bundesliga table, against a team that was one of Germany’s 3 entrants in the Champions League.
SUNDAY
England, Spurs-Chelsea 11 a.m. FSC: The way these two sides have been playing, Spurs are the clear favorite to win at home. Spurs would climb to within a point of Chelsea with a win.
Italy, Juventus-Lazio 2:30 p.m. FSC (also ESPN3.com): As we noted earlier this week, Lazio is looking impressive–2nd in Serie A to AC Milan, while Juventus is only 3 points behind in 3rd place.
Spain, Barcelona-Sociedad 3 p.m. GolTV: Is anyone going to challenge the Big 2 is Spain? Doubtful, but Real Sociedad will be the next to try. Sociedad are one of the two Basque teams in La Liga, and although just repromoted to La Liga after a 3-year stint in Segunda Divsion, they have climbed up to 6th in the table.
NCAA men’s championship match 4 p.m. ESPN2 (also ESPN3.com): The winners of this evening’s North Carolina-Louisville and Akron-Michigan semis will face off.
MONDAY
England, Arsenal-Manchester United 3 p.m. ESPN2 (also ESPN3.com): Arsenal is atop the table, one point ahead of Man U (but Arsenal have game in hand, due to Man U’s match last weekend at Blackpool being called off due to frozen pitch). Here is a guide to the rivalry. Also, the Chilean miners will be in attendance.
