There’s a lot of important and entertaining football this weekend. What should you watch?
The international break is done and dusted, and we’ve got a very busy and important weekend of club football ahead in Europe. A major managerial debut, a duel between two managers under fire, a major derby, and a top-of-table clash all highlight the weekend, and that only scratches the surface of a very watchable footballing weekend.
So with everything going on, what should you watch? Well, we’ve got you covered there — here’s our comprehensive list of the best matches to watch in each general time slot in the English Premier League and Europe as a whole, along with a look at the other more watchable games for the weekend. There’s a lot to take in, so kick back and have some fun.
Saturday – Early kickoff
England: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool (7:45 a.m. ET, 12:45 p.m. local)
While Tottenham and Liverpool aren’t exactly battling for the top of the table, this match is still arguable the most important of the weekend. It is, after all, the debut of Jurgen Klopp after he replaced Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool’s manager. Spurs and Liverpool have also had quite a few memorable matches over the last few years, with a number of high-scoring matches and surprise results. One thing’s for sure: this will not be a boring game.
Watch: TV: NBCSN (U.S.), BT Sport 1 (U.K.) Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
Europe: Schalke 04 vs. Hertha BSC (9:30 a.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. local)
Schalke continue to be one of the hardest teams to predict in all of Europe — many observers looked at their struggles last season and weakened squad for this season and figured they were in for another miserable campaign. Instead, they sit in third — with tiny Hertha sitting right behind them in fourth. Both sides have actually been quite a bit of fun to watch, so together they should be well worth your time, even with the likes of Bayern and Real Madrid playing matches at the same time.
Watch: TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S.), Sky Bundesliga 1/HD (Germany) Online: Fox Soccer 2 Go, Fox Sports Go (U.S.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany)
Saturday – Late kickoff
England: Chelsea vs. Aston Villa (10 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. local)
OK, this technically isn’t a late kickoff match — in England that’s Watford vs. Arsenal, for the record — but this match has a lot more on the line. You see, both Jose Mourinho and Tim Sherwood are on the hot seat, and there are rumors floating that the loser of this match could well be fired. That seems like a long shot for either manager once you actually stop and think about it, but the fact that those rumors are even out there says a lot about the kind of pressure that’s on them right now. Pressure to perform can make managers do weird or crazy things, so this match deserves your attention.
Watch: TV: USA Network (U.S.) Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)
Europe: Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano (2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. local)
Barcelona against a team flirting with the relegation zone in La Liga may not seem like the most exciting thing to watch on the surface, but this isn’t just any Barca-versus-minnow squash match. The Catalan giants are still trying to adjust to life without Lionel Messi, and that experiment didn’t go super smoothly in their first go at it before the break.
Watch: TV: beIN Sports (U.S.), Movistar TV Futbol, Canal+ Partidazo (Spain), Sky Sports 2/HD (U.K.) Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
Sunday – Early kickoff
Europe: Napoli vs. Fiorentina (9 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. local)
Fiorentina shocked us all when they went into the international break on top of Serie A for the first time since 1999 — and yes, before you ask, all the “party like it’s 1999” jokes have already been made. Their success has served as a wonderful example of the crazy and fun and bizarre start to the Italian season, and their success has been quite enjoyable. They’re not the red-hot team in Italy, though — that honor falls to Napoli, who turned around a slow start to the season and dominated AC Milan, Juventus, and Lazio in three of their last four league matches, and humbled their Europa League opponents in that time as well. Napoli and Fiorentina are always good for a crazy match, but there’s a lot on the line in this one, which means the insanity dial should be turned up past 11.
Watch: TV: beIN Sports (U.S.), Sky Calcio 1, Premium Calcio (Italy), BT Sport 1 (U.K.) Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), Sky Go Italia (Italy)
Bonus Europe: Real Sociedad vs. Atletico Madrid (10 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. local)
There’s no early start matches in England, so here’s another match on the continent worth keeping an eye on. David Moyes’ Sociedad side has had a miserable start to the season, but a lot of their results have been as much down to poor luck as they’ve had to do with how they’ve played. Just a slight turnaround could see them start to vastly improve — but they first have to get past an Atletico Madrid team that seems to be finding itself. A large amount of transfer window turnover lead to a slow start, but things have seemed to start to click for Diego Simeone’s side of late, and when Atleti click, they’re one of the most dangerous and entertaining teams around.
Watch: TV: beIN Sports en Español (U.S. – Spanish), Canal+ Liga (Spain), Sky Sports 3/HD (U.K.) Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. – Spanish), Sky Go (U.K.)
Sunday – Late kickoff
England: Newcastle vs. Norwich City (11 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. local)
Perhaps a battle between the last-place side in England and a midtable-ish team that’s also not that far above the relegation zone doesn’t seem thrilling on the surface, but there’s a lot of building that can be done from this match. Newcastle have yet to win this season and desperately need a kickstart to their season in order to give their fans hope in a relegation dogfight they want no part of. Norwich are, thanks to a couple surprising results, within striking distance of the main pack of teams jostling for position and hoping to crack the top four. A win here could see them start to sneak up on that group and cause some big shocks in England, so seeing how they approach this match knowing their opportunity and playing against a desperate side should be fascinating to see.
Watch: TV: NBCSN (U.S.), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.) Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
Europe: Inter Milan vs. Juventus (2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local)
The Derby d’Italia may not have as much international cachet as the Derby della Madonnina between Inter and AC Milan, but this battle between Juventus and the nerazzurri is still one that regularly delivers exciting football. The rise of Inter to being a quality side again and the rough start Juve have suffered gives this match a bit of an extra edge, though — Inter want to prove that they’re for real by beating the four-time defending champ, and Juventus want to do something, anything, to get their season moving in the right direction again. The San Siro looks like the place to be this weekend, because this could be the single best match all weekend anywhere in the world.
Watch: TV: beIN Sports (U.S.), Sky Calcio 1, Premium Calcio (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.) Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), Sky Go Italia (Italy)
* * *
Here’s the rest of the action for the weekend in England and Europe. Click the links for full TV and online streaming listings from LiveSoccerTV.
Matchup
League
Day/Time (ET)
Watch (U.S.)
Everton vs. Manchester United
EPL
Saturday, 10 a.m.
NBCSN, NBC Sports Live Extra
Manchester City vs. AFC Bournemouth
EPL
Saturday, 10 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra
Southampton vs. Leicester City
EPL
Saturday, 10 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra
West Bromwich Albion vs. Sunderland
EPL
Saturday, 10 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra
Crystal Palace vs. West Ham
EPL
Saturday, 10 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra
Watford vs. Arsenal
EPL
Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
NBC, NBC Sports Live Extra
Wolfsburg vs. Hoffenheim
Bundesliga
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Hamburg SV vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Bundesliga
Saturday, 9:30 a.m.
Fox Soccer 2 Go
Augsburg vs. Darmstadt 98
Bundesliga
Saturday 9:30 a.m.
Fox Soccer 2 Go
Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich
Bundesliga
Saturday, 9:30 a.m.
Fox Sports 1, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Eintracht Frankfurt
vs. Borussia Monchengladbach
Bundesliga
Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Real Madrid vs. Levante
La Liga
Saturday, 10 a.m.
beIN Sports, beIN Sports Connect
Eibar vs. Sevilla
La Liga
Saturday, 12:15 p.m.
beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports Connect
Valencia vs. Malaga
La Liga
Saturday, 4 p.m.
beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports Connect
Real Betis vs. Espanyol
La Liga
Saturday, 4 p.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Roma vs. Empoli
Serie A
Saturday, 12 p.m.
beIN Sports, beIN Sports Connect
Torino vs, AC Milan
Serie A
Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Bastia vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Ligue 1
Saturday, 11 a.m.
TV5 Monde, beIN Sports Connect
Koln vs. Hannover 96
Bundesliga
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Stuttgart vs. Ingolsdtadt
Bundesliga
Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer 2 Go
Villarreal vs. Celta Vigo
La Liga
Sunday, 6 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Getafe vs. Las Palmas
La Liga
Sunday, 12:15 p.m.
beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports Connect
Deportivo la Coruna vs. Athletic Bilbao
La Liga
Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
beIN Sports en Espanol, beIN Sports Connect
Bologna vs. Palermo
Serie A
Sunday, 6:30 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Atalanta vs. Carpi
Serie A
Sunday, 9 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Frosinone vs. Sampdoria
Serie A
Sunday, 9 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Genoa vs. Chievo Verona
Serie A
Sunday, 9 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Hellas Verona vs. Udinese
Serie A
Sunday, 9 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
Sassuolo vs. Lazio
Serie A
Sunday, 9 a.m.
beIN Sports Connect
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