A huge slate of matches this weekend
There is a huge slate of matches this weekend, despite AC Milan and Christian Pulisic having the weekend off, and includes matches across the top and bottom of all the major European leagues as well as some head-to-head matches. In addition to Milan being off there are some injury watch areas that will impact viewing opportunities so keep an eye out for those. The action starts on Friday afternoon with a matchup between a couple teams looking to distance themselves from the relegation fray.
Friday
Leeds United v Nottingham Forest – 3p on USA Network: Brenden Aaronson started and went 71’ in Leeds 4-0 defeat to league leading Arsenal last weekend. Leeds are now level with this weekend’s opponent, Nottingham Forest, who picked up a point in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace last weekend. Leeds and Forest both have 26 points, which give them a six point lead over West Ham United who are currently in the final relegation spot. Friday’s match is a true relegation zone six pointer and Leeds will be looking to avenge their September loss as they host Forest.
Saturday
St. Pauli v Stuttgart – 9:30a on ESPN Select: James Sands and St. Pauli fell to Augsburg 2-1 last weekend and are now five points back of Werder Bremen for safety, four back of Mainz for the relegation playoff spot. Sands did start and go the full 90’ picking up his fourth yellow card of the season in stoppage time. St. Pauli have just three wins through twenty matches with only one of those victories coming in the last four and a half months.
Heidenheim v Hamburger – 9:30a on ESPN Select: After starting his first three matches with Hamburger Damion Downs was unavailable last weekend due to a calf injury as his team played Bayern Munich to a 2-2 draw. Hamburger face a Heidenheim side who are dead last and have given up a league leading 45 goals but it’s uncertain if Downs will be available to try to take advantage of the matchup.
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Kevin Paredes missed last weekends match though he had been reported to be “back in full swing” the day prior to the match after also missing out two weeks ago due to illness. There were transfer rumors around the player whose contract expires in June so perhaps it was a precaution. Wolfsburg fell to Koln 1-0 and are now just one point clear of Mainz in the relegation playoff position. They host second place Borussia Dortmund who trail Bayern Munich by six points after gaining five points on them over the past two weekends.
Mainz v Augsburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Lennard Maloney and Mainz will host Noahkai Banks and Augsburg on Saturday morning. Maloney played nearly 20’ off the bench last weekend in Mainz’s 2-1 win over fourth place Leipzig. The win was Mainz’s third in four matches as the nine points doubled what they had picked up in their first sixteen matches of the season. They remain in sixteenth place, the relegation playoff position, a point back of a trio of teams for safety. Augsburg is also headed in the right direction over the last couple weeks with back-to-back wins over Bayern Munich and St. Pauli to pick up six points and move four points clear of Mainz in the relegation playoff spot. A week after serving a yellow card accumulation suspension and missing Augsburg’s 2-1 over Bayern, Banks was back in the starting lineup and picking up yet another yellow.
Fulham v Everton – 10a on Peacock: Antonee Robinson remains with Fulham, and Ricardo Pepi was not brought in after a curious decision to PSV not to let the injured player go because they couldn’t line up a replacement. Robinson and Fulham fell to suddenly hot Manchester United 3-2 last weekend with Robinson getting the start and playing 71’. Fulham dropped to ninth place with the loss and will take on an Everton side that are in tenth and tied with them on 34 points.
Coventry City v Oxford United – 9:01a on CBSSN: Haji Wright came off the bench last Saturday as Coventry City fell to QPR 2-1, it was their second straight loss this season and fourth in seven matches as they are now tied with Middlesbrough for the top spot in the league. The two teams with Americans are four points ahead of Hull City for automatic promotion to the EPL. Coventry will take on an Oxford United side that are ahead of only Sheffield Wednesday in the table. If you haven’t been following along Sheffield Wednesday are at negative seven points through thirty matches thanks to a pair of points deduction rulings totaling 18 points. That doesn’t have a direct impact on any USMNT players but what an odd table it makes.
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen – 12:30p on ESPN Select: Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach played Werder Bremen to a 1-1 draw last weekend while Gio Reyna watched from the sidelines as he suffers through injury yet again. Reyna has missed the past two matches due to another muscle strain and it’s unclear when he will be available again. Scally and Gladbach will host Bayer Leverkusen and fellow American Malik Tillman. Tillman scored the second of Leverkusen’s three goals last weekend in the team’s 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Leverkusen are in sixth place in the league standings, four points back of fourth place Stuttgart with a game in hand.
Real Sociedad v Elche – 3:00p on ESPN Select: Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Real Sociedad played Atheltic Club to a 1-1 draw last weekend and defeated Deportivo Alaves in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday as Sociedad remains undefeated since Matarazzo took the helm. Eighth place Sociedad will host thirteenth place Elche who are just two points out of the relegation zone in a very crowded lower half of the La Liga table. just four points separate the ten teams from 9th to 18th place with 18th representing the final relegation spot. Sociedad are themselves just two points ahead of that group and six points out of 18th themselves despite the recent run of success since Matarazzo took over.
Nantes v Olympique Lyon – 3:05p on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann and Lyon defeated fifth place Lille to pull seven points ahead of them and level with Marseille in the Ligue 1 standings. It was the fifth straight league victory for Lyon who now travel to face sixteenth place Nantes who have just 14 points through their first 20 matches of the season and have lost three straight matches.
Sunday
Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace – 9a on Telemundo: Chris Richards and Crystal Palace were unable to stop their winless streak on Monday as they settled for a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. It has been ten matches for Palace since their last win as they have slid to fifteenth place in the league standings though they are still nine points clear of 18th place West Ham.
Nice v Monaco – 9a on beIN sports: Folarin Balogun picked up an assist in Monaco’s 4-0 win over Stade Rennais last weekend. Balogun still hasn’t scored since November and has just four goals on the season but it was his second assist in the past four matches. The win also snapped a five match winless streak for Monaco and kept them in the top ten of the league standings. The team will travel to Nice on Sunday to take on the 13th place side who
Koln v RB Leipzig – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Kristoffer Lund started again for Koln on Friday as they defeated Wolfsburg 1-0. Koln have won two of three and are in tenth place as they prepare to host fifth place RB Leipzig who are looking to bounce back after a 2-1 loss to Mainz.
Groningen v PSV – 10:45a on ESPN Select: Sergino Dest and PSV solidified their hold on the Eredivisie title race with a decisive 3-0 win over second place Feyenoord to increase their league lead to seventeen points with thirteen matches to go in the season. The seventeen point lead is what makes Ricardo Pepi’s abandoned transfer to Fulham even more curious though there are rumors that he could be returning more quickly than originally thought. PSV’s opponent this weekend is 8th place Groningen who have lost their past two matches.
Angers v Toulouse – 11:15a on beIN Sports: Mark McKenzie and Toulouse were held to a scoreless draw by 17th place Auxerre last weekend and remain in eighth place as they visit 11th place Angers this weekend. McKenzie has started all but three matches for Toulouse this season who have given up 23 goals through 20 matches which is the fifth best scoring defense in the league.
Atletico Madrid v Real Betis – 12:30p on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso picked up a minor knock in training and missed out on Atletico Madrid’s 5-0 beat down of his old team, Real Betis, in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Thursday. Atletico will now face Betis in a league match on Sunday though Cardoso will likely miss out yet again though his injury isn’t expected to keep him out for an extended period.
PSG v Olympique Marseille – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah has started eight straight matches for Marseille who drew with Paris FC 2-2 last weekend. The draw dropped Marseille into a draw with Lyon which is significant as the top three in Ligue 1 automatically qualify for the Champions League. Marseille will take on league leading Paris Saint-Germain this weekend who have won six straight league matches. PSG hold a two point lead over Lens for the league lead and have a nine point advantage over Marseille.
Juventus v Lazio – 2:45p on Paramount+: Weston McKennie scored again for Juventus on Monday in the teams 4-1 win over Parma. It was the third goal of the calendar year for McKennie who was playing as the 10 for Juve who moved into the top four in the Serie A standings. They will take on eighth place Lazio who are coming off a 3-2 win over Genoa.
Category: General Sports
