Soccer on TV: The best games to watch this weekend
Liverpool and Manchester City return from the international break to resume their battle atop the Premier League standings while Juventus will try to make do without Ronaldo. Barcelona, meanwhile, has little to worry about in its derby match with Espanyol, highlighting the top televised soccer from Europe this weekend.
EPL: With Manchester City likely to extend its six-game EPL winning streak when it plays relegation-bound Fulham on Saturday (NBCSN, Universo, 5:30 a.m. PDT), Liverpool figures to drop back to second in the league standings before taking the pitch at Anfield on Sunday against third-place Tottenham (NBCSN, Telemundo, 8 a.m.) But the Reds are working on a streak of their own, having gone unbeaten in their last 10 EPL games. Tottenham, on the other hand, hasn’t won an EPL match since Feb. 10 and has won just once in its last 24 league visits to Anfield. It could lose its hold on a Champions League berth without a result there Sunday.
La Liga: Barcelona is cruising to a second straight Spanish league title, taking a 10-point lead into the weekend. But it still has local bragging rights to play for in Saturday’s Barcelona derby with 13th-place Espanyol (BeIn Sports, 8 a.m. PDT). Barcelona, which hasn’t lost in league play since Nov. 11, whipped Espanyol 4-0 in their first meeting this season and is 3-0-1 in the last four derby games. Lionel Messi leads all European players with 29 goals in 26 games — that’s three fewer goals than Espanyol has as a team.
Serie A: It’s been a trouble-free season for once-beaten Juventus, which has a 15-point lead over Napoli in the Italian standings. But it will be challenged Saturday when it plays Empoli (ESPN Plus, 10 a.m. PDT) without leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who injured a hamstring playing for Portugal in Monday’s Euro 2020 qualifier. With 19 goals and eight assists, Ronaldo has had a hand in nearly half of Juventus’ league-leading 59 goals this season.
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kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11
