Soccer on TV: The best games to watch this weekend
An unstoppable force meets an immovable object in Portugal’s top division, while bitter rivals will renew their feuds in Italy and England in three of the top televised soccer matches from Europe this weekend.
Portuguese Primeira Liga: Benfica’s Jonas has been unstoppable this season, scoring 15 times in 12 games. And Porto’s goalkeeping combo of Iker Castillas and Jose Sa have been unbeatable, giving up only five goals while combining for eight shutouts. One of those two things will have to give Friday when once-beaten Benfica heads to unbeaten Porto with the league lead at stake (Gol TV, 12:30 p.m. PT)
Serie A: Gonzalo Higuain’s availability following surgery for a fractured finger could be a game-time decision, but the ex-Napoli striker definitely wants to silence his former fans in a Friday game that could lift Juventus to within a point of unbeaten Napoli atop the table (BeIN Sports, 11:30 a.m.). Higuain, who scored 71 times in 104 appearances for Napoli, has eight goals for Juventus this season.
EPL: The return from injury of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the resurgence of Romelu Lukaku have carried Manchester United to three straight victories heading into Saturday’s road match against an Arsenal team that has also won three in a row (Ch. 4, 9:30 a.m.). The personal animosity between the two coaches — Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger and Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho —is well known, but the focus will be on the field here because a positive result will keep the winner within range of league-leading Manchester City.
