Soccer on TV: What to watch this weekend
Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga kick off new seasons Friday with single games featuring their defending champions while in England the reigning Premier League titleist, Manchester City, seeks to continue its unbeaten start Saturday in its first game of the new season at home.
La Liga: Barcelona begins the chase for a third straight crown Friday against Athletic Club (BeIN Sports, noon PDT) and will have a different look after spending $217 million to acquire French forward Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid and Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. And Barcelona may not be done adding players since it remains the leader in a high-priced pursuit of Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar. It’s likely Lionel Messi will be sidelined for the opener, however, after sitting out much of the preseason, then missing training Thursday, because of a calf issue.
Bundesliga: The last time Bayern Munich finished anywhere but first in the Bundesliga, Robert Lewandowski, the team’s leading scorer this century, was still playing for league rival Borussia Dortmund. Bayern will begin its quest for an eighth straight title and Lewandowski will aim for a third consecutive scoring crown when they play host to Hertha Berlin (FS2, Fox Deportes, 11:30 a.m. PDT). Hertha has a win and three draws against Bayern in the last three seasons, making it the only team in Germany to avoid defeat over that span.
EPL: A week after opening the Premier League season with an easy victory, Manchester City, the two-time reigning winner, plays at home for the first time, hosting Champions League runner-up Tottenham (NBC, Telemundo, 9:30 a.m. PDT) at Etihad Stadium.
