What to watch in European soccer this weekend
Germany’s Red Bull Leipzig and Spain’s Sevilla, surprising early leaders in their respective leagues, hope to prove they belong there this weekend, while in England struggling Chelsea will try to get back on track against unbeaten Liverpool in the top TV games from Europe this weekend.
Bundesliga: Leipzig, unbeaten after four matches, will have a chance to extend its league Saturday when it visits mid-table Werder Bremen (FS2, TUDN, 9:30 a.m.). Leipzig’s early season success has been fueled by a defense that has allowed a league-low three goals and by forward Timo Werner, whose five goals account for half his team’s scores this season.
EPL: Unbeaten, untied Liverpool has been dominant in the early going, posting a league-best goal differential of +11 while opening a five-point gap at the top of the standings. Chelsea, meanwhile, has been inconsistent under new manager Frank Lampard, scoring 11 times but giving up 11 scores, second-most in the league. What’s more, Lampard is now being questioned over his lineup decisions after holding U.S. national team star Christian Pulisic out of this week’s Champions League loss. An upset of Liverpool on Sunday at Stamford Bridge (NBCSN, Telemundo, 8:30 a.m. PT) could help change the narrative but that’s a tall task: Chelsea has won just one of its last nine league meetings with Liverpool.
La Liga: Sevilla hasn’t finished better than third in Spain’s first division since 1957 but it tops the table after four games this season. It will get a chance to show if that early success is for real Sunday when it plays host to fellow league unbeaten Real Madrid (BeIn Sports, noon PT). One thing you can bet on is that Sevilla will score. It had at least a goal in its last 17 games with Real Madrid, whose new goalkeeper, Belgian World Cup star Thibaut Courtois, hasn’t pitched a shutout since coming to Spain eight months ago, allowing 56 goals in his first 40 matches at the club.
