Soccer on TV: The top games to watch this weekend
The English Premier League welcomes back the self-proclaimed “Special One” this weekend when Jose Mourinho returns to the sidelines, this time with Tottenham, the third team he has managed in England. He replaces Mauricio Pochettino, whose five-year reign made him the longest-serving coach with the same EPL club. In other top televised games from Europe, slumping Manchester City faces Chelsea, one of Mourinho’s former clubs, while in Italy Juventus seeks to protect its slim lead atop the standings at Atalanta.
EPL: Mourinho comes back in England less than a year after his sacking at Manchester United to make his Tottenham debut in Saturday’s pre-dawn game against West Ham (NBCSN, Universo, 4:30 a.m. PST). Spurs made it to the Champions League final last season but at 3-4-5 this year they’re in the bottom half of the table, far closer to the relegation zone than to another European berth. West Ham (3-5-4) is winless in its last six EPL matches but it could pass Tottenham with a victory. Further up the standings Manchester City (8-3-1), the two-time defending league champion, has dropped to fourth place, a point behind Chelsea (8-2-2), the team it hosts Saturday (NBC, Telemundo, 9:30 a.m. PST). One more loss and City will match last season’s total — and it’s only November.
Serie A: Despite the fact Cristiano Ronaldo has just three goals for Juventus (10-0-2), the eight-team defending Serie A champion, remains unbeaten in league play. Its lead in the standings, though, is just a point over Inter Milan entering Saturday’s game at fifth-place Atalanta (ESPN Deportes, ESPN News, 6 a.m. PST). The good news is that Juventus hasn’t lost to Atalanta (6-2-4) in a Serie A game since February 2001, earning 75 of a possible 87 points.
