Weekend Soccer Preview

Coming off of an exciting week of World Cup qualifiers, it is back to the domestic leagues starting again this weekend. Here is what is in store:

English Premier League (Home team listed first, all times AM unless otherwise noted)
7:45 ET Saturday
Aston Villa v. Chelsea (ESPN2)
Chelsea is top of the table again as they travel to Villa Park, where the hosts look to make strides towards their goal of cracking the top four this season. Villa sit in 7th place with 13 points, 8 back of leader Chelsea, but Chelsea have played one more game.
10:00 ET Saturday
Arsenal v. Birmingham
Everton v. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester Untied v. Bolton Wanderers
United held the lead at the top of the table for a brief moment of time, but a draw to Sunderland last match-day put a swift end to that. With Chelsea away in a tough match to Villa, this could be an opportunity for United to gain some ground on the leaders. Manchester United will be without striker Wayne Rooney, who picked up a calf injury playing against Ukraine last Saturday. Rooney is also doubtful for the midweek Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow. United may also be missing Dimitar Berbatov, whose partner (wife?) gave birth recently. Michael Owen will look to take on the brunt of the striking duties coming off of a groin problem of his own.
Portsmouth v. Tottenham Hotspur (FSC, Delayed)
Stoke City v. West Ham United
Sunderland v. Liverpool (FSC)
Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones have Sunderland off to a solid start in the Premiership, where they have not finished above 15th in the past 8 years. Sunderland will look to take their momentum from a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford two weeks ago and turn it into a win against injury-plagued Liverpool, who have new striker Sotirios Kyrgiakos out with a knee injury and stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando both ruled out due to minor injuries incurred during World Cup Qualifiers.
8:00 ET Sunday
Blackburn Rovers v. Burnley
11:00 ET Sunday
Wigan Athletic v. Manchester City (FSC)
15:00 ET (Also known as 3:00 PM ET) Monday
Fulham v. Hull City (ESPN2)

Scottish Premier League
7:30 ET Saturday
St. Johnstone v Rangers
10:00 ET Saturday
Celtic v Motherwell
Celtic sit one point ahead of Rangers after 7 games of the Scottish Premier League. It will again be a two-horse race this season, so both teams will look to gain maximum points in this weekend’s matches.

Spain’s La Liga
14:00 ET Saturday
Real Madrid v. Valladolid (ESPN360.com)
Madrid will be missing Cristiano Ronaldo, who will be out for up to four weeks after suffering an ankle sprain playing for Portugal last Saturday. Real lost 2-1 at Sevilla in the previous match-day and is now 3 points back of the undefeated Barcelona. Madrid will also be missing Guti, Fernando Gago, Christoph Metzelder, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, but will get Lassana Diarra and Alvaro Arbeloa back from injury.
16:00 ET Saturday
Valencia v. Barcelona (GolTV)
Barcelona midfielder Xavi should be fit in time to factor in Saturday’s contest after picking up a knee problem while on duty for Spain. Thierry Henry, however, will be out for about ten days after obtaining a thigh injury in a 3-1 win over Austria on Wednesday. A win for Barcelona would give them a record-setting seven straight wins to start the season.

Italy’s Serie A
12:00 ET Saturday
Juventus v. Fiorentina (FSC)
14:45 ET Saturday
Genoa v. Inter Milan
14:45 ET Sunday
AC Milan v. AS Roma
AC Milan are not happy with the lengthy injury to Oguchi Onyewu incurred in the final minutes of the USA’s thrilling qualifier vs. Costa Rica: "I'm very angry because once again the national teams take our players and we have to pay the consequences of injuries," complained Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani on Thursday. "We demand compensation from the American Federation because we cannot pay the salary of a player who cannot play for six months." Note that the quote mainly focuses on the fact that they will have to pay Onyewu, not on the fact that Onyewu won’t be able to play. While this injury will hurt Milan’s depth at the back, Gooch’s non-existent playing time for Milan indicates this will not be a fatal blow to the side. Roma and Milan are floundering in the league, at 8th and 12th respectively after 7 matches, and both teams will see this game as a launching pad back up to the top of the table.

MLS
6:00 PM ET Saturday
New England Revolution v. Chicago Fire (FSC)
The Revolution welcome the Fire in a vital Eastern Conference showdown. There are two games left in the season and the Fire lead the Revolution 41 points to 38 for second place in the East. Only the top two teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs automatically, with 4 other spots allocated to the next 4 best teams regardless of conference, so whichever team comes in third is likely to still sneak into the playoffs, though second place is preferred due to seeding. Also, the Fire are in a heated battle to remain in the top 6 in the league, which would assure them of a place in the U.S. Open Cup in 2010.

German Bundesliga
9:30 ET Saturday
SC Freiburg v. Bayern Munich
VfB Stuttgart v. Schalke 04
Werder Bremen v. TSG Hoffenheim
12:30 ET Saturday
Hamburg SV v. Bayer Leverkusen (GolTV)
These two teams are tied atop the table after 8 games in the Bundesliga. It will be a reunion of sorts for Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia, who was the coach of Leverkusen last season when they narrowly missed out on a place in Europe.

Austrian Bundesliga
12:00 ET Saturday
Austria Vienna v. SV Salzburg
After 10 games, Salzburg has 23 points to Austria Vienna’s 20 points in the Austrian Bundesliga. This is a key top-of-the-table clash before both teams take part in mid-week Europa League matches. Salzburg will host Bulgarian side Levski Sofia, while Austria Vienna welcomes German squad Werder Bremen, both formidable opponents.