EPL Weekend Viewing Guide, Gameweek 10
What a weekend we have ahead! Three big derbies, plus two Champions League sides facing off in the Saturday tea-time match at Old Trafford.
First, please note that in Europe they move their clocks backthis Sunday morning, whereas we in America wait an extra week. So the matches this Sunday, Monday, and then the following Saturday will all start an hour later here than we are used to. So west coasters can sleep an extra hour if you want to watch matches live.
Our 4-star match will be United hosting Spurs Saturday afternoon. No Rooney, but the little pea is on fire, and you know a United game is likely going to come down to injury time. The pick of the derbies might be Villa-Brum, but the tackles will be flying in at Newcastle you can be sure. I cant find live television for the derby at Villa, but FS+ will have it tape-delayed at 11:30 am ET.
Heres the viewing guide:
****: Must-see. Cancel all other activities. Do not even DVR as even in America you might hear the score!
***: Strong match; worth watching live; DVR a must if you cant see live
**: Flip through quickly to see the goals, red cards, injuries, and perhaps watch the last 5 minutes + injury time if close
*: Only if youre a die-hard
Matches shown in chronological order:
Saturday, October 30 (all times EDT)
** Arsenal vWest Ham! , 10 am, FSC/FD
Not the most exciting derby of the week. The Hammers started brightly home to Newcastle, then faded and were truly awful in the 2nd half. They did advance mid-week, however, to the Carling Cup quarterfinal, along with the Gunners. Terrific win for Wengers crew at the Eastlands Sunday.
** Blackburn vChelsea, 10 am, ESPN2/ESPND &espn3.com
ESPN had first pick and went for this match over the London derby. This fixture finished 1-1 last year.
** Wolverhampton vMan City, 10 am, FS+ &foxsoccer.tv
City came and thumped Wolves nil-3 last year. Mancini still needs more consistency if he wants to contend. Tevez has gone home to Argentina again, and theres even talk the star may miss the mid-week Manchester derby in 2 weeks.
** Everton vStoke, 10 am,foxsoccer.tv & 5 pm (delayed) FSC
* Fulham vWigan, 10 am,foxsoccer.tv & 8 pm (delayed) FS+
**** Man Utd vTottenham, 12:30 pm, FSC/FD
United won each fixture last year by identical 3-1 margins. While theres been recent talk of the aging stars Giggs, Scholes and Van der Sar at United, this game will still feature some of the best young players in the game: Hernandez, Bale, Nani, Lennon. + Berbatov and Van der Vaart. If Spurs get a penalty, I imagine it will be the mellifluous combination of Van der Vaart facing Van der Sar. My dictionary says Vaart means speed whereas Sar means tease or nag, so perhaps the Spurs should be favored in that matchup.
Sunday, October 31
*** Aston Villa vBirmingham, 8 am,foxsoccer.tv & 11:30 am (delayed) FS+
This is stillthe Second City derby, and it! s always one of the most intense matches of the season. Villa have won 6 of these in a row, and in many of those 6 theyve won with a very late goal. The penalty that decided the last one in April was hotly contested, and I have to say I agree with Birmingham fans that Martin Atkinson erred.
*** Newcastle vSunderland, 9:30 am, FS+ &foxsoccer.tv
This terrific rivalry is also back in the EPL. I give 50% odds Joey Barton sees red.
* Bolton vLiverpool, 12 noon, FSC
Note the noon kickoff.
Monday, November 1
** Blackpool vWest Brom, 4 pm, ESPND &espn3.com
Their league standings dont reflect this, but it might be an early 6-pointer for two newly promoted sides. No ESPN2 again.
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