5 World Football Games to Watch This Weekend
The weekend approaches and with it the possibility of watching wall-to-wall football beamed to your living room from stadiums all over the world.
This week's offerings include the coming together of goal machines Lionel Messi and Radamel Falcao, a game neither side can afford to lose in England and the FIFA-contrived battle for world supremacy involving Chelsea in Japan.
Without further ado, here are my five games to watch this weekend.
5. PSG vs. Lyon
1 of 5When: Sunday, 3 pm ET
Where to watch in the U.S.: Univision Deportes
The battle for the French title is not as straightforward as PSG's extravagant spending led us to believe it might be.
Lyon are three points clear at the top of the table and will travel to face the diamond-encrusted ranks of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co. confident of getting a result, despite the disappointment of a 1-1 draw with Nancy last time out. By the time Sunday's kick-off arrives, Marseille may also have moved ahead of PSG in the table after playing Toulouse on Saturday.
PSG haven't had things all their own way so far, but they go into the match on the back of two straight 4-0 wins in Ligue 1. And with Zlatan, for course.
The chance presents for Carlo Ancelotti's men to make a statement of intent. It's the biggest match of the season so far in France, but there's still the suspicion PSG players are far more interested in their Champions League campaign than they are domestic matters.
Read this for proof.
4. Chelsea vs. Corinthians
2 of 5When: Sunday, 5.30 am ET
Where to watch in the U.S.: Fox Soccer
Why are we watching the FIFA World Club Cup? Because FIFA wants us to and also because it's intriguing to see how teams from different continents stack up against each other.
Sunday will see Champions League holders Chelsea try to make themselves feel better by lifting the trophy against Corinthians of Brazil, who arrived in Japan courtesy of winning the Copa Libertadores last season.
Chelsea eased past Monterrey of Mexico to reach the final, with Fernando Torres continuing his run of scoring against weak opponents to give license to at least 10,000 more "Torres is back" articles to fill the internet.
Corinthians played "cautiously and defensively" to beat Al-Ahly of Egypt 1-0 in their semifinal and will likely do the same against Chelsea on Sunday.
Why watch? Firstly, to see if Torres can continue his goal binge. Secondly, to see David Luiz will play in midfield again. Thirdly, to see if Corinthians can make life even harder for Rafa Benitez at Chelsea.
3. Lazio vs. Inter Milan
3 of 5When: Saturday, 2.45 pm ET
Where to watch in the U.S.: beIN Sport
Inter Milan have bounced back from a dip in form with two straight wins in Serie A, against Palermo and Napoli.
They travel to Rome to face Lazio on Saturday knowing that anything less than victory could see Juventus further their lead at the top of the table.
Lazio are unbeaten in five league games. They beat bitter rivals Roma 3-2 in their last match and continue to rely on the goals of veteran German striker Miroslav Klose. A victory on Saturday would reinforce their position in the top four, but it won't be easy.
What we are surely guaranteed is goals. Along with Lazio's Klose, Inter boast the talents of Diego Milito and Antonio Cassano. Both teams have been scoring freely and entertainment is as good as guaranteed.
A 0-0 draw will now follow.
2. Newcastle Utd vs. Manchester City
4 of 5When: Saturday. 7.45 am ET
Where to watch in the U.S.: ESPN2
What you have here is a battle of two managers under pressure and two teams who desperately need three points.
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is smarting from a painful derby loss to Manchester United. His expensively-assembled squad are out of Europe and lie six points adrift of United, barely 16 games into the defence of their title.
Nothing less than victory at St. James' Park on Sunday will do.
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew finds his team just two points above the Premier League relegation zone and having lost five of their last six in the division. It all feels like a huge anticlimax after what the Toon Army managed to achieve last season.
Hope can be found in Newcastle's recent 3-0 home win against Wigan, which represented just their second clean sheet of the season. And also in the fact Demba Ba is a potential match-winner.
Expect the Newcastle crowd to be in full voice. It's up to their team to give them something to get excited about. City's task is quieting the home fans and getting their season back on track.
1. Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid
5 of 5When: Sunday, 3 pm ET
Where to watch in the U.S.: beIN Sport
Spain's top two come together on Sunday, as Atletico Madrid travel to face the might of Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Atletico are six points adrift and it's hard to imagine Barca dropping too many more, so you have to believe victory is essential to whatever hope they may have of being realistic challengers this season.
Leading their line will be Radamel Falcao, who scored five times in their 6-0 win against Deportivo La Coruna last time out. The Colombian hitman is the darling of the gossip columns and one of the hottest forwards on the planet right now.
The hottest will be lining up for Barcelona and goes by the name of Lionel "I just broke Gerd Muller's record" Messi. Not many people get the black-and-white treatment from Getty images, but Messi's historic feat was deserving of the kind of romantic homage that appears above.
Barca have won eight in a row in La Liga. Atletico won't want to give Real Madrid any further encouragement to catch them.
Two of the world's most potent attacking threats to the fore, we should be in for a treat.
