It was a full week of soccer with Champions League rounds kicking off midweek but things aren’t slowing down over the weekend and we have a slew of matches including some head-to-head action in Germany. Here’s what we have our eyes on this weekend:
Friday
Stuttgart v St. Pauli – 2:30p on ESPN Select: James Sands and St. Pauli kick off the weekend looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season. Sands has played nearly every minute for a St. Pauli side that opened the season with a draw with Borussia
Dortmund and have won their last two matches. They face a Stuttgart side that have won once and lost twice, including a 3-1 loss to Freiburg last weekend.
Lyon v Angers – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann and Lyon suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend, 3-1 to Stade Rennais. Lyon were leading until late in the match when Tyler Morton picked up a straight red in the 75th minute, Lyon conceded their first in the 80th followed by two stoppage time goals to totally cough up the points. Tessmann has played every minute for Lyon through their first four matches.
Saturday
Augsburg v Mainz – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks did not appear last weekend in Augsburg’s 2-1 loss to St. Pauli, a week after getting his first minute off the bench in a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich. Augsburg have lost their last two and look to get back on track as they play host to a Mainz side that are still looking for their first win of the season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United – 10a on Peacock: Brenden Aaronson received his first start of the season last weekend in Leeds’ 1-0 loss to Fulham. Leeds have one point from their past three matches, after opening the season with a win over Everton, and are in 16th place early in the season. This weekend they face a Wolverhampton side that have lost all four matches this season, though three of the four have been decided by a single goal.
West Ham United v Crystal Palace – 10a on USA Network: Chris Richards came off the bench to score a goal and convert his penalty midweek as Crystal Palace defeated Millwall in a penalty shoot-out to advance in the third round of the EFL Cup. Palace are undefeated though they have just one win in four matches early in the EPL season. They take on a West Ham side that have been involved in some lopsided affairs, winning 3-0 over Nottingham Forest for their lone points of the season while giving up three or more goals in each of their losses.
Norwich City v Wrexham – 10a on Paramount+: Josh Sargent was held scoreless for the first time this season as Norwich City drew with Coventry 1-1 last weekend. Sargent will look to return to his scoring ways against Wrexham this weekend as Norwich look for their third win against a newly promoted side that have just one win on the season.
Hellas Verona v Juventus – Noon on Paramount+: Weston McKennie was back in the lineup for Juventus because of course he is. McKennie, who had appeared as a late sub in Juve’s first two matches started as a left wing-back as Juventus defeated Inter Milan 4-3 last weekend, and started again midweek as Juve drew with Burussia Dortmund 4-4 in Champions League action. Despite speculation that McKennie was on the outside looking in to start the season he has once again shown himself to be a part of the picture in Turin. Juventus have won their first three league matches and are tied with Napoli atop the Serie A table. On Saturday they face a Hellas Verona side that are looking for their first win of the 2025-26 campaign.
Udinese v AC Milan – 2:45p on Paramount+: Christian Pulisic has come off the bench in AC Milan’s past two matches, wins over Lecce and Bologna. The team doesn’t have European competition to worry about though they do have a Coppa Italia match with Lecce coming up on Tuesday. Their slip up to start the season, a 2-1 loss to Cremonese, has Milan in fifth place, a point behind this weekend’s opponent Udinese.
Fulham v Brentford – 3p on USA Network: Antonee Robinson was an unused substitute last weekend in Fulham’s 1-0 win over Leeds United, and he has appeared twice for just over fifty minutes combined this season. Fulham’s win over Leeds was their first victory of the season and they are currently a point ahead of Brentford who drew with Chelsea last weekend in league play and defeated Aston Villa midweek on penalties in the Carabao Cup.
Saturday MLS Matches with USMNT flavor – here is when the September MLS call ups are kicking off their matches this weekend, all matches on MLS Season Pass:
- NYCFC v Charlotte – Noon: Matt Freese v Tim Ream
- Philadelphia Union v New England – 2:30p: Nathan Harriel
- Atlanta United v San Diego – 4:30p: Luca de la Torre
- Columbus Crew v Toronto FC – 7:30p: Max Arfsten and Sean Zawadski
- Orlando City SC v Nashville SC – 7:30p: Alex Freeman
- Sporting Kansas City v Vancouver Whitecaps – 8:30p: Tristian Blackmon
- Houston Dymano v Portland Timbers – 8:30p: Jack McGlynn
- LA Galaxy v Cincinnati – 10:30p: Roman Celetano
Sunday
PSV v Ajax – 8:30a on ESPN Select: Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi had a rough midweek falling to Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 in Champions League group stage play with Pepi having a bit of a howler on the defensive end (don’t ask me what he’s doing down there). They return to Eredivisie action which is normally safer, Pepi scored two last weekend and Dest had an assist in PSV’s 5-3 win over NEC Nijmegen, but they will be facing rivals Ajax, who are just a point back of them in the league standings.
Bournemouth v Newcastle – 9a on USA Network: Tyler Adams and Bournemouth have won three straight and currently sit tied with Arsenal and Tottenham for second place with nine points. On Sunday they face Newcastle who picked up their first league win 1-0 over Wolverhampton last weekend and fell 2-1 to Barcelona in Champions League play on Thursday.
Torino v Atalanta – 9a on Paramount+: Yunus Musah got his first start for Atalanta on Wednesday in Champions League play. Unfortunately, his side fell to last seasons champions PSG 4-0. Musah had also come off the bench last weekend to make his first appearance for his new club in a 4-1 win over Lecce.
Mallorca v Atletico Madrid – 10:15a on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso was not included in the squad for Atletico Madrid midweek as the team fell to Liverpool 3-2 and he was an unused substitute last weekend in his teams 2-0 win over Villarreal. Cardoso apparently picked up a bit of an injury though it’s unclear at this time how much action he will miss.
Monaco v Metz – 11:15a on beIN Sports: Add Folarin Balogun to the list of USMNT players who had a rough start to the Champions League midweek. Balogun’s Monaco side fell to Club Brugge 4-1 on Thursday. In League play Monaco have won three of four, including a 2-1 win over Auxerre last weekend with Balogun picking up an assist, and the team sits in third place heading into their match with Metz who have just one point in four matches.
Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Monchengladbach – 11:30a on ESPN Select: Mallik Tillman and Gio Reyna will face off on Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach meet up in league play. Tillman started on Thursday but went just 51’ in Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw with Copenhagen. Meanwhile Reyna made his first appearance for Gladbach, getting the start and going 74’ in the team’s 4-0 loss to Werder Bremen. Interestingly, Joe Scally who has been such a consistent feature for Gladbach was an unused substitute in the loss that cost manager Gerardo Seoane his position.
Olympique Marseille v PSG – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah was one of the few American’s to have a positive match midweek in the Champions League group stage. Weah opened the scoring at the Bernabeu to put Marseille up 1-0 on hosts Real Madrid. Unfortunately, Marseille were unable to hold on to the lead as Madrid took advantage of a questionable handball call late in the match to pull out the 2-1 victory. Marseille have alternated wins and losses to start the Ligue 1 season, most recently defeating Lorient 4-0, and will now host league leading PSG on Sunday.
Sunday MLS Activity:
Austin v Seattle Sounders – 7p on MLS Season Pass: Cristian Roldan
LAFC v Real Salt Lake – 9p on FS1: Diego Luna
