There are a couple of head-to-head matchups this weekend as well follow up performances from a handful of midweek goal scorers. There are no Friday games of note but the Saturday and Sunday slates are both
quite full. Here’s what we’re watching:
Saturday
Eintracht Frankfurt v Augsburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks started and played the full 90’ last weekend as Augsburg upset Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 to win for the second time in three matches. It was Banks eighth straight start, and the second match in that time that Augsburg have finished with a clean sheet. Augsburg remain in fourteenth place and they did not make up points on the teams closest to them in the table as Hamburg, Wolfsburg and Heidenheim also all won but they did put two more points between themselves and 17th place St. Pauli who are in the last straight relegation position. They will face a Frankfurt side that lost 2-1 to Barcelona midweek and fell to RB Leipzig 6-0 last weekend as it appears they are struggling with the challenge of maintaining both their Bundesliga and Champions League schedules.
Borussia Monchengladbach v Wolfsburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Giovanni Reyna started his first Bundesliga match since September and his second straight match across all competitions as Borussia Monchengladbach defeated last place Mainz 1-0 last Friday. Joe Scally also started the match as Gladbach extended their unbeaten streak to five matches and moved to tenth in the Bundesliga table. The team will now host fifteenth place Wolfsburg who, still without the services of Kevin Paredes, currently sit just a point out of the relegation playoff spot
St. Pauli v Heidenheim – 9:30a on ESPN Select: James Sands and St. Pauli picked up a point against Koln last weekend, snapping a nine match losing streak, but remain in the relegation positions as they look to pickup their first win since September 14th when they face a Heidenheim side that are just three points ahead of them in the table.
Burnley v Fulham – 9:30a on 12:30p on NBC: Antonee Robinson has been progressing well in training and reportedly could return to the field on Saturday as Fulham face Burnley. Fulham are in fifteenth place and have lost their past two matches. They will look to get back on track against a Burnley side that is second worst thus far and have lost six straight matches.
Bayer Leverkusen v Koln – 12:30p on ESPN Select: Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen will look to bounce back from their loss to Augsburg last weekend as they take on Kristoffer Lund and his Koln team that are in ninth place but coming off a disappointing draw with St. Pauli.
PSV v Heracles – 2p on ESPN Select: Sergino Dest has started 14 of 15 league matches for PSV this season and Ricardo Pepi has joined him in the past two as PSV maintain their league lead. Pepi also scored in each of the last two league matches and has an assist as well as he looks to make his case for additional minutes moving forward. He also was one of several American’s to score midweek and he notched a goal for PSV in their 3-2 loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. On Saturday PSV will face 16th place Heracles who after a particularly rough start to the season are actually undefeated in their past six matches across all competitions.
Atalanta v Cagliari – 2:45p on Paramount+: Yunus Musah saw three minutes off the bench on Tuesday in Atalanta’s 2-1 win over Chelsea in Champions League play. Unfortunately, Musah still hasn’t appeared in a league match since October and he has just 80’ across all competitions since late September. The loan at Atalanta does not seem to be going well and Musah is at real risk of missing out on next summers World Cup if he isn’t able to turn things around or find another move.
Paris v Toulouse – 3:05p on beIN Sports: Mark McKenzie started again for Toulouse last weekend as they snapped their six match winless streak by defeating Strasbourg 1-0. Toulouse now face Paris FC who are in fourteenth place and are winless in their last four matches.
Sunday
AC Milan v Sassuolo – 6:30a on Paramount+: Christian Pulisic came on as a second half substitute on Monday as AC Milan came from behind to defeat Torino 3-2 after falling behind 2-0 in the opening 20 minutes of the match. Pulisic’s goals were his six and seventh of the Serie A season and he has eleven goals and assists in the twelve matches be has played across all competitions this season. With the win Milan remain tied with Napoli for first place in Serie A.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – 9a on NBCSN and Peacock: Chris Richard, the best player in the USMNT pool (which I’m sure itself will cause some debate), started yet again for fourth place Crystal Palace as they defeated Fulham 2-1 last weekend. Palace haven’t had a lot of tough matchups this season but they have been in every match they have played, with just three losses on their record, all of which were by a single goal.
Olympique Lyon v Le Havre – 9a on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann has been sidelined for Lyon’s past two matches and will reportedly be out again this weekend as fifth place Lyon face a Le Havre side that are just three points out of the relegation playoff spot.
Brentford v Leeds United – 11:30a on USA Network: Brenden Aaronson came off the bench for 25’ and notched an assist as Leeds drew with Liverpool 3-3 after initially falling behind 2-0. Leeds have four points from their last two matches but still are just two points out of the relegations spots.
Olympique Marseille v Monaco – 2:45p on beIN Sports: The second USMNT matchup of the weekend sees Tim Weah and third place Marseille facing off against Folarin Balogun and seventh place Monaco on Sunday afternoon. Weah has started three straight league matches for Marseille since returning from injury while Balogun missed last weekends league match but started and scored for Monaco midweek in their 1-0 win over Galatasaray in Champions League play.
Bologna v Juventus – 2:45p on CBS SS and Paramount+: Weston McKennie also scored in Champions League action this week, notching the opener for Juventus as they defeated Pafos 2-0 on Wednesday. McKennie also started against Napoli last weekend and notched an assist but Juve fell to the second place team and remain in seventh place in the league standings. They could move past fifth place Bologna who they face on Sunday as they trail their opponents by two points.
