November is rolling in this weekend and the November callups are likely to be announced soon. The team is already dealing with a number of injuries so here’s hoping that we don’t see any further knocks this weekend. Despite the injuries there is still a pretty solid slate of action this weekend including second place Bournemouth matching up with Manchester City and a head-to-head battle in the Bundesliga. Don’t forget to set those clocks back on Saturday night and don’t let the change in match times
trip you up this weekend. Finally, hit the comments below and let us know if anything’s been missed or what you’re keeping an eye on this weekend.
Friday
PSV v Fortuna Sittard – 3p on ESPN Select: Sergino Dest started and Ricardo Pepi came in for the final seven minutes last weekend as PSV defeated Feyenoord 3-2 to draw level for first place in the Eredivisie standings on the strength of an Ismael Sabari hattrick. PSV now host a Fortuna Sittard side that have last their past two league matches and currently sit in twelfth place.
Augsburg v Borussia Dortmund – 3p on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks and Augsburg had a weekend they would like to forget, and one they need to mentally overcome, last weekend as they fell to RB Leipzig in embarrassing fashion, loosing 6-0. Unfortunately, Banks played a role in the first three goals though he still played the full 90’ which suggest that perhaps the team will give him a bit of leash and not send him straight back to the bench after such a performance. Banks has started three straight matches, and until last weekend had shown that he is at least serviceable on the Bundesliga level. Augsburg will have their second straight match against a top five opponent this weekend as they host a Dortmund side that are in fourth place and have won three straight matches across all competitions, including moving past Eintracht Frankfurt in the dfb Pokal on Tuesday after the match went to penalties.
Saturday
Norwich City v Hull City – 8:30a on Paramount+: Josh Sargent is feeling pretty out of the picture and he may have a hard time working his way back in while playing second division soccer. Sargent hasn’t scored for Norwich since August though he did pick up an assist last weekend. The club have lost five straight and are currently in the relegation zone with just eight points through their first twelve matches.
Udinese v Atalanta – 10a on Paramount+: Yunus Musah may also find it difficult to work his way back onto the field for the USMNT if he doesn’t start seeing more regular minutes. Musah saw 8’ minutes off the bench for Atalanta on Tuesday as they drew with AC Milan 1-1 in league play. In all Musah has just 55’ minutes over the seven league matches Atalanta have played since he joined the side. The team have drawn five straight and are in ninth place in the league table, a point ahead of their hosts this weekend, Udinese, who sit in twelfth place.
St. Pauli v Borussia Monchengladbach – 10:30a on ESPN Select: There’s a likely head-to-head matchup in the Bundesliga this weekend. Unfortunately it’s battle between relegation threatened sides as James Sands and 14th place St. Pauli who are three points out of the relegation spots host Joe Scally, and Borussia Monchengladbach who sit dead last in the table with three points, still looking for their first win of the season. A typical starter, Joe Scally came off the bench last weekend to play 14’ minutes in the 3-0 loss to league leading Bayern Munich, while Gio Reyna saw just six minutes off the bench, his fourth appearance in eight matches for Gladbach. Sands missed last weekend due to a concussion as St. Pauli lost their fifth straight match after opening the season with seven points in their first three matches.
Fulham v Wolverhampton Wanderers – 11a on Peacock: Antonee Robinson remains out with a knee injury and given the amount of time he missed as well as the uncertainty around his return timeframe we’re going to drop Fulham from the guide until he’s at least back on the bench for his side.
Crystal Palace v Brentford- 11a on Peacock: Chris Richards and Crystal Palace fell to league leading Arsenal last weekend 1-0, as they dropped to tenth place in the table. Palace bounced back midweek with a 3-0 win over Liverpool in Carabao Cup action but both teams were playing heaving rotated sides which included Richards getting the day off. On Saturday Palace will host a Brentford side that are level with them on points at thirteen and who defeated Liverpool in league play 3-2 last weekend. Though to be fair, pretty much everyone is beating Liverpool these days.
Brighton & Hove Albion v Leeds United – 11a on Peacock: Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United defeated West Ham United 2-1 last weekend with Aaronson opening the scoring in the third minute. The victory pulled Leeds six points clear of the relegation zone and was a key six point swing over a West Ham side that are currently in the drop zone. Leeds now visit a B&HA side that are just a point ahead of them with another chance to make a statement about their goals to stay up this season.
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla – 11:15a on ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso has returned to training and could be available to get some minutes this weekend as fourth place Atletico Madrid face off against eleventh place Sevilla. Atletico defeated Johnny’s former club, Real Betis, 2-0 last weekend but Cardoso was held out due to injury.
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen – 1:3op on ESPN Select: Malik Tillman is also back in training but unavailable for Leverkusen as they face Bayern Munich. Leverkusen are in fifth place in the Bundesliga table, seven points back of league leading Bayern.
Monaco v Paris FC – 2p on beIN Sports: Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the season last weekend in Monaco’s 3-5 win over Nantes. The win jumped Monaco to second in the Ligue 1 table where things are currently very tight at the top – there are currently five teams within two points of league leading PSG, and another two just two more points back. Or put another way, the top half of the table are all within four points nearly a third of the way through the league season.
NYCFC v Charlotte – 3:30p on MLS Season Pass (now free?): Matt Freese and Tim Ream face off in MLS Playoff action. NYCFC won the first round of the best of three series 1-0 with Freese making four saves to keep the clean sheet.
Cremonese v Juventus – 3:45p on Paramount+: Weston McKennie and Juventus defeated Udinese 3-1 on Wednesday with McKennie going the distance in the midfield in the team’s first match since the firing of Igor Tudor. The win snapped a five match winless streak and moved Juventus to seventh in the league table. They have brought in Luciano Spalletti as the new manager so McKennie will have yet another manager to make an impression on.
Auxerre v Olympique Marseille – 4:05p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah missed out on Marseille’s 2-2 draw with Angers due to a thigh injury and is expected to be out this weekend as well before returning to training on Monday. Marseille are winless in their past two and have fallen out of first place but are still within two points of PSG.
FC Dallas v Vancouver Whitecaps – 9:30p on MLS Season Pass: Sebastian Berhalter and the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated FC Dallas 3-0 last Sunday in the first leg of their playoff matchup and have the clear leg up as they look to close things out on the road Saturday.
Portland Timbers v San Diego FC – 9:30p on MLS Season Pass: Luca de la Torre came in off the bench for San Diego as they defeated Portland 2-1 in the first leg of their matchup on Sunday. They head to Portland now for the second match in the best of three series.
Club America v Leon – 11:10p on TUDN, Univision, and Paramount+: Alex Zendejas has missed the past two matches for Club America who currently train league leading Toluca by two points. America’s opponent this weekend are a Leon side who have just thirteen points through fifteen matches.
Sunday
Koln v Hamburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select: Kristoffer Lund and Koln should be finding themselves in the rundown moving forward thanks to an assist from the SSFC community. Lund has been starting as a left wingback for Koln, playing in seven of the teams eight matches and starting in all but one of those. Koln are currently middle of the table in the Bundesliga and hosting Hamburg this weekend.
Toulouse v Metz – 11:15a on beIN Sports: Mark McKenzie and Toulouse drew with Stade Rennais last weekend and fell out of the top half of the table. They now sit in ninth place on fourteen points. They face last place Metz who have just one win and eight goals in ten matches.
Manchester City v Bournemouth – 11:30a on USA Network: Tyler Adams picked up an assist as Bournemouth defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 last weekend. Bournemouth have not lost since a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool and have moved to second place in the Premier League table. However, Bournemouth have had a relatively easy schedule thus far so this weekend’s matchup with Manchester City will represent a significant step up in competition.
Parma v Bologna – Noon on Paramount+: Benja Cremaschi saw his first Serie A minutes on Wednesday as he came on as a substitute for Parma in the teams 2-1 loss to Roma. Parma have just one win on the season and are two points out of the relegation zone as they host sixth place Bologna on Sunday.
Brest v Olympique Lyon – 2:45p on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann came off the bench to play the final 22’ minutes as Lyon got out to a 3-0 lead but then settled for a draw after being reduced to ten men after Abner was sent off with 30’ to play. A win would have moved Lyon into a tie for first place which makes the draw that much more painful.
Columbus Crew v Cincinnati – 6:30p on MLS Season Pass: Miles Robinson and FC Cincinnati defeated Max Arfsten 1-0 on Monday and will head to Columbus for the second match of the first round playoff series.
