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5 to Watch This Weekend

Bornstein Alert: The King of Honduras May Be on TV

As he does each week, Christopher McCollum assesses your weekend soccer-viewing options and makes five strong recommendations—as well as a bonus selection that has nothing to do with American soccer.
BY Christopher McCollum Posted
February 21, 2014
8:00 PM
REMEMBER JONATHAN BORNSTEIN? Of course you do. He's an affable lad from Torrance, Calif. He played left back for the U.S. national team under Bob Bradley. He's also the King of Honduras.

And, significantly, he might be on TV this weekend, along with DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco, Herculez Gomez, Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, and Geoff Cameron.

Here is American Soccer Now's curated guide to your clicker.

Friday

Tijuana vs. Chiapas
10:30 p.m.
ESPN Deportes

Approaching the halfway point of the Clausura, Tijuana is sitting outside of the playoffs on goal differential. Castillo, Corona, and Gomez can move their team up as high as fifth place with a win against Chiapas, the new (temporary) home of Gabriel Farfan. The Jaguars currently sit midtable, where it will likely finish the season.

Saturday

Chelsea vs. Everton
7:45a.m. (all times Eastern)
NBC Sports Live Extra

It doesn't get much much bigger than this. Tim Howard and the Toffees take on first-place Chelsea with a chance to make a serious move toward European soccer next season. Everton, five points out of the Europa League spot, can still catch Tottenham, and a win against Chelsea would really help its cause. In the clubs' first meeting of the season, Everton won 1-0 on a Steven Naismith goal and Howard collected his third shutout of the season.

Manchester City vs. Stoke City
10:00 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra

Geoff Cameron and Stoke City are sitting in a strange position in the bottom half of the table: The team is three points out of the relegation zone, and also three points out of 10th place. The bottom half of the Premier League are separated by just eight points, making it an even more desperate race to the finish than usual. With 11 teams in position to go down, goal differential will almost certainly be an important factor in the final standings. For Manchester City, coming off of a complaint-riddled fixture with Barcelona, this may be a redemption match and could get ugly for Cameron and Co.

Sunday

Newcastle vs. Aston Villa
8:30 a.m.
NBC Sports Live Extra

Brad Guzan and Aston Villa have been leaking goals at the rate of almost two per game over the past month, but they could leap into 10th place with a win over Newcastle. The Magpies are sitting in a kind of no-man's land, with 13 points separating the squad from Europe, and 13 points insulating them from relegation. Minus a complete collapse or an absolute tear, Newcastle looks likely to finish in either eighth or ninth place this season.

Atlante vs. Puebla
6:00 p.m.
Univsion Deportes

Michael Orozco and DaMarcus Beasley may be fringe players for the World Cup, but this match gives U.S. fans an opportunity to scout their performances four months out from Brazil. Plus, you might even get to see the rare, long-thought-to-be extinct, Jonathan Bornstein step on the field for Atlante. Since January the former U.S. fullback has appeared five times in all competitions for his new team.

NO U.S. ANGLE...

Europe: Euro 2016 Qualifying Draw (6:00 a.m., Sunday, Fox Soccer Plus)— The big day for Europe has finally arrived: The Qualifying Draw for Euro 2016, often regarded as being even more difficult than the World Cup itself, will show us which team Zlatan Ibrahimovic will boss around next on the international stage. Since it will be held in France, Les Bleus have already qualified for the tournament... but may participate anyway just to gain the experience. Interestingly, there are also political strangleholds on the pots, as Azerbaijan and Armenia are not allowed to play each other due to long-lasting violent conflicts. Spain and Gibraltar won't play either, due to Spain refusing to recognize the island's legitimacy in FIFA.

So what are you watching this week? Let us know in comments section below.

Christopher McCollum is a New York City based writer and an ASN contributor.

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