113012_howardtim_isi_bpi_evervlive.fl57 Kieran McManus/isiphotos.com
5 to Watch This Weekend

Where Is the Best U.S. Soccer Action? Right Here

It's a huge week in USMNTer club football. (When is it not a huge week?) But there's MLS Cup, the Liga MX final, and tons of games across the pond. Jon Arnold tells you what to watch.
BY Jon Arnold Posted
November 30, 2012
9:35 AM
This weekend will see two champions crowned in North America, plus a pair of important Premier League matches featuring national team mainstays. Here’s what you should have your eyes on this weekend.

SATURDAY
Manchester City v. Everton
10 a.m. (all times Eastern)
Fox Soccer

Everton boss David Moyes hasn’t been impressed with Tim Howard’s recent performances, saying he hopes to bring in a top keeper to pressure Howard. But the U.S. No. 1 could foster some goodwill with his manager on Saturday if he keeps the Premier League champions from scoring. It’s obviously no easy task with an attack as potent as City’s, but it’s one we’ve seen Howard show he’s equal to in the past.

Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur
10 a.m.
FoxSoccer2Go

Clint Dempsey had a great game, getting an assist last weekend in Tottenham’s 3-1 win against West Ham. Sadly for Dempsey, he regressed in their midweek defeat of Liverpool, playing 64 minutes before being substituted. A trip to Craven Cottage, his former home ground, might be just what Dempsey needs to find the form he displayed in a Fulham shirt.

MLS Cup: LA Galaxy v. Houston Dynamo
4:30 p.m.
ESPN

It’s definitely the final MLS match of the season and of David Beckham’s MLS career. It could be the last MLS match Landon Donovan plays. Plus, even if the experts think the Galaxy are nearly locks to lift the trophy for the second consecutive year, Dominic Kinnear will have his team well prepared to make a game of things Saturday afternoon.

Don’t forget to make your starting XI for LA and/or Houston before kick off.

SUNDAY
Hoffenheim v. Werder Bremen
9:30 a.m.
GolTV

You know who’s cool? Fabian Johnson is cool. And he’s hot, too. English is funny sometimes, isn’t it? Whether or not the German-American Johnson has mastered all the intricacies of American slang, he seems to be getting the hang of this left back thing. Hoffenheim needs him and fellow USMNT rising commodity Danny Williams to continue contributing. The club has lost its past three Bundesliga fixtures and slipped into the drop zone.

Liga MX Final: Toluca v. Tijuana
7 p.m.
Univision

Tijuana’s surprising gallivant toward the Liga MX title will conclude in Toluca, though it remains to be seen if it’ll be able to keep the Red Devils at bay and win the Apertura. Los Xolos, along with Americans Edgar Castillo and Joe Corona, take a 2-1 lead into the second leg of the tie and need only a draw to be crowned champions.

BEST OF THE REST
Bundesliga: Schalke v. Moenchengladbach (9:30 a.m. Saturday, GolTV): Jermaine Jones and Schalke were cruising along but have hit a bit of a rough patch with only one point from their previous three league matches. Jones hasn’t been in poor form, though, and seems to get an assist or a yellow card in every match. Tune in Saturday to see if it’s the first time this year he gets both in the same match!

Serie A: Siena v. Roma (9 a.m. Sunday, beIN Sport): Michael Bradley and Roma shoud make quick work of a straggling Siena club, but it sure is fun to watch the General slicing through weaker opposition.

NO U.S. ANGLE BUT...
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich v. Borussia Dortmund (11:30 a.m. Saturday, GolTV): Munich is still the more famous club, but Dortmund has won the past two German Championships and play quite an entertaining style of football. It might be early, but Bayern Munich is 11 points clear of third-place Dortmund, so this is a massively important fixture.

La Liga: Real Madrid v. Atlético Madrid (4 p.m. Saturday, beIN Sport): Atlético, typically the lesser of the two Madrid clubs, is actually atop Real Madrid in the table. Real Madrid will hope to gain some ground at their home ground, the Bernabéu, on both their crosstown rivals but also their cross-country rivals, Barcelona.

What will YOU be watching this weekend? Tell us in the Comments section below.

Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) is a freelance writer based in Phoenix and the co-host of MLS in 30 on NASN.TV.

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