What Matches to Watch This Week (September 20–23)
Friday, September 20 through Monday, September 23
Last week I covered a slate of matches from the first round back from the International Break. Those were also the last games before European Competitions unfolded. Squads will be stretched for those in Europe and the clubs who progress in their domestic cups.
Among all that chaos, let’s figure out which matches we should watch this week!
Note that times are listed in Eastern and Pacific standard times and broadcasting/streaming information applies to the United States.
How did my recommendations from last week go?
The Good
Dortmund 4–2 Heidenheim
Karim Adeyemi was the star of the show with two goals and an assist. Heidenheim lost their perfect start status but considering they fell behind 2–0 after 20 minutes, their fight back to keep this game respectable is solid.
Gladbach 1–3 Stuttgart
A gutsy comeback win on the road is a good sign for a Stuttgart side gearing up for a Champions League campaign.
Aston Villa 3–2 Everton
Everton made history, the kindest way to put it, by throwing away a 2–0 lead to lose back-to-back Premier League games.
Club America 1–0 Chivas de Guadalajara
A tightly contested and passionate rivalry game that saw the home team victorious in Mexico City.
LA Galaxy 4–2 LAFC
LAFC did one better than Everton by turning a 2–0 lead to a 4–2 loss plus a red card in another chaotic and memorable El Trafico.
Spurs 0–1 Arsenal
A competitive and fierce affair decided on the finest of margins, in this case Gabriel’s headed goal.
Mainz 1–2 Bremen
A heroic Bremen win on the road down to 10 players, showcasing how tough they will be to beat this season.
Parma 2–3 Udinese
Parma led 2–1 but Udinese fought back with Florian Thauvin leading the charge. The red card didn’t help matters but it was a satisfying, entertaining contest.
Rayo Vallecano 3–1 Osasuna
Andre Ratiu, who has one of the coolest hairstyles in the game, scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal. Enough said.
The Bad
Seattle Sounders 2–0 Sporting Kansas City
Sounders got their two-goal advantage in the first half and expectedly finished as comfortable winners. Even in a time slot where there wasn’t other soccer to watch, not much to write home about.
The Mixed Bag
Real Sociedad 0–2 Real Madrid
Unless you’re a Madridista, I’m guessing you weren’t entertained by all of the goals in this game coming from the penalty spot. A deserve win on the balance of play nonetheless.
Atletico Madrid 3–0 Valencia
Valencia had no answer for Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez. While their opening fixtures have been difficult, it looks like they’re headed to a similarly tense season as Sevilla experienced a year ago.
9 out of 12 comes out to 75%. In your opinion, did these matches earn a higher or lower score?
UEFA Champions League Corner
The Juventus vs PSV and AC Milan vs Liverpool recommendations offered a lot of goals. Juventus ran out comfortable 3–1 winners, with Liverpool achieving the same scoreline through a come-from-behind effort. Given how the other Tuesday games went, those recommendations worked out well. Unless you were thirsty for even more goals, in which case the highlights for Bayern 9–2 Dinamo Zagreb should suffice in retrospect.
At the time of writing, the Wednesday, September 18, and Thursday, September 19 fixtures haven’t occurred yet. A reminder of my recommendations there:
Wednesday, September 18 (UCL on P+)
9:45 am Bologna vs Shakhtar
12 pm Man City vs Inter
Thursday, September 19 (UCL on P+)
9:45 am Feyenoord vs Leverkusen
12 pm Atletico vs Leipzig
Friday, September 20
9:30 am P/12:30 pm E: Cagliari (2 pts) vs Empoli (6 pts) Paramount+
Empoli’s points haul looks solid, while Cagliari are in hot water early on. This could be a crucial 3 point swing for both of these Serie A clubs.
12 pm P/3 pm E Alaves (7 pts) vs Sevilla (5 pts) ESPN+
Sevilla may be the bigger club, but they’re making the long trip from Andalusia up north to the Basque Country and Alaves are no slouches. One of Alaves’s standout players Tomas Conechny grabbed a goal last time in a 3–2 loss to Espanyol. Sevilla overcame a Marcao injury and a Juanlu Sánchez red card to narrowly defeat Getafe at home.
Saturday, September 21
4:30 am P/7:30 am E West Ham (4 pts) vs Chelsea (7 pts) USA
East London hosts West London in the early kickoff. So far West Ham are learning that winning the transfer window doesn’t always translate to immediate success. The hope is with more time to gel, players like Guido Rodriguez and Crysencio Summerville can help established starts Lucas Paqueta and Mohamed Kudus take the Hammers to the next level. The hero for Chelsea last time was Christopher Nkunku, although his goal may not guarantee a start given their wealth of options.
6:30 am P/9:30 am E Werder Bremen (5 pts) vs Bayern Munich (9 pts) ESPN+
A trap game for the Bavarians? Werder Bremen deserves a little more respect than that, but it remains true. Usually when you score a boat load of goals like Bayern did against Dinamo Zagreb midweek, there’s a less productive output that follows. However, Harry Kane is still Harry Kane. I wouldn’t put it past him to add to his tally. Werder Bremen will be without their captain Marco Friedl after picking up a red card in the 2–1 win over Mainz.
9 am P/12 pm E Juventus (8 pts) vs Napoli (9 pts) Paramount+
Napoli will feel left out of the European Competition fun but it’s hardly a surprise given their poor Serie A campaign. Victor Osimhen was shockingly loaned to Galatasaray and looks set to leave permanently next season. Khvica Khavaratshelia is now the biggest star in Naples, and the stars aligned in a 4–0 win over Cagliari. Turin is the stage for this Italian encounter and Juventus youthful core led by 19-year-old dynamo Kenan Yildiz will give Napoli a thrilling battle.
12 pm P/3 pm E Real Madrid (11 pts) vs Espanyol (7 pts) ESPN+
Madrid vs Barcelona. It’s not El Clasico, but Espanyol are a Barcelona based club. Forever in FC Barcelona’s shadow, Espanyol could make a statement if they pull off a shocker at the Bernabéu. The visitors were promoted via the Segunda Division playoffs but are currently mid table. If any club can manage the balancing act of midweek fixtures it’s the perennial Champions League favorites, and their starters and bench are all lethal in front of goal.
4:30 pm P/7:30 pm E Columbus Crew (3rd E) vs Orlando City (5th E) Apple TV MLS Season Pass
MVP candidate Cucho Hernandez leads the defending MLS and Leagues Cup Champions Columbus Crew to host a red hot Orlando City side. At the time of writing, Orlando beat Nashville and New England in their last two games 3–0 each. They’ll host Charlotte FC midweek and the Crew will head North to Toronto during that period as well. Provided both these clubs rotate a bit in those matches, their top players should be ready to rock and roll on Saturday night.
7:30 pm P/10:30 pm E Las Vegas Lights (5th W) vs Sacramento Republic (2nd W) P+/ESPN+
Only 4 points currently separate Vegas behind Sacramento, but Sacramento have two games in hand on the hosts. They also have one game in hand behind Western Conference leaders New Mexico United. Every game involving a Western Conference playoff teamin the USL Championship is crucial, so you won’t want to miss this one.
Sunday, September 22
6:30 am P/9:30 pm E Leverkusen (6 pts) vs Wolfsburg (3 pts) ESPN+
Xabi Alonso meditated on the streak ending loss to RB Leipzig and masterminded a 4–1 road win over Hoffenheim to respond. Wolfsburg have to be on their toes, but there is enough talent in the green-clad visiting squad to pose a threat to the Bundesliga champions. Victor Boniface is coming off a 2-goal plus assist effort. Look out for Wolfsburg’s winger Ridle Baku who is playing well to start the season.
8:30 am P/11:30 pm E Manchester City (12 pts) vs Arsenal (10 pts) Telemundo/USA
Last season’s top 2 face off in this early encounter and each enjoying a similarly strong start to the season as the current top 2. Every fan has this matchup circled on their calendar. There’s a mixture of excitement but also anxiety for any fan that isn’t supporting the Blue side of Manchester. If Arsenal don’t win this game, it’ll start to feel like Deja Vu with Manchester City powering to yet another league title.
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E Inter Milan (8 pts) vs AC Milan (5 pts) Paramount+
You could argue this is a more enticing game than Manchester City vs Arsenal. Historically, this is the biggest fixture of the weekend as it features one of the biggest rivalries in the world. If AC Milan wasn’t playing so lethargic lately, I would agree that this is the game to watch this weekend above all others. Even still, AC Milan can catch their rivals in point total with a win. A loss could increase the temperature on Paulo Fonseca’s hot seat.
Monday, September 23
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E Atalanta (6 pts) vs Como (2 pts) Paramount+
The final match of the extended weekend pits two clubs in different stages of their rebuilds. Atalanta arguably completed theirs by winning a major honor in the form of last season’s Europa League, and now look to establish themselves as a consistent Champions League level club. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding Como with the presence of manager Cesc Fàbregas and players such as Raphael Varane and Sergi Roberto. Let’s see which club is hungrier for the points at this juncture.
Midweek Lightning Round
Tuesday, September 24
7 am P/10 am E Lecce vs Sassuolo Coppa Italia P+
10 am P/1 pm E Valencia vs Osasuna La Liga ESPN+
11:45 am P/2:45 pm E Walsall (League Two) vs Leicester City EFL Cup P+
Wednesday, September 25 Europa League P+
9:45 am P/12:45 pm E Bodo/Glimt vs FC Porto
12 pm P/3 pm E Manchester United vs FC Twente
Thursday, September 26 Europa League P+
9:45 am P/12:45 pm E Malmo vs Rangers
12 pm P/3 pm E Roma vs Athletic Bilbao
Thank you as always for reading and I hope you enjoy whichever games you watch!
