Arsenal vs Man United, Copa Libertadores Final headline top live games to watch on January 29-February 4, 2021

Topics: TV Schedules, Barcelona, Athletic Club, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Palmeiras, Santos, La Liga, English Premier League, Copa Libertadores

Arsenal vs Man United, Palmeiras vs Santos, West Ham vs Liverpool, Barcelona vs Athletic Club, and Spurs vs Chelsea are just a few of the games to make our list of must-watch fixtures.

Arsenal host Man United while Palmeiras battle it out with Santos in Copa Libertadores final on Super Saturday

The games come thick and fast in Europe's major leagues come this weekend, with several exciting matches scheduled to take place on Saturday. The action kicks off with AC Milan's trip to Bologna, with the Serie A leaders looking to bounce back from their recent Milan Derby defeat when they take to the field at 9 a.m. ET. Half-an-hour later, Bundesliga table-toppers Bayern Munich will be in action, taking on 11th-placed Hoffenheim live on ESPN+. 10 a.m. ET will see Man City resume their Premier League campaign, hosting a Sheffield United side that recorded an impressive 2-1 win at Old Trafford over the midweek, while La Liga defending champions Real Madrid gear up for a 10:15 a.m. ET showdown with a mid-table Levante live on Fanatiz USA and beIN Sports.

Saturday, however, is all about two games in particular. The first is Arsenal vs Man United at 12:30 p.m. ET live on NBC Sports, Telemundo, and SiriusXM FC. The Red Devils head into this tricky Emirates Stadium battle on the back of a surprise 2-1 loss at home to bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, and as a result, surrendered the top spot to bitter rivals Man City. The Gunners, on the other hand, enter this fixture on the back of excellent form, winning five and drawing once in their last six league outings. The north London giants could be without captain and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but promising Real Madrid playmaker Martin Ødegaard has joined Arteta's side on loan and could make his debut on Saturday. Will Arsenal beat Man United and bring an end to the Red Devils' year-long unbeaten run on the road? Tune in to find out!

Will Arsenal end Man United's impressive unbeaten away run?

Arsenal, Manchester United, English Premier League, Broadcast Listings

The other key game on Saturday is the Copa Libertadores final. Palmeiras and Santos will lock horns for the coveted CONMEBOL title as the all-Brazilian tie between two former cup champions will surely keep fans on the edge of their seats. Palmeiras enter this game with just one win in their last six games, with one of those defeats for the Verdao being the one against River Plate in the second leg of the semi-finals (their only defeat in the Copa Libertadores so far). On the other hand, Santos' form ahead of this game is nothing to brag about, as they have collected three losses in a row in all competitions. Do not miss this epic fixture!

Barcelona vs Athletic Club the highlight game of a Premier League-dominated Sunday fixtures list

Several interesting Premier League fixtures will take place on Sunday, January 31. Chelsea host Burnley at Stamford Bridge at 7 a.m. ET live on Peacock and SiriusXM FC as Thomas Tuchel aims to secure his first win since replacing Frank Lampard as the club's head coach. Liverpool travel to West Ham for their 11:30 a.m. ET clash as the Merseyside giants look to distance themselves from the fifth-placed Hammers and sixth-placed Spurs. Speaking of Tottenham, they will be in action at 2:15 p.m. ET, traveling to Brighton on the back of their frustrating 3-1 midweek loss at home to Klopp's side.

The key game on Sunday, however, is Barcelona's Spanish top-flight clash with Athletic Club at 3 p.m. ET. The Blaugrana will host Marcelino's side live on beIN Sports and Fanatiz USA, with the 3-2 Supercopa de Espana defeat against the Basque club being fresh in their minds. Lionel Messi was sent off in that unforgettable loss and was subsequently banned for two games, but the Argentine has returned from suspension and will be gunning for revenge when Iñaki Williams and Co. visit the Camp Nou.

From the FIFA Club World Cup kick-off to Tottenham vs Chelsea – the top games to watch this midweek

The fun isn't exclusive to the weekend, with many interesting fixtures set to take place over the midweek. Everything kicks off with the Sporting CP vs Benfica showdown live at 4:30 p.m. ET on GOLTV and Fanatiz USA as the Eagles look to beat the Leões and slash the six-point gap on the league leaders. Tuesday has Arsenal and Man United penned down for tricky fixtures, with the Gunners traveling to Wolves and the Red Devils hosting Ralph Hasenhüttl's impressive Southampton side. As for Wednesday, two Premier League games stand out and they are Man City's 1 p.m. ET trip to Burnley and Liverpool's 3:15 p.m. ET Anfield encounter with Brighton.

Thursday, February 4 marks the commencement of the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar. The tournament kicks off at 9 a.m. ET with CONCACAF Champions League winners Tigres UANL taking on AFC Champions League holders Ulsan live on Fox Sports for the opening fixture. Three-and-a-half hours later, Qatari side Al Duhail will take on African giants Al Ahly. Rounding up the midweek action is the highly-anticipated Tottenham vs Chelsea clash at 3 p.m. ET as Mourinho aims to get the better of his former club in this fiery London derby. The last time these two sides faced off, they played out a goalless draw, but neither team can afford to share the points this time around. Do not miss this fixture!

Biggest stories of the week

Official: Thomas Tuchel confirmed as new Chelsea manager

Former Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel has been named as the new head coach of Chelsea Football Club. The 47-year-old German moved to the London side after ending a two-and-a-half year spell at Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain barely two months ago.

Tuchel replaces Frank Lampard on an 18-month contract with the option to extend further. His predecessor was shown the exit door on Monday after recording a series of bad results, denting his side's chance of competing for the Premier League title this season.

Lampard OUT, Tuchel IN: Did Chelsea make the right decision?

Thomas Tuchel, Frank Lampard, Sacked, Chelsea, English Premier League

Chelsea set several records in Tuchel's first game in charge

On Tuesday, Chelsea made some huge changes that sent waves through the footballing world. The Blues opted to part ways with club icon Frank Lampard after a terrible run that saw them win just two of their eight prior Premier League games - a stark contrast to the one loss in 11 that had helped them vault themselves towards the top of the table. In his stead, ex-PSG manager Thomas Tuchel was appointed in a bid to right the wobbly ship and guide the London giants back towards a top-four berth.

As such, there is a great deal of pressure on his shoulders, and he definitely would have been feeling it as he took charge of Chelsea for their home tie against Wolves - a team who had beaten them 2-1 in the reverse fixture this season. Although the end result wasn't a win, nor were the Blues able to score, their point earned also set some new records for the club - the most passes (820) and the highest amount of possession (78.9 percent) for a Premier League club in their opener under a new manager.

So, now that he's gotten his feet wet, while establishing some impressive numbers for the team, all eyes will be on if he can transform this improved form into a win when Chelsea take on 15th-placed Burnley this Sunday in their second home match under his guidance.

The scoreline wasn't memorable, but the stats were historic in Tuchel's debut game as Chelsea coach

Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Wolves, Debut, English Premier League

Barcelona facing financial problems

The Blaugrana side's poor finances were exposed by Spanish TV show El Partidazo de COPE, who published documents that reveal a debt of over €1.2B. A big chunk of that has been marked as unpaid transfer bills for over €196M, which show how Los Culés owe money to Liverpool for Philippe Coutinho's deal, to Ajax for Frenkie de Jong's transfer, and even for Miralem Pjanic's "swap deal" with Juventus.

Bartomeu has left the Blaugrana in an utter mess, both on and off the field

Barcelona, Debt, Coutinho, Pjanic, Malcom, De Jong, Griezmann, La Liga

Zlatan throws jibe at Lukaku on Twitter, denies racism allegation

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has taken to Twitter to issue a no-room-for-racism post after his bust-up with Inter Milan forward Romelu Lukaku. The Swedish icon was caught calling his former Man Utd team-mate a "little donkey" while also telling the Belgian ace to "go do your voodoo s***" during their heated exchange in the recent Milan Derby, with racism accusations soon being brought against the 39-year-old.

Zlatan later posted a tweet with the message "there is no room for racism" -- he also shared a link to a viral video of a black kid and white child warmly hugging on the streets. However, Ibra made sure to add a dig at Lukaku in his post, adding that "some players are better than others".

Here is what Zlatan tweeted after his heated bust-up with Lukaku

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku, Racism, Milan Derby, Coppa Itali

This week in Women's Soccer

The top two teams in the Spanish Primera Iberdrola table will be involved in a highly-anticipated clash this week. On Sunday, league leaders Barcelona will host second-placed Real Madrid at 6 a.m. ET. This young rivalry has only seen one in the past, which was won by Barcelona 4-0 in Matchday 1 of the 2020/21 season. Madrid have a chance to close the two-point gap between the two sides. Nonetheless, even if Madrid pull off a win, Barcelona have four games in hand. The game will be available on Barca TV+ internationally.

Over to England, the FA Women's Super League will be back in action this upcoming weekend, and ATA Football will have women's soccer fans in the U.S. blessed with coverage of a couple of marquee matchups. The U.S. based online streaming platform will offer live coverage of two FA WSL games, starting with Chelsea taking on Tottenham on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 a.m. ET. Subsequently, Everton are set to host second-placed Man United at Walton Hall Park. Kick off for this tie is set for 9:30 a.m. ET.

Key headlines from the world of football

Aubameyang thanks fans for their support amid abrupt family crisis

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang took to social media to thank the fans for their support and offer an update on what was going on amid his abrupt family crisis. The Gabonese striker missed two games for the Gunners and later revealed that his absence was due to his mother's health issues. Fortunately, the 31-year-old confirmed that she is "already much better".

Palmas club president and four players tragically pass away in plane crash

An airplane carrying players and the president of Campeonato Brasileiro Série D club Palmas crashed last weekend, with six individuals sadly losing their lives as a result. The pilot, identified as Wagner Machado, as well as 32 year old Palmas president Lucas Meira, 27-year-old goalkeeper Ranule, 23-year-old left-back Lucas Praxedes, 28-year-old defender Guilherme Noe, and 23-year-old midfielder Marcus Molinari, were the people aboard the plane when the accident happened.

NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) shutting down by the end of 2021

NBCUniversal will be shutting down NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) by the end of 2021, NBC Sports Group chairman Pete Bevacqua announced in an internal memo issued on January 22. Key elements of NBCSN's programming will be moved to USA Network and, in some cases, Peacock for 2022 in a bid to secure "significant audience boost".