Top games to watch this week
Friday, February 18
Elche vs Rayo Vallecano (La Liga)
Juventus vs Torino (Serie A)
Mainz vs Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga)
Boavista vs Benfica (Primeira Liga)
Saturday, February 19
Arsenal vs Brentford (English Premier League)
Liverpool vs Norwich City (English Premier League)
Manchester City vs Tottenham (English Premier League)
Osasuna vs Atlético Madrid (La Liga)
Real Madrid vs Alavés (La Liga)
Salernitana vs Milan (Serie A)
Koln vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
Nantes vs PSG (Ligue 1)
Sunday, February 20
Leeds vs Manchester United (English Premier League)
Espanyol vs Sevilla (La Liga)
Valencia vs Barcelona (La Liga)
Real Betis vs Mallorca (La Liga)
Inter vs Sassuolo (Serie A)
Bayern vs Greuther Furth (Bundesliga)
Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
Sporting CP vs Estoril (Primeira Liga)
Moreirense vs Porto (Primeira Liga)
Olympique Marseille vs Clermont (Ligue 1)
United States vs. New Zealand (SheBelieves Cup)
England vs. Spain (Arnold Clark Cup)
Canada vs. Germany (Arnold Clark Cup)
Monday, February 21
Celta vs Levante (La Liga)
Cagliari vs Napoli (Serie A)
Bologna vs Spezia (Serie A)
Tuesday, February 22
Chelsea vs Lille (UEFA Champions League)
Villarreal vs Juventus (UEFA Champions League)
CF Montreal vs Santos Laguna (CONCACAF Champions League)
León vs Guastatoya (CONCACAF Champions League)
Wednesday, February 23
Benfica vs Ajax (UEFA Champions League)
Atlético Madrid vs Manchester United (UEFA Champions League)
New York City vs Santos de Guápiles (CONCACAF Champions League)
Colorado Rapids vs Comunicaciones (CONCACAF Champions League)
Pumas UNAM vs Deportivo Saprissa (CONCACAF Champions League)
Burnley vs Tottenham (English Premier League)
Liverpool vs Leeds (English Premier League)
Thursday, February 24
Arsenal vs Wolverhampton (English Premier League)
Lazio vs Porto (UEFA Europa League)
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sevilla (UEFA Europa League)
Real Sociedad vs RB Leipzig (UEFA Europa League)
Napoli vs Barcelona (UEFA Europa League)
Sevilla vs Dinamo Zagreb (UEFA Europa League)
Rangers vs Borussia Dortmund (UEFA Europa League)
Maccabi Tel Aviv vs PSV (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Slavia Praha vs Fenerbahce (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Bodo/Glimt vs Celtic (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Randers vs Leicester City (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Qarabag vs Olympique Marseille (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Forge vs Cruz Azul (CONCACAF Champions League)
Seattle Sounders vs Motagua (CONCACAF Champions League)
Most-watched soccer games on U.S. TV: Feb. 7-13, 2022
NBC's broadcast of Manchester City's 4-0 away win at Norwich was the most-watched soccer game on U.S. TV last week. The Premier League match was played on Saturday, Feb. 12, and an average of 780,000 people watched the broadcast, which received a 0.42 viewership rating. Those watching saw winger Raheem Sterling bag his first hat-trick of the season.
USA Network showed a Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday, Feb. 8. The Red Devils won the game 2-0 at home thanks to goals from Portuguese duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes. An average of 479,000 viewers watched the broadcast, resulting in it being the second most-watched soccer fixture on American television last week.
The third most-viewed soccer game on U.S. TV was USA Network's broadcast of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Leicester City on Thursday, Feb. 10. That time out, Portugal's Diogo Jota granted Liverpool the win by scoring a brace. An average of 463,000 people tune in to that Anfield showdown.
What are this week's must-watch games?
Man City vs Tottenham live this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports, NBC USA, Universo, Telemundo Deportes en Vivo, Peacock, fuboTV, and Sling TV
All eyes will be on this Premier League showdown this weekend as league leaders Man City lock horns with top-four hopefuls Tottenham on Saturday. The Cityzens will host the north London giants for this tie as Guardiola's men seek revenge over Spurs, having lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture. Fortunately for them, Tottenham have gone through hell since then, sacking then manager Nuno Espírito Santo and bringing in Antonio Conte. Kane and Co. still lack consistency, having now lost three league games in a row despite bringing in a world-class manager and reinforcements in January. Who'll win this tie? Don't miss the action!
.png?q=75&w=634)
And that's not all. Man United, who recently pulled off a much-needed 2-0 victory over Brighton, will also take to the field this weekend, facing Leeds in what should be an all-out-attack encounter. There will be some midweek games as well, with Arsenal hosting Wolves in a crucial game while Liverpool will face off with Bielsa's struggling side.
Valencia vs Barcelona live this Sunday at 10:15 a.m. ET exclusively on ESPN+
This is the first of two fixtures involving Barcelona to make this list. The Blaugrana will be in action this weekend, taking on Valencia in La Liga as the Catalan giants look to return to winning ways. Their last outing in the Spanish top-flight saw them draw 2-2 with Espanyol, with Luuk de Jong scoring the equalizer in the final minutes of added time to rescue Xavi's side a point. Pedri and Co. were in action in the Europa League most recently, coming away with a disappointing result, but the focus must quickly shift to their La Mestalla trip as Barcelona continue to fight to finish in the top four.
Atletico Madrid vs Man United live this Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET on Paramount+, TUDN, Univision, CBS, and fuboTV
The UEFA Champions League round of 16 is in full swing, with the action continuing this midweek. The headline showdown will take place on Wednesday, with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid set to battle it out with Man United. Los Rojiblancos have not been in the best of form lately, losing 1-0 at home to bottom-of-the-table Levante recently. However, the same is true for the Red Devils, with a leaky defense and wasteful attack plaguing Rangnick's side. Cristiano Ronaldo is famous for scoring against the Madrid giants so it will be interesting to see whether he will come back to haunt El Cholo again!
Napoli vs Barcelona live this Thursday at 3 p.m. ET on Paramount+, TUDN USA, Univision NOW, UniMas, and fuboTV
Barcelona will be in for a tough week as the Spanish giants will take on Napoli in the Europa League straight after their La Liga showdown with Valencia. This is the second leg tie of their Knockout Round Play-off match, with the Blaugrana drawing 1-1 at home in the first leg. That was a huge disappointment as the Catalan giants created enough chances to win the game but were profligate in front of goal. The Italians, however, welcomed that result as they will now boast the home advantage, thus only needing a victory in order to progress to the last 16. Don't miss this clash!
.jpg?q=75&w=634)
Women's Football fans are enjoying international window galore with CONCACAF W World Cup Qualifiers and international friendly tournaments in full flight. Learn how to watch games around the world.
2022 CONCACAF W Championship qualification
Teams are drawn into six groups of five and will play two home games and two away fixtures. The six group winners will advance to the final tournament to join the two highest-ranked teams – Canada and the USA – who qualified automatically. Every game will stream live on Paramount+.
Visit LiveSoccerTV's FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifying page to look at all the broadcast/stream information.
Arnold Clark Cup
Watch the first edition of the Arnold Clark Cup hosted by the English Football Federation. The six-match-friendly tournament is taking place at Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough, Carrow Road in Norwich and Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton.
The games will be available on Paramount+ in the USA and across TSN channels and platforms in Canada. Learn how to watch the games in more than fifty other countries by visiting LiveSoccerTV's Arnold Clark Cup competition page.
Thursday, Feb. 17
-
England vs. Canada at 2:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 20
-
England vs. Spain at 10:15 a.m. ET
-
Canada vs. Germany at 3:15 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Feb. 23
-
Spain vs. Canada at 9:30 a.m. ET
-
England vs. Germany at 2:30 p.m. ET
SheBelieves Cup
The seventh edition of the SheBelieves Cup will take place in Carson, California, and Frisco, Texas, from Feb. 17 through Feb. 23. The Czech Republic, Iceland and New Zealand will make their debut in the tournament, along with four-time SheBelieves Cup winners and hosts the USA.
Women's soccer fans in the USA can watch every game live on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and TUDN USA. Learn how to watch the games in more than 50 other countries by visiting LiveSoccerTV's SheBelieves Cup competition page.
Sunday, Feb. 20
-
United States vs. New Zealand at 3 p.m. ET
-
Czech Republic vs. Iceland at 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Feb. 23
-
New Zealand vs. Czech Republic at 6 p.m. ET
-
United States vs. Iceland at 9 p.m. ET
Tournoi de France
The second edition of the 2022 Tournoi de France is underway. France demolished Finland 5-0 and Brazil drew with the Netherlands 1-1 on Wednesday.
Fans interested in the tournament can visit LiveSoccerTV's Tournoi de France competition page to learn how to watch the games in more than 50 countries.
Saturday, Feb. 19
-
Finland vs. Netherlands at 12 p.m. ET (noon)
-
France vs. brazil at 3:10 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Feb. 22
-
Brazil vs. Finland at 12:30 p.m. ET
-
France vs. Netherlands at 3:10 p.m. ET
Biggest stories of the week
German police investigating disturbing threats made against Lewandowski, Neuer, and Gnabry
Bayern have dominated the German football landscape for well over a decade, with some critics noting that the Bavarian titans have turned the Bundesliga into a one horse league as a result.
However, there's a big difference between being critical and just taking things to a whole other level, as one supporter of 2.Bundesliga club St. Pauli has done recently.
According to reports from Germany, specifically, the well-known publication Bild, the Hamburg-based club received a disturbing letter last month that expressed anger towards how Bayern have basically enjoyed a long time at the top being largely unchallenged.
Specifically, the letter was titled "Save the league, save football, fire and death to the dirty Bavarian pigs". The unnerving letter then went on to specifically threaten three of Bayern's stars, namely Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry, and Manuel Neuer, calling for all three players to be shot.
The letter has now been turned over to the State Crime lab in order to see if DNA and fingerprints can lead police towards identifying and arresting the deranged individual (or individuals) involved.
Courtois reveals secret behind Messi penalty save as Leo sets unwanted record with miss vs Real Madrid
While Kylian Mbappe put in yet another headline-worthy display for PSG, scoring a last-minute winner in their UEFA Champions League showdown with Real Madrid, Lionel Messi disappointed for his new club once again. The Argentine ace cut a frustrated and anonymous figure in the Parc des Princes showdown as he failed to test the opposition in his first clash with bitter rivals Los Blancos since departing Barcelona.
Things got worse for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in the second half as he saw his penalty attempt saved by Thibaut Courtois. While Pochettino's men dominated the ball, they struggled to create clear-cut goalscoring chances, so when Mbappe was brought down in the box by Dani Carvajal, La Pulga was given the golden opportunity to put the home side in front.
The 34-year-old went to the keeper's left, which is not unusual, but Courtois guessed correctly and saved the attacker's spot kick. After the final whistle, the former Atletico and Chelsea goalkeeper revealed the tactic behind his save against Messi. According to the Blancos ace, Leo has missed quite a few attempts when he went for the right and thus predicted he would go down the opposite direction.
"Obviously he shoots a lot of penalties in a season so it's hard to guess right," Thibaut told BT Sport. "But he missed a few ones on this side [the right] so I think it was obvious he was going to the left.
"Maybe in the middle he scored one against Leipzig, so I just said 'okay we will go left' and I had a good save."
While PSG eventually came away with the win, Leo set an unwanted record thanks to his below-par spot kick. That was the fifth time in UEFA Champions League history that the Argentine missed a penalty, thus equaling the record for most misses by a single player in this tournament, which was set by Arsenal icon Thierry Henry.
Salah makes UEFA Champions League history for Liverpool in Reds' 2-0 win against Inter
Liverpool will welcome Inter in their second leg clash of the UEFA Champions League with a handsome lead which came to fruition in the final 20 minutes of the game, and just like every time the Reds are on the pitch, star striker Mohamed Salah found a way to make history and to keep his fans dreaming about one more continental crown.
When the game approached its conclusion, Salah found a loose ball inside Inter's box and drilled it past Samir Handanovic to give Liverpool a two-nil lead, and with that goal, the former Chelsea footballer managed to earn a little bit of history for himself in this edition of the UEFA Champions League.
The attacker became only the second player to score against both Inter and AC Milan in the same UEFA Champions League season, following in the footstep of Peter Crouch's 2010/11 achievement. Additionally, the Egyptian footballer celebrated his 50th UEFA Champions League game while also keeping an impressive run going, finding the back of the net in eight consecutive away games for the Merseyside giants in this tournament.
Premier League: FA charges Manchester United for incident in Brighton win
Manchester United have been hit with a charge by the English Football Association for a misconduct in Tuesday night's Premier League clash with Brighton. The sanction comes after the Red Devils failed to ensure that their players behaved in an orderly manner during their 2-0 win against the Seagulls.
The incident occurred after Brighton captain Lewis Dunk felled Anthony Elanga early in the second half. Elanga had stolen possession and looked to be through on goal before the defender hacked him down, denying him the chance to convert the chance. A swarm of Manchester United players subsequently moved to surround referee Peter Bankes, angrily demanding for the player to be booked.
Bruno Fernandes received a yellow card in the process, and after consulting with the Video Assistant referee, Bankes increased Dunk's initial yellow card to a red card and sent him out. An FA statement read: "Manchester United FC has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E20.1 following its Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion FC on Tuesday [15/2/22].
"It is alleged that Manchester United FC failed to ensure its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during the 53rd minute, and the club has until Monday [21/2/22] to provide a response.""
Prior to the incident with the referee, Cristiano Ronaldo had put United ahead with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty area. Bruno Fernandes eventually sealed the win for the Red Devils by scoring from an electrifying counterattacking move.
Other key headlines from the world of football
Mbappé drops new hint regarding his future after 1-0 win vs Real Madrid
Speaking to Spanish media outlet Movistar+, the player spoke in perfect Spanish about his future, which has been heavily linked to Real Madrid from next summer and going forward. PSG fans may be fond of his words, while Real Madrid supporters may not be as happy with what he said.
"No, this does not have an effect on my decision. I am going to leave everything on the pitch until the end of the season. I have not made a decision about my future," Mbappé stated.
Moments later, he spoke about the same issue to RMC Sports, and he urged fans to wait until the end of the campaign to see where he will be playing next season.
"I wanted to focus on football. There's a lot of talk going on, everyone knows a bit about everything, but yet they have nothing to talk about. The truth is that I'm focused on trying to help the team, and we will have to leave everything out there on March 9. I am focused and happy to be a PSG player," Mbappé added.
Klopp unveils secret to why Liverpool stars Salah and Mane stay so fit
Jurgen Klopp has unveiled the "secret" to how his two star players stay in such peak condition - even when having to deal with a congested fixture list.
"Both [of them] don't drink alcohol, so that major problem you have if you celebrate a big thing, that kills or extends the recovery time, isn't there," the German tactician noted as Liverpool prepared to take on Inter in an intriguing round of 16 Champions League tie.
"[So because] they don't drink, [it's only natural] that they were fit the day after the [AFCON final]."
Salah and Mane are certainly not the only top players to live an alcohol-free lifestyle. In their case, their reason isn't just for health, but also religious reasons, as both are devout Muslims - like fellow Reds player Naby Keita, who also doesn't drink.
Five-star Man City set THREE new Champions League records with 5-0 Sporting CP win
The first half performance fired Man City to yet another impressive milestone as the Premier League club became the first team in the Champions League's history to lead an away game by four or more goals at half-time in the knockout stages of the competition. In addition, the full-time result propelled them to become the 14th team to score 200 goals in the UEFA Champions League. It took them just 97 games to reach the milestone, becoming the club to manage it in fewer matches than any of the other 13 teams in the competition.
Man City also departed the José Alvalade Stadium as the first club in the history of the Champions League to record five successive away wins in the knockout stage. The club also own the rights as being one of only two English clubs to triumph by a five-goal difference in a knockout game of the competition. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side first managed the feat in 2018 by securing a 5-0 away win over FC Porto.
