Games to Watch: Stars take stage in NWSL, MLS and Europe
Seattle Reign at Houston Dash
8 p.m. Friday (Fox Sports 1)
Just two days after leading the U.S. women against Costa Rica, Houston's Carli Lloyd and Morgan Brian and Seattle's Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo are back with their club teams. But how much will they play in what's a huge game in the National Women's Soccer League playoff race? If they're out, the spotlight could fall on two potential future national team stars, Seattle midfielder Amber Brooks and Houston forward Kealia Ohai.
The NWSL badly needs good buzz after suffering a string of self-inflicted fiascos. First, the league announced with just a few games left in the season that it had torn up the rule book, placing the championship game in Portland instead of at the highest seed in the final.
A few days later, stars Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair publicly called out the league on Twitter for allowing teams to stay at a bedbug-infested Kansas City hotel. The tweets have since been deleted, but they haven't been forgotten.
For all the hardships that NWSL players, teams and staff face on a daily basis, the last thing they need is for the league to cause itself further damage. That's happening far too often right now. Having a marquee matchup on national television will help finally shift the focus back to the field - but here's hoping that it also brings more pressure on the league to get its act together.
Houston Dynamo at Portland Timbers
11 p.m. Friday (UniMás)
After a slow start to the season, Portland has quietly climbed into fourth place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference. Defender Nat Borchers' steadying influence has been a big reason why. He'll have his hands full – and perhaps his big beard too – with Houston strikers Giles Barnes and Erick "Cubo" Torres.
Bayern Munich at TSG Hoffenheim
9:30 a.m. Saturday (Fox Sports 1)
If you missed the Bundesliga's kickoff games, here's your chance to catch up. Fox Sports 1 is carrying four contests this weekend, starting with the reigning champs. Thanks to new signing Douglas Costa and old favorite Robert Lewandowski, Bayern looked imperious in a 5-0 rout of Hamburg. Hoffenheim's most famous name is striker Kevin Kuranyi, a former German national team regular. The most familiar name to many of you, though, might be former Union short-timer Kai Herdling.
Borussia Dortmund at FC Ingolstadt
9:30 a.m. Sunday (Fox Sports 1)
After helping Ingolstadt to victory in its first ever Bundesliga game last weekend, U.S. national team midfielder Alfredo Morales gets an even bigger spotlight for the club's first top flight home opener. Dortmund brings one of Europe's most dynamic attacks with Marco Reus, Shinji Kagawa, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Barcelona at Athletic Bilbao
12:25 p.m. Sunday (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)
Less than a week after Bilbao beat Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup, the two teams meet again to kick off the La Liga campaign. Barcelona will be favored – they always are, thanks to Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez – but Aritz Aduriz and Bilbao have proven that they can run with the big names.
New York City FC at Los Angeles Galaxy
3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
It might be the most star-studded matchup in Major League Soccer history: New York's Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa against L.A.'s Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Giovani dos Santos. Will it live up to the hype? That might be up to City's flimsy defense. If it gets run over again, the Galaxy could win in a rout.
Liverpool at Arsenal
3 p.m. Monday (NBCSN, NBC Universo)
This clash of English Premier League titans has a reputation for producing lots of goals. Expect another high-scoring affair as Christian Benteke and Philippe Coutinho lead Liverpool against Arsenal's Alexis Sánchez, Olivier Giroud and Mesut Özil.