Games to Watch: MLS, EPL, FA Cup, UEFA and CONCACAF Champions Leagues

A quick prelude: I get asked sometimes why I don't include Union games in this column. Those questions generally come from outside the Philadelphia region, and I understand why. The answer is that this column also runs in shorter form in Friday's Inquirer. It's intended as a complement to the day's Union stories in print.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

San Jose Earthquakes at New York Red Bulls

7:00 p.m. Friday (UniMás, Univision Deportes)

The furore when the Red Bulls fired popular coach Mike Petke during the winter was so loud that it almost buried his replacement, Jesse Marsch, before the Princeton product even took the helm. Those critics have gone quiet now. Thanks to midfielder Sacha Kljestan and striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, Marsch's team is undefeated so far this season.

Chris Wondolowski and the unheralded Earthquakes have been similarly surprising, with three wins in their first six games.

Arsenal vs. Reading

12:00 p.m. Saturday (Fox, Fox Deportes)

Arsenal has a well-earned reputation for not always showing up to big occasions, but the Gunners come into this FA Cup semifinal in terrific form. Led by Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla, they've lost just three of their 19 games in 2015 across all competitions. Now they head to Wembley Stadium, where they ended a nine-year trophy drought by winning the FA Cup last May.

Reading's hopes of an upset lie in part with U.S. national team midfielder Danny Williams, known as a defensive stopper.

Manchester United at Chelsea

12:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC, NBC Universo)

Do not adjust your TV sets or TV guides: yes, there really will be soccer games on two over-the-air TV networks simultaneously on Saturday. And with all due respect to the FA Cup's romantic history, this is the bigger contest.

It's got star players, with United's Wayne Rooney and Chelsea's Eden Hazard just the tip of the iceberg. It's got star managers in United's Louis van Gaal and Chelsea's José Mourinho. And most importantly, it's got the first- and third-place teams in the English Premier League.

Portland Timbers at New York City FC

7:00 p.m. Sunday (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes)

If you're a fan of creative midfielders, this game is for you. Portland's Darlington Nagbe and New York's Mix Diskerud are two of Major League Soccer's best, and they might be playing together with the U.S. national team in the future.

FC Porto at Bayern Munich

2:00 p.m. Tuesday (Fox Sports 2, Fox Deportes)

Yes, this UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg will be a little hard to find. But it's worth the effort, especially since Barcelona brings a 3-1 aggregate lead into its home game Paris Saint-Germain in the other game at the same hour (Fox Sports 1, ESPN Deportes).

Bayern lost 3-1 at Porto in the first leg, so must overcome a two-goal deficit at the Allianz Arena.. There's no lack of players to do the job, especially superstars Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben. But Porto has firepower of its own in Jackson Martinez and Ricardo Quaresma.

Atlético Madrid at Real Madrid

2:00 p.m. Wednesday (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes)

The first leg between these city rivals, played on Atlético's turf, was a scoreless encounter that more resembled a street fight than a soccer game. Now the scene shifts across the city, but don't assume Cristiano Ronaldo and Real are favorites just because they're at home. Antoine Greizmann and Atlético have the skill to match their more famous neighbors, and they won't be intimidated.

Montréal Impact at Club América

9:00 p.m. Wednesday (Fox Sports 2, UniMás)

For just the second time in the current era of the CONCACAF Champions League, a team from MLS has made the final. Montréal, led by playmaker Ignacio Piatti and former Union striker Jack McInerney, faces an enormous task if it wants to become the first ever MLS team to win it all.

Club América is Mexico's version of the Cowboys, Yankees and Lakers all rolled into one - and unlike those American teams, Las Aguílas actually win trophies. Darwin Quintero and Oribe Peralta are two of the most dangerous strikers anywhere in CONCACAF. Add to that the notorious home-field advantage at Mexico City's famed Estadio Azteca, and the challenge only gets bigger for the Impact.