Soccer on TV: What games to watch this weekend
Former U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann returns to the sidelines in Berlin on Saturday after more than three years away while Marseille hopes to continues its climb up the standings in France and Barcelona seeks to hold its league lead in Spain, highlighting the top televised soccer action from Europe this weekend.
Bundesliga: After taking over as manager last week, Klinsmann leads Hertha Berlin (3-7-2) against 5-2-5 Borussia Dortmund (FS2, TUDN, UniMas, 6:30 a.m. PST). Winless since Oct. 4, Hertha is outside the relegation zone by virtue of the goal-differential tiebreaker. That leaves Klinsmann, who hasn’t coached since November 2016 when he was dismissed by U.S. Soccer two games into an ultimately failed World Cup qualifying campaign, with some work to do. In a match involving teams at the other end of the standings, league-leading Borussia Monchengladbach (8-3-1) plays host Sunday to surprising Freiburg (6-2-4), which could take over first with a convincing win (FS1, TUDN, 6:30 a.m. PST).
Ligue 1: Even with three consecutive wins, Marseille (7-3-4), which has climbed to second in the French standings, is not yet a threat to league-leading Paris Saint-Germaine. But with another win Friday over Brest (4-4-6), Frank McCourt’s club could keep the pressure on (BeIN Sports, 11:45 a.m. PST).
La Liga: After a slow start, Barcelona (9-3-1) has found its stride, winning seven of its last eight to shoot to the top of the standings. Lionel Messi has led that streak with eight goals in six games heading into Sunday’s match at Atletico Madrid (6-1-7), which could equal Barcelona’s 28 points with a win (BeIN Sports, noon PST).
