Avoiding the Drop

There's only one Jermaine Beckford

There’s a fixture today that brings back a lot of memories for me, and no, it’s not Royal Charleroi SC v. KVC Westerlo (Belgian Jupiler League).

It’s Millwall hosting Leeds United.  I would love to be at the grounds for this match, not because it’s going to settle anything major, but because it’s one of the few matches between the teams that I grew up thinking about that I’ve never been able to attend.  My Dad was never fond of traveling to Millwall, for fairly obvious reasons.  The Millwall supporters were, shall we say, a rough lot, especially when I was a kid.  You saw some evidence of it just this past August when the Carling Cup match at Upton Park turned ugly.  Leeds United had their own set of special supporters, too, but it took a very special occasion for them to travel to London.  I remember an FA Cup match against Chelsea that turned a bit messy.  Those were heady days.  At any rate, both clubs are now in the the English third division, which in and of itself is hard to fathom.  In terms of the football, though, this should be quite a match.  Leeds are first in the division, having not tasted defeat this year with 9 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses.  Millwall is not quite as good, sitting in ninth position on 4 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses.  Millwall have been, over the last few years, been struggling to stay in League One, and there is a lot of hope this year that they will be able to make it into one of the playoff spots.  It is looking good for Leeds, though.  It should be quite a contest.  Hopefully, a calm one, too.

This is MLS’s final regular season weekend, and Fuse, Mags and Adam have done the lord’s work to get you all ready for it.  Colorado travels to Real Salt Lake for Fox Soccer Channel, kicking off at 9 PM EDT, and on Sunday, the New England Revolution visit Columbus Crew at 6 PM EDT on ESPN2.  Telefutura has Houston Dynamo visiting Chivas USA tomorrow at 3 PM EDT, as well.

Courtesy of Jamie Trecker, here’s today’s television schedule.  All times EDT.

7:30am ET – EPL – Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Aston Villa – ESPN2 (HD)
9:25am ET – Bundesliga – Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt – ESPN Deportes & ESPN360.com
9:30am ET – EPL – Tottenham vs Stoke City – Setanta Sports USA
9:55am ET – EPL – Hull City vs Portsmouth – Setanta Xtra (5pm ET SDD on Setanta Sports USA)
9:55am ET – EPL – Birmingham City vs Sunderland – FOX Soccer Channel & FOX Sports en Espanol
10:48am ET – FIFA U-17 World Cup – Honduras vs. Argentina – ESPN360.com
10:48am ET – FIFA U-17 World Cup – Mexico vs. Switzerland – ESPN360.com and Galavision
11:55am ET – La Liga – Atletico de Madrid vs Mallorca – ESPN Deportes & ESPN360.com
11:55am ET – Serie A – Sampdoria vs Bologna – RAI International
12:25pm ET – English Football League “Championship” – Derby County vs Queen’s Park Rangers – Setanta Sports USA
12:25pm ET – EPL – Chelsea vs Blackburn Rovers – FOX Soccer Channel & FOX Sports en Espanol
12:55pm ET – Ligue 1 – Bordeaux vs Le Mans – TV5Monde USA
1:48pm ET – FIFA U-17 World Cup – Brazil vs. Japan – ESPN360.com
1:48pm ET – FIFA U-17 World Cup – Nigeria vs Germany – ESPN360.com
1:55pm ET – La Liga – Sporting de Gijon vs Real Madrid – GolTV
2:30pm ET – Serie A – Inter Milan vs Catania – FOX Soccer Channel, FOX Sports en Espanol & RAI International
2:55pm ET – Ligue 1 – Rennes vs Montpelier – Setanta Sports USA
3:55pm ET – La Liga – Sevilla vs Espanyol – GolTV
5pm ET (SDD) – EPL – Burnley vs Wigan Athletic – FOX Soccer Channel
5pm ET (SDD) – Serie A – Sampdoria vs Bologna – FOX Sports en Espanol
5:55pm ET – Brasileirao – Atletico Mineiro vs Vitoria – GolTV
5:55pm ET – Liga Mexicana – Jaguares vs Santos – Azteca America & ESPN Deportes
6pm ET – Liga Mexicana – Queretaro vs Cruz Azul – TeleFutura
7:55pm ET – Colombia – Millonarios vs Medellin – GolTV
7:55pm ET – Liga Mexicana – Tigres vs San Luis – Telemundo
8pm ET – Liga Mexicana – Pachuca vs Indios – TeleFutura
9pm ET – MLS – Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids – FOX Soccer Channel
9:55pm ET (SDD) – Liga Mexicana – Atlante vs Atlas – Telemundo

And just because it’s so much fun up at Liverpool right now, today sees the Sun telling the world that Real Madrid will come knocking on the door asking for Steven Gerrard next Summer.  Lovely.

Right, enjoy your Saturdays, find us on Twitter and make sure to give your reaction to the games in comments.  Not an especially great card today in the Premier League, but Spurs/Stoke could be interesting.  We’ll see, won’t we?  Cheers.