US Weekend Viewing Guide: Get your kicks on Saturday

There’s a full slate of action on Saturday, but you best make the most of it. The rest of the weekend is pretty sparse with slim pickings on Sunday and nothing that catches the eye on Friday. The good news is that we should see more significant minutes from Christian Pulisic this weekend in a game that can be seen on NBCSN.

Saturday

Chelsea v Southampton - 10a on NBCSN

Christian Pulisic and Chelsea return to the field on Saturday looking to get their season on track. Pulisic has played just seven minutes through the first four matches, while Chelsea have suffered a loss to Liverpool and dropped points in a draw with 17th place West Bromwich Albion. The results have Chelsea in seventh place early in this season, and the club is coming off a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace. Combined with Pulisic’s return from injury, it looks like things are heading in a positive direction for the club. On Saturday, Chelsea will be facing 11th place Southampton, who are coming off of back to back wins, albeit over West Brom and Burnley, who look like relegation candidates this season.

Other Notes:

• The Orlando Pride face the North Carolina Courage at 4p on CBS. The NWSL has seen an exodus of players headed overseas recently, but Abby Dahlkemper should see the field for the Courage while Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, and Sydney Leroux see time for the Pride. The teams played to a scoreless draw when they last met four weeks ago.

Looking through the paywall:

• Giovanni Reyna and Borussia Dortmund face Hoffenheim at 9:30a on ESPN+. Reyna is coming off a massive three assist game that was pivotal in his team’s 4-0 win over Freiburg.
• Josh Sargent and Werder Bremen are coming off back-to-back wins as they meet SC Frieburg at 9:30a on ESPN+. The wins were against relegation candidate (certainty?) Schalke and recently promoted Arminia Bielefeld but if you’re a club who is looking to avoid a relegation fight for the second straight year then those wins over lesser clubs will be key.
• RB Leipzig and Tyler Adams face Augsburg also at 9:30a on ESPN+ Saturday morning. Leipzig have taken advantage of early stumbles by Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to claim an early lead in the league standings. Adams was a late scratch from Leipzig’s last match due to a back injury but has recently returned to training.
• Unfortunately, Chris Richards has also picked up an injury and will be unavailable this weekend as Bayern Munich face Arminia Bielefeld at 12:30p on ESPN+. It’s terribly unfortunate timing for Richards, who was injured 65 minutes into his first Bundesliga start.
• John Anthony Brooks and Wolfsburg play Borussia Mönchengladbach at 2:30p on ESPN+. Brooks has started and gone the full 90 for each of Wolfsburg’s first three matches.
• Weston McKennie has tested positive for COVID-19, which he presumably acquired from his good friend Cristiano Ronaldo. The positive tests will force the two to miss Juventus’ weekend match against Crotone at 2:45p on ESPN+.
• DeAndre Yedlin remains with Newcastle United, though he has seen little playing time recently. The club face Machester United at 3p on Peacock.
• Ronald Koeman has suggested that Sergiño Dest could start on Saturday when Barcelona face Getafe at 3p on beIN Sports.

Sunday

Sheffield United v Fulham - 7a on Peacock

With the limited action on Sunday, let’s take a look over at Peacock where Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Fulham will face Sheffield United. Robinson received his first Premier League start for Fulham in their last match, a 1-0 loss to Wolverhampton, and Ream has started three of four matches for the team. Unfortunately, the club is off to a dreadful start and will need to make significant improvements if they want relegation to be a fight rather than a foregone conclusion. They are winless in their first four matches and have a -8 goal differential already. This weekend, they will face a Sheffield United side that is also winless against the same four opponents.

Looking through the paywall:

• Timothy Chandler’s Eintracht Frankfurt face Köln at 9:30a on ESPN+. Chandler has five minutes across two appearances in the clubs first three league matches.

Follow along with us below in the comments section as we travel through the weekend together.