What to watch in international soccer this weekend
A pair of old rivals collide in Liverpool while the Ligue 1 leader tries to extend its lead in France and a surprising contender hopes to continue its climb up the Spanish table in the top televised games from Europe this weekend.
EPL: The Merseyside Derby, the longest-running top-flight derby in English soccer, remains one of the Premier League’s marquee matchups even if it has become rather predictable: Heading into the revival Sunday at Anfield (NBCSN, Telemundo 8 a.m. PST), Everton is winless in the last eight games against Liverpool. There’s more than local bragging rights at stake this weekend because Liverpool is unbeaten in league play while Everton has lost just one of its last seven to climb to sixth in the table. Earlier Sunday, streaking Tottenham, winner of six straight in all competitions, visits Arsenal, which is unbeaten in its 18 (NBCSN, Telemundo, 6 a.m. PST).
Ligue 1: With 14 wins in as many tries, Paris Saint-Germain remains the only unbeaten, untied team in a major European league. That’s not likely to change Sunday when PSG travels to Bordeaux, which is five points above the relegation zone (BeIN Sports, noon PST). How dominant has PSG been? It not only has Europe’s best record, but it has the most goals (46), the best goal differential (+39) and the continent’s top scorer in Kylian Mbappe (11 goals in nine games, an average of one every 63 minutes).
La Liga: Girona, which hasn’t lost since the first week of October, can leap over Real Madrid and Espanyol into position for a Europa League invitation with a win Sunday. But it will be trying to do that against third-place Atletico Madrid, which has been even hotter, going 10 games without a La Liga loss (BeIN Sports, 7 a.m. PST).
kevin.baxter@latimes.com | Twitter: @kbaxter11
