The Soccer Report
UEFA & Concacaf Champions League highlight midweek TV schedule; Houston Dynamo draw in Arizona friendly
Feb 18, 2020, 7:10 am
The Soccer Report
International club football returns to our TV sets in February with the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg matches kicking off on Tuesday. In Concacaf, their version of the Champions League kicks off with the marquee match of the opening stage pitting Liga MX's Club Leon vs. MLS' LAFC.
A recap of the week that was followed by the upcoming TV schedule:
Top six: 1. Liverpool (76), 2. Man City (51), 3. Leicester City (50), 4. Chelsea (41), 5. Tottenham (40), 6. Sheffield (39)
Bottom three (relegation): 18. West Ham (24), 19. Watford (24), 20. Norwich City (18)
Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Assists leader: 15 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Top six: 1. Real Madrid (53), 2. FC Barcelona (52), 3. Getafe (42), 4. Atletico Madrid (40), 5. Sevilla (40), 6. Villarreal (38)
Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (21), 19. Leganes (19), 20. Espanyol (19)
Scoring leader: 14 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (46), 2. RB Leipzig (45), 3. Dortmund (42), 4. Monchengladbach (42), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (40), 6. Schalke 04 (36)
Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (17), 17. Werder Bremen (17), 18. Paderborn (16)
Scoring leader: 23 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Assists leader: 14 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Top six: 1. Juventus (57), 2. Lazio (56), 3. Inter Milan (54), 4. Atalanta (45), 5. Roma (39), 6. Hellas Verona (35)
Bottom three: 18. Genoa (22), 19. Brescia (16), 20. SPAL (15)
Scoring leader: 26 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)
Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)Top four: 1. PSG (62), 2. Marseille (52), 3. Rennes (41), 4. Lille (40)
Bottom three: 18. Dijon (26), 19. Amiens (21), 20. Toulouse (13)
Scoring leader: 16 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)
Assists leader: 12 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)
Rodolfo Pizarro, #InterMiamiCF's new Designated Player is here. 🗞️https://t.co/NwCxRQzyRC https://t.co/fAr1pdr3Pw— Inter Miami CF (@Inter Miami CF) 1581984000.0
The influx of Mexican stars to Major League Soccer continues. Rodolfo Pizarro is the latest name to cross the border as the former Chivas and Monterrey star will now feature for David Beckham's Inter Miami CF. The move, which has been its own transfer saga, finally became official on Monday.
Of local interest, the Houston Dynamo played New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw in Tucson, Arizona as part of their "spring training" before the season kicks off on February 29th at BBVA Stadium. The Dynamo have two friendlies this week to wrap up preseason.
Clausura 2020
Top eight: 1. Pumas (14), 2. Club America (13), 3. Leon (12), 4. Queretaro (12), 5. Juarez (11), 6. Cruz Azul (10), 7. Atletico San Luis (9), 8. Necaxa (8)
Scoring leader: 5 - Angel Mena (Leon) / Ariel Nahuelpan (Queretaro) / Jonathan Rodriguez (Cruz Azul)
For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com
Tuesday, February 18
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Dortmund vs. PSG (Galavision, B/R Live)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Club Leon vs. LAFC (FS2)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Motagua vs. Atlanta United (FOX Soccer Plus)
Wednesday, February 19
1:30 p.m. - [Premier League] Man City vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Tottenham vs. RB Leipzig (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Atalanta vs. Valencia (Galavision, B/R Live)
5:00 p.m. - [MLS preseason] Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake (HoustonDynamo.com/Live)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Saprissa vs. Montreal Impact (FS2)
Thursday, February 20
12:00 p.m. / 2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Round of 32 first leg matches (B/R Live)
7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] San Carlos vs. New York City FC (FS2)
9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Olimpia vs. Seattle Sounders FC (FS2)
Friday, February 21
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Paderborn (FOX Soccer Plus)
1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Brescia vs. Napoli (ESPN+)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Atlas vs. Pachuca (TUDN)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Tijuana vs. Chivas (FOX Deportes)
Saturday, February 22
6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Werder Bremen vs. Dortmund (FS1)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Hoffenheim (FS2, TUDN)
9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Sheffield United vs. Brighton (NBC Sports)
9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Eibar (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Leicester City vs. Man City (NBC)
11:00 a.m. - [Serie A] SPAL vs. Juventus (ESPN+)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Schalke 04 vs. RB Leipzig (FS2, TUDN)
2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Levante vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
5:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Leon vs. Necaxa (TUDN, ESPN Deportes)
6:00 p.m. - [MLS preseason] Houston Dynamo vs. Columbus Crew SC (HoustonDynamo.com/Live)
7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Cruz Azul vs. Tigres (Univision, TUDN, ESPN Deportes)
9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Monterrey vs. America (FOX Deportes)
Sunday, February 23
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Man United vs. Watford (NBC Sports)
8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Norwich (CNBC)
10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Everton (NBC Sports)
Monday, February 24
3:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)
The Houston Astros are coming off a huge series win over the Dodgers thanks to some heroics from Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz.
But as the Astros were taking care of business against LA, the Mariners completed two trades that have changed the landscape in the AL West.
Astro killer Randy Arozarena and former Houston relief pitcher Yimi Garcia have joined the Mariners, and have significantly upgraded their roster. Especially in the case of Arozarena, who will provide some offense to a team that has struggled to score all season. He also adds playoff experience and a knack for coming up big in high-pressure situations.
Adding a player with an ALCS MVP award on their resume should not be taken lightly, and Garcia only improves one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. He's definitely an upgrade over Ryne Stanek, who was traded from Seattle to New York over the weekend.
With the trade deadline almost upon us, it seems the Astros will be lucky just to add an arm, based on the comments from GM Dana Brown. Which means the club will likely move forward with Jon Singleton getting most of the playing time at first base.
And based on this latest series with the Dodgers, that could be a good thing. Singleton hit a massive homer to the second deck on Friday, helping the 'Stros cruise to a 5-0 victory.
However, when looking at Singleton's stats since the first of July, he only has two games with multiple hits. So he needs to make an impact with the one hit he typically gets per game, based on how his numbers have been trending.
Be sure to check out the video above as we reflect on all the action from the weekend, look ahead to the Astros upcoming games against the Pirates and Rays, and much more.
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.