Soccer on TV: Argentina’s league comes to Paramount+, big games in England’s FAWSL

Saturday, 11:30 a.m. (NBCSports.com, atafootball.com)

With European club men’s soccer leagues off this weekend, England’s women’s league takes center stage. Vivianne Miedema and Arsenal continue their chase for a Champions League spot with a visit to their North London rivals, and this time, the geography’s actually right: Tottenham will host the game at the men’s team’s home stadium.

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. (NBCSN)

Man City got smoked at Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, 3-0. A lot of people were surprised. But those people maybe haven’t been paying close attention. Barcelona, led by playmakers Caroline Graham Hansen and Alexia Putellas, is an outstanding team. And City, despite the great talent of Sam Mewis, Caroline Weir, Lauren Hemp and many others, has underwhelmed this season.

It doesn’t help that Rose Lavelle has played a full game a grand total of once for City. With apologies to Weir and Hemp, manager Gareth Taylor’s refusal to start Lavelle is baffling — as is his insistence on playing her as a winger instead of in central midfield. The way things are going, Taylor might end up blowing City’s shots at the league and European Cup.

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

In between games of a Champions League series against rival Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain has a tricky road test as it tries to hold on to first place in the French league. PSG lost at home to Lyon on Wednesday in controversial fashion, 1-0, on a late penalty kick for a handball in the 18-yard box. Replays showed that the play wasn’t a handball, and might not have been in the box either.

Saturday, 3:45 p.m. (ESPN2, TUDN.com)

This is the pick of Saturday’s World Cup qualifiers in Europe, and not just because it’s on regular TV. Belgium showed in its qualifying opener why it’s the No. 1 team in FIFA’s global ranking with a 3-1 rout of Wales, led by star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne. The Czech Republic thumped Estonia, 6-2, in its opener, including a Tomáš Souček hat trick.

Saturday, 8 p.m. (Paramount+)

Suriname has quietly built up an impressive team of Dutch players with Surinamese roots. The squad includes former Union midfielder Roland Alberg, whose current club home is India’s FC Hyderabad; Inter Miami’s Kelvin Leerdam; and Nigel Hasselbaink, nephew of Chelsea and Netherlands legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Aruba’s team doesn’t have any well-known players, and lost all of its games in the inaugural Concacaf Nations League. But the national stadium is a neat little venue near downtown Oranjestad, the capital city of the great vacation country.

» READ MORE: Paramount+'s schedule of Concacaf World Cup qualifying broadcasts

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. (NBCSN)

Led by Pernille Harder, Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr, Chelsea is holding on to first place in the FAWSL, but only by two points. Aston Villa has won just once since the start of the year, and is battling to avoid relegation.

Sunday, 1 p.m. (Fox29, UniMás, TUDN)

The U.S. men looked sharp in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Jamaica. Sergiño Dest quieted critics who think he shouldn’t play left back, and Medford’s Brenden Aaronson scored a smart goal. Now coach Gregg Berhalter can rotate the squad a bit, and hopefully let the TV audience on big Fox see intriguing young prospects such as midfielder Owen Otasowie and striker Jordan Sietbatcheu.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia’s 2026 World Cup bid meets with FIFA to pitch Lincoln Financial Field

Sunday, 6 p.m. (FS1, TUDN)

This is the do-or-die game for the U.S. men’s under-23 team in Concacaf’s Olympic qualifying tournament. A win will send the Americans to the Games for the first time since 2008. A loss will mean three straight failures to qualify — and it would be the second straight time Honduras does the U.S. in.

The other semifinal winner will also clinch an Olympic berth: tournament host Mexico vs. Canada at 9 p.m. (FS1, TUDN).

Sunday, 6:30 p.m. (Paramount+)

This weekend starts a new era for coverage of South American soccer in the United States as Paramount+ kicks off a three-year deal to broadcast Argentina’s league and cup competitions. A nation that boasts some of the world’s most venerable clubs and most famous players has never had the kind of exposure to English-speaking American soccer fans that it does now. If you’re a fan of skilled players and wild atmospheres, you’ll love what you see (though the stands are closed for now).

The deal officially begins Friday night with a twinbill of Lanús vs. Patronato (6 p.m.) and Unión de Santa Fe vs. Sarmiento (8:15 p.m.). But the big games to watch are a pair of Buenos Aires derbies Sunday night. And if all you know of Argentine soccer is the Boca Juniors-River Plate rivalry, here’s your first lesson: There are six top-tier teams in the capital city.

Racing is a 19-time champion, most recently in 2019. Its squad includes former Montreal Impact playmaker Ignacio Piatti and former Ajax and Pachuca striker Darío Cvitanich. River’s current stars are Uruguayan midfielder Nicolás de la Cruz and Colombian forward Santos Borré.

Sunday, 9 p.m. (Parmount+)

Independiente’s roster includes U.S. native Alan Soñora, a son of former MLS veteran Diego Soñora. (Alan’s brother Joel also plays in Argentina, for Córdoba-based Club Atlético Talleres.) Boca is led by former Serie A and English Premier League regular Mauro Zárate and superstar veteran striker Carlos Tévez.

» READ MORE: Paramount+'s schedule of Argentine league games