Soccer on TV: Leicester City-Manchester United and a Bundesliga first-place battle bring European club soccer back to action

Saturday, 10 a.m. (USA Network, Universo)

Leicester has endured a wobbly start to the Premier League season, with recent ties against lowly Crystal Palace (owned by the Sixers’ Josh Harris) and Burnley. The Foxes have the talent to get back on track in $33 million striker Patson Daka (a former teammate of Brenden Aaronson at Red Bull Salzburg) and midfielders Harvey Barnes, James Maddison, and Youri Tielemans.

Manchester United, of course, has Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba. The Red Devils are two points out of first, and probably won’t top the table after this weekend because the other top teams all have winnable games. But they have the look of title contenders.

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Led by 16-goal scorer Ola Kamara, D.C. has lost just once at home in nine games since the start of June. The Black-and-Red are up to fifth place in the East, and could rise to fourth if results go their way this weekend. But second-place Nashville has the conference’s stingiest defense. How the visitors handle D.C.’s fast-paced playing style should be an interesting tactical matchup.

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. (ESPN+)

At just 18 years old, Florian Wirtz has fired Leverkusen into a first-place tie atop the Bundesliga with Bayern. Can the challengers dethrone the nine-time reigning champions and win their first German league title since 1979? This game will tell us if they’re for real.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's Bundesliga schedule

Sunday, 11:30 a.m. (NBCSN, Telemundo)

Newcastle plays its first game since the club was bought by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which everyone involved — including the Premier League — insists isn’t the same thing as the Saudi government. But PIF chair Mohammed bin Salman is the country’s crown prince, deputy prime minister, and minister of defense.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International were among many vocal critics of the deal. Amnesty accused the Premier League of “allowing those implicated in serious human rights violations to walk into English football simply because they have deep pockets.”

Bin Salman has long been accused of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khasoggi, though he denies it; and the country’s government has a reputation for abusing rights activists and quashing dissent.

For many Newcastle fans, though, all that seems to not matter. On the day the deal was sealed, a big crowd celebrated outside the Magpies’ St. James’ Park Stadium. Some fans chanted “We’ve got our club back!” after longtime owner Mike Ashley, whose reign had Newcastle as one of England’s most glaring underachievers, departed.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's Premier League schedule

Sunday, 1 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)

A few weeks ago, the Red Bulls were presumed to be too far out of the playoff race to make a serious run. They’ve since proven that presumption wrong, charging up the standings with a six-game unbeaten run. Two of those games were against NYCFC. A win or tie here would make this year the first since 2015, the Pigeons’ debut season, that the Red Bulls haven’t lost against their Hudson River Derby rivals.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's MLS schedule

Sunday, 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Thanks to having two games in hand, Gotham has not just a shot at a playoff berth, but an outside chance at a first-round bye if it can win out. On paper, this is the hardest of the four remaining games for Carli Lloyd, Margaret Purce and company. The remaining three include a visit to last-place Kansas City and a home-and-home set against next-to-last Louisville.

» READ MORE: Carli Lloyd thanks Philadelphia soccer fans for giving her a NWSL homecoming game she’ll never forget

Sunday, 2:45 p.m. (Paramount+)

Juventus seems to finally be up off the mat in Serie A, in seventh place with four straight wins after starting the season with two losses and two ties. Roma is in fourth place thanks in part to English forward Tammy Abraham, formerly of Chelsea. This will be a measuring-stick game for both teams.

Sunday, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)

Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest and Valencia’s Yunus Musah starred for the U.S. men’s national team in Wednesday’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Costa Rica. They might get this game off to rest, but Barcelona can’t take it too lightly. Archrival Real Madrid comes to town next weekend.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's La Liga schedule

Monday, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

Though Gianluca Busio only got limited playing time in the U.S.’ recent World Cup qualifiers, he looked great when given the chance. Now he returns to Italy to help Venezia continue its quest to avoid going back down to Serie B in its first top-flight season for 19 years.

By the way, if you’re a soccer fashionista, Venezia’s viral-sensation jerseys are coming back in stock. You’ll have to fork over $127, including all the shipping fees, you can’t get customization, and you might also have to gamble on getting the size right. But the jerseys are really sharp.

» READ MORE: The rest of this weekend's Serie A schedule