So Champions League Matchday 3 kicks-off Tues/Wed of this week with some solid match-ups including Arsenal hosting Bayern Munchen on Tuesday and a whole host of good games on Wednesday with PSG hosting Real Madrid on Fox Soccer Plus, Man City hosting Sevilla and Juventus hosting Borussia Monchengladbach on ESPN2 at 2:45 pm. The Indy 11 took a marvelous 3-1 win at home on Saturday vs Minn and return to the Mike for the final game of the season this Saturday night at 7:30 pm vs Ft. Lauderdale. A free team photo will be given out to the first 500 fans with tickets starting at just $10 for Fan Appreciation Night.
Congrats to # 6 Ranked – Carmel High School Men’s Soccer (16-2-1) who won Regional’s this past week with a 2-0 win over #18 Brebeuf Jesuit and a 1-0 Win over Lawrence Central. Former Carmel FC’er Charles Price scored 2 goals over the weekend to help Carmel advance to Semi-State this Saturday in Evansville where they will face (17-2-1) East Central at noon. Also alive #3 Ft Wayne Canterbury vs #17 Penn, #7 Center Grove vs #13 Blooming South and #9 Lake Central vs #8 Harrison. The winners will advance to the state final 4 at The Indy 11 Stadium Oct 31st. On the girl’s side Brebeuf will play Center Grove while Fishers faces Muster in Semi-States.
Around Europe Update – BEN LYTTLETON SI
MLS All You Need to Know Luviu Bird SI
American’s Abroad this Weekend
US Players overseas – AmericanSoccer Now
Champions League- Matchday 3
BR – Champs League Predictions
Arsenal vs Bayern Preview – Sky Sports
Cech set to return for Arsenal
Match Facts – Bayern vs Gunners
Bayern Lewandowski on Goal Scoring Streak and Champions League
Borussian Monchengladbach has nothing to lose vs Juve
Chelsea vs Dynamo Keiv Preview
Man City hosting Sevilla Preview
Indy 11
Indy 11 recap 3-1 win over Minn
GAMES to WATCH
Friday – 7 pm USA vs Chile (U17 WC) Fox sports 2
This will be a must win game for the US U17s to Advance out of Group Play
Sat – 12:30 pm Arsenal vs Everton NBC
A Must win game for US Keeper Tim Howard and the Toffees if they want to keep their hopes alive for a top 4 Finish – the Gunners look to hold Serve at home.
Sat 7:30 pm Indy 11 (H) vs Ft. Lauderdale Ch 8 and ESPN 3
It’s the last home game for Indy as they look to fight their way out of the seller in the NASL with 1 road game left after this.
Sun 10 am Man United vs Man City NBCSN
The Manchester Darby is always a battle royale – with the winner moving to the top of the table after the tie at Old Trafford.
Sun 12:15 Liverpool vs Southampton NBC
The Reds and Canaries are tied at 8th in the table as Liverpools new manager Juergan Klopp manages his first game at the Ansfield on NBC.
Sun 5:00 p.m. Columbus Crew vs. D.C. United, (Fox Sports 1,)
As the MLS Playoffs get ready to start next week – this is a great time to watch your local Columbus Crew battle for 2nd in the East.
GAMES THIS WEEK
Tuesday, October 20
UEFA Champions League (Group stage)
2:30 p.m., ESPN2: Bayer Leverkusen vs. AS Roma
2:30 p.m. Fox Sports 2 and Fox Deportes: Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich
2:30 p.m., Fox Sports Net affiliates and ESPN Deportes: BATE Borisov vs. Barcelona
2:30 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus and ESPN3: Dynamo Kiev vs. Chelsea
2:35 p.m., ESPN3: Dinamo Z vs. Olympiakos, Porto vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Valencia vs. Gent, Zenit St. Pete vs. Lyon
CONCACAF Champions League (Group stage)
10:00 p.m., Fox Sports 2: Real Salt Lake vs. Municipal
Wednesday, October 21
UEFA Champions League (Group stage)
2:45 p.m., ESPN2: Juventus vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
2:45 p.m., Fox Sports 2: CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester United
2:45 p.m., Fox Sports Net Manchester City vs. Sevilla
2:45 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid
2:45 p.m., ESPN3: Atlético Madrid vs. Astana, Galatasaray vs. Benfica, Malmö vs. Shakhtar Don, VfL Wolfsburg vs. PSV
4 pm Fox Soccer to Go US vs Croatia (U17 WC)
7 pm Fox Sports 2 Argentina vs Germany (U17 WC)
10:00 p.m., ESPN2: United States women vs. Brazil (Seattle, Wash.)
CONCACAF Champions League (Group stage)
8:00 p.m., Univision Deportes: Tigres UANL vs. Herediano
10:00 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus and Univision Deportes: Comunicaciones vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
Thursday, October 22
CONCACAF Champions League (Group stage)
10:00 p.m., Univision Deportes: Olimpia vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
10:00 p.m., Fox Soccer 2 Go: San Francisco vs. Verdes (tape-delayed on Univision Deportes at 12:30 a.m.)
UEFA Europa League (Group stage)
11:00 a.m., Fox Sports 1 and ESPN3: Qabala vs. Borussia Dortmund
1:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1: Anderlecht vs. Tottenham Hotspur
1:00 p.m., Fox Sports 2: Schalke 04 vs. Sparta Prague
1:00 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus and ESPN3: Fiorentina vs. Lech Poznań
1:00 p.m., ESPN Deportes: Partizan Belgrade vs. Athletic Bilbao
1:00 p.m., ESPN3: APOEL vs. Asteras Tripolis, Sporting Clube de Portugal vs. Skënderbeu Korçë
3:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1 and ESPN3: Liverpool vs. Rubin Kazan
3:00 p.m., Fox Sports 2 and ESPN Deportes: Villarreal vs. Dinamo Minsk
3:00 p.m., Fox Soccer Plus and ESPN3: Molde FK vs. Celtic
3:00 p.m., ESPN3: Fenerbahçe vs. Ajax
Fri, October 23:
4 pm, Korea vs England (U17 WC) Fox Sports 1
7 pm USA vs Chile (U17 WC) Fox sports 2
Sat, October 24:
7:30 am Blackburn vs Burnley (Eng Champ) beIN Sports
9:30 am Bayern Munich vs Koln Fox Sports 2
10 am Chelsea vs Westham NBC Live Extra?
10 am Stoke City vs Watford NBC Live Extra?
10 am Celtic vs Real Madrid (Sp) beIn Sports
12:30 pm Arsenal vs Everton NBC
12:30 pm Ingolstadt vs Hertha BSC Fox Sports 2 US John Brooks for Hertha
3 pm Ecuador vs Belgium (U17 WC) Fox Sports 2
6 pm Germany vs Mexico (U17 WC) Fox Sports 2
7:30 pm Indy 11 (H) vs Ft. Lauderdale Ch 8 and ESPN 3
Sunday, October 25:
8 am Sunderland vs Newcastle United NBCSN (US Deandre Yedlin for Sunderland)
10 am Man United vs Man City NBCSN
10 am Juve vs Atalanta (ITA) beIn Sports
10:30 am Borussian Dortmund vs Augsburg Fox Sports 2
11:15 am Liverpool vs Southampton NBC Live Extra
12:30 Borussiam MGB vs Schalke 04 Fox Sports 1
2:30 p.m. United States women vs. Brazil, friendly, (Fox Sports 1)
4 pm PSG vs Saint Enienne (FR) beIn Sports
5:00 p.m. Columbus Crew vs. D.C. United, (Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes)
7:00 p.m Sporting Kansas City vs. Los Angeles Galaxy,. (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
7:00 p.m FC Dallas vs. San Jose Earthquakes,. (ESPN3)
7:00 p.m Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids,. (ESPN3)
7:00 p.m Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake (ESPN3)
7:00 p.m. Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Houston Dynamo, (ESPN3)
Sunday, Nov 1 + Nov 8
MLS Playoffs
3 pm Semi-finals Leg 1 East Conf ESPN
5 pm Semi-finals Leg 1 ESPN
7 pm Semi-finals Leg 1 West Conf Fox Sports 1
9 pm Semi-finals Leg 1 Fox Sports 1
Fri, Nov 13
6:30 pm USA vs St Vincent and Grenadines ESPN St. Louis
Scenarios: Who needs what in the push to the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs
October 20, 20153:00 AM EDTMLSsoccer staff mlssoccer.com RELATED: Playoff matchups if the season ended today
Eastern Conference
Playoff spot clinched
New York Red Bulls clinched this season’s first playoff spot on Sept. 20, later avoiding the Knockout Round with a bye and clinching first place in the East. They lead FC Dallas for the Supporters’ Shield, and will win the trophy with a victory at Chicago on Sunday and any FC Dallas result, assuming FCD doesn’t match a win or loss while also making up six goals relative to the Red Bulls’ outcome.
No. 1, East – 57 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at CHI
Playoff spot clinched
D.C. United clinched a playoff spot on Oct. 2. They remain in contention for an automatic berth in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. A win at Columbus on Sunday puts them in strong position to secure the bye.
No. 2, East – 51 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at CLB
Playoff spot clinched
Crew SC locked up their spot on Oct. 17 with a road win in Toronto and theycan clinch an automatic berth in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a win against D.C. on Sunday.
No. 3, East – 50 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 vs DC
Playoff spot clinched
Toronto FC clinched a playoff spot on Oct. 14. They remain in contention for an automatic berth in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and can clinch said berth with a victory against Montreal AND a draw between D.C. and Columbus.
No. 4, East – 49 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at MTL
Playoff spot clinched
Montreal clinched a playoff spot on Oct. 17 with their 1-0 road win against New England. They remain in contention for an automatic berth in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, though it would take a victory against Toronto AND a D.C. victory against Columbus AND a win or tie by New England.
No. 5, East – 48 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 vs TOR
The Revs will be in a battle with Orlando City on #DecisionDay for the sixth and final playoff spot in the East. But they know they currently have a hefty lead (+8) on the goal differential tiebreaker should they slip up on the final day. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win/draw Sunday vs. NYCFC OR a Orlando draw/loss at Philadelphia.
No. 6, East – 47 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at NYC
Orlando City’s only chance to make the playoffs is to beat the Philadelphia Union by a large margin on #DecisionDay and hope New York City FC can do the same to the New England Revolution. They would need to make up 8 goals on the Revs to offset the goal differential tiebreaker.
No. 7, East – 44 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at PHI
Eliminated from playoff contention
NYCFC were eliminated from playoff contention on Oct. 10.
Eliminated from playoff contention
Philadelphia Union were eliminated from playoff contention on Oct. 3.
Eliminated from playoff contention
Chicago Fire were eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 26.
Western Conference
Playoff spot clinched
FC Dallas clinched the West’s first playoff spot on Oct. 4, followed by first place and a Knockout Round bye on Oct. 17. They also remain in contention for the Supporters’ Shield, but likely won’t be able to claim the trophy if the New York Red Bulls win at Chicago on Sunday. Goal differential serves as the first tiebreaker, and RBNY enter #DecisionDay with a six-goal margin separating them and Dallas.
No. 1, West – 57 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 vs SJ
Playoff spot clinched
LA Galaxy clinched a playoff spot on Oct. 4. They can clinch an automatic berth in the Western Conference Semifinals with a win at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
No. 2, West – 51 PTS | 10/25 at SKC
Playoff spot clinched
The Vancouver Whitecaps clinched a playoff spot on Oct. 8. They remain in contention for an automatic berth in the Western Conference Semifinals.
No. 3, West – 50 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 vs HOU
Portland can clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie against Colorado on Sunday.
No. 4, West – 50 points | Schedule: 10/25 vs COL
Seattle can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Real Salt Lake on Sunday. They would also clinch a playoff spot with a tie vs. RSL AND EITHER a Earthquakes loss/draw at FC Dallas OR an SKC loss/tie vs. Colorado AND an SKC loss+tie combination in their double-game week.
No. 5, West – 48 points | Schedule: 10/25 vs RSL
Sporting KC can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Colorado on Wednesday OR a win against LA on Sunday. A tie in either spot gets them in IF EITHER Seattle or San Jose lose on Sunday. Sporting can clinch an automatic berth in the Western Conference Semifinals with wins against both Colorado and LA.
No. 6, West – 48 PTS | Schedule: 10/21 vs COL, 10/25 vs LA
San Jose can clinch a playoff spot this weekend with a win at FC Dallas AND ONE OF the following:
- A Portland loss vs. Colorado on Sunday;
- A Seattle loss/tie vs. RSL on Sunday;
- An SKC loss/tie vs. Colorado on Wednesday AND SKC loss or tie vs. LA on Sunday
- A tie vs. FC Dallas if Sporting loses against BOTH Colorado and LA.
No. 7, West – 47 PTS | Schedule: 10/25 at FCD
Eliminated from playoff contention
Houston Dynamo were eliminated from playoff contention on Oct. 18.
No. 8, West – 42 points | 10/25 at VAN
Eliminated from playoff contention
Real Salt Lake were eliminated from playoff contention on Oct. 17.
No. 9, West – 41 points | Schedule: 10/25 at SEA
Eliminated from playoff contention
Colorado Rapids were eliminated from playoff contention on Oct. 4.
The Ole BallCoach 