Liverpool will try to pull off the first treble since 1999 when it squares off against Real Madrid in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday at Stade de France in Paris.
NBC announced their broadcast plans for Championship Sunday, and much like the last two years, it’ll be a Peacock-heavy affair.
Like in 2020 and 2021, five matches will be Peacock-exclusive – a change from NBC’s formula during their earlier years of broadcasting the Premier League, when every match aired on cable or broadcast TV. But unlike last year, when even the cable and broadcast games were available on Peacock, only nine of the ten matches this year are on Peacock. The potentially crucial Liverpool-Wolves match is available only on USA and in Spanish on Universo.
Here’s the full schedule of matches and their network assignment. Kickoff for all ten matches is 11 AM ET.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa – NBC, Peacock, Telemundo
Liverpool vs Wolverhampton Wanderers – USA, Universo
Arsenal vs Everton – CNBC, Peacock
Norwich City vs Tottenham Hotspur – SYFY, Peacock
Burnley vs Newcastle United – GOLF Channel, Peacock
Brentford vs Leeds United – Peacock
Brighton & Hove Albion vs West Ham United – Peacock
Chelsea vs Watford – Peacock
Crystal Palace vs Manchester United – Peacock
Leicester City vs Southampton – Peacock
It may be a bit jarring to see clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United only on Peacock, but it makes sense – Chelsea are locked into third in the table (barring an eighteen goal swing between them and Spurs on Sunday), while United will either finish sixth or seventh. The relegation fight is down to Burnley and Leeds following Everton’s dramatic win on Thursday, but only Burnley’s match with Newcastle will be on cable. Arsenal still have a slim chance of leapfrogging Spurs for fourth, and both teams’ matches will air on cable.
Source: NBC announces Premier League Championship Sunday plans, with nine of ten matches available on Peacock (msn.com)
Real Madrid hosts Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday, following a first-leg classic that finished 4-3 in favor of Pep Guardiola’s men last week.
Teed up to go right to the wire, this midweek clash occurs with both sides fresh from 4-0 wins. City thrashed Leeds United away from home to make it 16 goals scored in their previous four outings in all competitions and reassume their spot at the Premier League summit, while Carlo Ancelotti’s Blancos thumped Espanyol to seal their La Liga title with four games remaining.
How to watch Real Madrid vs Man City on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Wednesday 4 May, 20:00 (BST) 2:00 pm (CDT)
Where is it being played? Bernabeu
TV channel/live stream? BT Sport 2 (UK), Paramount+ (US)
Highlights? BT Sport YouTube
Referee? Daniele Orsato (ITA)
VAR? Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)
Real Madrid vs Man City score prediction
Against players who can seriously hurt their opposition when given time to get their feet on the ball, you’d imagine City will go to Real Madrid with the full intention of playing their own brand of football – as Pep Guardiola has previously alluded to.
So, in the likely event that the game becomes stretched with mutually attacking mindsets being deployed, we could see gaps open up for utterly magical players to fill and strut their stuff -and that’s never a bad thing for the neutrals.
While it might not turn out to be a second all-time Champions League classic in quick succession, it should be a very watchable affair from which you’d have to back City to progress.
Liverpool vs Villarreal: The Reds will shift their focus to the UEFA Champions League piece of the quadruple puzzle when they host Villarreal at Anfield on Wednesday (kick off, 3pm ET).
Man City has never won the Champions League as it chases a trophy the team has long coveted. The UCL title is the only thing that’s eluded manager Pep Guardiola in his time at City and it’s fair to wonder if the season will be considered a disappointment if City wins the EPL title but doesn’t secure the Champions League.
Liverpool, meanwhile, is chasing after a historic quadruple. The Reds won the Carabao Cup in penalty kicks over Chelsea in February and are set to play the Blues on May 14 for the FA Cup title. No team has ever won those two competitions in the same season while also winning the EPL title and the Champions League title.
Madrid will likely be content to let Manchester City have most of the possessions and hope to hit on the counter. Real has leaned on Luka Modric and Karim Benzema throughout the Champions League and will hope that its two veteran stars can make some magic again to grab a goal or two on Tuesday night.
We’re guessing that Villarreal will look to do what it successfully did against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. Bayern had nearly two-thirds of the possession in the quarterfinals but lost as both of Villarreal’s shots on target went into the back of the net. It’s impossible to bet that Villarreal will be that clinical against Liverpool, but it’s easy to envision how Liverpool will dominate possession over both games.
The 2021-22 UEFA Champions League is down to its final four teams, and the competition is fierce.
Two Spanish clubs meet two English clubs as the two most decorated nations in the competition battle it out for another crown.
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The Premier League sends its top two clubs, Man City and Liverpool, into the semifinals looking for glory on the European stage. La Liga, meanwhile, has leaders Real Madrid plus seventh-placed Villarreal appearing in the Champions League semifinals for just the second time in history.
Villarreal’s upset of Bayern Munich was one of the more astonishing results of the season, with Robert Lewandowski and Bayern held to just a single goal through the 180 minutes of the quarterfinals, and Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th minute goal sending the Spanish side through.
Man City and Real Madrid meet in a rematch of the 2019-20 Champions League quarterfinals, where a pair of 2-1 City victories saw Zinedine Zidane’s side out of the competition.
The second semifinal, meanwhile, marks the first Champions League meeting between Liverpool and Villarreal. The two have only met twice before in history, both coming in 2016 across the two legs of their Europa League semifinal matchup.
Champions League semifinal schedule
The semifinals will be played on April 26-27 (1st Leg) and May 3-4 (2nd Leg).
First Leg
Date
Match
Time (ET)
Tue, Apr. 26
Man City vs. Real Madrid
3:00 p.m.
Wed, Apr. 27
Liverpool vs. Villarreal
3:00 p.m.
Second Leg
Date
Match
Time (ET)
Tue, May 3
Villarreal vs. Liverpool
3:00 p.m.
Wed, May 4
Real Madrid vs. Man City
3:00 p.m.
Champions League Final
Date
Match
Time (ET)
Sat, May 28
Liverpool/Villarreal vs. Man City/Real Madrid
3:00 p.m.
The winner of the second semifinal (Villarreal vs. Liverpool) will technically be the home team for the final on May 28 at the Stade de France north of Paris though it’s a neutral venue.
The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals will be decided this week with the second leg matchups that could see some continental heavyweights eliminated earlier than expected.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday, April 10:
ENGLAND
Manchester City and Liverpool meet in the biggest game in the Premier League this season with the destination of the title perhaps riding on the result. City leads second-place Liverpool by one point with eight games remaining and a win at Etihad Stadium would make the defending champions the big favorites for a sixth title in 11 years. Liverpool can move into a two-point lead with a first victory at City since 2015, markedly improving its improbable ambition of a quadruple of trophies. Liverpool is on a 10-match winning run in the league. Two of the bottom three teams clash when Burnley visits last-place Norwich, while Brentford hosts West Ham and Leicester is at home to Crystal Palace.
Barcelona visits Levante seeking a seventh straight win in the Spanish league that it needs to keep alive its very slim hopes of catching runaway leader Real Madrid. A victory would lift Barcelona back level on points with Sevilla, currently in second place. Barcelona was held 1-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday. Barcelona’s Gerard Pique and Memphis Depay will miss the trip due to injury. Levante is in second-to-last place. Julio Velázquez will make his debut as coach of Alavés when it visits Osasuna. Alavés is in last place with just one win in its last 17 games across all competitions. Real Sociedad is at Elche aiming for three points that will keep it in the running for a Europa League spot and more ambitiously a top-four finish and Champions League berth. Espanyol hosts Celta Vigo in a meeting between midtable teams.
ITALY
Serie A leader AC Milan needs to find its scoring prowess again if it is to end its 11-year wait for the title. Milan visits Torino, days after a 0-0 draw against Bologna where the Rossoneri had 33 shots on goal. Milan has only scored four goals in its last six matches in all competitions, from 103 attempts. Milan is one point ahead of Napoli which hosts Fiorentina earlier in the day. Fiorentina is chasing a European spot as are Atalanta, Lazio and Roma, with just four points separating the four teams. Atalanta visits Sassuolo while Roma and Lazio play sides in the bottom three in Salernitana and Genoa, respectively. Venezia is also in the relegation zone and hosts Udinese.
GERMANY
Leipzig and Freiburg resume their tussle for the Bundesliga’s last Champions League spot with games against Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, respectively. Leipzig is one of the league’s in-form teams since Domenico Tedesco took over from Jesse Marsch as coach in December. Tedesco’s side grabbed a 4-1 win at Borussia Dortmund last weekend and is unbeaten in seven games since its narrow loss at Bayern Munich in February. Visiting Hoffenheim hasn’t won in three games after a four-match winning run. Freiburg dropped three points behind Leipzig after its loss to Bayern last weekend and will hope to get back on track at Frankfurt. Frankfurt has been inconsistent this season and could be distracted by its Europa League quarterfinal match against Barcelona. Frankfurt plays the return leg in Camp Nou on Thursday after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Also Sunday, Gerardo Seoane’s Bayer Leverkusen team will aim to consolidate third place with a win at midtable Bochum.
Marseille looks to move back into second place when it hosts Montpellier in the French league. Jorge Sampaoli’s team will be high on confidence after stretching its winning streak to six games in all competitions by beating PAOK Thessaloniki 2-1 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. In the race for Europe, fourth-place Strasbourg can extend its unbeaten run in the league to nine games against an inconsistent Lyon side, which drew 1-1 with West Ham in the Europa League on Thursday. Fifth-place Nice needs a win at Lens to revive its hopes of a Champions League spot. Nice’s slide in the standings has coincided with the poor form of Amine Gouiri, who hasn’t scored or made an assist in the last eight league games. Defending champion Lille will be without midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa against Angers. Ben Arfa has been dropped from the squad after a verbal spat with his coach and teammates in the dressing room following a goalless draw with Bordeaux last weekend.
Source: MATCHDAY: City, Liverpool meet in potential title decider (msn.com)