Atletico Madrid will be the opponent in this summer’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida.
The 10-time La Liga champions are the second team from the Spanish league to play in the showcase after Real Madrid in 2017 in Chicago.
This year’s game is July 31 at Orlando City Stadium.
The game traditionally pits the league’s top players against international clubs and the domestic league is 8-4-3 in the game. Foreign clubs use the game to prepare for their seasons and expand North American fan bases.
Last year, the MLS All-Stars played to a 1-1 draw with Juventus in Atlanta.
“Every MLS All-Star game is a fantastic opportunity,” said Dom Dwyer, forward for host Orlando City. “I think it’s a real enjoyable event. I’ve gotten to play against Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, teams I’ve dreamed of playing against.”
Atletico sits behind leader Barcelona in the Spanish league. The club features forward Antoine Griezmann, who was on France’s World Cup-winning team in Russia. He has 15 goals and nine assists this season.
The All-Star Game will likely reunite Griezmann and LAFC’s Carlos Vela – both played for Real Sociedad. Vela leads MLS with 11 goals in 10 games this season.
“It’s going to be nice to play against the best players in MLS,” Griezmann said. “The league continues to improve every year. I (could) even see myself playing there in the future. It’s a league that I like and it will be nice for us to play them.”
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Xavi Hernandez’s trophy-filled career has come to an end.
The veteran Spanish midfielder and Barcelona legend confirmed this morning that this past season in Qatar was his final as a player. Xavi’s Al-Sadd won the 22-game league season with 18 wins, 57 points and just one defeat.
“It’s been a privilege to play until the age of 39,” Xavi said, via Barcelona’s website. “This 2018/19 season will be my last as a player, but I hope the future offers the chance to be a coach.”
🔝 767 appearances
⚽️ 85 goals
🏆 25 trophies
💪 The ultimate expression of the Barça style— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 2, 2019
Xavi has been working as a player and youth coach since joining Al-Sadd in 2015 after winning the UEFA Champions League, and he’s expecting to become a coach full-time heading into the future.
“I like to see teams take the initiative on the field,” Xavi said. “To play attacking football, and to demonstrate the essence of what we all have loved since our infancy: possession-based football.”
Xavi finishes his career as one of the most decorated players in the history of soccer. Let’s split it up between club and country.
Born in Catalonia, Xavi joined La Masia in 1991. After rising through the ranks, he finally made his first team debut for Barcelona in a Copa Catalunya match late in the 1997-1998 season. That fall into the next season, Xavi, then just 18-years old, made his first team debut and became the breakthrough player of the season, playing under Louis Van Gaal.
Xavi went on to spend 17 seasons in Barcelona’s first team. He won La Liga eight times. He won the Copa del Rey three times, and the Spanish Super Cup another six occasions. On the European front, Xavi won the Champions League four times, the UEFA Super Cup twice and the FIFA Club World Cup twice. In Qatar, this was the first season Al-Sadd had won the title with him, making him go out a champion.
Internationally, Xavi helped Spain finally overcome its own shortcomings in midfield and led them to a four-year run with some of the most success anyone has ever seen. Xavi and Spain won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, and sandwiched in between was the 2010 World Cup victory, winning the soccer-mad nation’s first World Cup.
Xavi is one of the last few nearly one-club players, spending nearly his whole professional career at Barcelona. One will always wonder how he would have done had he come to the Premier League or to MLS later in his career. However, his time at Barcelona provided some of the most beautiful soccer people have ever seen, and his career as a player will not soon be forgotten.
There are only big boys left in the Europa League, and the tests awaiting Arsenal and Chelsea aren’t sleepy ones.
[ LIVE: Europa League scores ]
The Gunners tangle with La Liga mainstays Valencia while their London rivals meet dangerous Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt come Thursday in Germany.
Chelsea will neither have Antonio Rudigernor Gary Cahill as options in the center of the park, meaning there’s only one safety net to go with Andreas Christensen and David Luizin the middle.
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Things get very crazy in the final weeks of the season as teams go hell for leather to achieve their objectives, while others have nothing to play for and let their hair down a little with the pressure off.
So, it’s quite difficult to predict what the heck is going to happen this weekend…
[ STREAM: Every PL game live ]
If you, like me, love to dissect all the games and predict what the score will be and which team will win, I encourage you to get involved in the comments section below. Let’s have a bit of fun.
Okay, so I’ve consulted my crystal ball and here’s how we see things panning out. Listen carefully, because this is very specific.
While you can download the NBC Sports Predictor app (below) and play the Premier League Pick ‘Em game yourself to predict the scores and win the prizes.
DOWNLOAD NBC SPORTS PREDICTOR
With the first section labelled “basically, free money” for the picks I think are dead certs. The section labelled “don’t touch this” means if you’re betting I advise you to stay clear, while the “so you’re telling me there’s a chance” section are the long shots. If it is better odds you are after, those are the picks to go for.
BASICALLY, FREE MONEY
Arsenal 3-1 Brighton – (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Chelsea 2-0 Watford – (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, CNBC) – [STREAM]
Huddersfield 1-3 Man United – (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Wolves 3-1 Fulham – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
DON’T TOUCH THIS…
Everton 2-1 Burnley – (Friday, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
West Ham 2-1 Southampton – (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, NBC Sports Gold) – [STREAM]
Bournemouth 2-2 Tottenham – (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Man City 2-1 Leicester – (Monday, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
“SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE…”
Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool – (Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET, NBCSN) – [STREAM]
Cardiff City 2-3 Crystal Palace – (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, NBC) – [STREAM]
Follow @JPW_NBCSports
This is it. We have arrived at crunch time in the Premier League season, as the penultimate weekend of the campaign is here.
Hold on tight everyone.
[ MORE: Sign up for NBC Sports Gold ]
The full TV schedule for the games this weekend are below, plus you can watch every single second of every single game live online via NBC Sports.com,the NBC Sports App and by purchasing the new “Premier League Pass” via NBC Sports Gold.
Gold also includes an extensive selection of shoulder programming such as Premier League News, Premier League Today and NBC Sports originals such as Premier League Download and much more.
[ STREAM: Premier League live here ]
You can also watch Premier League “Goal Rush” for all the goals as they go in around the grounds. Goal Rush is available via NBC Sports.com and the NBC Sports App.
[ MORE: Premier League “Goal Rush” ]
If you’re looking for full-event replays of Premier League games, you can find them here for the games streamed on NBCSports.com and here for the games on NBC Sports Gold.
Here’s your full TV schedule for the coming days.
FULL TV SCHEDULE
Friday
3 p.m. ET: Everton v. Burnley – NBCSN [STREAM]
Saturday
7:30 a.m. ET: Bournemouth v. Tottenham – NBCSN [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: Wolves v. Fulham – NBCSN [STREAM]
10 a.m. ET: West Ham v. Southampton – NBC Sports Gold [STREAM]
12:30 p.m. ET: Cardiff v. Crystal Palace – NBC [STREAM]
2:45 p.m. ET: Newcastle United v. Liverpool – NBCSN [STREAM]
Sunday
9 a.m. ET: Huddersfield v. Man United – NBCSN [STREAM]
9 a.m. ET: Chelsea v. Watford – CNBC [STREAM]
11:30 a.m. ET: Arsenal v. Brighton – NBCSN [STREAM]
Monday
3 p.m. ET: Man City v. Leicester City – NBCSN [STREAM]
Follow @JPW_NBCSports
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