Five soccer matches you should watch this weekend (Sept. 18-20)

Welcome to our first ever weekend soccer TV viewing guide. Our goal is to inform you of the five best (in our opinions) soccer matches you should definitely watch each weekend. Some of you may be hardcore fans of the sport and will want to tune in just to get your fix. While others may be just be getting acquainted with the beautiful game and want to learn more. Whatever the case, we all love soccer and want to watch as much as we can. Hopefully this weekly guide helps you discover all the soccer you can. Now, here are the five matches you need to watch this weekend:

1. Chelsea vs. Arsenal - Saturday, 7:45 a.m. ET, NBCSN

What a difference a year makes. Last season, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea were making minced meat out of the Premier League winning the title by eight points. Many believed that we'd see more of the same thing during this campaign. Nothing could be further from reality as the Blues have struggled mightily in their first five matches. With only one win and one draw, the champions sit in 17th place currently.

Chelsea host perennial fourth place finishers Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday morning. It promises to be an intense affair with both teams desperate for a win for very different reasons. Waking up at 7:45 on Saturday morning is a tough ask, but this will surely be the fixture of the weekend and one that every soccer fan will not want to miss.

2. Portland Timbers vs. New York Red Bulls, Sunday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN

Speaking of clubs defying preseason prognostication, how about the Red Bulls? After a tumultuous offseason that saw them fire their manager which outraged their own supporters and lose two legends in Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill, RBNY have silenced all the critics and sit second in the Eastern conference standings.

They travel to Portland to take on the Timbers. It's a crucial match for Caleb Porter's bunch as they sit just above the red playoff line in sixth place in the West. It's been a struggle this season for Portland as even with talented players like Diego Valeri, Fanendo Adi, and Darlington Nagbe, they have scored the second fewest goals in the league. Expect this game to be a fast paced affair that is sure to be exciting to watch.

3. Southampton vs. Manchester United, Sunday, 11 a.m. ET, NBCSN

While Manchester United haven't exactly lit the world on fire this season, they still sit in third place in the Premier League table through five matches. The new look United side has struggled to gel together and have been bit with the injury bug.

It's been a mediocre start to the campaign for Southampton. They are currently 11th in the table with one win and three draws in five matches. The match is at St. Mary's Stadium and anytime United are away to decent opposition things could get tricky. Expect this one to be entertaining and possibly high scoring.

4. Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen, Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, FS2

Unfortunately, you're going to have to make a decision with this match-up as it directly conflicts with number 3. However, if you're not really into the Premier League, perhaps the Bundesliga is the league for you. It's back and forth non-stop action is truly captivating.

Borussia Dortmund boast some of the best attacking talent in Germany. Even without Marco Reus, who is hurt, they have the personnel to score a bucket load of goals anytime they take the field.

After losing one of their best players, Son Heung-MIn, on a transfer to Tottenham, Leverkusen have won two and lost two in the first four matches this season. However, they still have the dynamic Germany international Karim Bellarabi to carry the attacking load. The match should be worth a watch, even if you have to DVR it.

5. Real Madrid vs. Granada, Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, beIN Sports

Real Madrid are playing a cupcake at home. There's only one reason to watch this match. To see how many goals Cristiano Ronaldo can score. The man is on fire right now. Last weekend he netted an astonishing five goals (becoming Madrid's all-time leading scorer in the process) and added a mid-week Champions League hat trick to boot. That's eight goals in two games. Completely ridiculous. Tune in to this one to see what CR7 has in store for this weekend.

All kickoff times and TV assignments found at livesoccertv.com