EPL Preview: Week 3 (and a new Fox Soccer studio).

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Los Angeles-based Fox Soccer will unveil a new studio Saturday for its coverage of the English Premier League, the same one used by NFL on FOX and MLB on FOX.

The official Barclays Premier League preview for this week’s games is here.

Weekly TV Listings:

Saturday
4:45 a.m. West Ham United vs Fulham ESPN Deportes, ESPN2, ESPN3
7:00 a.m. Swansea City vs Sunderland Fox Soccer 2Go
7:00 a.m. Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City Fox Soccer, Fox Deportes
7:00 a.m. West Bromwich Albion vs Everton Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2Go.
7:00 a.m. Wigan Athletic vs Stoke City Fox Soccer 2Go
9:30 a.m. Manchester City vs Queens Park Rangers Fox Soccer, Fox Deportes

Sunday
5:30 a.m. Liverpool vs Arsenal Fox Soccer, Fox Deportes
8:00 a.m. Newcastle United vs Aston Villa Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Soccer 2Go
8:00 a.m. Southampton vs Manchester United Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes

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Video Highlights: Galaxy knock off minor league Islanders in CONCACAF Champions League

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Galaxy 4 Puerto Rico Islanders 0

If there was a competitive first team game this season to blood a lot of talent in the first team, this was the contest against the minor league Puerto Rico Islanders.

The Galaxy sent out a young reserve squad (which as a Galaxy official observed has been playing well this season, something that hasn’t traditionally been the case) — the combined age of home grown teenage strike force Jose Villarreal, 18, of Inglewood and Jack McBean, 17, of Newport Beach (who both got on the score sheet) was younger than that of the ailing David Beckham, 37, who never got off the bench.

The outcome of the game against a poor Puerto Rico team that never seriously threatened the Galaxy was never in doubt, the opening goal coming within seven minutes.

Villarreal proved yet again he is a star in the making, Hector Jimenez (who started at right back) showed why his stock is rising with the Galaxy and Andrew Boyens’ propensity for defensive misadventures was never tested by the opposition.

Highlights are in the link above.

Listen to wide-eyed Tommy Meyer after scoring his first-ever Galaxy goal:

Sadly, only an estimated 7,500 showed up despite $10 tickets and free parking. They missed a fun evening, if not an intense game.

Next for the Galaxy: Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday at Home Depot Center.

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Video Highlights: Chivas USA midfielder Joseph bites the hand that used to feed him

After his first day of training with Chivas USA in the wake of his trade earlier this month from the New England Revolution, Shalrie Joseph said hauling the club into the playoffs was the greatest challenge of his career.

Well, I still don’t think he’s going to do it, but he’s sure giving it one helluva try, slamming home two goals against his former club Wednesday as Chivas USA clawed back from a three goal deficit to earn a 3-3 road tie.

“We’ve scored five goals in our last two games, so certainly we’ve created more chances over the last couple of games than we have pretty much all year,” said coach Robin Fraser, perhaps nervously looking over his shoulder given today’s surprising news.

A road point at this stage of the season is just not enough, but for one night Joseph showed why Chivas USA rolled the DP dice on him.

“It feels good to score two goals; it doesn’t matter what team,” Joseph said. “It’s bittersweet that it’s against my old team, and it feels good. But it’s more than about me right now. It’s about a team trying to make a playoff run. That’s what we’ve got to look forward to.”

Watch:

Next for Chivas USA: At San Jose Sunday against the Earthquakes (live 6 p.m. NBC Sports Network).

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Managing partners sell Chivas USA stake, more investment on horizon?

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Jorge Vergara has tightened his ownership grip on Chivas USA, scooping up today the 50 percent he didn’t own along with the same partner with whom he owns CD Guadalajara, a move that removes Antonio Cue from any management role with the MLS club completely.

Interesting timing to the move given that Chivas USA’s season is all but over yet again — they are currently tied 3-3 in the second half with the New England Revolution with former Rev Shalrie Joseph notching the first two Goats goals — their fan base appears to be rapidly dwindling and a potential move from Home Depot Center is going nowhere.

The move suggests Vergara could finally be ready to make the financial investment in the club both on the playing side as well as in infrastructure it needs and its fans crave, otherwise why bother with the purchase.

The club press release didn’t reveal any specifics, however, so who knows for sure.

Like the move? Hate it? Leave a comment below.

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Wednesday MLS Gameday: Galaxy host Champions League game in Carson, Chivas USA in Boston

*The Galaxy host 2010 CONCACAF Champions league nemesis the Puerto Rico Islanders tonight in Carson (live at 7 o’clock on Fox Soccer) likely without their three designated players in their second CONCACAF Champions League outing.

Tickets for the game are just $10 and parking is free tonight at Home Depot Center.

*Chivas USA are in New England to face the Revolution, who haven’t won since shipping Shalrie Joseph to Southern California at the start of the month. Big deal. Neither have Chivas USA, doing their utmost to waste games in hand and miss the playoffs.

The game is live at 5 p.m. on Prime for those who can bear to watch, um, and see which teams surrenders first.

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Blog Housekeeping**

**Updated

**The blog switch is now delayed to a date TBA.

No column this week, but it will return next Tuesday with a preview of the independent documentary “Gringos at the Gate,” which should be required viewing for any Southern California soccer fan, ahead of its LA premiere.

Also, readers should know we are shifting the entire blog to a new software system as of Wednesday after the Labor Day weekend. I will be unable to blog for about 48 hours after that occurs.

Note that the Galaxy and Chivas USA both play Wednesday evening. You can read about the games on the 100 Percent Soccer blog Facebook page and on Twitter @LAsoccerblog.

Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the readers of this blog for their support. The blog passed its fifth anniversary last July (!), a record of longevity that frankly amazes me.

The content has changed over the years.

Women’s soccer, college ball, youth soccer, PDL, NASL, WPSL and the alphabet soup of other minor leagues simply don’t generate hits so I don’t write as much about them as much as I once did.

In fact, this blog reached the peak of its popularity during the 2010 World Cup, which tells me that local soccer fans want to read about an international event from a Southern California perspective and I’m finding the same is true for the EPL, as the popularity to televised games continues to increase.

But the blog will continue its biggest focus on the Galaxy, Chivas USA, U.S. national teams and local players. Mainstream media coverage remains depressingly hit and miss even for such events as the first-ever U.S. win in Mexico, so I will also continue to aggregate news that may get over-looked or underplayed.

And where I once flirted with burn out, I’m less likely to blog outside of regular working hours these days because I’ve learned you can feed the monster as often as you like, but the monster always wants more.

The new blog software should be much easier to use for us all (and I’m hopeful the commenting system will prove more user-friendly, too) and versatile.

Again thanks for reading over the years and those that (hopefully) lie ahead.

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Blog Housekeeping*

*Updated

No column this week, but it will return next Tuesday with a preview of the independent documentary “Gringos at the Gate,” which should be required viewing for any Southern California soccer fan, ahead of its LA premiere.

Also, readers should know we are shifting the entire blog to a new software system as of Wednesday after the Labor Day weekend. I will be unable to blog for about 48 hours after that occurs.

Note that the Galaxy and Chivas USA both play Wednesday evening. You can read about the games on the 100 Percent Soccer blog Facebook page and on Twitter @LAsoccerblog.

Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the readers of this blog for their support. The blog passed its fifth anniversary last July (!), a record of longevity that frankly amazes me.

The content has changed over the years.

Women’s soccer, college ball, youth soccer, PDL, NASL, WPSL and the alphabet soup of other minor leagues simply don’t generate hits so I don’t write as much about them as much as I once did.

In fact, this blog reached the peak of its popularity during the 2010 World Cup, which tells me that local soccer fans want to read about an international event from a Southern California perspective and I’m finding the same is true for the EPL, as the popularity to televised games continues to increase.

But the blog will continue its biggest focus on the Galaxy, Chivas USA, U.S. national teams and local players. Mainstream media coverage remains depressingly hit and miss even for such events as the first-ever U.S. win in Mexico, so I will also continue to aggregate news that may get over-looked or underplayed.

And where I once flirted with burn out, I’m less likely to blog outside of regular working hours these days because I’ve learned you can feed the monster as often as you like, but the monster always wants more.

The new blog software should be much easier to use for us all (and I’m hopeful the commenting system will prove more user-friendly, too) and versatile.

Again thanks for reading over the years and those that (hopefully) lie ahead.

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Inglewood’s Villarreal sparks Galaxy to crucial win

Galaxy 2 FC Dallas 0

Game story.

“I thought Jose (Villarreal) was outstanding,” said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena. “Really an alert play to set up the first goal. A solid 30 minutes.”

Quotable:

David was a little sick,” said coach Bruce Arena about David Beckham heading down the tunnel early after being subbed out. “There’s a virus going around. For David to hang in there was outstanding. Great leadership. He was really not feeling well today. We wanted him to not puke on the field. He’d ruin the surface.”

MLS Standings

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MLS Sunday Gameday: FC Dallas at Galaxy

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Led by former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman (CSUDH, Penninsula High), FC Dallas comes in to Home Depot Center at 4 p.m. (live on NBC Sports network) trailing the hosts by five points, but riding a three-game winning streak.

The Galaxy are in the midst of a stretch of three homes games in seven days and are trying to keep pace with the top three in the Western Conference.

Noted: Striker Robbie Keane was called up for Ireland’s opening WCQ Sept. 7 as well as a friendly four days later against Oman in London. It doesn’t appear he will miss an MLS game.

From the Galaxy:

Keane, who captained Ireland at the 2012 European Championships, is the most capped player in the Ireland squad, having appeared for his country 120 times since debuting in March 1998. The 32-year-old is Ireland ‘s all-time leading scorer with 53 goals and is five caps shy of tying the record for the most caps in Ireland history.

At the opposite end of the career spectrum, Rolando Muoz, the captain of the Galaxy’s Under-16 Team, was one of 31 players selected to train full-time as part of the U.S. Under-17 National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.

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Video Highlights: Six-goal Sounders blast Chivas USA in club’s biggest ever loss

Chivas USA 2 Seattle Sounders 6

An own goal by Chivas USA defender Ante Jazic for Seattle goal number six pretty much summed this one up.

It was a humiliating defeat that goalkeeper Dan Kennedy admitted left him feeling sick.

I’ll be honest: I felt plenty queasy before the game even began and feared an explosion like this from Seattle and couldn’t bring myself to watch on TV let alone go and watch in person.

Former Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid out-coached his former defender and now Chivas USA coach Robin Fraser, sinking the Goats season further into the mire.

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