While the marquee game of the weekend, Sunday's African Cup of Nations final between Zambia and Ivory Coast, is not being widely televised throughout the United States, there is still plenty of top-rate action to catch.

This weekend has the potential to be a landmark one for a number of Americans looking to make their mark on the European game.

Not too long ago, Chelsea and Manchester United were fighting each other for league titles and UEFA Champions League superiority. Now, the Blues are just hoping to chip away at a 12-point table deficit that keeps mounting by the week.

The two English giants battle Sunday at Stamford Bridge in a nationally televised game on the Fox network, with United looking to maintain its place atop the league while dealing perhaps the final blow to Chelsea's faint title hopes and forcing the club into a fight for a place in Europe next season.

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CONCACAF's two places in the women's soccer tournament at this summer's Olympics will be determined Friday night, as the U.S. women look to maintain their stretch of dominance and clinch a place in London with a win over Costa Rica.

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For the U.S. men's and women's national teams, it's a big weekend.

The women kick off their qualifying campaign for the 2012 Olympics Friday night in Canada, going up against the Dominican Republic. Just a couple of days later, Pia Sundhage's charges are at it again, facing Guatemala and hoping to secure maximum points before a final group showdown with Mexico.

Inter Milan seems to finally have found its form, and after winning five straight matches and outscoring its last two opponents 9-1 and getting Wesley Sneijder back from injury, the club faces bitter rival and first-place AC Milan with a chance to make a statement in Serie A.

The Milan derby is the highlight of the weekend slate across Europe, one that also includes an Aston Villa-Everton game that will be of interest to U.

The third round of the FA Cup is littered with the typical David vs. Goliath matchups that the tournament boasts every year, but there is one matchup featuring a pair of giants that is sure to capture everyone's attention.

Premier League front-runners Manchester City and Manchester United square off in an early-round encounter that has plenty on the line.

New Year's Day will usher in 2012 this weekend, but it will also provide us with a loaded menu of English Premier League matches as most of the league pulls off a two-games-in-three-days marathon over the next three days.

Brad Guzan will look to continue his stellar form for Aston Villa when his team travels to London to take on Chelsea on Saturday.

Set your alarms for early Sunday morning, because a rare matchup between two of the world's most entertaining teams -- and players -- is on the docket.

Barcelona and Santos each took care of business to set up a meeting between the defending European champions and the South American powerhouse in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Messi and Ronaldo. Guardiola and Mourinho. Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Anyway you slice it, El Clasico is the marquee match of the weekend and will command the eyes of soccer fans around the world. Real Madrid is currently in the driver's seat in La Liga, leading Barcelona by three points, placing added significance on a match that doesn't need any extra luster.

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American soccer fans always love a chance to glimpse the future of the U.S. national team, and this weekend will offer at least a few looks at some exciting prospects who could one day play a role on the senior national team.

The U.S.

A battle of unbeaten English Premier League teams in November is the kind of match-up fans dream of, but the two teams ready to take part in that battle aren't the teams many would have envisioned before the season began.

First-place Manchester City takes on the biggest surprise of the Premier League season, Newcastle, in the weekend's most enticiing match-up.

The obvious draw this weekend for American soccer fans is Sunday's MLS conference final slate, with the winners of the Los Angeles-Salt Lake and Kansas City-Houston matches advancing to the 2011 MLS Cup final.

There are plenty of matches around the world that should capture your attention as well, though, beginning in Mexico, where a game remains in the Apertura regular season.

The MLS playoffs take center stage this weekend, with the first legs of the conference semifinals on tap for Saturday and Sunday.

Real Salt Lake and Seattle kick things off Saturday night in a highly anticipated clash of league powers, followed by Sunday's triple-header of Los Angeles-New York, Philadelphia-Houston and Colorado-Sporting Kansas City.

Club soccer around the world returns from the international break this weekend. And how.

Whether it's European-based rivalry matches like Liverpool-Manchester United or Lazio-Roma, MLS rivalry matches like Colorado-Real Salt Lake or Los Angeles-Chivas USA, or games featuring Americans abroad who are continuing to get acclimated at their new clubs, this weekend's schedule has it all.

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The international break means fewer matches to watch this weekend, but there's still a host of Euro 2012 qualifiers, Mexican league matches and a pair of MLS games to keep you occupied.

Oh, and there's that U.S. men's national team game, as well.

Nobody has been able to slow down Manchester City's high-powered attack, but U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard will have a shot at doing so on Saturday, when the Toffees venture into the Eastlands to take on City, which has scored at least two goals in every league game thus far.

As for a pair of American midfielders, Stuart Holden could be in line for his first Premier League minutes of the season after his 90-minute Carling Cup stint when Bolton travels to the Emirates to face vulnerable Arsenal on Saturday, while Michael Bradley aims for his second consecutive start in Chievo Verona's home match against Genoa on Sunday.

After watching the top teams in England and Spain steal the headlines over the last few weeks, Italy's biggest clubs are set to make an impact of their own.

AC Milan already kicked off its campaign, and Inter Milan, Juventus and the rest of the Serie A teams get their 2011-12 season underway after a temporary resolution to the players' strike allowed the season to commence this weekend.

With the international fixture period leaving most of the world's top leagues on breaks, and many of the top national teams having played on Friday, the options for soccer viewing this weekend are limited.

That doesn't mean there still aren't some juicy matches to keep you entertained this Labor Day Weekend.

Tottenham's start to the 2011-2012 Premier League season hasn't been an enviable one. After having their first game postponed because of the London riots, Spurs dropped a result to Manchester United last week only to have come back and face Manchester City in a marquee matchup Sunday morning.

Even though the much-anticipated start to the domestic soccer season in Spain has been delayed by a players' strike, there's still plenty of intriguing matches on the docket for the weekend.

The FIFA Under-20 World Cup comes to a close, with Brazil and Portugal battling it out for youth international supremacy.

It's as if European soccer never left.

A full slate of games from overseas are on tap for this weekend as the Premier League joins the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 as major leagues to start the 2011-2012 campaign. Defending Premier League champion Manchester United opens up against West Brom on Sunday, but a game most Americans will want to keep an eye on is the Fulham-Aston Villa tilt on Saturday.

This weekend marks the return of some of the top leagues in the world, as the summer break continues to end across Europe.

Teams in the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Eredivisie all start their quests for successful seasons, with a number of those teams employing U.S. national team players.

The last major international tournament of the summer kicks off on Friday, with the FIFA Under-20 World Cup beginning in Colombia.

Some marquee matchups highlight the opening days of group play, as Argentina and Mexico square off Friday night, and Portugal meets Uruguay and host Colombia takes on France on Saturday night.

The final to the unpredictable Copa America is on tap for this weekend, as Uruguay and Paraguay do battle for South America's regional crown and a place in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

New seasons around the world get set to begin as well, as the Mexican Apertura campaign kicks off this weekend with American striker Herculez Gomez debuting with his new team, Estudiantes Tecos.

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The U.S. women's national team is a win away from completing its mission.

With a win over Japan on Sunday, the U.S. women would capture their first World Cup championship since 1999 and third overall. Sunday's final of the Women's World Cup highlights this weekend's slate of soccer across the world, which also includes the Copa America quarterfinals, the World Football Challenge and a full complement of Major League Soccer matches.

The summer of international soccer continues this weekend, as Copa America joins the FIFA U-17 World Cup and FIFA Women's World Cup among the on-going international tournaments.

Host Argentina and defending champion Brazil open their Copa America campaigns on Friday and Sunday against Bolivia and Venezuela, respectively.

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Between the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the European U-21 championships and the FIFA Women's World Cup there's plenty of international soccer to satisfy the soccer fan's craving, but one matchup this weekend that's not in any of those competitions will have everybody's attention, at least in North America.

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While one U.S. national team is fighting for a Gold Cup title, another one starts its quest for a World Cup crown.

The U.S. Under-17 men's national team begins its FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico as it takes on the Czech Republic on Sunday.

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The CONCACAF Gold Cup and Major League Soccer take center stage this weekend, with a number of crucial battles happening on both fronts.

The United States takes on Panama Saturday night in a match that will likely propel the winner on to the knockout stage.

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International soccer picks up where European club soccer left off, as friendlies, European Championship qualifiers and the start of the CONCACAF Gold Cup dominate the weekend schedule.

The obvious draw for United States soccer fans is the national team's friendly with world-champion Spain.

It's the last weekend of major European soccer for a while, but the season's most anticipated matchup is still on tap.

Barcelona and Manchester United square off in the UEFA Champions League final at London's Wembley Stadium in a rematch of the 2009 final, which Barcelona won, 2-0, in Rome.

The championships in all of the major European leagues are already spoken for, but there's still plenty on the line in this weekend's soccer around the world.

The five-team relegation battle in England's Premier League is one thing to keep an eye on, as is the race for spots in next year's European competitions.

The FA Cup usually presents some appealing David-vs.-Goliath matchups, and some of this weekend's fifth-round matches are no exception.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal have Crawley Town, Notts County and Leyton Orient, respectively, in their paths to reach the quarterfinals.

If you're hoping to see some Americans making their debuts with new clubs, then this is a good weekend for Soccer on TV.

Jermaine Jones will make his Blackburn debut in a match airing on Fox Soccer Channel, while Robbie Findley's Nottingham Forest debut is airing on Saturday on Fox Soccer Plus.