SOCCER ON TV
The Premier League record book has taken a beating over the last year. And it could be subject to more rewriting during the final games of 2017 and first of the new year.
EPL: At the top of the table Manchester City, which won its last 18 games in 2017 to set an EPL record, has a chance to tie Bayern Munich’s European record of 19 consecutive wins in its last game of the year Sunday against struggling Crystal Palace, a match with a painfully early West Coast kickoff (NBCSN, 4 a.m.). Then there’s Harry Kane, who finished the calendar year in style by notching his eighth hat trick of 2017 — and second in two matches — in Tottenham’s Boxing Day rout of Southampton. That gave Kane 39 goals in 36 league matches in 2017, breaking Alan Shearer’s 22-year EPL record by three. Kane has scored a European-best 56 times in 52 appearances overall, two better than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in 2017. He’ll try to carry that success over to 2018 on Tuesday when Spurs travel to Wales to meet last-place Swansea City (NBCSN, 11:45 a.m. PST).
Serie A: In Italy’s Serie A, the only top-five European league other than the EPL to play through the holidays, first-place Napoli has a chance to put distance between itself and thirdplace Inter Milan in what has become a tight battle atop the standings. Napoli, which leads Inter by five points, hits the road Friday to play struggling Crotone (BeIN Sports, 11:40 a.m. PST) and Saturday Inter will host Lazio (BeIN Sports, 9 a.m. PST), which could move into the top four with a win.