Derek Rae joins NBC Sports

In a period of dark and depressing news for soccer fans in the United States, the best news this week is that Derek Rae has been signed by NBC Sports to be a match commentator.

Rae’s debut for NBC Sports will be the Liverpool-Manchester United match, which will be televised live in the United States on NBCSN at 7:30am ET on Saturday.

Rae calls the match, joined by Phil Neville at Anfield. Saturday’s coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET with Premier League Live. Rebecca Lowe hosts Premier League Live, joined by former Major League Soccer and U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Kyle Martino, and former Premier League footballer Robbie Mustoe.

Manchester United, who are coming off a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, are level on points with first-place Manchester City, and remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season (six wins, one draw). Liverpool are coming off a 1-1 draw at Newcastle. United have won the most top-flight titles (20) in the history of English football, while Liverpool have won the 2nd-most (18).

Derek Rae calls the match in his NBC Sports Group debut, joined by Phil Neville at Anfield. Saturday’s coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET with Premier League Live. Rebecca Lowe hosts Premier League Live, joined by former Major League Soccer and U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Kyle Martino, and former Premier League footballer Robbie Mustoe.

Recognized as one of the best soccer commentators in the business, Rae has commentated on international soccer for more than twenty years and has called World Cup games, UEFA Champions League matches as well as games from the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Europa League.

Rae is a freelance commentator, and will be working with NBC Sports on a part-time basis. He will call games from time to time for NBC Sports, but they may not be every weekend.

Recently, Rae — who has moved back to the United States — has called Bundesliga games on the world-feed.