Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex split a pair of preseason exhibition games last weekend, losing 1-0 at Incarnate Word, then beating a pretty good local club called AC Milan, 4-0 on Sunday. The Aztex continue to try out a number of prospects – looking to add some names to the 16-player regular-season roster already announced – but it sounds like the attack so far centers around a couple of familiar faces: Andres Cuero and Chuy Cortes, two fan favorites and very effective players from last year's championship squad. The Aztex continue their preseason by taking on the UT Men at the Whitaker Intramural Fields, 51st & Guada­lupe, at 7pm this Friday, April 18. All preseason games are free; season tickets for the regular season starting May 10 are now on sale at www.austinaztex.com.

Overseas, Liverpool continue their sterling run by beating closest rival Manchester City in a 3-2 thriller Sunday; the Reds are now favorites to win their first title since 1990, back before the Premier League was founded... European Champions League semifinals are April 22-23 and 29-30, Tue.-Wed., 1:45pm live and streaming on Fox Sports... Barcelona continues to fade, with three straight losses in eight days, eliminating them from the Champions League and Copa del Rey competitions, and probably the Spanish league title chase as well. And suddenly, what looked like a superteam just a year ago, now looks fresh out of ideas. Could this be a bad sign for Spain in the upcoming WC? Or for Argentina, whose Lionel Messi was almost invisible in the three games? Time will tell.

To celebrate the launch of their 2014 FIFA World Cup video game, EA Sports and The American Outlaws supporters group will host a FIFA Tournament at Haymaker, 2310 Manor Rd., 6-9pm Sunday, April 20. Find out who's going to win it all, months before everyone else. More info at www.facebook.com/aoaustin. ... Just eight weeks until the real thing.