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Another Champions League week is in the books with Real Madrid thumping Liverpool and Napoli winning away at Eintracht Frankfurt headlining the action. Manchester United came out on top of their mammoth Europa League tie with Barcelona on a wild Thursday night which set the stage for today’s round of 16 draw. I’m Jonathan Johnson, with Friday’s Golazo Starting XI, here to walk you through the intriguing ties shortly coming your way from the Europa League draw as well as this weekend’s action, which is crammed full of superb matchups across Europe. Let’s get to it.
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📺 Top picks
All times U.S./Eastern
Saturday
🇮🇹 Serie A: Empoli vs. Napoli, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇦🇷 Argentina: Velez vs. Boca Juniors, 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Sunday
🇮🇹 Serie A: Bologna vs. Inter, 6:30 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Atalanta, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 Scottish League Cup final: Rangers vs. Celtic, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network
📺 Elsewhere …
Saturday
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Leipzig vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 9:30 a.m.
🏴 EPL: Leicester City vs. Arsenal, 10 a.m.
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid, 12:30 p.m.
🇺🇸 MLS: Nashville vs. NYCFC, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday
🏴 EPL: Tottenham vs. Chelsea, 8:30 a.m.
🏴 EFL Cup final: Man United vs. Newcastle, 11:30 a.m.
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: Marseille vs. PSG, 2:45 p.m.
🇪🇺 Europa League drama and draw
The Europa League action arguably overshadowed most of the Champions League with the exception of Real Madrid’s unexpectedly big 5-2 win away at Liverpool.
The Red Devils against the Blaugrana certainly did not disappoint with Erik ten Hag’s improving side coming out on top at the expense of Xavi’s La Liga leaders Barca. Fred and Antony’s second half goals overcame Robert Lewandowski’s first-half opener from the penalty spot and the Premier League outfit’s reward is further Spanish opposition in the form of Real Betis.
More on the draw next, but Thursday itself was actually insane. The four early games produced 14 goals with one of them — Monaco vs. Bayer Leverkusen — going all the way to penalties after a 5-5 aggregate tie which saw each side win 3-2 away from home. Di Maria bagged a superb treble away at Nantes and Sporting CP blew Midtjylland away 4-0 after an even first leg.
As if that was not enough drama, the later games exploded into life after a relatively quiet opening half hour with 12 goals of their own and another dramatic penalty shootout. Rennes were bounced by Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to a freaky own goal which sent the tie to penalties while Ajax were put to the sword by an impressive Union Berlin side and Roma hit Red Bull Salzburg with a quick double.
The Italians are now up against Real Sociedad in arguably the pick of the round of 16 matchups, but Union Berlin vs. Union Saint-Gilloise has the potential to be underrated and Arsenal’s clash with Sporting and United’s tie with Betis also promise to be absorbing affairs over two legs. Keep an eye out for Juve against Freiburg two, which pits two majorly contrasting ideologies against one another.
Europa draw results:
- Union Berlin vs. Union Saint-Gilloise
- Sevilla vs. Fenerbahce
- Juventus vs. Freiburg
- Bayer Leverkusen vs. Ferencvaros
- Sporting CP vs. Arsenal
- Manchester United vs. Real Betis
- AS Roma vs. Real Sociedad
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Feyenoord
Listen below and follow House of Champions, a CBS Sports soccer podcast, covering everything you need to know about the beautiful game. Make sure to tune in for coverage of the biggest games, stories, transfer news with Fabrizio Romano, and everything else going on in the world’s most popular sport.
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🏝️ Messi in Miami?
The legendary Argentine is currently enjoying a more productive second season with Paris Saint-Germain than his first, and the 35-year-old scored a sensational dramatic late winner in a 4-3 Ligue 1 home win over Lille last week. Messi will be with PSG away at bitter rivals Marseille for Le Classique come Sunday, but Inter Miami boss Phil Neville has reignited the speculation that he could be moving to Major League Soccer soon after his recent interview with the Times.
- Neville: “I’m not going to deny (it and say) there isn’t truth in the speculation that we are interested in Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets,” Neville said. “Since I joined Miami, I think we’ve been linked with Dani Alves, Robert Lewandowski, Willian, Cesc Fabregas, Luis Suarez… all of them you can rattle off.”
Do not miss our deeper look at Neville’s comments and Miami’s aspiration for the new campaign which gets underway this weekend right.
Listen below and follow In Soccer We Trust: A CBS Sports Soccer Podcast where your three favorite former USMNT players cover everything you could possibly want to know about the United States men’s national team.
Time to hit some links now:
🔗 Chuck Booth’s excellent MLS season preview has you covered as the new season gets underway.
🔗 I break down all of the Europa League draw latest for you here.
🔗 Europa League bold predictions for the round of 16 from James Benge.
🔗 Benge was scathing in his assessment of Barcelona’s exit at the hands of Man United and its financial implications.
🔗 Check out the latest Champions League Power Rankings following Real Madrid’s big win.
🔗 Francesco Porzio argues Juve should do everything to keep Angel Di Maria despite needing to slash their wages.
🔗 the EFL Cup final this weekend brings an unlikely chance at redemption for Loris Karius.
🔗 House of Champions: The crew breaks down the Europa League, and Fabrizio Romano has the latest transfer news.
🔗 In Soccer We Trust: MLS season preview content!
🔗 Attacking Third: Sandra Herrera and Lisa Roman recap the international break.
🔗 And remember, all of your soccer needs — from Champions League to Serie A to NWSL and so much more — are available on Paramount+. You can try one month free by using the code: ADVANCE.
💵 Best bets
All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook and all times U.S./Eastern. SportsLine has you covered with this weekend’s best bets.
- Scottish League Cup: Rangers vs. Celtic, Sunday, 10 a.m.
💰 THE PICK: Celtic (+110) — The Old Firm rarely disappoints and this one has some silverware on the line. Rangers look better for Michael Beale’s arrival while the Bhoys are a domestic force to be reckoned with under Ange Postecoglou. This one promises to be close, but Celtic appear to be good value for this one. - EFL Cup: Man United vs. Newcastle, Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
💰 THE PICK: Newcastle (+225) — Ten Hag is turning things around in impressive fashion at Old Trafford, but this is a chance for Saudi-backed Newcastle to get their first silverware under the new regime. This one should be tight and entertaining at Wembley, but Eddie Howe’s side have every chance of coming away with the trophy. Pay close attention to the Loris Karius redemption story arc too. - Bundesliga: Bayern vs. Union Berlin, Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
💰 THE PICK: Draw (+450) — This one strikes me as potentially very good value. Bayern are heavy favorites, but that is perhaps a slightly false position ahead of this one considering that both sides are on the same number of points at the German summit. Unio to win might strike many as a risky bit of business, but a draw is definitely a possibility with Bayern still not looking their usual dominant selves and Union are just coming off the back of a giant killing against Ajax in the Europa League.
