Happy Friday! The weekend is already off to a busy start with the UEFA Champions League draw for the knockout phase playoffs, and that’s before an exciting batch of matches takes place across Europe. I’m Pardeep Cattry with an end-of-week check-in.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Saturday, Feb. 1
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern vs. Holstein Kiel, 9:30 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 EPL: Bournemouth vs. Liverpool, 10 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Espanyol vs. Real Madrid, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
Sunday, Feb. 2
🏴 WSL: Manchester City vs. Arsenal, 7 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇪🇸 La Liga: Barcelona vs. Alaves, 8 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 EPL: Arsenal vs. Manchester City, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Leverkusen vs. Hoffenheim, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: AC Milan vs. Inter, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line
🇪🇺 UCL draw pits Manchester City vs. Real Madrid
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By Michael Goodman
The Champions League playoff for the knockout round is set. To explain the new format one more time, after eight matchdays during the league phase, the top eight teams advanced directly to the round of 16 with spots nine through 24 competing in a home-and-home playoff round to join them. The matchups for that round are now set. The big story is that only one of Real Madrid and Manchester City will be present in this year’s round of 16, with the two behemoths drawn against each other. Here are all the matchups.
- Club Brugge vs. Atalanta
- Sporting CP vs. Borussia Dortmund
- Manchester City vs. Real Madrid
- Celtic vs. Bayern Munich
- Juventus vs. PSV
- Feyenoord vs. AC Milan
- Brest vs. PSG
- AS Monaco vs. Benfica
The round gives everybody a little something to look forward to. Aside from the marquee matchup, there’s an all French affair in Brest vs. PSG, a handful of of favorites with underdogs looking to knock them off their perch in Juventus vs. PSV and Bayern Munich vs. Celtic and the prospect of three Italian teams advancing to join Inter in the final 16. Additionally should Manchester City win it’s possible for four English teams to be present. It’s not difficult to imagine a final 16 where fully half the teams are from the Premier League and Serie A.
Elsewhere the same operation went on for the Europa League. The tournaments heaviest hitters all got automatic byes with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United both notching automatic advancement by finishing in the top eight. That didn’t stop the draw from throwing up a tasty match or two, with Roma and Porto probably the pick of the bunch.
- Twente vs. Bodo/Glimt
- Fenerbahce vs. Anderlecht
- Royale Union SG vs. Ajax
- PAOK vs. FCSB
- AZ Alkmaar vs. Galatasaray
- Midtjylland vs. Real Sociedad
- Ferencvaros vs. Viktoria Plzen
- FC Porto vs. AS Roma
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇮🇹 Derby Della Madonnina returns
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A few short weeks after AC Milan’s come-from-behind win over Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana, the rivals meet again on home turf in the second Serie A edition of the Derby Della Madonnina in 2025. Consistency has been a strength of both teams since that meeting in Saudi Arabia, but they still enter the weekend’s big matchup on different footing.
Just as they were a month ago, Inter are a well-oiled machine that pick up wins more often than not. They are undefeated in six games since the Supercoppa final and are finding ways to score for fun – three of their five wins in that spell have come by two or more goals, including Wednesday’s 3-0 win over 10 man Monaco in the Champions League. Lautaro Martinez has also seemingly found a new lease on life in recent weeks – he’s on a five game scoring streak and has seven goals in that span, a run that includes his first-ever Champions League hat trick, which came on Wednesday. They enter the weekend in second in Serie A, just three points behind league leaders Napoli.
Things have been a little rockier for Milan since returning from the gulf nation, though. They have three wins in their last six, all coming by a one goal margin, and have collected some notable losses under new manager Sergio Conceicao. Milan did not come up with the goods in a 2-0 loss to a generally flat Juventus two weeks ago, and now enter Sunday’s derby after a surprise 2-1 loss in the Champions League to Dinamo Zagreb, who were eliminated despite the result. Goals are still coming – they have nine in their last six and have gone without scoring just once in that stretch. They have conceded eight in that time, though, suggesting that the inconsistency they dealt with at the start of the season has not escaped them even if they swapped manager Paulo Fonseca for Conceicao.
The USMNT’s Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah will be players to keep an eye on, Pulisic especially. His form has dipped since returning from for the Supercoppa semifinal and final, but he still has four goals in eight games since the new year and is still the team’s leading goalscorer with 12 goals across all competitions. Where Pulisic’s help in attack will come from is a question mark – Alvaro Morata is reportedly close to joining Galatasaray, while Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez is being eyed as a replacement in the final days of the transfer window, per Fabrizio Romano.
🔗 Top Stories
🇪🇺 UCL rewind: With the league phase done and dusted, here’s a look at the power rankings heading into the knockouts and the best players from the first round.
❌ City aren’t contenders: After sneaking into the knockout phase playoffs, Pep Guardiola said Manchester City are not in the running to win the Champions League this season.
🇫🇷 Vive la France: France has four teams in the Champions League knockouts, helping the nation exceed expectations.
✍️ Transfer window latest: CBS Sports’ James Benge reports that Al-Nassr has made a $112 million offer for Kaoru Mitoma, while Aston Villa turned down a bid from Arsenal for Ollie Watkins.
🆕 NWSL to Denver: The NWSL awarded its 16th expansion club to Denver, and the new club will begin play in the 2026 season.
🇺🇸 USWNT in Europe: Jenna Nighswonger and Crystal Dunn joined Naomi Girma as the latest USWNT players to leave the NWSL for Europe in a series of moves that reflect a new landscape for the women’s game.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- English Premier League: Arsenal vs. Manchester City, Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
THE PICK: First half to end in a draw (+115) – Both of these teams are coming off of midweek fixtures in the Champions League and while Arsenal may be the favored side at home, a slow start could be on the horizon. Neither team will want to lose as the Gunners look to climb back in the race for the Premier League title and Manchester City will want to keep their hold on fourth place, which will lead to a more conservative match. – Chuck Booth - Italian Serie A: Milan vs. Inter, Sunday, 12 p.m.
THE PICK: Christian Pulisic to have 1+ shots on target (-140) – In the Milan derby, it’s anyone’s game and while Inter is the team in stronger form, this is a match that is determined by which stars shine the brightest. When looking at Milan, their big game player this season has been American forward Christian Pulisic. Already scoring a goal in a disappointing Champions Leauge loss to Dinamo Zagreb, he’ll be in top form to test Yann Sommer in net. – Chuck Booth
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.
📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network
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☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Join Golazo Network as it help fans get their day started on the right foot on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you’ll never have to miss an episode.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women’s game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long. And don’t miss Wednesday live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday and Thursday): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and Tony Meola cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can catch the show streaming live on YouTube every Monday at 1 p.m. ET and Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
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