Happy Friday, folks! No sooner has a wild midweek for UEFA Champions League action finished and we move on to this weekend’s European soccer offering with Manchester City desperate to beat Chelsea in the English Premier League after their collapse away at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Jonathan Johnson here to get you ready for the weekend.
📺 Footy Fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, January 24
🏴 EFL Championship: Sheffield United vs. Hull City, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
Saturday, January 25
🏴 EFL Championship: Norwich City vs. Swansea City, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 9:30 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Juventus, 12 p.m. (noon) ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EPL: Manchester City vs. Chelsea, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ Peacock
Sunday, January 26
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Parma, 6:30 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴 EPL: Fulham vs. Manchester United, 2 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Barcelona vs. Valencia, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN Deportes
⚽ The Forward Line
🏴 Man City vs. Chelsea EPL showdown
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Manchester City host Chelsea in the English Premier League on Saturday, needing a win to bounce back after a damaging 4-2 UEFA Champions League loss away at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, which has put Pep Guardiola’s side in major danger of elimination from the league phase. The Citizens totally fell apart at Parc des Princes despite leading 2-0 early in the second half and shipping four goals unanswered to a side below them in the standings pregame will leave some major bruises on a Citizens side devoid of confidence despite a recent uptick in form.
Both City and Chelsea are looking to get back into the reckoning for UCL qualification after losing ground in recent weeks and months, although neither will be able to reignite any EPL title hopes at this stage given that Liverpool are running away with it at the summit. Enzo Maresca called City the “best side in the world” when the Blues lost 2-0 to the Citizens at Stamford Bridge earlier this season but a lot has changed since then and the Italian’s players are much more capable of getting a result against City here than they were back then.
Capitulation has been a theme for City this campaign, but Guardiola and his players cannot afford to keep slipping ahead of a run against Arsenal, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest in the EPL after this. The defending champions have lost their three Premier League games immediately after a midweek European outing but they are unbeaten in seven against Chelsea with five wins and two draws to their name. The Blues have kept just one clean sheet from 16 away games at City and failed to score seven times since their last win back in 2021 — the Champions League final in Portugal — having not won any of their last 10 meetings.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🔥 Napoli vs. Juve and RBL vs. B04
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Elsewhere this weekend, there are big games across both Serie A and the Bundesliga with Napoli vs. Juventus and RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen to look forward to on Saturday. In Italy, Antonio Conte’s men are top of the table, although Inter have a game in hand and sit second while Thiago Motta’s Juve are fifth and trying to break into the top four despite drawing an enormous amount of their games across all competitions.
This one has the potential to impact that with Napoli needing the points to stay ahead of the Nerazzurri until they have played their extra game, while the Bianconeri really need to start turning one point into three if they are to rise up the Serie A table and remain ahead of the likes of Milan and Roma. Although Lazio are within reach by two points, Atalanta are six clear with Inter at least 10 ahead, so the Turin giants cannot afford to drop more points — even if a draw ordinarily would not be so bad in Naples.
In Germany, Leipzig in fifth will hope to break into the top four with a win over Leverkusen, but that will be easier said than done with Xabi Alonso’s side second and 10 points ahead of their hosts pregame. Beaten midweek despite a lengthy unbeaten run, Die Werkself need to react to that loss and will hope to apply some pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern who are only four points ahead and suffered a shocking 3-0 reverse against Feyenoord in midweek.
🔗 Top Stories
🔝 UCL Power Rankings: Liverpool stay perfect; Barca, Arsenal, Inter look like contenders — here’s how all the teams rank after Matchday 7.
💸 UCL prize money: How the Champions League prize money and payouts purse for 2024-25 will be divided for knockout stage success.
🤑 Real Madrid top Football Money League: Los Blancos lead with $1 billion revenue to widen gap over Manchester City as the Taylor Swift effect and further revenue away from soccer have helped Los Blancos, with the Miami Dolphins’ home game later this year only expected to help keep them at the top.
🫰 Real Madrid are shaping new soccer world order once again: Here’s how Florentino Perez has done it — whether it be landing coveted free agents like Kylian Mbappe or using his team’s venue for Taylor Swift concerts, Real Madrid are showing how to excel in every facet possible.
🤔 Jorginho backs Arsenal to win ‘tricky’ UCL: ‘We believe in what we are doing’ says the midfielder who sees similar qualities to the Chelsea side he won UCL with in 2021 as the Gunners have all but locked up a spot in the top eight.
🆓 Portland Thorns land free agent Deyna Castellanos: Coveted target arrives on two-year deal after leaving Bay FC where the midfielder played one season with Bay FC following her playing career in Europe.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best Bet
- La Liga: Valladolid vs. Real, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
💰 THE PICK: Rodrygo to score two or more (+800) — Real go to Valladolid seeking a fourth consecutive win across all competitions at Estadio Jose Zorilla. The hosts are in a relegation battle and trail Alaves in 17th by five points but Diego Cocca’s side have won their last two home games. Pucela have lost their last six meetings with Real in the league and their last home win against the Spanish giants was back in 2008. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have managed three straight wins since their blowout Supercopa de Espana loss to Barcelona. Also into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Real now have a UEFA Champions League playoff spot secured and they are starting to turn up the goals. With seven goals and three assists from his last eight games across all competitions, you would not be against Brazilian Rodrygo carrying the team while Vinicius Junior is suspended.
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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