Sunday's Manchester Derby is a crucial match between struggling Manchester United, stumbling Manchester City
Happy Friday! The men's international break is complete and club teams are officially back in session with a batch of entertaining weekend games, resuming just in time for next week's UEFA Champions League action. I'm Pardeep Cattry with an end-of-week update.
📺 Footy fixAll times U.S./Eastern
Friday, Sept. 12🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN2🇺🇸 NWSL: San Diego Wave vs. Gotham FC, 10 p.m. ➡️ Amazon Prime Video
Saturday, Sept. 13🏴 EPL: Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network🇪🇸 LaLiga: Real Sociedad vs. Real Madrid, 10:15 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Inter, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Hamburg, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+🇺🇸 NWSL: North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+🇺🇸 MLS: San Jose Earthquakes vs. LAFC, 8:30 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass🇲🇽 Liga MX: Club America vs. Guadalajara, 11:15 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Sunday, Sept. 14🏴 EPL: Manchester City vs. Manchester United, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ Peacock🇮🇹 Serie A: AC Milan vs. Bologna, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇪🇸 LaLIga: Barcelona vs. Valencia, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN🇺🇸 NWSL: Chicago Stars vs. Portland Thorns, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line🏴 A tale of two Manchester teamsThere is plenty of intrigue in Europe's top leagues this weekend, but the headlining act is arguably one of the last on the schedule -- Manchester United's trip to Manchester City, which wraps up Premier League action on Sunday.
City and United are chasing different targets this season, but amongst the many differences that are clear to point out between the two Manchester teams, they enter the latest edition of the derby with some surprising commonalities. Each of them are in a period of transition after spending big in the summer, the most recent of which was City's deadline day acquisition of Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain. Donnarumma is expected to land the starting goalkeeper role in time for the derby though fellow new signing James Trafford has been the first choice to start the season. Trafford, who joined over the summer after a strong season with Burnley, beat Ederson for the job, but has looked shaky to start the season and may perhaps be better suited to be Donnarumma's understudy for the time being. Either way, Donnarumma said the competitive dynamic is a beneficial one.
- Donnarumma: "I'm happy because competition is good for everyone. I can't wait to meet [James], and I can't wait to meet my new teammates. We have to be a strong and united group with people who care for each other and that is the key to success. Together we can make great success. …. For a player, I think achieving in the Premier League is the maximum for his career, therefore I'm really happy to be here. I'm willing to take to the pitch for this club who has been trying so much to sign me and I hope I can pay that trust back."
That is far from the only lineup question that needs answering on Sunday. Neither Pep Guardiola nor Ruben Amorim has figured out the best version of their new-look teams just yet, and the City manager will be further hamstrung by injuries to Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush. Rodri started his first league match since sustaining an ACL injury last year, but as their defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion just before the international break showed, the Ballon d'Or winner was not a magical fix to their problems. Against Brighton and in a loss to Tottenham Hotspur the previous week, City were stifled in attack and failed to find a real rhythm, demonstrating some real room for improvement.
A faceoff against United is arguably a favorable fixture to use for troubleshooting, even if the Red Devils are one point better off than their rivals at this very early stage of the season. United may be in the process of rebuilding to match Amorim's tactical vision, but the results have left a lot to be desired. They kept the margin of victory tight in a 3-2 win over Burnley before the international break and even if the Red Devils received some praise for their performance in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal, their shot-taking approach was more about quantity than quality. That's without considering the fact that their defense might still be a liability. They will have a fairly new shot-stopper of their own on Sunday, though, with Altay Bayindır stepping into the role at the start of the season and Andre Onana recently completing a loan move to Trabzonspor.
Live Tomorrow 👀This weekend's action will also serve as a preview of sorts for the UEFA Champions League, with the league phase officially beginning on Tuesday to kick off a three-day spread of matches.
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will likely have a fairly straightforward outing against Lens in Ligue 1 action on Sunday, but their Champions League defense will not be straightforward. They will host Atalanta on Matchday 1 but will face a real test of their mettle on Matchday 2 at Barcelona, with later matches against Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United potentially playing a major factor in their league phase success. They will have to do so without Ballon d'Or nominees Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue at the start, the pair out for several weeks with injuries PSG are blaming on the France national team.
Barcelona, meanwhile, face off against Valencia before opening their Champions League campaign at Newcastle. Last season's semifinalists will enter the opening week of European action as the oddsmakers' favorites to win the whole thing, a signal of the turnaround completed by a domestic double-winning side led by Lamine Yamal. Rivals Real Madrid may not be so far off as manager Xabi Alonso continues his first season in charge, so far doing well with the task of finding balance in a lopsided squad, a meeting against Marseille waiting after their weekend match at Real Sociedad.
Rounding out the oddsmakers' contenders to win the Champions League are Liverpool and Arsenal, the former with unfinished business in Europe after an early exit to PSG last season and the latter reaching the semifinals for the first time in nearly two decades before also losing to the eventual champions. The Reds have a favorable match against Burnley over the weekend before moving onto Atletico Madrid midweek, who at this point are one of the Champions League's middling sides. The Gunners will take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday before preparing for their Champions League opener at Athletic Bilbao, who reached the Europa League semifinals last season before getting knocked out by Manchester United.
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🔵 Chelsea's 74 breaches: Chelsea were charged with 74 breaches of the FA's agent rules from 2009 to 2022 after self-reporting their conduct during Roman Abramovich's spell as the club's owner.
🏆 World Cup check-in: The latest USMNT stock watch offers good news for Folarin Balogun and bad news for Josh Sargent, while Germany and Italy have landed themselves on the World Cup panic meter after some shaky outings during the international break.
🇮🇹 Dispatches from Italy: AC Milan's summer reinvention may actually be good news for Christian Pulisic, while Udinese sporting director Gokhan Inler is trying to build a team that will compete for Serie A's top prize.
🇺🇸 NWSL power rankings: Things are trending upwards for Gotham FC, who officially welcomed Jaedyn Shaw to the team this week, though the same cannot be said for Angel City after losing Alyssa Thomspon.
🇫🇷 PSG's UCL chances: Paris Saint-Germain dazzled Europe en route to their first-ever Champions League title, putting them in a strong position to mount a strong title defense despite a challenge league phase schedule and injuries.
💰 The Back Line💵 Best bets- Premier League: Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest, Saturday, 7:30 a.m.💰 THE PICK: Arsenal to win 1-0 (+650) – There is plenty of intrigue around the opening fixture of the Premier League weekend after Nottingham Forest made the first managerial change of the season, replacing Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange Postecolgou. The new hire brings with him the promise of attack-minded tactics that he put on full display during his two year spell with Tottenham Hotspur but getting it right in time for his first game in charge might be a struggle, especially against the defensively sound Arsenal. Couple that with the fact that Postecoglou has never notched a win against the Gunners, count on the hosts to pick up a fairly routine win at the start of the weekend.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.
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