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Happy Friday! The U.S. women's national team are back in action this week, while the Manchester clubs have to face each other at a peculiar juncture during their middling seasons. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest ahead of a jam-packed weekend.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, April 4
🇪🇺 UWNL: Sweden vs. Italy, 1 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Augsburg vs. Bayern Munich, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
Saturday, April 5
🏴 EPL: Everton vs. Arsenal, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Valencia, 10:15 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Parma vs. Inter, 12 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+
🌎 Friendly: USWNT vs. Brazil, 5 p.m. ➡️ TNT
🇺🇸 MLS: Austin FC vs. Portland Timbers, 7:45 p.m. ➡️ Fox, MLS Season Pass
Sunday, April 6
🏴 EPL: Manchester United vs. Manchester City, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ NBC
🇮🇹 Serie A: Roma vs. Juventus, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: San Jose Earthquakes vs. D.C. United, 5 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass
⚽ The Forward Line
🇺🇸 USWNT's defensive roles up for grabs
Emma Hayes' era of experimentation continues on Saturday when the U.S. women's national team will play the first of two friendlies against Brazil that will offer yet another chance for a young group of players to make their case.
Both friendlies will offer valuable minutes to the 17 players in camp with 30 caps or fewer at the international level, especially in defense. The USWNT will be without their starting center backs at the Olympics, Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson, the latter of whom suffered a torn ACL last week. The focus now shifts to a group of less-experienced players who could take the place of Girma and Davidson, at least in the meantime – Alana Cook, Tara McKeown and Emily Sams. There are, in theory, minutes for each of them, especially since Hayes made the concession that she will have to temporarily sacrifice chemistry so she can properly explore the player pool.
The absences in the defensive group have arguably added a new layer to the USWNT's consistently competitive environment, especially since each player has an argument to play. That includes Sams, the reigning NWSL Defender of the Year and Olympics alternate who said she's still navigating the balance of being a newcomer and seizing the opportunities in front of her.
- Sams: "My role has honestly stayed the same. I haven't been established as a starter so [I'm] still just trying to fight to keep my spot on this team but then also fight for a starting spot. … Definitely every camp and every cap that I get, I do get more confidence just because it's an intense environment. It's a competitive environment so any minutes I can get and just do well makes me feel better and improves my confidence, for sure."
Newness will be a theme across the pitch for the USWNT's next two games, though one mainstay is back with the group for the first time since they won Olympic gold in Paris – Trinity Rodman. One of the members of the "triple espresso," Rodman is back after taking time to recuperate from a chronic back injury and joins an attacking group full of talented young goalscorers like Alyssa Thompson, Ally Sentnor and Michelle Cooper.
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🏴 Bragging rights available in Manchester
The Manchester derby returns on Sunday at a peculiar juncture for both Manchester United and Manchester City, who have bragging rights to play for but potentially lack the firepower to potentially claim the edge over their rival.
From a results perspective alone, the points are more valuable to City than they are United. The Red Devils are in 13th place and cannot realistically target a finish in European spots after a spectacularly unimpressive season, with all of their hopes now pinned to the UEFA Europa League ahead of this month's quarterfinals against Lyon. City, though, are locked into an uber-competitive battle for a Champions League berth that includes Chelsea and Newcastle United. Pep Guardiola's side enter the weekend in fifth place, one point behind Chelsea and one point ahead of Newcastle with eight games to go, assigning added importance to Sunday's game at Old Trafford.
City, though, will have to cope without Erling Haaland, who is likely to miss the rest of the season with an ankle issue. There's a big question about City's offensive production without Haaland, who has scored nearly 40% of the team's goals this season. The load could fall to Omar Marmoush, who has five goals in eight league games and has enough quality to help City exact revenge for December's loss to United despite a poor showing from both sides. The next few weeks will be a big test for Marmoush considering the shoes he has to fill and the task at hand for City during a season of ups and downs.
As for United, there's still a question mark about their prospects in this game. They are coming off a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday in which they fell victim to the opponent's sturdy defense, putting just six of their 23 shots on target and then relinquishing the game's lone goal through a defensive lapse. They were arguably lucky to come out with a win against City in December and few would blame manager Ruben Amorim for saving the best version of his squad for the Europa League. It marks another crucial week for Amorim and company, though, with the pressure mounting to show some signs of life during a dismal season.
🔗 Top Stories
🏆 U.S. set for 2031 WWC: The U.S. is on track to co-host the 2031 Women's World Cup alongside other Concacaf nations, while the U.K. is set to hold the 2035 tournament after those nations submitted the only bids for the hosting rights.
🇺🇸 Rapinoe's praise: Retired USWNT star Megan Rapinoe heaped praise on the team's up-and-comers, adding that "it's the depth that really wins" major tournaments like the World Cup and Olympics.
🔵🔴 Barcelona's financial saga: Explaining the latest chapter in the never-ending saga around Barcelona's finances, which includes La Liga accusing an auditor of malpractice and an upcoming decision from Spain's National Sporting Council on if Dani Olmo and Pau Victor should be de-registered from the squad.
👎 Tottenham lose again: Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 at Chelsea on Thursday, showing signs of an identity crisis – and a potential conflict between manager Ange Postecoglou and the fans – as the team sits in 14th place in the Premier League.
🔴 Gabriel ruled out: Arsenal's Gabriel will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury that requires surgery.
🔴⚪ Atletico's cup loss: After Atletico Madrid lost to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semifinals, is it time to call this trophy-less season a failure?
💬 Feilhaber on Des Moines: Retired USMNT player Benny Feilhaber spoke to Morning Footy about playing for Des Moines Menace in the U.S. Open Cup, scoring in front of his kids and the untold story behind Sacha Kljestan's red card in their defeat.
👃 Got your nose: Jose Mourinho is back at it with his antics, this time grabbing the nose of his counterpart Okan Buruk during a heated game between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
❌ Gotham fan ban: NJ/NY Gotham FC revoked the season ticket of a fan and banned them from all future events after that person was found in violation of the NWSL's fan code of conduct for directing hateful language at the Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda.
🇿🇲 Zambia's travel concerns: Zambia cut four NWSL players from their roster, citing concerns about U.S. president Donald Trump's travel policies.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Serie A: Parma vs. Inter, Saturday, 12 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Inter to win 2-0 (+650) – For Inter, Saturday's trip to Parma is sandwiched between last week's Coppa Italia semifinal first leg against AC MIlan and the upcoming UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Bayern Munich, so manager Simone Inzaghi might rotate through his squad for the weekend game. The Serie A leaders have enough to get past the league's 16th place team, so expect a fairly straightforward win to keep Inter atop the league for another week.
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
☀️ 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 (Tuesday, 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. Don't miss Tuesday and Thursday live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET with a Sunday wrap up after the last curtain falls un the last NWSL match of the weekend.
⚽ 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+.
