Football

Is Pochettino the right man for the USMNT?; Premier League excitement gets underway as Week 1 kicks off

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1d ago

Aug 17, 2024 / 7862 Views

Happy Friday! The Premier League and other major European leagues return over the weekend. The United States men's national team could have a new head coach in Mauricio Pochettino. I'm Chuck Booth and let's get stuck into it all:

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, Aug. 16
Ligue 1: Le Havre vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports
English Championship: Coventry City vs. Oxford United, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+
English Premier Leauge: Manchester United vs. Fulham, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA
USL Championship: Birmingham Legion vs. Detroit City FC, 8 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+

Saturday, Aug. 17
English Championship: West Brom Albion vs. Leeds United, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+
English Premier League: Arsenal vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 10 a.m. ➡️ USA
English Championship: Norwich City vs. Blackburn Rovers, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+
Serie A: Genoa vs. Inter 12:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network, Paramount+
La Liga: Valencia vs. Barcelona, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ABC

Sunday, Aug. 18
English Leauge One: Bolton Wanderers vs. Wrexham, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount+
English Premier League: Chelsea vs. Manchester City, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ NBC
La Liga: Mallorca vs. Real Madrid, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 The USMNT may have gotten their guy.

The search for Gregg Berhalter's replacement in leading the United States men's national team could be coming to an end and there's quite an exciting name coming in. According to reports, Mauricio Pochettino will be the next head coach of the USMNT, although there are contractual kinks to work out with Chelsea. Pochettino will immediately raise the standard of the squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

There was an air of complacency going around the squad and the Argentine coming in will be the shakeup that's needed. It's unknown how his tactics will transfer to having less time to train with a squad in his first international role, but after not being able to persuade Jurgen Klopp to join the USMNT, Pochettino is the next best available option to lead the squad.

Work still needs to be done to improve the squad around him, but raising the standards around the USMNT will be a good start for that to come to fruition. It'll be a slight change from the old setup as Pochettino is expected to live in Europe instead of moving to Atlanta like EMMA Hayes did on the women's side, but with more of the USMNT than ever based in European leagues, it could make Travel easier for him.

Here's what Pardeep Cattry has to say on the hire and what the expectations are for the USMNT:

Cattry: "Pochettino seems poised to deliver much of what the USMNT have been missing since the 2022 World Cup, a period of time in which the group has made little progress. On days the U.S. were supposed to dominate, they frequently struggled to get by; not only did they fail to reach their potential, they were unable to live up to their very realistic expectations. His ability to deliver an entertaining and effective tactical approach is an aspirational way to combat the USMNT's recent plateau and perhaps lay the groundwork for the memorable World Cup performance the federation has long targeted."

There's a lot of work to get there but the signs that Pochettino is the right guy to take the USMNT past the rough of 16 are there.

🔗 Midfield Link Play

⚽The Premier League is back

Friday, Premier League soccer returns although it feels like it never left as Manchester United host Fulham. It has been a busy summer with Euros, Copa America, and the Olympics but now we're back to seeing if this is the year that Arsenal catches Manchester City. James Benge seems to think so as the Gunners top his Premier League table:

Benge: "It feels like the stars are aligning about as favorably as they could for Arsenal in a galaxy where no one can escape Pep Guardiola's gravitational pull. They have moved to upgrade a relative weak spot in their XI and if Riccardo Calafiori's arrival pushes Oleksandr Zinchenko back towards his best, all the better. At the time of writing the depth they need is just about there, the defense has that aura and Martin Odegaard is in the mood. A superstar striker might put them over the top, but there is a case to be made that last season's top scorers don't really need one, especially if Gabriel Jesus can get more minutes than last. With Manchester City standing pat so far this transfer window, it might only need one big stride forward from Arsenal."

Check out the rest of the staff picks for how the season will go although we're all unanimous on Erling Haaland taking home Golden Boot honors.

With so many tournaments and the PSR crackdown, it has been a slower than expected summer transfer market but that doesn't mean that there aren't Premier League moves to watch. Here's what Cattry has to say about Matthijs de Ligt who will be in Manchester United's squad on Friday:

"The 25-year-old de Ligt is the Premier League newcomer with the most impressive réumé this season, winning a title at every club he's played at. A title push might be too lofty an aspiration for United this season, but de Ligt offers a much-needed defensive stability that eluded the Red Devils last season. Their constant implosions in the backline during the 2023-24 season doomed their ability to book anything higher than an eighth-place finish, finishing with a minus-one goal differential in league play and a plus-three goal differential in the UEFA Champions League before their group stage exit.

De Ligt will be tasked with keeping the opposition at bay, especially if Erik ten Hag insists that a style of play in which they conceded an exorbitant amount of shots is worth maintaining in the new season. The Netherlands international cannot solve all of United's woes by himself, but he can surely help address their most obvious problem as the team aims to put last season's chaos behind them."

🔗 Top Stories

🇺🇸 Get to know Mauricio Pochettino: Already having coached Lionel Messi and having led Tottenham to a Champions League final, the Argentine brings impressive credentials with him.

❌ 🏆Serie A also returns: The Premier League isn't the only show in town and we've got you covered with Serie A predictions and transfer rundowns on moves like Artem Dovbyk moving to AS Roma. Christian Pulisic may also lead the Americans to watch but how will players like Gianluca Busio perform?

🆕 Looking forward to La Liga: It's Real Madrid's world and we are just living in it but does that mean that there won't be intrigue in Spain this season?

🎯 Premier League matchday one prediction: Chelsea vs. City highlights the return of Premier League action but how will the matches go?

📣 Arteta challenges Man City: As the season kicks off, Arsenal are confident that this is going to be their year.

🧮 Chelsea's huge squad: James Benge breaks down just how many players Chelsea have under contract heading into the season.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

English Premier League:
💰 THE PICK: Bruno Fernandes to have two shots on target (+200) -- Due to Manchester United starting the season without Rasmus Hojlund, Bruno Fernandes could start the season in a false nine role. Facing Fulham at home with a shiny new contract to his name, I'd expect Fernandes to be shooting early and often so this is a ladderable number.
English Premier League:

💰 THE PICK: Ipswich vs. Liverpool, both teams to score and over 2.5 goals (-135) -- While I'd like for this to be a more favorable number, Portman Road will be rocking as the Tractor Boys return to Premier League soccer. I expect Liverpool to win this one handily but that doesn't mean that Ipswich won't bag a goal.

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.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started 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 night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and friends cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can also catch the show streaming live on YouTube every Monday at 11 a.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+.