NWSL comes down to Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit matchup as league's top two teams square off Saturday

Happy Friday, everybody! Club soccer is coming back with a bang with Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur just one of a number of enticing games to look forward to this weekend as well as the big NWSL season finale. Jonathan Johnson here to get you ready.

📺 Footy Fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, November 22
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Augsburg, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: PSG vs. Toulouse, 3 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Championship: Plymouth Argyle vs. Watford, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network

Saturday, November 23
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL League One: Wrexham vs. Exeter City, 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+ 
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Juventus, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ NBC
🏆 Copa Sudamericana: Racing Club vs. Cruzeiro, 3 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports
🇪🇸 La Liga: Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 NWSL Championship: Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit, 8 p.m. ➡️ CBS

Sunday, November 24
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Manchester City vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 9 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Championship: Swansea City vs. Leeds United, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Roma, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: Orlando City vs. Atlanta United, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass

⚽ The Forward Line

🥇 NWSL Championship final

It is 2024 NWSL Championship weekend, people! The two best sides in the league over the course of this season will do battle when Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit meet on Saturday at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City. You can follow all of the action on CBS and Paramount+ with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET. Looking ahead to this one, Michele Kang's D.C. outfit will no doubt be considered favorites against the Pride given that their rise into contention was not expected across the board. Pardeep Cattry took a look at the blueprint behind Washington Spirit's transformation under Kang while Sandra Herrera had plenty of praise for Orlando's head coach Seb Hines as well as newcomer Croix Bethune -- both NSWL award winners this week.

• Cattry on Kang: "Kang's first acts as the Spirit's majority owner focused on obvious upgrades like moving into the training facilities and stadium owned by MLS' D.C. United on a full-time basis, but the team continued to make splashes. They landed a front-of-jersey sponsorship deal with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the 2022 season, with Kang previously serving on the center's International Committee of the Arts. In May 2022, Trinity Rodman was rewarded for her rookie of the year campaign by becoming the first NWSL player to sign a contract worth $1 million. She took another bold step over the last year by landing UEFA Women's Champions League winner Jonatan Giraldez as the head coach, reportedly quintupling his Barcelona salary to get the deal done."
• Herrera on Hines: "For many casual fans, Orlando's rise this season came as a surprise. For the deeply invested supporters, they'll tell you that the Pride's turnaround can be traced back to when Hines was appointed interim head coach in 2022. It's been a work in progress, but the hard work has paid off for the NWSL Shield winners, and now they have a shot for more hardware on Saturday."

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🔗 Midfield Link Play

🥳 European soccer is back, baby

The final international period of 2024 is over with club soccer coming back with a bang this weekend as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur meet in the Premier League and Milan clash with Juventus in Serie A. With UEFA Champions League action returning next week, we are entering into the most manic period of the year between now and early January which will test even the most well-equipped squads over the coming month or so.

Manchester City vs. Tottenham

City aim to shorten the five-point gap on Liverpool at the EPL summit this Saturday against Spurs at Etihad Stadium and both sides are coming off of the back of losses before the November international break. Pep Guardiola's side was beaten 2-1 by Brighton and Hove Albion while Ange Postecoglou's troops went down by the same score against Ipswich Town but City have now confirmed that Guardiola is staying on for two more years. A number of first team regulars are returning to full fitness as the defending EPL champions gear up for eight testing Games in 29 days with six Premier League and two UEFA Champions League fixtures. Spurs are first up and City have beaten the Londoners just three times in their last 10 encounters but will return to Etihad Stadium after four away losses -- they are unbeaten across 52 Games in all comPetitions in Manchester with 35 of those in the Premier League. Tottenham are 10th but just three points back from Chelsea in third while Spurs also beat City in the EFL Cup recently which could boost them here. Postecoglou's men have 17 points from 10 Premier League meetings with the Citizens but have scored at least two goals on each of their last three visits to Etihad Stadium.

Milan vs. Juve

Milan vs. Juventus this weekend pits USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie on opposite sides come Saturday.The Rossoneri and the Bianconeri meet in Milan (you can catch both on Paramount+ all season long) and Francesco Porzio has charted how the two American internationals both play important roles but couldn't have taken a less similar path at their clubs over the past couple of years. 

• Porzio on Pulisic: "Pulisic is one of the best players in all of Serie A and has had an outstanding start of the season, scoring seven goals in all competitions and also starting in 14 out of the 15 games played so far by the Italian giants. His impact this season has been just incredible, and followed a very impressive first season at the club, where Pulisic scored 15 goals in 50 games played in all competitions. Pulisic has been a model of consistency despite a tumultuous stretch at the club that led American owner Gerry Cardinale to appoint Paulo Fonseca to replace Stefano Pioli on the sideline over the summer."
• Porzio on McKennie: "Thiago Motta came in and the club once again thought McKennie could leave, this time in part due to his contract expiring in the summer of 2025. The American was left out of the squad and it seemed impossible to see him again in a Juventus jersey, especially after the refused to join Aston Villa at the end of June. Once again, he proved everybody wrong. Motta announced he was back in the squad before the opening home game of the season against Como and so far he has played 12 games, and scored two goals between Serie A and UEFA Champions League, proving he can still be a key player for the Bianconeri." 

🔗  Top Stories

🆕 Pep Guardiola's new deal: The Catalan tactician agrees to a one-year Manchester City contract extension with 2026-27 option as he was due to be out of contract at season's end.

🎵 Ed Sheeran's Ipswich Town role: The superstar helped close the deal with Ipswich Town player right before joining Taylor Swift on Eras Tour stage when Sheeran performed alongside Swift at Wembley Stadium back in August.

🤔 Can Arsenal or City catch Liverpool in the EPL? How many points each team might need given the Reds' formidable early lead in the Premier League table even though the season is only 11 Games old.

🌪️ Lyon's provisional relegation: How the French giants with American ownership ended up in financial chaos as the falling Ligue 1 giants could be about to start a painful descent.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best Bet

• Copa Sudamericana: Racing vs. Cruzeiro, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
  💰 THE PICK: Draw (+206) -- Racing and Cruzeiro meet at General Pablo Rojas in Asuncion for the CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana final this weekend. The Argentines edged Corinthians 4-3 on aggregate in the semifinals while the Brazilians narrowly overcame Lanus over two legs. Racing will make their first appearance at a continental final since the 1989 Recopa Sudamericana which they lost 1-0 to Nacional of Uruguay. Gustavo Costas's men are in good form with five consecutive wins across all competitions and a win here would bring a first CONMEBOL title since the 1967 Copa Libertadores. Fernando Diniz has never lost in a CONMEBOL final at club level with Fluminense winning the Copa Libertadores one year ago and the 2024 Recopa Sudamericana. With only one goal conceded in six away Sudamericana games, a 1-0 loss to Boca Juniors in the round of 16 is their only loss on the road. Brazilian sides have lost the last two Sudamericana finals with Athletico Paranaense the last to buck that trend in 2021 and Cruzeiro 's last continental success came in 1997's Copa Libertadores. Level scores after 90 minutes is not out of the question.

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 co. 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.

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