Football

USWNT have their sights set on W Gold Cup glory; Liverpool and Manchester City face off in Premier League

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Mar 09, 2024 / 8388 Views

Happy Friday! The weekend is here and it brings with it another slate of important games in the world of soccer with the USWNT in the Concacaf W Gold Cup final against Brazil and Liverpool vs. Manchester City at the Premier League summit. I am Jonathan Johnson and let's get to it!

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, Mar. 8
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Torino, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇸 La Liga: Barcelona vs. Mallorca, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

Saturday, Mar. 9
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Manchester United vs. Everton, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Bologna vs. Inter, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇦🇷 Argentina: Independiente vs. River Plate, 5:15 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 USL: North Carolina vs. Charleston Battery, 7 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network

Sunday, Mar. 10
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Liverpool vs. Manchester City, 10:45 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Atalanta, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏆 W Gold Cup final: USWNT vs. Brazil, 7:15 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 USWNT chase inaugural W Gold Cup title

By Pardeep Cattry

The U.S. women's national team will comPete for a trophy on Sunday when they face Brazil (8:15 p.m. ET on Paramount+) for a chance to win the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup. This weekend's finale serves as a meeting of two storied teams in a rebuilding phase after hitting rough patches, notably at last year's Women's World Cup when both sides had their earliest-ever exits from the comPetition. Both the USWNT and Brazil have naturally leaned on younger talent during this experimentation period, so Sunday's final will serve as a measuring stick for the progress of both programs during their refreshes as well as the status of several players as the Olympics near. From the USWNT's perspective, the Gold Cup has served as a period of trial and error that is starting to deliver answers about which players currently make up the best version of the team. The final against Brazil will offer the latest set of data points for the USWNT coaching staff to work with, not only about the players' tactical prowess but the group's ability to continue the team's reputation of winning.

Naeher locks down top spot:

The USWNT coaching staff has primarily used the post-World Cup period to offer chances to less experienced players, but one veteran who has almost entirely escaped the conversation is goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. The 35-year-old has always been the presumed starter for the Olympics but a shaky performance in the team's 2-0 loss to Mexico sparked some discussion about moving on to Naeher's understudy, Casey Murphy. Naeher, though, promptly shut that down. She made two crucial saves in the USWNT's 3-0 win over Colombia in the quarterfinals, but took things to another level in the team's penalty shootout win over Canada in Wednesday's semifinals. Though she conceded the penalty that served as Canada's equalizer that sent the game to penalties with seconds on the clock, Naeher made three stops in the shootout and even converted a spot kick herself. She demonstrated an unparalleled amount of skill and resolve in that moment, showcasing that her experience is awfully valuable and leaving her teammates in awe in the process. As Alex Morgan simply phrased it after the match, "I have never witnessed anything so remarkable as I did tonight with Alyssa."

USWNT experimentation results:

The USWNT may have treated the Gold Cup as a testing ground for the lion's share of their player pool, but if one goes deep enough into any competition, the experimentation period is long enough to offer up some results. The hosts' main priority on Sunday will be to win the Gold Cup, but the good news is that the coaching staff might already be able to call this exploratory phase a success. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore made sweeping personnel changes for the quarterfinal against Colombia and reaped the rewards, with newcomer Jenna Nighswonger and veteran Morgan serving as standouts on that day. It prompted Kilgore to name an unchanged lineup for the semifinal against Canada, though no tactical analysis can be taken away from that match considering the incredibly waterlogged pitch the game was played on. Those two matches force the question, though: Is that the USWNT's "win now" lineup? It just might be, but the impact of Wednesday's soggy conditions could mean that Kilgore will be forced to start some fresher players on Sunday. Her options are good ones -- Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Olivia Moultrie and Sophia Smith were amongst those who did not start, while Nighswonger played just 45 minutes on Wednesday. As a result, the final accidentally offers one more chance for Kilgore to tinker and learn a bit more about the squad with the Olympics just four months away.

🔗 Midfield Link Play

💥 Premier League summit meeting

One of the defining clashes of the Premier League season takes place on Sunday as Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield. EPL's top two meet with the Reds a single point ahead of the defending titleholders, having played equal games. Jurgen Klopp's side has a golden chance to stretch the one-point lead over Pep Guardiola's men to four, which could allow Arsenal to leapfrog City. It finished 1-1 back in November and a draw here could actually invite Arsenal into the driving seat. It could also be one of the final instalments -- if not the final instalment -- of Klopp vs. Guardiola which has been one of the best managerial and tactical rivalries anywhere in Europe over the past few years.

Since their 3-1 league defeat away at Arsenal, Liverpool have won all seven of their games including the EFL Cup final over Chelsea for their first silverware of this season. Nine wins from their last 10 since the EFL Cup semifinal second leg draw with Fulham means an overall run of 16 wins and three draws for just one single loss from 20 outings across all competitions. Jurgen Klopp's side have built up momentum which was added to on Thursday with a thumping first leg win in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 which puts the Reds on track for a quarterfinal place. Klopp has been without a number of regular starters and pushed down to the bare bones with many youth teamers were on the field to see off Chelsea at Wembley for the EFL Cup.

City's numbers over the same 20-Game stretch are staggering -- Pep Guardiola's men have 18 wins and two draws in an unbeaten run which started following a 1-0 loss away at UEFA Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa back in early December. A UCL quarterfinal place was sewn up in easy fashion against FC Copenhagen with a 6-2 aggregate score. Guardiola has overseen a relatively impressive turnaround in form given their three wins from eight in that barren run which birthed the current return of points and goals. Given that Liverpool have scored 21 times from their last seven Games and City across that same period have tallied 18, we should be seeing goals. Guardiola's rearguard has shipped six time -- almost one per Game -- while the Reds are tighter and have allowed just four goals past them.

🔗 Top Stories

#️⃣ USL Championship kit rankings: Get ready for USL's CBS Sports Golazo Network debut with kit rankings as Oakland Roots SC and New Mexico United catch the eye as part of a batch of great new kits.

🌟 USMNT star Christian Pulisic shines bright: Catch the U.S. captain's stunning strike as Milan beat Slavia Praha 4-2 in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

💸 Chelsea and BlueCo's big losses: The Premier League outfit and parent company BlueCo have announced major financial losses which also impacts RC Strasbourg Alsace in France's Ligue 1 with Chelsea's losses at $114.8 million.

🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappe's young PSG lead Ligue 1's charge: The French superstar still expected to leave Paris for Real Madrid this summer but he and his his Parisien teaMMAtes aided an impressive midweek showing from France's top sides across all major UEFA comPetitions as Olympique de Marseille and Lille OSC also won big to boost Le Championnat's European top five status.

🧮 UEFA coefficient latest: The very latest as England, Italy, Germany and Spain all chase an extra Champions League spot in next year's revamped format with France outperforming Spain and closing on England in third.

💪 Are City UCL-final bound? Manchester City are into the quarterfinals after disposing of Copenhagen with ease and Pep Guardiola's men are already expected to go all the way to the Wembley final where they will hope to defend their title.

🤨 Real unconvincing in UCL quarterfinals run: Carlo Ancelotti's Spanish giants are through after a scare vs. RB Leizpig but Los Blancos have not been all that convincing and needed the crossbar to keep them safe in the round of 16 this past week.

🤓 Liverpool vs. City things to know: Get ready for this weekend's big game in the Premier League with everything that you possibly need to know ahead of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola's top pairing doing battle at Anfield.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bet

Liga MX: Club America vs. Tigres UANL, Saturday, 10 p.m.
💰THE PICK: Draw and both to score (+375) -- Club America and Tigres UANL meet at Estadio Azteca this weekend when the pair clash in Liga MX's Clausura. The hosts won 3-0 last time out and this fixture generally tends to produce at least two goals per game on average. The Eagles have won eight and drawn two of the past 10 games with The Tigers registering no victory in that run. Club America have not lost any of their past five home games across all competitions and Andre Jardine's men lead the overall table although they are situated fourth in the Torneo Clausura standings. Tigres UANL are third overall, and both sides are guaranteed to reach at least round one of the CONCACAF Champions League this season. Robert Siboldi's side are 13 points behind their opponents in the combined rankings before Saturday's game and three points adrift in the Clausura table. The away side have also lost their last two Liga MX road games to Cruz Azul and Toluca while the home outfit have won seven of their last 10 home games. Club America have done so scoring two goals or more in seven of their last 10 outings on home turf with 13 clean sheets from 20 games across all competitions.

📺 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.

📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn't mean that our coverage of the women's game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.

👟 Kickin' It (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.

⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.

🥅 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+.