Elsewhere on the Golazo Starting XI newsletter, a red card for Kylian Mbappe
What a ride we have ahead of us. The Champions League, Europa League and Conference League quarterfinals conclude from Tuesday to Thursday before an Easter weekend that is sure to be filled with drama and tension across Europe and beyond. I’m James Benge. Let’s see what’s on tap, shall we?
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, April 14
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Empoli, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EPL: Bournemouth vs. Fulham, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Atletico Madrid vs. Real Valladolid, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 Championship: Hull City vs. Coventry City, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Tuesday, April 15
🇪🇺 UCL: Aston Villa vs. PSG, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 US Open Cup: Columbus Crew II vs. Pittsburgh River Hounds, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line
Can Aston Villa or Borussia Dortmund pull off Mission: Impossible?
The first two of the Champions League semifinalists will be set on Tuesday evening, but in the cold light of day they probably already were last Wednesday, right? Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, looking like the best two sides in Europe right now, cruised through their home assignments in the first leg. All that is left for them now is to not mess things up.
Frankly, Barcelona could probably get away with doing that too and still advance to their first Champions League semifinal in six years. Such is the advantage they built for themselves in their home leg against Borussia Dortmund, 4-0 winners at the Camp Nou with Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal outstanding. Only one team in Champions League history has overturned a four goal deficit from the first leg and that was the Remontada Barcelona of Lionel Messi, Neymar et al. With the greatest of respect to last season’s beaten finalists, they don’t have game changers on that level. Dortmund’s managing director Lars Ricken might have put it best:
- Ricken: “Progression would be one of the biggest miracles in the history of Borussia Dortmund. But the stadium is sold out again; we have to give it everything we’ve got.”
It will almost certainly not be enough. The same is likely the case where Aston Villa are concerned. Unai Emery would have thought his side were right in it until the 92nd minute at the Parc des Princes, when Nuno Mendes rounded Emiliano Martinez. A 2-1 deficit to overturn at Villa Park? That sounds doable for sure. But 3-1 down? That’s going to take something out of the movies.
Then again, Villa can at least go into this match convinced they have the firepower to test the Paris Saint-Germain backline. On Saturday they became the first Premier League side to get goals from three different substitutes as Ollie Watkins, Donyell Malen and John McGinn netted in a 3-0 win over Southampton. Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Morgan Rogers all started that match. That is a lot of talent in advanced areas to work with.
- Emery: “We are going to enjoy on Tuesday at Villa Park something very, very special for our supporters, for us. The possibility and opportunity we have to try to face PSG and try to come back. Of course, it’s going to be difficult, but we have to feel strong at home and try to prepare as best as possible for the match and try to transmit our energy, to get the supporters’ energy and then play the best football. When we are playing this year the best football, we can get it.”
Villa Park has already proven to be a rather effective 12th man on the European stage and when it gets as loud as it got in the win over Bayern Munich back in the league phase, it’s enough to intimidate even the most experienced of opponents. An early goal and Emery, the beaten man in the Remontada, who is still a specialist in swinging the odds his way on the European stage, might have something to work with. Still, Villa advancing would surely be one of the greatest shocks in Champions League history.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
England’s race for Champions League spots takes more twists
As this season’s Champions League reaches its conclusion, the race for an invite to next year’s party is heating up in England. Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Real Madrid assured the Premier League of five spots and right now there are six teams vying for the three spots behind the Gunners and champions elect Liverpool. That number could be trimmed if Fulham lose to Bournemouth on Monday night, but it is hard to be sure when few of the contenders look particularly convincing.
Manchester City began Saturday with a come from behind 5-2 win over Crystal Palace, impressive on paper but reliant on the sort of magic Kevin De Bruyne has not been producing as regularly as he once used to. They will still be without Erling Haaland for most, if not all, of the run in and Rodri too.
The champions sit in fifth, above them a Nottingham Forest side who look like they’re coming back down to Earth following consecutive defeats to Aston Villa and Everton. Speaking after a poor 1-0 defeat to the latter, Nuno Espirito Santo challenged his side to “bounce back” with six league games left to play.
- Nuno:“We cannot get away from the decisive moment in the season. We were not comfortable and the fans also saw we were struggling. You cannot get away form that. We want to try and give it a go.”
Win their game in hand against Palace in midweek and Newcastle will leapfrog Forest into third, their 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United reaffirming the Magpies’ status as the form team in the race for Champions League qualification. It may well be that the top five as currently constituted stay that way. Certainly it looks like the team who long seemed a look for at least fourth or fifth are frittering away their lead.
Chelsea might have come back from 2-0 down to take a point against Ipswich, but that is still two points dropped for a side whose fixture list from here on out looks pretty remorselessly foreboding: at home to Liverpool, away to Newcastle and Forest. Perhaps that will at least afford them the opportunity to swing the table more their way. The same is true of in-form Aston Villa, who have won their last four in the league, and, if they win tonight, Fulham. There is only 15% of the season left to play and it feels like there are an awful lot more twists and turns left for the Premier League.
🔗 Top Stories
📈 USWNT stock watch: With friendlies against Brazil having gone far from ideally, which players have enhanced their national team prospects?
🟥 Mbappe sees red: A horror challenge by Kylian Mbappe could have done serious damage to Antonio Blanco and may yet keep the Real Madrid No.9 out of the Clasico.
🏥 Arsenal’s injury worries: Meanwhile their opponents on Wednesday night suffered a double setback in their 1-1 draw with Brentford as both Thomas Partey and Jorginho picked up injuries.
🌟 De Bruyne rolls back the years: Manchester City’s brilliant Belgian might be entitled to coast his way through his final months but De Bruyne is far too important right now, as he showed against Palace.
🏆 Survive and advance: What’s it going to take to punch tickets to the semifinals of UCL? Here are the scenarios ahead of next week’s second legs.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Premier League: Bournemouth vs. Fulham, 3 p.m.
💰 Fulham to come from behind and win (+1400): A big bet on a big game but it speaks to what we know about both teams. Even amid their recent troubles, the Cherries can fly out of the blocks early on and tend to do exactly that. Equally Bournemouth have begun to look tired in recent weeks and one thing that Fulham boss Marco Silva does very well is exploit his bench. He has options aplenty and could well deploy them to secure a crucial away win for the Cottagers.
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.
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⚽ 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.
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