Hello there! A Clasico weekend is upon us, with Real Madrid and Barcelona duking it out for the Copa del Rey on Saturday, while the trophy hunt continues around Europe. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, April 25
🏴 Championship: Stoke City vs. Sheffield United, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Orlando Pride vs. Angel City, 8 p.m. ➡️ Amazon Prime Video
Saturday, April 26
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Mainz, 9:30 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 FA Cup: Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa, 12:15 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 1 p.m. ➡️ CBS, Paramount+
🇪🇸 Copa del Rey: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 4 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 MLS: Orlando City vs. Atlanta United, 7:15 p.m. ➡️ Fox
Sunday, April 27
🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter vs. Roma, 9 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UWCL: Chelsea vs. Barcelona, 9 a.m. ➡️ DAZN
🏴 Premier League: Liverpool vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🏴 FA Cup: Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇪🇺 UWCL: Lyon vs. Arsenal, 12 p.m. ➡️ DAZN
🇺🇸 NWSL: Portland Thorns vs. Racing Louisville, 4 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: Inter Miami vs. FC Dallas, 5 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass
⚽ The Forward Line
🏆 A Clasico with silverware on the line
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A bonus edition of El Clasico will take place in Seville on Saturday, with Real Madrid and Barcelona facing off in the Copa del Rey final. It marks the first edition of Spain’s top cup competition to end with a Clasico in 11 years, but that only scratches the surface on the high stakes of the matchup.
This season’s Clasicos have been defined by Barcelona’s dominance, with Hansi Flick’s side outscoring Real Madrid nine to two in two meetings so far. They will be without Robert Lewandowski for Saturday’s final, which poses a real question about their goalscoring might, since the Poland international has 40 goals across all competitions this season. Barcelona still boast plenty of star power heading into the game, including the sport’s most promising rising talent – Lamine Yamal. The 17-year-old has not missed a beat in his second full season as a professional, leading a new generation of academy products that serve as a reminder that something is working at Barcelona even in an era of financial trouble. He may not be the full package just yet, but as James Benge notes, Yamal is likely the key to Barcelona’s success.
- Benge: “At any age, Yamal’s output this season would be intimidatingly excellent. In La Liga in particular, he stands out as one of its outstanding performers. His 12 assists leads nearest rival Raphinha by three and he also has an advantage over his team mate for expected assisted goals, which tracks the value of the chances he directly creates for team mates. When it comes to getting the ball into the most dangerous spots on the pitch, no one is doing so with Yamal’s frequency. He has 83 passes into the penalty area. Pedri in second place has 68. More goal creating actions than anyone else, more shooting creating ones too: the list goes on and on. In short, there has been no better creator in the Spanish top flight this season than the 17 year old.”
While Yamal’s rising star marks the positive start of a new era at Barcelona, the returns from the first season of Real Madrid’s new-look galacticos remain unimpressive. Los Blancos’ poor showings in this season’s Clasicos, coupled with their crushing elimination from the UEFA Champions League, have made the possibility of a trophy-less season a reality. Saturday’s game, then, feels like an encapsulation of their entire season – win, and they show signs of life in an otherwise challenging campaign; lose, and live with the fact that they will be considered second-best despite their major offseason acquisition of Kylian Mbappe.
Saturday might also mark the end of an era for Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti is likely on his way out after another successful tenure with the club, even if this season has not gone according to plan. The Copa del Rey is potentially the final trophy Ancelotti could win in his storied career with Real Madrid, which includes two league titles and three Champions League trophies in two different spells. There has been chatter that Ancelotti will leave after Saturday’s game though the manager has not said much on the matter, though the still-existent La Liga race could see him stick around until the league campaign ends.
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🏴 Is the FA Cup Manchester City’s to lose?
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Meanwhile in England, London’s Wembley Stadium will be the site of the FA Cup’s penultimate stage featuring an unlikely batch of semifinalists. Manchester City are the only ones of England’s traditional top six in the mix, while Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all covet a piece of silverware that would end decades-long trophy droughts. It is an eclectic group that embodies the unexpected nature of this season’s Premier League action, one in which many of the high-profile teams underperformed and some surprise contenders filled in the gaps.
City enter the semifinals as the team to beat and with a chance for a silver lining in an otherwise cloudy season. They are unbeaten in their last seven, a steadiness that was far from their normal last fall and wreaked havoc over their season, but a trip to the final on May 17 may not exactly be straightforward. The shock that was City’s form this season is matched equally by the unanticipated rise of Nottingham Forest, City’s semifinal opponent on Sunday. Their most recent meeting went Forest’s way in March, when Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the game’s lone goal. Conventional wisdom may still favor City but Pep Guardiola’s side will be without Erling Haaland and Ederson, so Forest – who are just one point behind City in the Premier League table – will like their chances.
Before those sides square off at Wembley, though, the stadium will play host to Villa and Palace on Saturday. Villa may be on the outside looking in at a spot in next season’s Champions League but they impressed on several occasions under Unai Emery yet again this season, most recently in this month’s Champions League quarterfinals against Paris Saint-Germain. They are the favorites against Palace, who have perhaps the best cup story of all the semifinalists – they have never won a major trophy, which offers plenty of motivation to cross the finish line.
🔗 Top Stories
🇪🇸 El Clasico preview: Ahead of the Copa del Rey final, here’s a position-by-position comparison of Barcelona and Real Madrid, a look back at their history in the cup final, and a discussion on whether or not the boos Kylian Mbappe received in Madrid were justified.
🔵 Vardy leaves Leicester: After 13 years at Leicester City, Premier League champion Jamie Vardy will leave the club at the end of the season.
🔴 Partey’s new contract: CBS Sports reports that Thomas Partey prefers a stay at Arsenal but has interest in Spain, Italy and Saudi Arabia.
1️⃣1️⃣ NWSL’s standouts: Ahead of this weekend’s NWSL games, here’s a look at the team of the week from last weekend’s action.
🇺🇸 Arena on Pochettino: Former USMNT head coach Bruce Arena argued that Mauricio Pochettino was the wrong hire and said U.S. Soccer should have picked an American coach instead.
👏 Ian Wright steps up: Ian Wright has quietly paid for the rehab of Kayleigh McDonald, a former Stoke City player who tore her ACL last year and has battled the club to help fund her surgery and recovery.
🗣️ Benjamin Sekso interview: RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko popped into Morning Footy and shared which player he admired the most growing up.
⚽ The story of Autistic FC: A look at Autistic FC, a club founded by Charlie McCartney and his father Dan to empower young players with autism.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- Serie A; Inter vs. Roma, Sunday, 9 a.m.
💰 THE PICK: Lautaro Martinez to score (+135) – Inter’s treble hopes were dashed on Wednesday when they were ousted by AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinals, so Sunday’s game offers a chance to recalibrate with the Serie A title still hanging in the balance. Picking up a win against seventh place Roma will not necessarily be an easy feat but manager Simone Inzaghi might give his best players a shot to get the job done before the first leg of their Champions League semifinal against Barcelona next week. In that case, Lautaro Martinez is the obvious pick to score – with 21 goals across all competitions, he has been their most reliable goalscorer and the easy pick to help Inter stay in the title race.
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
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☀️ 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+.
This news was originally published on this post .
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