🔗  Midfield Link Play

🥇 Arsenal look to prove their title credentials

On my side of the Atlantic, the small matter of the tussles that decided the Premier League title last season are to come. It might seem hard to believe given the way in which Manchester City ultimately romped to top spot in the spring but if Arsenal had beaten them home and away, rather than suffer the two losses they did, then it would have been Mikel Arteta’s side lifting the trophy. If they are to put together a convincing challenge in 2023-24, they surely cannot afford a six-point swing to the champions.

Arsenal have lost their last 12 Premier League games against Pep Guardiola, conceding 33 in the process, and are in danger of carving out an ignominious place in history. Only two teams have lost 13 straight to an opponent in the competition, Manchester United against Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion against City. Arteta insists that this mixed track record is not cause for great concern.

• Arteta: “We are not looking that far [back]. They were not players participating in those games. We know one thing for certain, we’re going to have be at our best in every department for 100 minutes. Then we have a chance.”

Their hopes of ending the streak would surely be aided by the presence of Bukayo Saka but, having limped off in midweek against Lens, his status is very much up in the air. City, however, will be missing star names too. Kevin De Bruyne is a long-term absentee while Guardiola confirmed today that John Stones is “ready to play maybe for England but not for us.” There is also a suspension for Rodri to consider, enough to make you think that maybe this is a good time for Arsenal to be facing their bête noire.

🔗  Top Stories

 🇺🇸 Berhalter recalls Reyna: With games on the docket against Germany and Ghana, Gregg Berhalter has announced a USMNT group that includes Giovanni Reyna, the young attack at the center of the dramatic post-World Cup fallout. The conflict between manager and player might have been a huge talking point of early 2023 but, speaking on Kickin’ It, Matt Turner insisted the Reyna-Berhalter drama had no impact in Qatar.

💪 USMNT friend zone? With a cycle ahead of them that will be light on competitive games, Yunus Musah tells CBS Sports that the U.S. will be going full pelt at their next two games. “Hopefully the opposition won’t treat it like a friendly either. We definitely won’t,” he said. 

👋 Help each other: Our Pardeep Cattry looks at how Megan Rapinoe was the NWSL’s biggest star and while the league helped make her, she also helped it get to where it is today. Rapinoe also sat down with CBS Mornings ahead of tonight.

🇮🇹 Turin tussle: The big game of the weekend in Italy is the Derby della Mole, 31-time champions Juventus facing off against their crosstown rivals Torino. Here’s a look back at a rivalry that is not as one-sided as you might assume.

🇦🇷 Messi called up: The injured Inter Miami star might be struggling to get on the pitch as the MLS playoff chase heats up, but that hasn’t stopped Argentina from bringing him into their squad to face Paraguay and Peru in World Cup qualifying.

📈 UCL Rankings: After a dramatic week of Champions League football, Italian giants Inter and Lazio are on the up while Manchester United, fighting to stay in the competition, are in the bottom half of our rankings.

🏆 Europa frontrunners: We’re two games down in the Europa League group stages and it’s no surprise to anyone to discover that two English clubs are among our leading lights on Thursday night. What might stun you, however, is the presence of a certain Azeri club. 

⭐ UCL TOTW: Meanwhile, here’s the pick of the players from Matchday 2 of the Champions League. In what you suspect might be a running theme over the next few months, Jude Bellingham is in.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Serie A: Genoa vs. Milan, Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Both teams to score (-138) — Stefano Pioli’s side might be a hard watch in the Champions League but in Serie A they have been in free-scoring form, finding the net in every match this season. They have not been that defensively solid on their travels so far while Genoa have been in hot form in front of goal.
• Premier League: Everton vs. Bournemouth, Saturday, 10 a.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Everton to win 2-0 (+900) — So far results haven’t reflected performances on Merseyside but there were flickerings of real progress in the wins over Brentford and Aston Villa. With Bournemouth struggling to put Andoni Iraola’s ideas into practice, this could be a good win for Sean Dyche’s men.

📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays, 8 a.m.): Get your day started with the biggest soccer storylines on the flagship morning show. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you’ll never have to miss an episode.

📦 Box 2 Box (Weekdays, 1 p.m.): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. 

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m.): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Catch our analysts and reporters break down all things women’s soccer.

👟 Kickin’ It (Wednesday, 8 p.m.): Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the new unfiltered interview show returns Wednesday with U.S. women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd. 

🥅 Scoreline (Nightly): End your day catching 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.

📺 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+.