UEFA Women’s Champions League draw delivers huge matches; Premier League title tile between Arsenal, Man City

🔗  Midfield Link Play

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal, Manchester City have a chance to show title credentials

The Premier League season may only be four games old but the early weeks of the new campaign will deliver yet another meeting of regional heavyweights, this time seeing Arsenal host Manchester City in a match that will test both sides’ mettle in the title race.

The Gunners have definitely been the more consistent of the two teams so far, their only loss of the season so far coming in a 1-0 result at Liverpool in an evenly contested match. There is something unresolved about Arsenal at this juncture of the season, though — manager Mikel Arteta has a deep squad that is custom-built for a title charge, but he has yet to make a final decision on how to take advantage of their newfound depth. He selected a new-look front three for Arsenal’s last two matches, a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League and a 2-0 win at Athletic Club in the Champions League, with Viktor Gyokeres flanked by Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze. The results were ultimately mixed — the trio clicked against Forest, but while Madueke kept up the good work in Bilbao, Gyokeres was wasteful and Eze exited with zero shots. To make matters more interesting, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandor Trossard made the most of their minutes as substitutes in Europe with a goal and an assist each.

City, meanwhile, have two wins in their last two, turning things around after two defeats just before the international break. How well Pep Guardiola’s rebuild is going, though, is a question, since a 3-0 win over Manchester United and a 2-0 win against a 10-man Napoli come with their own asterisks. Even as Rayan Cherki and Omar Marmoush remain injured, Guardiola may be able to call upon a couple of mainstays — Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. The pair excelled against Napoli, with Foden assisting Haaland’s goal, while the Norwegian nabbed a brace against United, once again making him a perfect break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option for City.

🔗  Top Stories

⏪ UCL rewind: Paris Saint-Germain pick up from where they left off by topping the first edition of the Champions League power rankings, while Vinicius Junior’s benching headlines a list of Champions League overreactions.

🌴 Staying in Miami: Lionel Messi is reportedly close to signing a multiyear extension with Inter Miami, which would keep the star around in MLS after the 2026 World Cup.

🔵🔴 Rashford’s big night: Barcelona notched a 2-0 win at Newcastle United to open their Champions League campaign on Tuesday, all thanks to a brace from a revitalized Marcus Rashford.

🔴 Liverpool survive again: Liverpool’s win over Atletico Madrid may prove that they are the kings of late goals but the 3-2 victory leaves many issues unresolved for the Premier League champions.

✅ NWSL updates: NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman described the decision to abandon the Seattle Reign-Racing Louisville game after Savannah DeMelo’s medical event as a “no-brainer,” and also offered updates on expansion, a World Cup break and their application for a Division II league.

👋 KDB’s brief return: Napoli’s Kevin de Bruyne lasted just 25 minutes in his return to Manchester City in the Champions League on Thursday, with manager Antonio Conte making a tactical substitution a few minutes after the team went down to 10.

⭐ A star is born: Marcus Thuram may have bagged a brace in Inter’s win at Ajax but there Francesco Pio Esposito’s star is on the rise after a strong Champions League debut on Wednesday.

↕️ NWSL power rankings: Gotham FC are rising up the ranks in the latest batch of NWSL power rankings, but the Kansas City Current are still the cream of the crop.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Premier League: Manchester United vs. Chelsea, Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Joao Pedro to score (+185) – Chelsea have been off to a rough start this season with just two wins in five games across all competitions but a match against Manchester United should offer an opportunity to improve morale. Cole Palmer will be the easy pick as a goalscorer on Saturday and he may still find the back of the net, which would extend his goalscoring run to three goals in three games, but United’s haphazard defense means it just might be open season for the many Chelsea attackers manager Enzo Maresca has at his disposal. In that case, might as well pick Joao Pedro – he may be an inconsistent goalscorer but he does have two goals already this season and his form at the Club World Cup demonstrates he’s as good a pick as any to score on Saturday.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.

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