Manchester City shoot for silverware against Fluminense at Club World Cup; It’s a top-two showdown in England

Happy holidays! Jonathan Johnson here to lead you into the festive period with a few crackers lined up these next few days including the FIFA Club World Cup, the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga. Without further ado, let’s get into it! 

Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, Dec. 22
CWC Final: Manchester City vs. Fluminense, 1 p.m. FIFA+
Serie A: Salernitana vs. Milan, 2:45 p.m.  Paramount+
EPL: Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United, 3 p.m. USA Network

Saturday, Dec. 23
EPL: West Ham United vs. Manchester United, 7:30 a.m. USA Network
Serie A: Inter vs. Lecce, 12 p.m.  Paramount+
EPL: Liverpool vs. Arsenal, 12:30 p.m. NBC
Serie A: Roma vs. Napoli, 2:45 p.m.  Paramount+

Sunday, Dec. 24
SPL: Motherwell vs. Rangers, 7 a.m. Paramount+
EPL: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Chelsea, 8 a.m. USA Network

  The Forward Line

Man City seek final Club World Cup title

What better way to warm up for the festive period than some midseason silverware? It is the FIFA Club World Cup final in Jeddah on Friday and it is the 20th and final edition before next year’s big format change. Manchester City vs. Fluminense at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium will decide whether Europe or South America can call themselves the global kings of soccer for the next year and Pep Guardiola’s men could actually do with the success given their recent slide in form which is likely to see them well off the pace in the Premier League once they return to England. A City win would make them the fourth EPL side to win it after Manchester rivals United, Liverpool and also Chelsea, while only Carlo Ancelotti hold a candle to Guardiola’s three-time CWC-winning record which could grow to four here. 

Standing in City’s way is Fluminense, who not only have Brazil’s interim head coach Fernando Diniz leading them, but also a number of very familiar faces to European soccer fans, with former Real Madrid man Marcelo, renowned hard man Felipe Melo and one-time Neymar equivalent Ganso all regulars in the XI. The Brazilians could set a number of records on Friday with 43-year-old goalkeeper Fabio set to make history as the oldest player to appear in a Club World Cup final, Felipe Melo about to become the oldest outfield player in the final at 40 and Marcelo soon to be the second player to feature in five Club World Cup finals behind ex-Real Madrid teammate Toni Kroos’ six. In a further oddity in this game, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are all fit but ineligible for the final owing to CWC regulations which state that only the same 23 players from the semifinals squad can feature — none of them did.

Don’t miss Morning Footy’s preview of today’s showdown.

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  Midfield Link Play

Festive fireworks in the EPL

Aston Villa could lead the Premier League on Christmas Day with Unai Emery’s side at home to Sheffield United on Friday and in sensational form of late which included wins over Manchester City and Arsenal at Villa Park in recent weeks. However, the Villans’ possible appearance at the EPL summit will depend upon what happens between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday with Villa and the Reds level on 38 points which is just behind the Gunners who currently lead the Premier League title race. Mikel Arteta’s men are guaranteed to be top of the pile when the Christmas turkey is cut if they win, but that is by no means an easy ask with Liverpool on a good run of form at home and Arsenal without a league win at Anfield in over 10 years.

Don’t miss CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.

Jurgen Klopp’s men were frustrated by Manchester United last time out in a goalless draw, despite Liverpool generating 34 shots for 2.38 expected goals, which has enabled the Gunners to move ahead at the top of the league table after their win over Brighton and Hove Albion. History shows us that even being top at this stage was not enough for Arteta’s men last season as City roared back to beat them to the title. Guardiola’s side could be well off the pace by the time they return from Club World Cup duty, though, so this is a huge chance for both sides to give themselves as much of an advantage as possible. Even Villa could be a provisional seven points ahead of City should they beat the Blades on Friday which would make for a very exciting business half of the Premier League campaign.

  Top Stories

 European Super League reborn: UEFA and FIFA cannot block new 64-team tournament due to court ruling.

More European Super League: The timeline of how this once-dead project started and how it is now trying to stage a comeback years in the making.

Even more European Super League: Reaction as FIFA, UEFA, the Premier League, Real Madrid, PSG and more have all weighed in on the subject.

Luton Town’s Tom Lockyer: The Hatters’ captain has been discharged from hospital after suffering cardiac arrest on the pitch.

 Ajax bounced from the Dutch Cup by minnows: The struggling giants were eliminated in shocking fashion by fourth tier amateur side USV Hercules.

 PSG’s labored end to 2023: What Kylian Mbappe and his teammates need to do better in order for a successful second half of the season come 2024.

 MLS 2024 schedule: Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami have a busy opening period with LA Galaxy second up.

  The Back Line

Best bet

• Serie A: Roma vs. Napoli, Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
   THE PICK: Draw with both teams to score (+320) — This one is a biggie in Serie A with Napoli needing the points to break into the top four and Roma needing the points to close the gap on the likes of Walter Mazzarri’s men in and around the top four area. Jose Mourinho specializes in getting results in tough circumstances and this certainly qualifies for the Giallorossi and his brutal treatment of Renato Sanches on the field last week shows that he is in no mood right now to suffer any passengers as the Roman outfit try to climb back into UEFA Champions League contention ahead of a surprise Bologna side led by rising tactical star Thiago Motta. Defending champions Napoli are salvaging what was a disastrous opening half of the season by their high standards which saw Rudi Garcia lose his job after just a few months. However, a midweek Coppa Italia round of 16 thrashing at home by Frosinone suggests that the titleholders have not totally purged their bad form just yet. This one will be tight and a draw probably suits both as they target points against less tricky opponents early in 2024 after a pause to recharge and in some cases reset.

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+. 

3⃣ 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 (Tuesday, 7 p.m.): 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+.