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Classic MLS sides Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls square off in MLS Cup finals; Spurs face Chelsea

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2 weeks ago

December 6, 2024

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Classic MLS sides Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls square off in MLS Cup finals; Spurs face Chelsea

Welcome to the weekend! Another big couple of days in the world of club soccer is coming up with more high stakes clashes in the English Premier League but also the MLS Cup final between LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls. Jonathan Johnson here to get you set for it all.

📺 Footy Fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, December 6
🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter vs. Parma, 12:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Atalanta vs. Milan, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Championship: Burnley vs. Middlesbrough, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network

Saturday, December 7
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Everton vs. Liverpool, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL League One: Burton Albion vs. Wrexham AFC, 10 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Bologna, 12 p.m. Noon ➡️ CBS and Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS Cup: LA Galaxy vs. NYRB, 4 p.m. ➡️ FOX

Sunday, December 8
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Fulham vs. Arsenal, 9 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Championship: West Bromwich Albion vs. Sheffield United, 10 a.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Lazio, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 MLS Cup final weekend

Getty Images

Los Angeles Galaxy and New York Red Bulls will do battle in Carson, California on Saturday as two of Major League Soccer’s original franchises play for the MLS Cup. The big news ahead of the game is that Greg Vanney’s side will miss star man Riqui Puig who has torn his ACL in a bitter blow for the Galaxy coming into this one who would normally be considered favorites. Puig has been central to the second seeds’ form with 16 goals to reach this point but his loss rips a hole in the side which could benefit Sandro Schwarz’s Red Bulls. Goalkeeper Carlos Coronel — not Emil Forsberg — has been most key in this run to the final and has only conceded twice behind a defense that is tough to break down. NYRB have not been at an MLS Cup final since 2008 and now have a chance to win the title for the first time in their history while the Galaxy are league-record five-time winners of the trophy although this is their first outing since 2014.

Vanney on Puig’s absence: “Riqui, first and foremost, he’s the ultimate competitor. He wants to win, he wants to compete, he wants to play, he wants to impact the game and he wants responsibility of the field. He drives the team in many ways, when you look at the stat sheet on any given day he’s probably touched the ball 120 to 140 times and he’ll lead the team in touches by a good margin because he wants to win and he wants to impact the game. We’ll miss that on the attacking side for sure as someone who can change the tempo of the game like this, and any play in any given moment can be the one that changes the game when you have a guy like Riqui because of his capacity to pull all kinds of plays off and do things like that. We’re going to miss him on the defensive side of things. As much as anything, he’s someone who is an intelligent defender about his position but more than anything he’s someone that the opposition has to account for in transition because the team is so good in transitioning through him, so they have to be mindful of Riqui when they have the ball.”
Chuck Booth on LA minus Puig: “The second-seeded team in the Western Conference, after seeing the top seed slip away on the final day of the regular season, the Galaxy responded with a vengeance pushing aside the Colorado Rapids in the first round where they scored nine goals before following it up with a 6-2 thriller against Minnesota United. The Western Conference final was a tougher test facing the Seattle Sounders and their stout defense but behind a solo goal from Dejan Joveljic, the Galaxy were able to book their place in MLS Cup. With 13 goals and nine assists during the regular season, Puig was at the center of everything for the Galaxy. Growing into his role in his third season with the club, Puig has taken on more responsibility as the central creator in a talented attack lifting them to new heights. Without him, where will that creativity come from?”
Booth on NYRB’s route: “Going on the road in every match but one, the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference were seen as extreme outsiders to make it out of their first-round clash with the Columbus Crew, let alone to make it all the way to MLS Cup. It took a penalty shootout victory to seal their first-round series against the Crew and since then, they haven’t conceded a goal. It’s quite an impressive run led by Coronel but it has been a true team effort in defense from Daniel Edelman in midfield to Dylan and Sean Nealis all in front of Coronel to protect him, winning these close matches has taken grit.”

How to watch

Date: Saturday, Dec. 7 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Dignity Health Sporting Park – Carson, California
TV: FOX | Live stream: MLS Season Pass

🔗 Midfield Link Play

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Spurs vs. Chelsea in EPL London showdown

This weekend’s big clash in the Premier League sees midtable Tottenham Hotspur host Chelsea who are all the way up in second having overtaken Arsenal on goal difference. The Blues are seven points adrift of EPL leaders Liverpool and thumped Southampton 5-1 in midweek, while Spurs have dropped down to 10th after a 1-0 loss to Bournemouth having thrashed Manchester City on the road very recently. Enzo Maresca will want his side to stay where they are and maintain their impressive current momentum while Ange Postecoglou needs his men to respond to their midweek setback to make the most of an opportunity to gain ground on a crowded eight-team European chasing pack which is only separated by three points.

James Benge on Chelsea’s ill-discipline: “As they ready themselves for further hostilities at Tottenham, one flaw shines bright in Chelsea’s armor. This is not a side that you would want to go into a rerun of the Battle of the Bridge. They appear to be much too ill-disciplined. If that might feel like a relatively subjective assessment, there are objective metrics we can put behind this. Since the start of last season, Chelsea have received 154 yellow cards, by some distance the most in the Premier League.
“That in itself is notable. What is remarkable is the sheer number which have come for what we might term ill-discipline. Opta classifies every booking based on the type of offence committed. If we group all of those that are not through defensive plays, but reflect somewhat deliberate actions by players — the categories for these are: dissent, time wasting, excessive celebration, arguments, fighting, off the ball actions, encroachment, abusive language, entering or leaving the field of play, entering the referee’s area, excessive use of the review signal, not retreating and dive — then the picture becomes even more intriguing.

“Chelsea have 72 such bookings, over 30 percent more than second placed Wolves and well over the double the Premier League average. They have the most bookings for dissent, 27 in total, the most for time wasting, the most for fighting. They aren’t just fighters though, they’re lovers too, leading the league for excessive celebrations. In the highly charged, emotive environment of a Premier League match, immaculate behavior is an unreasonable expectation. Brentford, however, have managed to keep themselves to 28 such offences, Manchester City and Liverpool a mere 30.”

🔗 Top Stories

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ℹ️ 2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw results, groups: Messi’s Inter Miami open tournament against Al Ahly — here’s how all 32 teams were divided into eight groups.

📋 2025 Club World Cup ranking: The top five matchups of the group stage as Real Madrid and Chelsea games are near the top although PSG vs. Atletico Madrid’s rematch may just be the best of the bunch.

🇺🇸 Juventus’ Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah: The Bianconeri pair show how far America has come in the eyes of Europe’s biggest teams with the USMNT expected to play in Saturday’s game against Bologna, which will air live on CBS.

👀 Fulham’s European push: Cottagers impress with win over Brighton but the coming weeks will reveal their true potential with the 3-1 victory putting the Cottagers in sixth place in the Premier League.

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🆓 Official NWSL free agent tracker: Offseason signings rolling out ahead of new year as players have either re-signed or moved on to other clubs.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best Bet

La Liga: Real Betis vs. Barcelona, Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET
💰 THE PICK: Draw and both to score (+450) — Barcelona seek a second straight win and an extended provisional lead in La Liga. Hansi Flick’s men lead the way by four points although Real Madrid have a game in hand. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are midtable with 20 points from a possible 45 so far and are on a two-game losing streak in La Liga. Los Verdiblancos are in problematic inconsistent form domestically but also in Europe. Barca’s 5-1 thrashing of Mallorca in midweek extends the strongest away record in La Liga with 22 points from 10 games on the road. However, Betis have lost just once in front of their own fans this term although Barca’s six-game winning run against Los Beticos across all competitions is impressive. Not losing in Seville to Betis since 2008 is even more remarkable and the hosts have five wins, five draws and five losses from 15 so far this season placing them 10th in the standings. Pellegrini’s men have only scored 16 times in 15 games while conceding just 18 while Barca are now on 37 points from 16 games. The 12 wins, one draw and three losses has been carried by a rampant attack which boasts 48 goals — by far the best in La Liga. Given their ability to drop points of late, though, a score draw could be interesting given Betis’ home form.

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.): 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.

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, 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. And don’t miss Wednesday live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET.

⚽ 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 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+.