All eyes on Inter vs. AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina plus Messi returns to Inter Miami for playoff push

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Welcome to the weekend! Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Friday kicks off a great slate of matches. This is Jonathan Johnson skinning the defense and setting you up for another big weekend of soccer.

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📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Friday, Sept. 15
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇫🇷 Ligue 1: PSG vs. Nice, 3 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports USA
🇦🇷 Primera Division: Defensa y Justicia vs. Boca Juniors, 5:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

Saturday, Sept. 16
🇮🇹 Serie A: Juventus vs. Lazio, 9 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Manchester United vs. Brighton and Hove Albion, 10 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🇮🇹 Serie A: Inter vs. Milan, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: Atlanta United vs. Inter Miami, 5 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass

Sunday, Sept. 17
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Everton vs. Arsenal, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇦🇷 Primera Division: River Plate vs. Arsenal, 6:30 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 NWSL: Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage, 7 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 7-9 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 (Weekdays 1-2 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. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, 4-5 p.m.): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Watch every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m. ET as our analysts break down the best highlights and analysis and share insider information for all things women's soccer.

👟 Kickin' It (Coming soon!): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered show debuts next week on Sept. 20, hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies as they chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.

📺 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+. For a limited time, you can get 50% off an annual subscription from Paramount+ (that's $2.50/month for the Essential Plan, or $5/month for the Paramount+ with Showtime plan). Don't miss a minute of the action -- sale ends on Sept. 20.

⚽ The Forward Line

🇮🇹 Milan derby fever

This weekend gives us our first Derby della Madonnina of the season which pits the two Milan sides against each other when Inter host AC Milan on Paramount+. Thrown into the mix this year is USMNT captain Christian Pulisic who is gearing up to lead the Rossoneri in the UEFA Champions League from next week but will get his first taste of the Milan derby spectacle, and if you want to follow his every move, CBS Sports Golazo Network will have a star cam tacking him all match long. Pulisic himself has two goals from his opening three appearances and could play an even more prominent role this weekend after Olivier Giroud suffered an ankle injury on international duty with France this past fortnight, which might prevent him from starting at San Siro on Saturday.

Adding to the spice for this first encounter of the campaign is the fact that both Inter and Milan have started the new term with 100% winning records and both boast nine points from a possible nine. The clash is rarely short of drama and entertainment as one of Italian's soccer's most prestigious fixtures, and this latest instalment promises to be no different with top quality on both sides of the Milanese divide. The last time that these two met was in last season's UEFA Champions League when Inter edged Milan to reach the final.

Ahead of the match our Francesco Porzio picked a combined starting XI from the two sides, and Pulisic made the list.

Porzio: "The American winger had to be here. Pulisic started off the new season by scoring two goals in the first two Serie A games against Bologna and Torino. He's currently playing as a right winger in the 4-3-3, with Rafael Leao playing on the other side of the attacking line and Olivier Giroud as number nine. The impact of Pulisic has been outstanding and the feeling is that he's finally in the right place to shine, with the right teammates and the right coach who supports him."

And don't miss Charlie Davies' breakdown of how Pulisic is thriving in Milan. Davies broke down the film in one of his patented deep dives on Morning Footy on Friday, telling you everything to know about how the American has transformed himself since moving to Italy.

🔗 Midfield Link Play

🇺🇸 Messi and Miami's improbable playoff chase still alive

This weekend also sees Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates travel to face Atlanta United in Major League Soccer with a playoff berth beckoning for Tata Martino's improved side. The Herons are averaging 2.5 points per game (PPG) since Messi's arrival, and the resumption of league play post-MLS All-Star game. Not only is that likely to see the legendary Argentine's club side into the postseason MLS Cup playoffs if it continues, it will rank as one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent domestic U.S. soccer history -- at least since the 2018 Seattle Sounders with Inter Miami boasting a 1.88 PPG improvement to the Sounders' then 1.30 PPG. Chuck Booth broke down all the numbers.

These kinds of improvements tend to have happy endings. Each of the current top five PPG turnaround sides has made the playoffs and another one here would make it six out of six. Roughly 43.3 points was enough for ninth place over the past three seasons on average and Inter Miami are currently on 28 which could grow to 31 this weekend. If they can keep this form up, then they will reach the targeted 43 points and Messi is yet to lose since his arrival, so there is cause for optimism that an even higher total could be accrued.

Booth: "While Messi was held out of Argentina's recent World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, his injury isn't expected to be serious enough to keep him out of facing Atlanta United on Saturday. There were concerns about if Messi would play on turf but he addressed those: 'I'm feeling comfortable even if you never get accommodated to this weather,' Messi said. 'But we were able to consider that and I have no issues even with the artificial grass.' That raises expectations for him to play and give Miami a better chance at a critical victory in Tata Martino's return to Atlanta."

And, of course, the Morning Footy crew were all over the Messi story, breaking down whether or not he'll be starting this weekend.

🔗 Top Stories

🛑 Manchester United's Jadon Sancho will continue to train alone after the England international's argument with Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag. The Morning Footy crew debate how much of the responsibility rests on Sancho's shoulders.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 James Benge looked into some early season Premier League numbers at it makess encouraging reading for Chelsea fans. The same cannot be said for Manchester United and Everton while the jury remains largely out regarding Manchester City.

🏆 Sophia Smith, Kerolin and Sam Coffey are all in contention for the 2023 NWSL MVP award writes Sandra Herrera. Naomi Girma could also be in line to be elected best defender again.

🏆 Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are some of the leading names up for the top men's prize at the Best FIFA Awards. Morning Footy talked about the nominees.

🛑 An enormous administrative error has seen the USMNT's Sam Vines left out of Antwerp's UEFA Champions League group stage roster. Charlie Davies and the crew reflect on how horrible the oversight is for Vines.

🇪🇺 CBS Sports unveils its UEFA Champions League group stage programming ahead of European soccer's return to our screens next week.

🇪🇸 Spain's Women's World Cup winners maintained their refusal to play for the international teams, saying more work needed to be done to reform the culture of the program after the resignation of federation head Luis Rubiales and the firing of coach Jorge Vilda.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

Serie A: Inter vs. Milan, Saturday, 12 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Draw and both to score (+320) -- This one promises to be an electric affair with few atmospheres in European soccer better than the Milan derby. Both teams are level in points through their 100% records so far and at least one of those will fall this weekend. Shared points and both teams to score seems about right and could pay out decently.
MLS: Atlanta vs. Miami, Saturday, 5 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Miami to win and both to score (+300) -- Who would bet against Lionel Messi and Tata Martino's men continuing their impressive run towards the MLS playoffs? This one could be tight with both sides finding the back of the net and that eventuality paired with a Miami win could interest those keen on a flutter for this one.