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Welcome to Wednesday! There's plenty of soccer to catch midweek as qualification for UEFA competitions reaches its conclusion, group stage draws near and Lionel Messi returns to action with Inter Miami tonight. I'm Pardeep Cattry, and here's what you need to know as the soccer world keeps busy.

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📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Wednesday, Aug. 30
🇪🇺 Champions League: PSV vs. Rangers, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Doncaster Rovers vs. Everton, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇺🇸 MLS: Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV+
🌎 Libertadores: Racing vs. Boca Juniors, 8:30 p.m. ➡️ beIN Sports

Thursday, Aug. 31
🇪🇺 Champions League draw, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 Conference League: Aston Villa vs. Hibernian, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🌍 Women's French Cup final: PSG vs. AC Milan, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network

⚽  The Forward Line

UCL qualification wraps up

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The last three spots in the Champions League group stage are up for grabs today and each of the matchups on the schedule are closely contested. PSV will host the second leg of their tie with Rangers after playing to a 2-2 draw last week, while Copenhagen and Antwerp carry a 1-0 advantage into their matches against Rakow Czestochowa and AEK Athens, respectively.

Once the full-time whistle blows in all three matches, attention will quickly pivot to tomorrow's Champions League draw, which you can watch live on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network at 12 p.m. ET. While pots 1 and 2 are expectedly stacked with some of Europe's top teams, pots 3 and 4 will feature a handful of sides that even the best of the best might want to avoid. Jonathan Johnson lays out the potential groups of death ahead of the draw, one of which could see Manchester City, Real Madrid and AC Milan face Union Berlin or Lens.

  • Johnson: "If this comes to pass, poor Lens who are returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2002-03. The cult French club would bring plenty of color and fight to a scenario like this one, but City, Real and Milan is about as tough as it could get for Franck Haise's men. Union Berlin, who do not boast the same continental pedigree as Ligue 1 runners-up Lens, could also land the same draw which would represent a baptism of fire for the popular Bundesliga outfit."

This scenario would also see new AC Milan men Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah face their U.S. men's national team colleague Brenden Aaronson, who plays for Berlin. The trio lead a group of Americans that could play Champions League minutes this season, including Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna and PSV's Sergino Dest, should the Dutch team qualify. All but Reyna (injury) were called up to the USMNT on Wednesday.

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

Messi, Miami mount playoff push

Inter Miami continue their quest for an MLS playoff berth tonight when they host Nashville SC in a rematch of the Leagues Cup final 10 days earlier. The South Florida team still have a mountain to climb to ensure postseason action -- Miami are 11 points behind ninth-place Chicago with 11 games to go -- but continue to ride the high of Messi's arrival just over a month ago.

As always, all eyes will be on the lineup to see if Messi gets the start after he played just 30 minutes in his MLS debut on Saturday at the New York Red Bulls. He still managed to score despite making just a cameo during the team's 2-0 win, proving his seemingly limitless ability to contribute might come in handy if he is rested again against Nashville.

Between managing Messi's minutes and a pair of international breaks down the stretch, Miami will need to rely on their entire squad to ensure they make the playoffs this season. Chuck Booth takes a look at Miami's remaining MLS schedule and crunches the numbers on what the team needs to book a playoff berth:

  • Booth: "Over the last three seasons, the line for ninth place was 43.3 points. … Currently on 21 points, they'd need to average two points per game to make that marker. If my crystal ball is correct, that would put Miami on 46 points which would've missed playoffs before their expansion to allow eighth and ninth in but could put them on pace for a berth this season while also creating a nightmare for the one seed in the conference if they can win the play-in round. It's also important to note that the tiebreaker for MLS is the number of wins and not goal difference and that's where Miami could have a large advantage due to not drawing many games this season compared to the teams in front of them in the table."

Here are some more headlines from around the soccer world.

🔗 Here's an explainer on the ongoing controversy surrounding Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales.
🔗 Gregg Berhalter named his first USMNT roster since returning as head coach and included newcomers like Benjamin Cremaschi.
🔗 James Benge has the latest on Liverpool and Mohamed Salah as Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad continue their pursuit.
🔗 Benge also breaks down how Kieran Tierney's loan to Real Sociedad from Arsenal explains this summer's bizarre transfer market.
🔗 Francesco Porzio ranks Serie A's title contenders after last weekend's action.
🔗 Johnson predicts who will take home UEFA awards, which will be handed out at tomorrow's Champions League draw.
🔗 Sandra Herrera drops her latest edition of NWSL Power Rankings with the Portland Thorns rising.
🔗 Berhalter has not spoken to Gio Reyna but is open to a reunion with him.
🔗 Vinicius Jr. will be out for four to six weeks with a leg injury, which will rule him out of Real Madrid and Brazil matches.
🔗 Raphael Varane will miss Manchester United's match against Arsenal, adding to the club's defensive injury crisis.
🔗 Romelu Lukaku arrived in Rome to much fanfare ahead of his anticipated move to AS Roma.
🔗 The U.S. women's national team will face Colombia in a pair of friendlies in October.
🔗 Inter Miami began construction on Miami Freedom Park, which is expected to open in 2025.
🔗 Morning Footy pays tribute to Megan Rapinoe, who is slated to play her final USWNT game against South Africa in September.
🔗 The Morning Footy team also previews today's Champions League qualifiers.
🔗 Box to Box discusses Al-Ittihad's potential move for Salah.
🔗 Morning Footy also looks at the NWSL playoff picture with only five games remaining in the regular season.
🔗 Attacking Third talks about the impact Sophia Smith's injury could have on the Portland Thorns.
🔗 Attacking Third, Morning Footy, and Box to Box criticize the Royal Spanish Football Federation and president Luis Rubiales after he refused to resign on Friday.
🔗 Benge also stops by Box to Box to discuss the transfer window as deadline day approaches.
🔗 Box to Box chats about Folarin Balogun's move to Monaco from Arsenal.
🔗 Orlando Pride's Messiah Bright stops by Attacking Third to talk about playing alongside Marta.
🔗 Morning Footy examines Roma's tough start to the season after earning just one point in two games.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

  • Champions League qualifiers: PSV Eindhoven vs. Rangers, Wednesday, 3 p.m.
    💰 THE PICK: Under 2.5 goals (+115)     -- In a Champions League tie that's locked at 2-2 heading into the second leg, expect the deciding game to be a closely contested one. The hosts are the oddsmakers' favorite to score and eventually secure qualification to the Champions League group stage.
  • MLS: Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
    💰 THE PICK: Josef Martinez to score (+140) -- As Miami continue the chase for a playoff berth, expecting Messi to score is a no-brainer, even if he does not play a lot of minutes against Nashville. It may be smart to put some money on Josef Martinez, though -- he's in strong form and can be counted on to help Miami in their quest for the postseason.