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🎶 THE CHAAAMPIONS! 🎶 Happy Monday everybody, I'm Mike Goodman and we're welcoming the Champions League back into action on Paramount+. It's been a long time since the group stage wrapped up back on Nov. 2, and we're here to get you back in the mood for the biggest club competition on the planet. Let's get to today's Golazo Starting XI newsletter.

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📺 Champions League schedule

All times U.S./Eastern.

Tuesday
⚽ Milan vs. Tottenham, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
⚽ PSG vs. Bayern, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS and Paramount+

Wednesday
⚽ Dortmund vs. Chelsea, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS and Paramount+
⚽ Brugge vs. Benfica, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

Coverage starts each day at 2 pm. with Champions League Today on CBS and Paramount+. Paramount+ will offer a multicast feature allowing subscribers to watch two matches simultaneously in a split-screen view. You can try one month free by using the code: ADVANCE.

📺 What else we're keeping an eye on

⚽ Premier League: Arsenal vs. Man City, Wednesday, 2:30 p.m.

⚽ The Forward Line

🏆 How the UCL knockouts might shake out

There's lots of tasty matchups in the round of 16, so let's run a brief refresher before we break it all down. We are in for two-legged affairs from here until the semifinal round wraps up, meaning each clubs gets one game at home and away with the best aggregate score over 180 minutes advancing. There's no tiebreaker for away goals, so if we are tied on aggregate after 180 minutes, we get extra time. If a winner does not emerge at the end of those 30 minutes of extra time, we get a penalty-kick shootout.

So what should we expect this week? James Benge has some bold predictions for the beginning of the knockout stage and beyond where he expects both sides in the week's marquee matchup to keep their cards close to their chest, while Chelsea might get just what the doctor ordered to heal their ailing attack in Borussia Dortmund's defense, and then a surprise pick to win the whole thing.

PSG vs. Bayern:

Benge: "This promises to be a tense, absorbing and perhaps ultimately undecided contest, one where both sides will be as concerned about guarding against the opposition forwards as they will be exploiting their own. A moment of magic from [Lionel] Messi, [Sadio] Mane or [Kylian] Mbappe could decide the outcome but it seems no less probable that we will resume at the Allianz Arena next month with everything still at stake."

Dortmund vs. Chelsea:

Benge: "But there is reason to hope that the goals might come, and not just because a team that has scored six goals from shots worth 11.1 xG since the World Cup is probably due a little bit of finishing luck. Borussia Dortmund's defense might have looked stronger in their win over Werder Bremen, but this is still a team that struggles to keep control of games and can be easily ripped through in transition moments. That is a bit of a problem when Chelsea have so many young players who could very quickly prove themselves to be adept in those exact scenarios, from [Enzo] Fernandez's eye for a pass to the lightning pace of Mykhailo Mudryk via Joao Felix, who seems to excel when tasked with making rapid decisions on the move."

Champions League winners:

Benge: "It's a curiously unconvincing field of 16 this season, perhaps heightened by the fact that one of PSG and Bayern will eliminate the other while Liverpool will either send the holders crashing out or, more likely, exit early. Manchester City are the obvious choice but there are so many unknowns with them that it is hard not to swing behind the most reliable winners in Europe this season, Napoli. The winner of the Bayern-PSG tie will certainly be in the mix too but we've already seen top tier opponents overwhelmed by the sheer attacking thrust of Luciano Spalletti's side. For now they seem as good a pick as any to win the whole thing with Kvicha Kvaratskelia as player of the tournament."

Craving more UCL coverage? Listen below and follow House of Champions, a CBS Sports soccer podcast, bringing you top-notch analysis, commentary, picks and more.

🔗 Midfield Link Play

✍️ Champions League staff picks

Make sure you check out all of our staff picks for the games this week, as we break down what to expect. It's week full of interesting matchups, so our experts were not able to agree on much. One thing that was unanimous, however, was Benfica to draw first blood at Brugge.

And now let's get to some links:

🔗 Marcus Rashford scored two late goals against Leeds and is finally playing up to his potential, writes Chuck Booth.
🔗 It was a miserable weekend for refereeing as both Arsenal and Brighton received apologies for blown VAR offside calls.
🔗 The Canada WNT returned to training after threatening a strike in an ongoing labor dispute ahead of the SheBelieves Cup.
🔗 Real Madrid picked up their fifth Club World Cup title in a fun eight-goal affair.
🔗 Attacking Third: With the Women's World Cup 157 days away, Sandra Herrera walks through who she's watching this week.
🔗 House of Champions: The crew gets you ready for Champions League action.
🔗 Kylian Mbappe is in limited training as he fights to get back for PSG's Champions League match against Bayern Munich.
🔗 Napoli broke out the Valentines Day kits again over the weekend. This time, they won with them.
🔗 Now that's how you celebrate a good day at the office in Serie B!
🔗 And remember, all of your soccer needs -- from Champions League to Serie A to NWSL and so much more -- are available on Paramount+. Try one month for free by using the code: SERIEA.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

We're looking for intrigue the next couple of days. All odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook and all times U.S./Eastern.

UCL: PSG vs. Bayern Munich, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Bayern Munich (+150) -- PSG are not in a good place right now. They've lost back-to-back games and haven't kept a clean sheet against a top-flight team since a 2-0 win against Angers and Jan. 11. Bayern, on the other hand, have put their recent wobbles behind them. After starting off the second half of the season with three straight 1-1 draws, they've won their last three matches by a combined score of 17-2. With Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe uncertain for the match, it's simply the wrong timing for PSG. Make sure to follow SportsLine's best bets for this matchup.
UCL: Milan vs. Tottenham, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
💰 THE PICK: Draw (+220) -- Speaking of teams in crisis. This matchup is going to offer a lifeline to somebody's season. Spurs remain in the thick of the race for top four despite an epic meltdown in a 4-1 loss to Leicester City, while Milan just eked out a 1-0 against Torino to stop a four-game skid. Or, they could draw leaving both teams still scrambling. Follow SportsLine's best soccer bets here.