Coppa Italia semifinals arrive featuring Milan Derby; USWNT convene for pair for Brazilian friendlies

Hello there! It’s a big cup week in Europe while in the U.S., the women’s national team are gearing up for another crucial international break as Emma Hayes’ era of experimentation continues. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.

Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, March 31
Serie A: Lazio vs. Torino, 2:45 p.m. Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network

Tuesday, April 1
EPL: Arsenal vs. Fulham, 2:45 p.m. Peacock
DFB Pokal: Arminia vs. Levkersuen, 2:45 p.m. ESPN+
Coppa Italia: Empoli vs. Bologna, 3 p.m. Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Copa del Rey: Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad, 3:30 p.m. ESPN+
CCC: LA Galaxy vs. Tigres, 11:15 p.m. FS2

The Forward Line

Coppa Italia down to final four

The first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals begin this week as two of Italy’s heavyweights join a pair of surprise contenders in a quest to end the season with at least one major trophy to their name.

Empoli kick things off on Tuesday when they host Bologna in a face-off between two unexpected semifinalists, both embracing the spirit of unpredictably deep runs that only cup competitions can foster. Bologna will serve as the favorites in this tie as they continue an impressive first season under manager Vincenzo Italiano, who has them in fourth place in Serie A as things stand. They are one of Italy’s top scoring sides with 50 goals in 30 league games, with Riccardo Orsolini up to 11 goals and Juan Miranda boasting eight assists. They will like their chances against Empoli, who are in the relegation zone and have conceded 47 goals in league play this season, but the hosts have impressed during their cup run. They earned a spot in the semifinals after defeating reigning champions Juventus in the quarterfinals, taking them to penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The headlining act of the week, though, is the latest edition of the Derby Della Madonnina on Wednesday. Inter face AC Milan at a crucial point in both teams’ season, though it’s hard not to argue that the scenario favors Simone Inzaghi’s side. Everything’s trending in the right direction for Inter, who are currently atop Serie A and also earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Their impressive form could allow them to exact revenge upon their rivals after AC Milan took home the Supercoppa Italiana title in January, though Inter will be helped by the fact that Milan’s up-and-down season just will not quit. AC Milan are currently ninth in Serie A after Sunday’s loss to Napoli, with Nigel Reo-Coker arguing that the game was another showcase for the team’s lingering issues and new signings in the winter have done little to address the problems.

• Reo-Coker: “Milan are still not a team. It’s individuals. Since [Sergio] Conceicao’s taken over, we’ve seen individual moments. We haven’t seen a full team performance. … They’re not playing for the team, they’re playing for their own individual selves. Joao Felix has gone there. We’ve talked about Joao Felix. For me, he hasn’t done [anything] since being in Milan. He hasn’t even shown me a 15 minute block to say this is [his] quality, all that’s missing [are] pieces around him.”

This tie is arguably Inter’s to lose, though Milan have just as much to play for. This was supposed to be an aspirational season for Milan and even though they have squandered opportunities to impress in Serie A and the Champions League, they are still very much in the hunt for a meaningful trophy in an otherwise forgettable season. Whether or not they can actually get their act together, though, is the big question.

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  Midfield Link Play

USWNT focus on youth in preparation for Brazil games

The U.S. women’s national team gathers this week in the Los Angeles area ahead of two friendlies against Brazil that will prove to be crucial testing grounds for a young and inexperienced group of players.

Head coach Emma Hayes has assembled a roster that includes 17 players with 30 or fewer appearances at the international level in the hopes of expanding the player pool as the lengthy countdown to the 2027 Women’s World Cup continues. Hayes is also still embracing a spirit of experimentation by aligning April’s U-23 USWNT camp with the senior team’s sessions, using the youth national team as a reserve team of sorts to develop the next generation of players. The U-23 group includes players like Gisele Thompson and Eva Gaetino, who have caps for the senior team, and Hayes outlined her plans to explore out the player pool fully in an interview with CBS Sports on Sunday.

• Hayes: “I want to get to the end of June where I have a really strong sense of a core group of players that will form part of the build towards the World Cup but also know that we need to get some consistency in relationships, connections on the pitch and we have to forego that for now while we’re still evaluating players on an individual level and then I think within the U-23 pool, players that we feel they’re just not ready for now but they could be ready for the World Cup. In the [U-]23’s, we give them opportunities to progress without the lenses on them and the expectations being through the roof and from there, those performances, coupled with their club performances, will give us an indicator of which ones from that pool are ready to progress up to [the senior team].”

Brazil offers a formidable test for an experimental USWNT, since they are in the midst of a period of exploration themselves. Head coach Arthur Elias has 16 players with 30 or fewer caps on his roster as they prepare to host the World Cup in two years’ time, though a handful of holdovers from the gold medal match at last summer’s Olympics – which the USWNT won – made the cut for both teams.

  Top Stories

Club Leon’s CWC replacement: FIFA is considering a one-game playoff between LAFC and Club America to decide which team enters the Club World Cup after Club Leon was kicked out of the competition earlier this month.

Dorival out: Brazil fired Dorival Junior after their 4-1 loss to Argentina in World Cup qualifying, opening up the possibility of Carlo Ancelotti joining the team – and ideas of which top managers would be a good fit at the international level in the future.

FA Cup results: The FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium are set, with Manchester City set to face Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace to face Aston Villa.

Juventus win: Kenan Yildiz scored in Juventus’ win over Genoa on Saturday, marking a strong start for new manager Igor Tudor.

La Liga title race: Barcelona maintained a three point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga’s title race after both teams notched wins over the weekend.

Arsenal hire Berta: Arsenal hired ex-Atletico Madrid exec Andrea Berta as their new sporting director, filling the vacancy left by Edu following his November departure.

Messi scores again: Lionel Messi notched his fifth goal of the season in Inter Miami’s win over the Philadelphia Union, doing so just two minutes after coming into the game.

  The Back Line

Best bets

• Premier League: Arsenal vs. Fulham, Tuesday, 2:45 p.m.
  THE PICK: Bukayo Saka to score (+200) – Arsenal are back from the international break with a chance for a straightforward win against Fulham and may have much to celebrate. After returning to first-team training, Bukayo Saka could play his first game in three months after recovering from a hamstring injury and though expectations might not be high for the England international just yet, the fact that he is still the Gunners’ second-best goalscorer this season means he has a reasonable a chance of getting on the scoresheet against Fulham.
• Copa del Rey semifinals: Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad, Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.
  THE PICK: Real Madrid to win 2-1 (+700) – Real Madrid are the favorites to win and they most likely will considering their starpower, but the margin of victory is up for debate considering their track record this season. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have not kept a clean sheet in their last five games and have not won a game by more than a one goal margin in their last six, a run that includes the 1-0 win they picked at Real Sociedad in the first leg of this tie in February. Another tightly-contested game could be on its way in Madrid, though one that the hosts should be fine managing for the most part.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.   

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