The Soccer Report

UEFA & Concacaf Champions League highlight midweek TV schedule; Houston Dynamo draw in Arizona friendly

UEFA & Concacaf Champions League highlight midweek TV schedule; Houston Dynamo draw in Arizona friendly
FIFA World Cup Winner Kylian Mbappé and PSG will be expected to advance past Dortmund. Photo: Nike, Inc.

International club football returns to our TV sets in February with the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg matches kicking off on Tuesday. In Concacaf, their version of the Champions League kicks off with the marquee match of the opening stage pitting Liga MX's Club Leon vs. MLS' LAFC.

A recap of the week that was followed by the upcoming TV schedule:

English Premier League

Top six: 1. Liverpool (76), 2. Man City (51), 3. Leicester City (50), 4. Chelsea (41), 5. Tottenham (40), 6. Sheffield (39)

Bottom three (relegation): 18. West Ham (24), 19. Watford (24), 20. Norwich City (18)

Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Assists leader: 15 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

Spanish La Liga

Top six: 1. Real Madrid (53), 2. FC Barcelona (52), 3. Getafe (42), 4. Atletico Madrid (40), 5. Sevilla (40), 6. Villarreal (38)

Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (21), 19. Leganes (19), 20. Espanyol (19)

Scoring leader: 14 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Assists leader: 12 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

German Bundesliga

Top six: 1. Bayern Munich (46), 2. RB Leipzig (45), 3. Dortmund (42), 4. Monchengladbach (42), 5. Bayer Leverkusen (40), 6. Schalke 04 (36)

Bottom three: 16. Fortuna (17), 17. Werder Bremen (17), 18. Paderborn (16)

Scoring leader: 23 - Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Assists leader: 14 - Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Italian Serie A

Top six: 1. Juventus (57), 2. Lazio (56), 3. Inter Milan (54), 4. Atalanta (45), 5. Roma (39), 6. Hellas Verona (35)

Bottom three: 18. Genoa (22), 19. Brescia (16), 20. SPAL (15)

Scoring leader: 26 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)

French Ligue 1

Top four: 1. PSG (62), 2. Marseille (52), 3. Rennes (41), 4. Lille (40)

Bottom three: 18. Dijon (26), 19. Amiens (21), 20. Toulouse (13)

Scoring leader: 16 - Wissam Ben Yedder (Monaco)

Assists leader: 12 - Angel Di Maria (PSG)

MLS preseason

The influx of Mexican stars to Major League Soccer continues. Rodolfo Pizarro is the latest name to cross the border as the former Chivas and Monterrey star will now feature for David Beckham's Inter Miami CF. The move, which has been its own transfer saga, finally became official on Monday.

Of local interest, the Houston Dynamo played New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 draw in Tucson, Arizona as part of their "spring training" before the season kicks off on February 29th at BBVA Stadium. The Dynamo have two friendlies this week to wrap up preseason.

Liga MX

Clausura 2020

Top eight: 1. Pumas (14), 2. Club America (13), 3. Leon (12), 4. Queretaro (12), 5. Juarez (11), 6. Cruz Azul (10), 7. Atletico San Luis (9), 8. Necaxa (8)

Scoring leader: 5 - Angel Mena (Leon) / Ariel Nahuelpan (Queretaro) / Jonathan Rodriguez (Cruz Azul)

Assists leader: 4 - Roberto Alvarado (Cruz Azul) / Pablo Barrera (Pumas)

TV listings (All Times CT):

For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com

Tuesday, February 18

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Atletico Madrid vs. Liverpool (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Dortmund vs. PSG (Galavision, B/R Live)

9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Club Leon vs. LAFC (FS2)

9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Motagua vs. Atlanta United (FOX Soccer Plus)

Wednesday, February 19

1:30 p.m. - [Premier League] Man City vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Tottenham vs. RB Leipzig (TNT, UniMas, TUDN)

2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Champions League] Atalanta vs. Valencia (Galavision, B/R Live)

5:00 p.m. - [MLS preseason] Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake (HoustonDynamo.com/Live)

7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Saprissa vs. Montreal Impact (FS2)

Thursday, February 20

12:00 p.m. / 2:00 p.m. - [UEFA Europa League] Round of 32 first leg matches (B/R Live)

7:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] San Carlos vs. New York City FC (FS2)

9:00 p.m. - [Concacaf Champions League] Olimpia vs. Seattle Sounders FC (FS2)

Friday, February 21

1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Bayern Munich vs. Paderborn (FOX Soccer Plus)

1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Brescia vs. Napoli (ESPN+)

7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Atlas vs. Pachuca (TUDN)

9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Tijuana vs. Chivas (FOX Deportes)

Saturday, February 22

6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Tottenham (NBC Sports)

8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Werder Bremen vs. Dortmund (FS1)

8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Hoffenheim (FS2, TUDN)

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Sheffield United vs. Brighton (NBC Sports)

9:00 a.m. - [La Liga] FC Barcelona vs. Eibar (beIN Sports)

11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Leicester City vs. Man City (NBC)

11:00 a.m. - [Serie A] SPAL vs. Juventus (ESPN+)

11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Schalke 04 vs. RB Leipzig (FS2, TUDN)

2:00 p.m. - [La Liga] Levante vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)

5:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Club Leon vs. Necaxa (TUDN, ESPN Deportes)

6:00 p.m. - [MLS preseason] Houston Dynamo vs. Columbus Crew SC (HoustonDynamo.com/Live)

7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Cruz Azul vs. Tigres (Univision, TUDN, ESPN Deportes)

9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Monterrey vs. America (FOX Deportes)

Sunday, February 23

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Man United vs. Watford (NBC Sports)

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Wolves vs. Norwich (CNBC)

10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Arsenal vs. Everton (NBC Sports)

Monday, February 24

3:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Liverpool vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)

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The Jets have interest in Texans OC Bobby Slowik. Composite Getty Image.

The New York Jets interviewed Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for their head coach position Thursday.

The meetings with Smith and Slowik gave the Jets 12 known candidates with whom they've spoken about their vacancy.

New York has also interviewed Aaron Glenn, Vance Joseph, Mike Locksley, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, Darren Rizzi, Rex Ryan, Steve Spagnuolo, Jeff Ulbrich and Mike Vrabel for the job. Vrabel has since been hired by New England as its coach.

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley are also expected to meet soon with the Jets.

The 42-year-old Smith, who was the Atlanta Falcons' head coach from 2021-23, was considered one of the Jets' top candidates in 2021 when he interviewed with the team before New York hired Robert Saleh. Smith was hired by the Falcons the next day and went 21-30, with three straight 7-10 finishes, before being fired after the 2023 season.

Mike Tomlin hired Smith last offseason to run the Steelers' offense, which improved in several categories this season with Russell Wilson at quarterback as Pittsburgh made the playoffs.

Smith spent 10 years with Tennessee, including the last two as the Titans' offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020. He previously had a stint with Washington as its defensive quality control coach in between college stops at North Carolina (2006) and Mississippi (2010).

The 37-year-old Slowik met with the Jets in a video interview since the Texans remain in the playoffs and are preparing to face the Chiefs in Kansas City on Saturday.

He's in his second year running the Texans' offense with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was last season's AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been one of the league's most dynamic young playmakers.

Slowik, whose father Bob coaches in the CFL after several years as an NFL assistant, spent six years as an assistant under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco before joining the Texans. The Princeton, New Jersey, native started his pro coaching career as a video assistant for Washington in 2010 before being promoted to defensive assistant, a role he held for three years. Slowik then worked at Pro Football Focus as a senior analyst for three years before being hired by the 49ers.

The Jets are also conducting an extensive search for a new general manager. They have interviewed 15 candidates for that position, including Green Bay Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan and Miami Dolphins assistant general manager Brian Gaine on Tuesday.

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