Soccer on TV: The UEFA men’s Champions League returns, and the U.S. women start Carli Lloyd’s sendoff

Tuesday, 12:45 p.m. (UniMás, TUDN, Paramount+)

UEFA’s men’s club tournaments return this week, starting with the Champions League. Manchester City will be favored, but Brugge will be higher in the table at kickoff, thanks to its tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Sept. 15 and Man City’s loss in Paris on Sept. 28. Brugge’s upset bid will rely on two veterans, striker Bas Dost and former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

Tuesday, 3 p.m. (Paramount+, PrendeTV, TUDN.com)

When PSG announced Monday that Neymar will miss this game, Leipzig’s English-language Twitter admin replied: “So just *checks notes* Messi and Mbappe to deal with then…”

Jesse Marsch, Tyler Adams and Leipzig know they’re up against it — not just in this game, but in the Champions League overall. Because Leipzig lost at home to Brugge on Sept. 28, the German club must take points off PSG or Man City at some point just to finish third and go into the Europa League.

Tuesday, 3 p.m. (Univision 65, TUDN, Paramount+)

This is Tuesday’s biggest game of the day, as Atlético star Luis Suárez hosts the English team for which he starred from 2011-14. It will be a fascinating tactical matchup between Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp’s fast-paced high press and Atlético manager Diego Simeone’s stingy defense.

It will also be the first time these teams have met in the Champions League since March 2020, when Liverpool hosted one of the last games played before the pandemic shut down soccer around the world. A recent report by the British government linked 37 deaths to the playing of that game in front of a full house at Anfield.

Tuesday, 10 p.m. (UniMás, TUDN)

Atlas is usually Guadalajara’s second club, but not this season. Led by Colombian forward Julián Quiñones, Los Rojinegros (for their red-and-black colors) are in second place in Liga MX through 13 games. Crosstown rival Chivas, meanwhile, is down in 9th, while defending champion Cruz Azul is in 7th.

» READ MORE: More Liga MX games to watch

Wednesday, 12:45 p.m. (Galavisión, Paramount+)

Brenden Aaronson might line up against fellow American John Brooks in this Champions League contest. Aaronson’s Salzburg tops the group for now, while Brooks’ Wolfsburg is in third place on a tiebreaker behind Sevilla.

Wednesday, 12:45 p.m. (UniMás, TUDN, Paramount+)

Barcelona’s roller-coaster ride continues through a big week for the club. While the team’s financial woes continue, the team’s class of young Spanish phenoms continues to star: Ansu Fati, Gavi and Pedri. Sergiño Dest also played well in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Valencia, starting in an attacking winger role instead of on the back line.

Now they turn to the Champions League for what should be a winnable game. But it will be played knowing that the biggest game of all, the visit of rival Real Madrid, looms on Sunday.

Wednesday, 3 p.m. (UniMás, TUDN, Paramount+)

Manchester United is in fifth place in the Premier League and second in its Champions League group, so of course there are cries to fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It won’t happen, but it’s true that the Red Devils got thumped by Leicester City on Saturday, 4-2.

A home loss to first-place Atalanta, will increase the catcalls. But this game is just one of a number of upcoming big tests for United. By the end of November, the club will have played Atalanta home and away; visited Tottenham, Watford and Chelsea; and hosted Liverpool and Manchester City.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's Champions League schedule

Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

It will be a busy Wednesday night in the MLS playoff race. 4th-place Orlando hosts 7th-place Montreal, after the visitors snatched a point with a last-second equalizer against the Union on Saturday. Atlanta has moved up to 5th, and New York has fallen to 8th amid a five-game winless skid.

Orlando and the Union will also have an eye on 2nd-place Nashville hosting 10th-place Columbus, to see whether the home team slips up and comes closer to catching distance.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's MLS schedule

Thursday, 12:45 p.m. (TUDN, Paramount+)

All the hype around Bayer Leverkusen went up in smoke on Sunday when Bayern Munich laid down a 5-1 thumping on Leverkusen’s home turf on Sunday. There isn’t much time to wallow in that, though, thanks to this Europa League contest. Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz will have another chance to show off his potential as he duels with Betis playmaker Nabil Fekir.

Thursday, 12:45 p.m. (Paramount+, TUDN.com)

We’ll pick this as the Europa Conference League game of the day thanks to two intriguing young players: Feyenoord’s 23-year-old Dutch playmaker Guus Til and Union Berlin’s 24-year-old Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's Europa Conference League schedule

Thursday, 3 p.m. (Paramount+, TUDN.com)

Mark McKenzie has been playing regularly for Genk in the Belgian League, but not in Europe. If he gets on the field in this contest, it would be his biggest game yet with the club.

» READ MORE: The rest of this week's Europa League schedule

Thursday, 8 p.m. (ESPN2, TUDN)

The first of a two-game set between this teams this month takes place at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. It will be the next-to-last game of Carli Lloyd’s U.S. national team career.

Also keep an eye on four young players who weren’t part of the Olympic team: defender Emily Fox, midfielder Andi Sullivan, winger Mallory Pugh and striker Sophia Smith.

Fox has been a highly-touted left back prospect for years, and should now get a chance to win the starting job — which would free Crystal Dunn to play a more attacking role. Smith has all the tools to succeed Lloyd and Alex Morgan as the U.S.’ No. 1 striker.

» READ MORE: Carli Lloyd thanks Philadelphia soccer fans for giving her a NWSL homecoming game she’ll never forget