Soccer on TV: Juventus-Porto, PSG-Barcelona highlight Champions League schedule; Manchester United-Milan in Europa League

Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. (ESPN+)

We start with a little history lesson, as we like to do here sometimes. Eleven years ago, this was a Premier League game. February 9, 2010, to be precise. Two seasons earlier, Portsmouth won the FA Cup and qualified for the UEFA Cup. In 2011, Sunderland would finish 10th in the Premier League.

The present day, alas, is the opposite of halcyon. Both teams are mired in League One, England’s third division — and it hasn’t been too long since Portsmouth was in the fourth tier. As for Sunderland, the 2018 Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die wasn’t the end of the Black Cats’ era of bad management.

But there is hope. Sunderland is fourth in the standings and Portsmouth is in sixth, both within earshot of the League One promotion playoffs. English soccer is better-off when these teams matter more. Let’s hope they do again soon.

Tuesday, 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network, UniMás, TUDN)

Now we turn to the Champions League, where the round of 16′s second legs start with the most-balanced series. Porto won the first leg at home 2-1, and was leading 2-0 until Juventus’ Federico Chiesa scored in the 82nd minute. That tally totally upended the series, as it cut the margin and gave Juventus an away goal for tiebreakers. Juventus’ hill to climb at home is now a lot easier to overcome.

Tuesday, 3 p.m. (Galavisión, Paramount+)

Led by superstar striker Erling Haaland, Dortmund shocked Sevilla 3-2 in Spain in the first leg of this series. But Haaland’s status is iffy for the second leg after he suffered an ankle injury in Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Bayern Munich — a wild game that made ABC look real good for airing it. Ivan Rakitic and Sevilla need to win by at least two goals because of Dortmund’s three road goals, so buckle up for what should be a wide-open contest.

Wednesday, 1 p.m. (beIN Sports, beIN Sports Español)

This is the game in hand that Atlético has had over Real Madrid and Barcelona, and it comes at a fascinating time. Real snatched a 1-1 tie at Atlético on Sunday with an 88th-minute Karim Benzema equalizer, but Barcelona’s win Saturday jumped Lionel Messi and company over Real into second place.

So it’s now Atlético 59 points, Barcelona 56, Real 54. Atlético will have 62 with a win Wednesday, and thus a six-point lead. But if Bilbao pulls off the upset, La Liga will be wide open.

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

This series should be pretty well over already, since PSG won 4-1 in Barcelona in the first leg. If you want to bring up Barcelona’s stunning comeback from 4-0 down in 2017 to win 6-5, remember that the second leg of that series was in Barcelona, not Paris. But Lionel Messi and company are playing so well right now that it will be worth watching to see if it can at least get an early goal and make PSG think.

Wednesday, 3 p.m. (Galavisión, Paramount+)

It’s not as star-studded as the other Champions League game Wednesday, but it might be more dramatic. Liverpool has lost five straight domestic league home games for the first time in its 129-year history, and has just five wins in its last 17 games overall dating back to Dec. 27.

Meanwhile, Leipzig has won eight of its last nine games overall, with the only defeat a 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool in the first leg of this series. That’s a big deficit to overcome at Anfield, but Liverpool is in bad enough shape right now that anything is possible.

Thursday, 12:55 p.m. (UniMás, Paramount+)

This is the best series of the Europa League’s round of 16. But the man who would obviously be the center of attention might not be there. Zlatan Ibrahimović has missed Milan’s last two games with a muscle injury. You know he wants to play against one of his former clubs — in this case, one which he helped win the Europa League in 2017. If he plays, this series is wide open. If not, United should be favored.

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

It’s the second straight season these teams meet in the Europa League. Last time, Olympiakos knocked Arsenal out with an extra-time win in London. The Gunners want revenge, but as their fans will be first to tell you, it’s tough to believe the club will do anything big until it actually happens.

Note that this week, due to live college basketball on Thursday afternoon, CBS Sports Network’s “Golazo! Show” whiparound program will only be on TV during the early game window. It will be on Paramount+ for both the early and late game windows.

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