Is this the year a Major League Soccer team wins the Concacaf Champions League? | Soccer on TV

Tuesday, 4 p.m. (Univision 65, TUDN, Paramount+)

The four remaining UEFA Champions League round of 16 series finish up this week, starting with another duel betweeen Cristiano Ronaldo’s United and Luis Suárez’s Atlético. The first game of this series was a 1-1 tie in Madrid, giving United the advantage coming home – especially with away goals no longer in use as a tiebreaker.

Note that Paramount+ is the exclusive English-language home of this week’s UEFA Champions League games. North America moved to Daylight Savings Time before Europe did, so the kickoff times are at 4 p.m. Eastern instead of 3 p.m.; and CBS affiliates will be loaded up with college basketball on Thursday and Friday, so the local newscasts get priority before then.

Tuesday, 4 p.m. (Galavisión, Paramount+)

The first game of this series was a 2-2 tie on Benfica’s home turf in Lisbon. Now the scene shifts to Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, where Sebastian Haller and Dusan Tadic hope to lead Dutch soccer’s most famous club past one of Portugal’s giants.

Tuesday, 8 p.m. (FS2, TUDN)

Before hosting the Union on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, the Pigeons fly to Guatemala with a 3-1 aggreegate lead in their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal series.

Wednesday, 4 p.m. (Galavisión, Paramount+)

It’s probably a good thing for Chelsea psychologically that this game isn’t at home, given the continued uproar of the British government’s sanctioning of the club’s owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. And it would help if Chelsea would have anyone speak for the club beyond manager Thomas Tuchel, who’s understandably fed up with the media repeatedly asking him to comment on something over which he has no control.

It’s not Tuchel’s fault that Chelsea’s first home game after the sanctions was against Saudi Arabia-owned Newcastle United, a matchup dubbed the “Sportswashing Derby” by Associated Press soccer writer Rob Harris. It’s certainly not Tuchel’s fault that some Newcastle fans chanted “Chelsea’s skint and the Mags are rich!” at the game, a reference to Newcastle’s “Magpies” nickname.

At least now there’s a moment where the manager can manage, the players can play, and perhaps Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic can duel with Lille’s Tim Weah just over a week before the last stretch of Concacaf World Cup qualifying starts. Chelsea will kick off with a 2-0 aggregate lead from the first game.

» READ MORE: Soccer power Chelsea feels effects of sanctions imposed on Russian owneer Roman Abramovich

Wednesday, 4 p.m. (UniMás, TUDN, Paramount+)

This series arrives in Italy tied at 1-1, which favors Juventus to advance.

Wednesday, 4:15 p.m. (Peacock)

For weeks, the Premier League’s races for first and fourth place have been not just about standings points, but games played. Second-place Liverpool (66 points) has one game in hand on first-place Manchester City (70), which was surprisingly held to a scoreless tie at Crystal Palace on Monday. This is that game.

Fourth-place Arsenal (51 points) has three games in hand on fifth-place Manchester United (50), sixth-place West Ham (48), and seventh-place Wolverhampton (46), and the Gunners haven’t lost a Premier League game since New Year’s Day. This will be a statement day for them and the Reds.

Wednesday, 8 p.m. (FS2, TUDN)

Cruz Azul won the first game of this CCL series 1-0 at the Azteca, but that’s a manageable deficit for Montreal to overcome. The home team’s attack should get a boost from the return of Romell Quioto, who missed the opener due to yellow card accumulation, and from the advantage that playing at Olympic Stadium always provides.

Wednesday, 10:15 p.m. (FS1, TUDN)

Now things will get really fascinating. New England didn’t just win the first gamee of this series at home, it did so by a stunning 3-0 margin. Pumas has the talent to recover at home, with the help of Mexico City’s mile-plus-high altitude. But it’s a big hole, and if it proves too big, it will be a huge feather in Major League Soccer’s cap.

Thursday, 1 p.m. (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+)

Instead of separate items for all of Thursday’s Europa League games, let’s just put them under one header for CBS Sports’ excellent whiparound show. And with so many close games in the first leg, there really won’t be a better way to take in all the second-leg action.

At 1:45 p.m., Bayer Leverkusen hosts Atalanta (Atalanta leads 3-2 on aggregate), Galatasaray host Barcelona (0-0), Red Star Belgrade hosts Rangers (Rangers lead 3-0), and Monaco hosts Sporting Braga (Braga leads 2-0). At 4 p.m., West Ham United hosts Sevilla (Sevilla leads 1-0); Eintracht Frankfurt hosts Real Betis (Frankfurt leads 2-1); and Lyon hosts Porto (Lyon leads 1-0).

Thursday, 8:30 p.m. (FS1, TUDN)

Seattle also delivered a 3-0 home win in its CCL quarterfinal home game, to make it three home wins and one narrow road loss for MLS teams in the first legs. No Concacaf team has won the region’s top club tournament since the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2000 when the former Concacaf Champions Cup was contested in a different format. The opportunity in front of the league’s clubs now is among the greatest there’s ever been.

An era of fans who’ve watched so many MLS teams blow it on the Champions League stage for so long will only whisper it for now. But maybe, just maybe, this could be the year. By the end of this game, we’ll be a lot closer to knowing.