Hello! A weekend of beginnings and endings awaits with the start of the 2025 NWSL campaign and the conclusion of this season's EFL Cup. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest ahead a busy weekend on both sides of the Atlantic.

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⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 Let the NWSL regular season begin

After an offseason of change, the NWSL officially returns for the 2025 season which hopes to offer as many surprises as the ones that came before it.

The season kicks off with the Orlando Pride hosting the Chicago Stars on Friday, months removed from their double-winning season that offers a reminder of the league's greatest strength. Teams can go from bottom-dwellers to champions in short order in the NWSL, which was particularly true in 2024, when the Pride, the Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current were the cream of the crop despite spotty regular season records in recent years. Those teams still look like contenders in 2025 after most hung onto their core players, with the Pride coming in first place in Sandra Herrera's first edition of power rankings for the new season.

If there's one team that's attempting to be a true disruptor, though, it is the Houston Dash. Last season's last place team has fully refreshed for the new year, bringing in Angela Hucles Mangano as the new president of women's soccer and Fabrice Gautrat for his first head coaching gig. The squad is full of some new faces, too, headlined by U.S. women's national team up-and-comer Yazmeen Ryan and NWSL veteran Danielle Colaprico. How quickly a new group can get settled in is a big question, especially since they come up against a Spirit side that won the NWSL Challenge Cup last week and has high aspirations, but the Dash are worth keeping an eye on this season.

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🏆 Liverpool, Newcastle battle for silverware

England's first piece of major silverware will be won on Sunday afternoon with Liverpool and Newcastle United vying for the EFL Cup at Wembley Stadium. For the latter, the prize could not be greater. Set aside the importance of qualifying for Europe — even if the Conference League is not particularly the competition the Magpies aspire to play in — winning this weekend would earn a permanent place in north east folklore for Eddie Howe's squad.

When Newcastle last won a major trophy Richard Nixon was in the Oval Office, the NBA was made up of 14 teams and The Beatles were still several months away from their break up. The 1969 Inter Cities Cup is a long, long way away and don't the Geordie fanbase know it. If the travelling contingent are anything like they were two years ago before their defeat to Manchester United, northwest London will feel like a little outpost of the northeast come Sunday afternoon (and probably much of the rest of the weekend).

The EFL Cup might not quite be of such titanic importance to Liverpool, but Tuesday's elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain has changed the calculus somewhat for Arne Slot. This competition often acts as a prelude for Premier League triumphs in the late spring. given their huge lead over Arsenal, a league title seems a given but the timbre of Liverpool's season would change somewhat if that was half of a double.

Securing that first trophy will be a harder task without Trent Alexander-Arnold, out with the ankle injury he suffered against PSG, though as of Thursday evening it appeared that Ibrahima Konate had only been laid low with cramp. Equally Newcastle will wonder if they have the weapons to attack the Reds' right back weak point. Anthony Gordon got himself suspended for the final with a foolish red card against Brighton in the FA Cup and to make matters worse Howe will not be able to throw the first choice left side of his defense at Mohamed Salah with Lewis Hall and Dan Burn out injured.

Those with long enough memories will remember Liverpool against Newcastle as one of the great tussles of the Premier League era. A game even half as thrilling as the 4-3 in 1996 and you're in for a treat (live on Paramount+).

🔗 Top Stories

⚽ NWSL contenders: Sandra Herrera takes a look at the contenders, dark horses and long-shots ahead of the league's Friday kickoff.

🥅 Penalties in Madrid:UEFA said it will consult with FIFA and IFAB over the rule that invalidated Julian Alvarez's penalty in Atletico Madrid's shootout loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League, while Los Blancos had their own penalty drama when Vinicius Junior missed his spot kick in regular time.

⏪ UCL rewind:Arsenal's bench performed well as they advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals, while Barcelona's Lamine Yamal leads the team of the week. Plus, lessons from the round of 16, power rankings heading into the last eight and a ranking of the quarterfinal matchups.

✈️ Rodman to Europe: The Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman said it's just a "matter of when" she leaves the NWSL for a club in Europe, admitting she would "kick herself" if she did not play in a foreign league before she retired.

❌ Swanson misses Stars opener:Chicago Stars standout Mallory Swanson will miss the team's opening game of the season for personal reasons after missing preseason with the group.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Thomas Tuchel names England squad:Stalwarts Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson return head of Albania and Latvia matches.

💰 The Back Line

💵 Best bets

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☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Join Golazo Network as it help fans get their day started on the right foot on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.

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