The Champions League competition returns this week with some exciting fixtures worthy of holding us spell-bound.
On Tuesday, Liverpool goes to Napoli, Chelsea welcomes Valencia and Borussia Dortmund host Barcelona. While on Wednesday, Juventus travel to Atletico Madrid and Paris St-Germain host Real Madrid.
The Premier League champion Manchester City and Liverpool are two of the three favourite teams spotted for the win, in this season’s tournament.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool is hoping to retain the trophy this year.
Real Madrid’s ‘three-peat’ – when they won in 2016, 2017 and 2018 – was the first time a team had won consecutive European Cups since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990.
Consistency could be the key. Real only named 13 starters across their three finals. Premier League leaders Liverpool still have 10 of their starting XI from the 2018 final defeat by Real, with only goalkeeper Loris Karius having departed, and could conceivably name last season’s final line-up on a regular basis this season.
Manchester City is the bookmakers’ favourites to win Europe’s elite competition for the first time.
They look in great shape (albeit perhaps slightly less so after Saturday’s shock defeat by Norwich – only their second loss since January). Pep Guardiola’s side won the clean sweep of English trophies last season, and have picked up 198 points in their past two full Premier League seasons.
They have added to their squad, with Rodri and Joao Cancelo, while star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne has returned after an injury-hit season.
Add to that the fact Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero are scoring a goal a game or more this season and they surely have a big chance of lifting the trophy in Istanbul on 30 May
2020.
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“When you speak to top Spanish clubs, top Italian clubs, top French clubs, they’re all pretty unanimous that English clubs are the ones to fear in the Champions League,” football journalist James Horncastle said in an interview with BBC Radio.
Tottenham will be hoping to go one better than last season when they lost to Liverpool in the final.
They reached that stage despite not having signed a player all season and losing striker Harry Kane to injury for key games.
Spurs have strengthened since then, but they have had an up-and-down start to this campaign, with two wins from five Premier League games.
Frank Lampard will be a Champions League manager for the first time as a youthful Chelsea return to Europe’s top table after a year away, during which time they won the Europa League.
Lampard, a 2012 European champion as a Blues player, replaced Maurizio Sarri this summer and, with the club under a transfer embargo, has looked to youth. All 11 of their Premier League goals this season have been scored by English youngsters who were on loan in the Championship last season – Tammy Abraham, who was at Aston Villa, and Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, who were with Lampard at Derby.
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Let’s give you a rundown of the fixtures
TUESDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2019
Napoli Vs Liverpool 8:00pm
B Dortmund Vs Barcelona 8:00 pm
Chelsea Vs Valencia 8:00 pm
Inter Milan Vs Slavia Prague 05:55 pm
Lyon Vs Zenit St Petersburg 05:55 pm
RB Salzburg Vs KRC Genk 08:00 pm
Benfica Vs RB Leipzig 08:00pm
Ajax Vs Lille 08:00pm
WEDNESDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2019
Club Brugge Vs Galatasaray 08:00 pm
Olympiakos Vs Tottenham 05:55 pm
PSG Vs Real Madrid 08:00 pm
Bayern Munich Vs Red Star Belgrade 08:00 pm
Dinamo Zagreb vs Atalanta 08:00pm
Shakhtar Donetsk Vs Man City 08:00 pm
Atl Madrid Vs Juventus 08:00 pm
B Leverkusen Vs Lokomotiv Moscow 08:00pm
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