The Group Stage round begins tonight!
Group Stages - Matchday 1 (Tuesday)
After a wait of more than 3 months since the final on June 3rd, the UEFA Champions League has returned this year for the 2017/18 campaign. The defending champions are Spanish side Real Madrid who retained the title in their dominant 1-4 victory against Italian club Juventus in the final last season.
2017 UEFA Europa League winners Manchester United have gained an automatic promotion after missing the competition last year. Their inclusion makes 5 English Clubs in this season's campaign. Let's preview the 8 games of the teams from Groups A-D who will be playing tonight.
Fixture 1
The first blockbuster fixture of Matchday 1 is at the Camp Nou in Spain; FC Barcelona kick off their European campaign with a visit from last season's finalists Juventus.
Barcelona had a disastrous CL campaign last season after Juventus dominated them in both fixtures knocking them out in the Quarter finals. After the sale of Neymar, they have strengthened by adding Ousmane Dembele and claimed a comfortable 5-0 win in La Liga courtesy of a Lionel Messi hat-rick.
Juventus have major injury concerns and are expected to be without key players including Mandzukic, Chiellini, Marchisio & Khedira along with Cuadrado serving a one match ban after his red card in last season's final. However, star striker Paulo Dybala is expected to start after scoring in the club's 3-0 win in Serie A in the weekend.
The fixture could easily go either way with the talent that both team possess. But Juventus' injuries will play a major part and may turn the game into Barcelona's favor.
Prediction: Barcelona (2-0) Juventus
Messi & Suarez on target
Fixture 2
Group C has a tasty first Matchday fixture to offer as Italian side AS Roma take on Spanish team Atletico de Madrid after having somewhat satisfactory campaigns last season.
In the CL, Roma have been victorious just once in their last 7 Home games and will be without their iconic captain Francesco Totti who retired last season & also Mohamed Salah who left for Liverpool in the summer. Their Serie A game in the weekend was postponed leaving a fresh squad for the manager.
Atletico were knocked out of the CL Semi-finals last season once again at the hands of Real Madrid; making it four straight defeats in four CL seasons. They had a transfer ban this summer so couldn't bring any new addition to the squad. After their 0-0 draw against Valencia in the League, they will look to bounce back to winning ways.
Atletico have a very strong experienced squad in comparison to Roma's; but Roma have the home field advantage. It will just be down to who gets the first goal of the night.
Prediction: Roma (1-2) Atletico
Carrasco & Griezmann on target
Fixture 3
One of the favorites to win this season's Champions League title are French side PSG who kick-off their European campaign away at Scottish team Celtic FC.
PSG were the biggest European spenders this summer after their record breaking deal for Neymar along with the loan signing of Kylian Mbappe. They have already scored 19 goals in Ligue 1, their latest one a 1-5 victory against Metz. The squad looks ready to go and dominate in their first CL game this season.
Celtic have a poor Home record in the CL, after winning just 2 of their last 6 home games. They also could be without their star striker Moussa Dembele & centre back Dedryck Boyata.
Celtic need to put in their best defensive record to get something positive out of the game but PSG will largely dominate tonight's game.
Prediction: Celtic (1-4) PSG
Neymar, Mbappe & Raboit on target
Fixture 4
Last season's Europa League winners Manchester United make their long awaited return to the CL taking on Swiss side Basel at Old Trafford.
Man United are looking a rejuvenated side under manager Jose Mourinho but have already lost in Europe to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup game. They are having a successful league campaign leading the Premier League table, They will be without defenders Bailly & Jones who serve suspensions; so new arrival Victor Lindelof will begin alongside Chris Smalling.
Basel have a decent side who can easily catch United on the counter attack tonight. Their new arrivals include former PL striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel but haven't won in any of their 8 European fixtures.
Basel knocked out United out of the Group Stages way back in 2011. So, United will be vary of the threat they possess.
Prediction: Man United (3-0) Basel
Lukaku & Martial on target
Fixture 5
Current German Champions & 2013 CL winners Bayern Munich begin their European campaign at home against Belgian side Anderlecht.
Bayern surprisingly lost to German side Hoffenheim in their weekend's Bundesliga fixture despite playing a strong line-up. They would want to put that loss behind them and continue their stunning European home form which stands at 16 wins out of 17 fixtures. They will be without Arturo Vidal who is suspended.
Anderlecht have returned to the CL after 3 seasons but were one of the standout sides in the Europa League till their quarter final defeat to Man United. Henry Onyekuru, the Everton loanee & frontman Lukasz Teodorczyk, but Bayern once again look to dominate as history states 6 wins in 7 Home games against Belgian sides.
Prediction: Bayern (4-0) Anderlecht
Lewandowski to score a brace
Fixture 6
Premier League Champions Chelsea are the 2nd returnees to the CL this season from England who begin their campaign at home to Azerbaijan side Qarabag.
Chelsea come in high on confidence after 3 back-to-back league victories in the PL this season against strong sides. Their team looks ready to get their first CL win of the season as star attacker Alvaro Morata awaits his CL debut for his new club.
Qarabag are the first Azerbaijan side to ever feature in the Champions League after featuring in the Europa League groups stages for the past 3 seasons. Though the road ahead is tough & the challenges will get tougher, they will have to enjoy this moment and try to get something positive out of any of their CL games.
Prediction: Chelsea (3-0) Qarabag
Morata, Willian & Cahill on target
Fixture 7
Portuguese side Benfica kick off their CL campaign with a visit from Russian side CSKA Moscow as both teams look forward to progress into the Round of 16.
Benfica have progressed to the Round of 16 in each of their last 2 CL campaigns after winning their league game in the weekend.
CSKA Moscow also got an away victory on the weekend after their stern defensive unit kept a clean sheet. If they do the same and catch Benfica on the counter attack, they have a chance to get something out of the game.
Prediction: Benfica (2-1) CSKA Moskva
Jonas on the score sheet
Fixture 8
Finally, Group D sees the clash of Greek champions Olympiacos against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. As the teams have tough fixtures against Barcelona & Juventus to come, they will look to get their first points on the table.
Sporting had lost all of their Away games in the Champions League last season and may once again find it a different task this time around too.
Prediction: Olympiacos (1-1) Sporting CP
Let's all hope for an amazing start to this season's Champions League campaign and hope for the same in tomorrow's Matchday.
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